Social media for lawyers does two jobs. Organic posts keep the firm familiar to people who already know it: past clients, referral sources, neighbors. Paid social puts the firm in front of people in its area who have never heard of it. Neither one replaces search, but both make the firm a name people recognize when they do search. The catch is that every post is lawyer advertising, and direct messages can cross into solicitation.
Advertising for Law Firms is an independent referral service, not a marketing agency. When you send the form, your details go to an independent marketing agency that prepares any proposal and does any work. Nothing on this site is legal advice.
What a firm should post
Good lawyer social media answers common questions in plain language and shows the firm as people would meet it. It does not discuss any client’s matter, and it does not promise outcomes.
- Short explainers on questions the firm hears often, such as what to bring to a first meeting.
- Changes in local law or court procedure, explained for ordinary readers.
- The office, the neighborhood and community events the firm supports.
- Lawyer introductions the lawyers write and approve themselves.
- Short videos that answer one question each, with captions.
Pick one or two platforms and post on a schedule the firm can keep. A quiet account that posts steadily beats a busy one that goes silent for months. Every post should point to a page on the firm’s website, so attention turns into a visit the firm controls.
Paid social for law firms
Law firm social media marketing on a paid basis works like a billboard you can aim. The firm picks an area, an audience and a budget, and the platform shows the ad in people’s feeds. It suits awareness and recurring reminders. People in a feed are not searching for a lawyer right now, so expect paid social to warm people up rather than replace law firm PPC, where the person is already looking.
Send every paid post to a landing page about that one practice area, with a short form that asks for contact details only. Keep the ad text, the image and the landing page saying the same thing.
Direct messages and solicitation
This is where attorney social media gets risky. ABA Model Rule 7.3, in the versions states adopt, bars soliciting clients by live person-to-person contact when pecuniary gain is a significant motive, with some exceptions. The ABA’s comments treat text messages and other easily ignored written messages differently from live contact. A live video call or a real-time chat started by the firm can look a lot like the contact the rule targets.
States add their own limits. Colorado’s Rule 7.3(d), for example, bars solicitation by any media about personal injury or wrongful death within 30 days of the event, with exceptions, and requires the words “Advertising Material” on envelopes and electronic messages that solicit. Other states set different rules, so do not assume Colorado’s text is yours.
Check your state’s rules
Posts, paid ads, comment replies and direct messages are all lawyer communications, so your state’s lawyer advertising rules apply and your firm decides what runs. Before anyone at the firm reaches out to a stranger through a platform, ask your state bar or a lawyer who handles ethics questions where your state draws the line. The Florida Bar, for one, publishes a checklist for lawyer or law firm websites, social media pages and video sharing channels.
Disclosures the FTC expects
Social posts often involve endorsements: a paid creator, a partner business or a staff member sharing the firm’s content. The FTC’s Endorsement Guides apply. An unexpected connection that would affect how people weigh an endorsement should be disclosed clearly and conspicuously.
- The FTC says a disclosure in the comments to a post is easily avoidable and thus not clear and conspicuous. Put it in the post itself.
- A single disclosure on your home page won’t be sufficient, in the FTC’s words. Disclose on each endorsement.
- When employees promote the firm, the FTC says listing your employer on your profile page isn’t enough.
- Advertising agencies and similar intermediaries may be liable for endorsements they know or should know are deceptive, under 16 CFR 255.1(f). The firm can be liable even when the endorser is not.
Never buy followers, likes or views. The FTC’s rule on consumer reviews, 16 CFR 465.8, bars buying or selling fake indicators of social media influence, and it went into effect on October 21, 2024.
How social fits the rest of the plan
Social pulls its weight when the website and search do their part. Posts send people to practice-area pages; those pages need law firm SEO so the same people can find them later; and the firm’s Google Business Profile, covered under law firm local SEO, should match the details on every social profile. Outdoor and video can share the same message, as lawyer billboards explains.
What a social proposal should spell out
- Which platforms, and why those suit the firm’s practice areas.
- Who writes posts, and who at the firm approves each one before it goes out.
- How direct messages and comments are handled, and who answers them.
- How paid posts are targeted, and what each landing page says.
- That the firm owns every account and page, with the agency added as a user.
To get one written for your firm, send the proposal form with your practice areas and the platforms you already use. An independent marketing agency that works with law firms can reply with a plan.
Get a social media plan built around your firm’s approval process.
Questions firms ask
Can lawyers advertise on social media?
Lawyers may advertise through many media, social platforms included, but posts are lawyer advertising and your state’s rules apply. Ask your state bar about any requirement for your posts, such as labels or filing.
Can a lawyer send direct messages to potential clients?
Be careful. ABA Model Rule 7.3 bars live person-to-person solicitation when pecuniary gain is a significant motive, with exceptions, and states adopt their own versions. Ask your state bar or a lawyer who handles ethics questions before the firm messages strangers.
Do employees have to disclose they work for the firm when they share its posts?
The FTC says an unexpected connection should be disclosed clearly and conspicuously, and that listing your employer on your profile page isn’t enough. A disclosure in the post itself is safer than one in the comments.
Should a law firm buy followers?
No. The FTC’s rule on consumer reviews (16 CFR Part 465) bars buying or selling fake indicators of social media influence.
Which social platform is right for a law firm?
The one where the firm’s likely clients and referral sources already spend time, and that the firm can keep posting on. A proposal should explain the choice for your practice areas.