Legal advertising today is filled with misleading claims, emotional exploitation, and aggressive sales tactics. You've seen it yourself—law firms promising outrageous settlements, using fear to pressure clients, or misrepresenting their expertise to win business.
Such unethical marketing isn’t just a problem for the firms engaging in it—it hurts the entire industry. More importantly, it hurts the very people lawyers are meant to protect. That’s why ethics is so important in developing marketing strategies for lawyers.
Ethical marketing isn’t a limitation—it’s a competitive advantage. Law firms that focus on honesty, transparency, and value-driven advertising don’t just attract more clients—they attract better clients who respect their expertise and trust their counsel.
In this blog post, we'll learn how to:
The ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct govern all communications about legal services.
The rules 7.1-7.3 aim to balance lawyers' ability to communicate about their services with protecting the public from potentially misleading or coercive communications.
The main points are:
We’ll discuss how Rules 7.1-7.3 apply to Marketing, specifically, to
General SEO targets broader keywords and audiences, and local SEO zeroes in on location-specific queries, and emphasizes geographical relevance, making it ideal for law firms serving defined areas.
While big law firms often dominate national search results, Local SEO provides smaller practices with a powerful way to compete in their immediate geographic area.
What does it mean? It means showing up in local search results when potential clients search for services like “family lawyer near me” or “personal injury attorney in Doylestown.”
Local search algorithms prioritize businesses near the searcher’s location.
Key factors influencing rankings include:
Local SEO ensures your law firm appears in the "local pack," Google Maps results, and localized organic listings.
Here's a breakdown of each:
1. Local Pack
2. Google Maps Results
3. Localized Organic Listings
Summary Table
|
Feature |
Local Pack |
Google Maps Results |
Localized Organic Listings |
|
Appears on Map? |
Yes (with snippet) |
Yes (full map view) |
No |
|
Position |
Above organic results |
In Google Maps or "More places" |
Below the Local Pack |
|
Influenced by SEO |
Google Business Profile |
Google Business Profile |
Traditional SEO |
|
Number of Listings |
3 (typically) |
Varies (many) |
Varies (depends on ranking) |
How They Work Together
To dominate local search, law firms should optimize their Google Business Profile for the Local Pack and Maps, and use traditional SEO strategies to rank in localized organic listings.
This visibility will help:
The Pennsylvania Rules of Professional Conduct:
Rule 7.2 Communications Concerning a Lawyer’s Services: Specific Rules:
"h) All advertisements and written communications shall disclose the geographic location, by city or town, of the office in which the lawyer or lawyers who will actually perform the services advertised principally practice law. If the office location is outside the city or town, the county in which the office is located must be disclosed."
Paragraph (h) requires disclosure of the geographic location in which the advertising lawyer’s primary practice is situated. This provision seeks to rectify situations in which a person seeking legal services is misled into concluding that an advertising lawyer has his or her primary practice in the client’s hometown when, in fact, the advertising lawyer’s primary practice is located elsewhere. Paragraph (h) ensures that a client has received a disclosure as to whether the lawyer he or she ultimately chooses maintains a primary practice located outside of the client’s own city, town or county.
Let’s look into each of these components and their ethical considerations.
When optimizing your website for local searches, focus on naturally incorporating location-specific terms that accurately reflect your practice areas and jurisdiction.
Develop content that resonates with your local audience:
The Pennsylvania Rules of Professional Conduct:
Rule 7.2 Communications Concerning a Lawyer’s Services: Specific Rules:
"c) A lawyer may communicate the fact that the lawyer does or does not practice in particular fields of law. A lawyer shall not state or imply that the lawyer is a specialist in a particular field, except as follows:
(1) a lawyer who has been certified by an organization approved by the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania as a certifying organization in accordance with paragraph (d) may advertise the certification during such time as the certification of the lawyer and the approval of the organization are both in effect;"
Paragraph (c)(1) permits a lawyer to state that the lawyer is certified as a specialist in a field of law if such certification is granted by an organization approved by the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania.
Paragraph (c) of this Rule generally permits a lawyer to communicate that the lawyer does or does not practice in a particular area of law. Under paragraph (c)(3), a lawyer is permitted to state that the lawyer "concentrates in" or is a "specialist," practices a "specialty," or "specializes in" particular fields based on the lawyer’s objectively verifiable experience, specialized training or education. Such communications are subject to the "false and misleading" standard applied in Rule 7.1 to communications concerning a lawyer’s services.
Ethical Examples:
Unethical Examples:
❌ “Best criminal lawyer in Philadelphia” (unverifiable claim)Here is the ethical example of the local search result for the estates planning attorney in Bucks County, PA:
Google Business Profile (GBP) is a free tool that enhances visibility, credibility, and trust.
Optimizing GBP improves local SEO, client engagement, and brand reputation.We’ll talk about Ethics and GBP in more detail in the next section.
Here is the ethical example of the Google Business Profile for the personal injury attorney in Doylestown, Pennsylvania:
Consistency in your Name, Address, and Phone Number (NAP) across all online platforms is crucial for local search rankings. Inconsistencies can confuse search engines and hurt rankings.
Maintain consistent business information across all online directories, particularly:
The Pennsylvania Rules of Professional Conduct:
Rule 7.2 Communications Concerning a Lawyer’s Services: Specific Rules:
“k) Any communication made under this Rule must include the name and contact information of at least one lawyer or law firm responsible for its content.”
