How We Verify Attorneys
A Verified badge on a listing means we've confirmed the person managing it controls that firm's own profile. Here's exactly what that check does - and doesn't - involve.
Automatic verification
When someone claims a listing using an email address on that firm's own website domain (for example, [email protected] for a listing linked to smithlaw.com), we treat that as a strong ownership signal - controlling an inbox on the business's own domain isn't something an outsider can fake. That claim is approved immediately and the listing is marked Verified, with no wait.
Personal email providers (Gmail, Yahoo, Outlook, iCloud, and similar) never qualify for automatic verification on their own, since millions of unrelated people share those domains.
Manual review
If a claim doesn't auto-match - a personal email address, no website on file, or a domain that doesn't match - it goes into a review queue instead of being rejected. A member of our team looks at the name, email, and phone number submitted and approves claims that look like genuine ownership requests.
Being honest about the limits of manual review: this step confirms that a legitimate-looking ownership claim was submitted and approved by a person. It does not include an independent identity check, a bar-license lookup, or a document upload - so a manually-approved claim on its own does not currently earn the Verified badge. If you'd like your listing marked Verified, claiming it with an email address on your firm's own domain is the fastest and most reliable way to get there.
What Verified does not mean today
We don't want the badge to imply more than it does. Right now, Verified means an email-domain ownership check passed - it is not confirmation of bar admission, good standing, insurance, or any other credential. We're not aware of a legal directory that does this kind of credential verification at scale, and we'd rather be upfront about that than overstate what a badge means.
How to get verified
If you manage a listing on AttorneyInTown, claim it using an email address on your firm's own website domain. If you don't have one on file yet, or you run into any trouble, reach out to [email protected] and we'll help you through manual review.