Law Firm Reviews: How to Get More Google Reviews the Right Way

Reviews are one of the biggest reasons one law firm shows up in the Google map box and another does not. Yet most small firms have far fewer than a dentist or a plumber down the road. Clients feel awkward reviewing a lawyer, matters are private, and many lawyers are unsure what they are allowed to ask. Here is how to get more reviews without breaking Google’s rules or your bar’s.

Why law firms get so few reviews

• Nobody asks. Most reviews happen because someone was asked at the right moment.
• The moment passes. A matter can take months. By the time it closes, the client has moved on.
• Privacy. Clients in family, criminal or immigration matters may not want their name next to a review. That is fine: some will still review with a first name or initials.

What Google allows

Google lets you ask any client for a review. Its policies do not allow:

• offering anything in return: a discount, a gift card or a reduced fee;
• asking only clients you expect to be happy, sometimes called “review gating”;
• writing reviews for clients, or having staff, family or other firms post them.

Reviews that break these rules can be removed, and a pattern of them can get the whole profile suspended.

What the bar rules add

Rules differ by state, so check yours, but three points hold almost everywhere in the US:

• No payment for recommendations. The ABA Model Rules bar giving anything of value to someone for recommending your services, which is one more reason never to reward a review.
• No misleading claims. If you quote a review on your website, some states require a disclaimer that results vary. Do not edit a review to make it say more than the client said.
• Confidentiality comes first. Asking for a review must never pressure a client or touch on the details of their matter.

Outside the US the rules can be much stricter. In India, for example, the Bar Council’s Rule 36 restricts advocates from advertising or soliciting work, so many Indian chambers do not quote reviews at all.

A simple way to ask

1. Pick the moment. Ask when the client is relieved: the case settles, the visa is approved, the hearing goes well.
2. Ask in person first, then send the link the same day by text or email. Use your profile’s own review link so it opens the review box directly.
3. Make it easy to be general. Tell clients they do not need to share any details of their case, only how they found working with you.
4. Ask everyone whose matter has finished, not only the happy ones.

A short message works best: “Thank you for trusting us with your case. If you have a minute, a Google review helps other people find us. You do not need to mention any details. Here is the link.”

Replying to a bad review

This is where lawyers get into real trouble. The ABA’s Formal Opinion 496 makes the point clearly: a negative online review does not allow a lawyer to reveal confidential information about the client to defend themselves. A safe reply is short, polite and general, for example: “We take every concern seriously. Professional rules prevent us from discussing any client matter in public, but we would welcome the chance to talk this through directly.” Never confirm that the reviewer was a client.

Why it matters for rankings

Review count, rating and how recently reviews arrive all feed into the map results. Reviews that mention the type of matter, such as “divorce” or “green card”, also help Google connect your firm to those searches. That is why we include a steady review routine in every law firm SEO plan. For how reviews fit with the rest of your profile, see Google Business Profile for lawyers, and for the full plan, our law firm marketing guide.