The BattleTested Blog

Legal Intel for Entrepreneurs
Who Play to Win.

20 years of litigation. Real cases. Real mistakes. Real lessons. Every article is built to help you spot the legal risks most entrepreneurs never see coming β€” until it's too late.

You're exposed and you don't even know it.
Defense wins championships.

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Top 5 Ways Your Refund and Guarantee Language Can Get You Sued consumer protection contracts marketing compliance money-back guarantee refund policy small business Aug 09, 2026

A money-back guarantee feels like pure upside β€” it lowers buyer hesitation and signals confidence. After 20 years litigating, I can tell you it’s also one of the most common places founders quietly cr...

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Top 5 Fake-Urgency Tactics That Cross the Line Into Deceptive Marketing dark patterns deceptive advertising false scarcity ftc compliance marketing compliance Jul 29, 2026

Urgency sells β€” that's not the problem. The problem is faking it. After 20 years litigating, I've watched businesses talk themselves into "harmless" countdown timers and "only a few left" banners that...

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Top 5 Subscription Traps That Turn Customers Into Plaintiffs auto-renewal marketing compliance negative option refund policy subscriptions Jul 24, 2026

Recurring revenue is the best business model there is β€” and the fastest way to turn a happy customer into an angry one is to make them feel trapped in it. After 20 years litigating, I've watched subsc...

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Ask the BattleTested Lawyer: Is My Email and Texting Setup Breaking the Law? can-spam email marketing marketing compliance sms marketing tcpa Jul 24, 2026

Is my email and texting setup breaking the law? A founder asked me this after he started sending SMS blasts to everyone who'd ever bought from him β€” because a marketing guru told him "the money's in t...

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Ask the BattleTested Lawyer: Do I Need a Disclaimer on My Testimonials? disclaimers endorsement disclosure ftc compliance marketing compliance testimonials Jul 23, 2026

Do I need a disclaimer on my testimonials? A coach asked me this after a competitor got a nasty complaint over a wall of five-star reviews. Her reviews were real β€” every one of them from a happy clien...

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Top 5 Marketing Claims That Put Your Business in the FTC's Crosshairs advertising law false advertising ftc compliance marketing compliance testimonials Jul 22, 2026

Most founders think advertising law is something big brands worry about. It isn't. The rules that govern what you can say in an ad apply to the solopreneur running a $19 offer just as much as the comp...

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Ask the BattleTested Lawyer: Are My Income Claims Going to Get Me Sued? disclaimers earnings claims ftc compliance income claims marketing compliance Jul 22, 2026

Are my income claims going to get me sued? A founder asked me this last week after building an entire funnel around "our students make $10K a month." He wasn't lying β€” some of them do. But after 20 ye...

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