Reputation management for lawyers: online reputation management for law firms under the ABA ethics rules

Yes, but far more narrowly than other businesses can. ABA Formal Opinion 496, issued January 2021, concluded that a negative online review by itself is not a controversy between the lawyer and the client under Model Rule 1.6(b)(5), so the self defense exception to confidentiality is not triggered. A lawyer may post a restrained reply that reveals nothing about the representation. A lawyer may not correct the reviewer's version of events.

The practical effect is that the reply which feels most satisfying to write is the one you cannot post.

It is the American Bar Association ethics opinion on responding to online criticism, issued in January 2021. Its holding is that a negative online review does not, on its own, permit a lawyer to disclose information relating to a client's representation, and that a public online response revealing such information would exceed anything Rule 1.6 allows. It recommends that lawyers give serious consideration to not responding at all.

Formal opinions interpret the Model Rules and are persuasive rather than binding. Your state's own rules and ethics opinions control, and several states have issued their own guidance on this question.

Yes. Asking a former client to post an honest review is permitted under the Model Rules and under Google's own review policy. The line is payment and sentiment. Model Rule 7.2(b) bars compensating anyone for recommending your services, apart from listed exceptions including nominal gifts, and Google prohibits offering incentives in exchange for reviews. Ask freely, pay nobody, and never condition the ask on a positive rating.

Google's policy is explicit that merchants may solicit or encourage content that represents a genuine experience, so the asking itself has never been the problem.

No, and law firms face three separate prohibitions rather than one. Model Rule 7.2(b) bars compensating a person for recommending the lawyer's services. Google's review policy calls incentives in exchange for reviews fake and misleading content. The FTC rule at 16 CFR 465.4 bans compensation conditioned on a review expressing a particular sentiment, with a civil penalty reported at $51,744 per violation.

Rule 7.2(b) is the strictest of the three, because it reaches anything of value given for a recommendation even when the payment is not tied to what the review says.

Report it to the platform rather than answering it. On Google the route is Business Profile, then Read reviews, then Report, then pick a reason. Google states that review evaluation typically takes several days and allows one appeal per rejected report. ABA Formal Opinion 496 specifically confirms that requesting removal from the website or search engine host is a permitted option for lawyers.

Our walkthrough on how to remove fake Google reviews covers what gets accepted and what does not. Google warns against reporting a review simply because you disagree with it.

Software and agency retainers are different products at very different prices. Review software for a single firm generally runs about $25 to $150 a month, and most vendors multiply that by location. Reputation agencies serving law firms commonly quote $500 to $3,000 a month. Averaging the two produces a number that describes nothing you can actually buy.

Google Business Profile carries the most weight for local legal search by a wide margin, because it feeds the map pack a prospective client sees first. Beyond Google, the legal specific directories are Avvo, Martindale-Hubbell, Lawyers.com, Justia and FindLaw, plus Yelp and your own website. Most firms overinvest in directories and underinvest in Google.

Martindale-Hubbell is the outlier worth understanding: its peer ratings influence referring lawyers and in-house counsel rather than consumers, so its value depends entirely on where your matters come from.

For local search, yes, by Google's own statement. Google's local ranking documentation lists relevance, distance and prominence as the three factors and says that more reviews and positive ratings can help your business's local ranking. There is no equivalent Google statement for ordinary organic results, and none at all about whether replying to reviews affects ranking.

We go through the evidence and the common myths in do Google reviews affect SEO.

Generally yes, subject to Model Rule 7.1, which requires that communications about a lawyer's services not be false or misleading. Two practical traps: a testimonial implying a guaranteed result can mislead, and publishing a client's name or matter without informed consent raises the same Rule 1.6 confidentiality problem as replying to a review. Several states add their own disclaimer requirements, so check your jurisdiction.

Design patterns that work for professional services are collected in our testimonial page examples.

No. Positive reviews from people who are not clients can be thanked freely. Negative reviews deserve a deliberate decision, because Opinion 496 says lawyers should give serious consideration to not responding at all, noting that a response often triggers further posts from the reviewer. Silence is a legitimate strategy for lawyers in a way it is not for a restaurant.

Even thanking a positive client review carries a small risk, since a public thank you confirms the person was a client. Many firms use a single neutral line for every review, positive or negative, for exactly that reason.

No, and the search phrase covers two opposite needs. A firm buying reputation management wants software or a service to collect, monitor and display its own client reviews. Someone searching for a reputation management lawyer usually wants to hire counsel for defamation, content removal or privacy work. This page is about the first.

It depends on your office count. Single office and small multi office firms are usually better served by flat priced review software, because Birdeye and Podium both scale by location and neither publishes a rate card. Firms with dozens of locations should price the per location vendors properly. No software can write a compliant reply for you, which is the part of legal reputation work that actually takes judgment.

The wider category, including what each type of tool does and does not cover, is laid out on our reputation management software page.