Do You Need a Disclaimer for 1:1 Client Sessions? – Legal Tips for Online Business Owners

Welcome to our weekly blog series where I (former attorney-turned-entrepreneur here!) answer reader-submitted questions about legally protecting an online business. Today’s question comes from Phu, who has a question about disclaimers.

If you have a question of your own, click this link to submit it, and we’ll add it to the list of possible upcoming topics!

When do you need to use a disclaimer for 1:1 clients?

Here’s Phu’s question, “Do disclaimers need to be read out loud during client sessions?”

Answer: So there’s a really good reason why you don’t need to read disclaimers aloud when meeting with your clients or starting group/course sessions… A client session/start of course or program shouldn’t be the first time your client is hearing or reading about your disclaimer (aka what you do and don’t do)!

Keep reading to go on the follower to client journey with me.

Step One: Someone Follows You Online

Someone finds you online. They poke around your website, check out your social media, and sign up for your emails. On your site they see your website disclaimer, and on social they always hear you saying things like, “make sure you check with your doctor/lawyer/accountant/financial advisor/CPA/therapist first!”

They don’t hear you making unfounded claims, giving promises or guaranteed outcomes, or offering cures/treatments for people’s specific issues.

Step Two: You Get a New Lead

The same new follower responds to one of your emails and ask to book a free call with you. When they sign up for your call, they get my  Pre-Qualify Before They Buy email  — where you clearly layout what you do, what you don’t do, and how the call’s going to go.

On the call itself, you make sure the person is the right fit and that they don’t need help or advice that’s outside your scope of practice. If they ask you any questions about whether you’d be able to help them with ___ (something outside your scope), you use that as an opportunity to get super clear on what you will & won’t do.

(If you sell a course, membership or digital product, we’d address all of this in your sales page copy + FAQs!)

Step Three: You Sign a New Client!

After your free call, they sign-up! WOO HOO!

You send them an email with a link to your invoice and contract to review & sign. In the contract, there’s a summary of your disclaimer clearly describing who you are, what you do, and what you don’t.

Sidebar: to recap, you don’t need to read your disclaimer at the beginning of a 1:1 client session, because your client has already read, agreed to, and signed your contract — with includes a disclaimer.

So as you can see — if you’re setup legally, you’ll have many check points along the way that help prevent the wrong kinds of clients from signing up to work with you.

By the time you get on the call, your client should be familiar with what you do & don’t do. But during your time together, it’s totally normal for clients to ask questions that would require you to veer off course and go outside your scope.

During those times, it’s important to bring the conversation back and remind them of your parameters — and have referrals and resources in your back pocket to help them 🙂

Step Four: Get Lawyer-Drafted Contracts & Policies

Don’t have a contract (with a disclaimer built in) yet? You can get any contract or website policy you need from me inside my  DIY Legal Template shop.

You’ll find fill-in-the-blank contracts specifically written for online business owners, plus website policies, disclaimers, and more. Each template can be downloaded and customized in 15 minutes or less thanks to the included How-To Video Tutorial. I’ll walk you through how to fill out your exact template, plus give you tips on how to explain it to your clients. If you buy one of the templates included in my signature program, the Ultimate Bundle™, and you decide to upgrade later on, we’ll give you a credit towards your purchase!

Let me know if you have questions about my DIY legal templates — or which one is right for you!

For more legal tips and a behind the scenes look at how I built a multi 7-figure business, drop your email below. I’ll be in your inbox twice a week with the best nuggets, podcasts, and business gold I can offer.