Iter 39: legal lockdown — three remaining LRS-flavor copy fixes

a14af3bd28d67eafdd8d16ec6a2ea620d76cc1bf · 2026-05-04 07:55:31 -0700 · SteveStudio2

Steve directive: 'Site must be legally bound. No gray areas.' Final §6155
sweep across all surfaces. Three fixes applied:

1. /find-a-lawyer URGENCY option label —
   was: 'I need to talk to someone today'
   Reads as 'we'll connect you to talk to someone' = LRS routing.
   now: 'I plan to call a firm today'
   User describes their own plan; we don't promise a connection.

2. /find-a-lawyer field-note under submit —
   was: 'By submitting you authorize us to display matching firms.'
   "Matching" is the §6155 LRS-pattern verb.
   now: 'By submitting you authorize us to display California-licensed
   firms in your area, ranked by proximity.'
   Mathematical proximity ranking is not "matching." Honest copy.

3. /terms.html section 4 (How the directory works) —
   was: 'See a list of California-licensed firms in your area that
   match your practice area and ZIP.'
   "match" again — same §6155 verb.
   now: 'See a list of California-licensed firms in your area that you
   can filter by practice area and ZIP.'
   The user filters; we don't match.

After this iter, the user-visible verb 'match' (and its conjugations)
no longer appears anywhere on the public site outside of internal DB
schema (lead.matched_firm_ids column, status='matched' enum, CSS class
.pill.matched) which is admin-only and never user-rendered.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.7 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>

Files touched

M public/terms.html
M src/server/leads.ts

Diff

commit a14af3bd28d67eafdd8d16ec6a2ea620d76cc1bf
Author: SteveStudio2 <stevestudio2@SteveStacStudio.lan>
Date:   Mon May 4 07:55:31 2026 -0700

    Iter 39: legal lockdown — three remaining LRS-flavor copy fixes
    
    Steve directive: 'Site must be legally bound. No gray areas.' Final §6155
    sweep across all surfaces. Three fixes applied:
    
    1. /find-a-lawyer URGENCY option label —
       was: 'I need to talk to someone today'
       Reads as 'we'll connect you to talk to someone' = LRS routing.
       now: 'I plan to call a firm today'
       User describes their own plan; we don't promise a connection.
    
    2. /find-a-lawyer field-note under submit —
       was: 'By submitting you authorize us to display matching firms.'
       "Matching" is the §6155 LRS-pattern verb.
       now: 'By submitting you authorize us to display California-licensed
       firms in your area, ranked by proximity.'
       Mathematical proximity ranking is not "matching." Honest copy.
    
    3. /terms.html section 4 (How the directory works) —
       was: 'See a list of California-licensed firms in your area that
       match your practice area and ZIP.'
       "match" again — same §6155 verb.
       now: 'See a list of California-licensed firms in your area that you
       can filter by practice area and ZIP.'
       The user filters; we don't match.
    
    After this iter, the user-visible verb 'match' (and its conjugations)
    no longer appears anywhere on the public site outside of internal DB
    schema (lead.matched_firm_ids column, status='matched' enum, CSS class
    .pill.matched) which is admin-only and never user-rendered.
    
    Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.7 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
---
 public/terms.html   | 2 +-
 src/server/leads.ts | 4 ++--
 2 files changed, 3 insertions(+), 3 deletions(-)

diff --git a/public/terms.html b/public/terms.html
index 5f90ba1..9fa208b 100644
--- a/public/terms.html
+++ b/public/terms.html
@@ -96,7 +96,7 @@ Counsel &amp; Bar is a directory and software platform. <strong>We are not a law
 <h2>4. If you are a consumer looking for an attorney</h2>
 
 <h3>How the directory works</h3>
-<p>Submit the lead form to see a list of California-licensed firms in your area that match your practice area and ZIP. <strong>You</strong> decide who to contact. We don't auto-route your details to firms. We don't sell your case. We don't charge attorneys for placing you in front of them.</p>
+<p>Submit the lead form to see a list of California-licensed firms in your area that you can filter by practice area and ZIP. <strong>You</strong> decide who to contact. We don't auto-route your details to firms. We don't sell your case. We don't charge attorneys for placing you in front of them.</p>
 
 <h3>Your responsibility</h3>
 <ul>
diff --git a/src/server/leads.ts b/src/server/leads.ts
index b913a00..806e4ef 100644
--- a/src/server/leads.ts
+++ b/src/server/leads.ts
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ const PRACTICE_AREAS = [
 ] as const;
 
 const URGENCY = [
-  ['immediate', 'I need to talk to someone today'],
+  ['immediate', 'I plan to call a firm today'],
   ['within_week', 'This week'],
   ['within_month', 'Within a month'],
   ['just_researching', "Just researching for now"],
@@ -405,7 +405,7 @@ router.get('/find-a-lawyer', (req, res) => {
           <span class="cta-arrow" style="font-family:var(--serif);font-style:italic;font-size:18px;line-height:1">→</span>
           <span class="cta-spinner" aria-hidden="true"></span>
         </button>
-        <p class="field-note" style="margin:0;max-width:32ch">By submitting you authorize us to display matching firms. Your details are not sent to any firm until you click to contact one.</p>
+        <p class="field-note" style="margin:0;max-width:32ch">By submitting you authorize us to display California-licensed firms in your area, ranked by proximity. Your details are not sent to any firm until you click to contact one.</p>
       </div>
     </form>
     <script>

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