This Rule requires that any communication about a lawyer or law firm’s services include the name of, and contact information for, the lawyer or law firm. Contact information includes a website address, a telephone number, an email address or a physical office location.
Ethical Practices:
Unethical Practices:
❌ Using different firm names in different directories
❌ Creating multiple listings for the same location
❌ Misrepresenting office locations or jurisdictional reach
In the example below, we see that the firm's name is listed differently in Super Lawyers ("Law Offices of William L. Goldman") compared to other directories ("Goldman Law Offices"):
Client reviews play a significant role in local search rankings and consumer decision-making.
Encourage satisfied clients to leave reviews on your Google Business Profile and other relevant platforms. Always respond professionally to both positive and negative reviews.
Ethical Practices:
Unethical Practices:
❌ Offering incentives for positive reviews
❌ Creating fake reviews or testimonials
❌ Revealing confidential client information in responses
The two examples below show professional replies to positive and negative reviews:
Google Business Profile (GBP) offers a powerful, free platform for lawyers to enhance their visibility in local search results.
Prospective clients often begin their search for legal services on Google, and an optimized GBP ensures that your firm appears prominently in search results, providing essential information at a glance.
A well-optimized Google Business Profile can significantly boost a law firm's local search engine optimization (SEO), increasing visibility when potential clients search for legal services in their area.
Key benefits include:
The ABA Model Rules and Pennsylvania Rules of Professional Conduct prohibit:
🚫 Misleading statements about services or qualifications
🚫 False claims of specialization or guaranteed outcomes
🚫 Fake office locations
🚫 Unverifiable client reviews
🚫 Breaching client confidentiality in public responses
First, make sure you claim your GBP and have access to it. Read in more detail in Google Business Profile for Lawyers.
Optimizing your Google Business Profile requires careful consideration of ethical implications. Here's a guide to help you maximize your online presence while adhering to the ABA Model Rules:
Ethical Principle: Transparency and accuracy.
Ethical Strategy: Regularly review and update your profile to reflect accurate hours, services, and contact details.
Unethical Practice: Leaving outdated holiday hours that mislead clients about your availability.
Selecting inaccurate categories to gain visibility in unrelated searches can mislead users.
Ethical Consideration: Accurate representation of services.
Ethical Strategy: Select categories that directly reflect your practice areas (e.g., “Personal Injury Lawyer” or “Estate Planning Attorney”).
Unethical Practice: Selecting broad or unrelated categories, such as “Law Firm,” to appear in more search results.
Ethical Guideline: Prevent misleading claims.
Ethical Example: “Experienced family law attorney in Philadelphia.”
Unethical Example: “Best trial lawyer - guaranteed settlements.”
Ethical Consideration: Ensure all service descriptions are truthful and do not create unjustified expectations.
Ethical Practice Example: "Family law services including divorce, custody, and support matters."
Unethical Practice Example: "Better divorce settlements than any other firm in California."
The Pennsylvania Rules of Professional Conduct:
Rule 7.2 Communications Concerning a Lawyer’s Services: Specific Rules:
“f) A non-lawyer shall not portray a lawyer or imply that he or she is a lawyer in any advertisement or public communication; nor shall an advertisement or public communication portray a fictitious entity as a law firm, use a fictitious name to refer to lawyers not associated together in a law firm, or otherwise imply that lawyers are associated together in a law firm if that is not the case.”
Paragraph (f) requires truth in advertising when portrayals are made part of legal advertising. A portrayal, by its nature, is a depiction of a person, event or scene, not the actual person, event or scene itself. Paragraph (f) ensures that any portrayals used in advertising legal services are not misleading or overreaching. Creating the impression that lawyers are associated in a firm where that is not the case is inherently misleading because it suggests that the various lawyers involved are available to support each other and contribute to the handling of a case. Paragraph (f) accordingly prohibits advertisements that create the impression of a relationship among lawyers where none exists, such as by using a fictitious name to refer to the lawyers involved if they are not associated together in a firm.
Upload authentic photos of your office, team, and any awards or certifications. Visual content can make a strong first impression and help your listing stand out.
Ethical Principle: Genuine representation.
Ethical Strategy: Use authentic, professional photos of your office and team.
Unethical Practice: Using stock photos of luxurious offices or large teams when your firm operates from a small, shared workspace.
Client reviews are crucial for attracting new business. Encourage satisfied clients to leave reviews on your Google Business Profile. Always respond professionally to both positive and negative reviews to demonstrate your commitment to client satisfaction.
Ethical Consideration: Maintain client confidentiality.
Ethical Practice Example:
Unethical Practice Example:
❌ Paying for fake positive reviews.
Ethical Principle: Informative, non-coercive communication.
Ethical Post Example: "Our firm is presenting at the PA Bar Association conference on family law updates"
Unethical Post Example: "We just won $1M for our client - We can do the same for you!"
Monitor and respond to questions asked through the Q&A feature. This can help potential clients and show your expertise.
Ethical Consideration: Do not establish attorney-client relationships in public responses.
Ethical Practice Example:
"We handle [practice area] cases. For personalized legal guidance, please schedule a consultation."
Unethical Practice Example:
❌ Providing specific legal advice in Q&A responses.Ethical Consideration: Ensure all linked content adheres to ethical advertising rules.
The Pennsylvania Rules of Professional Conduct
7.1 Communications Concerning a Lawyer's Services, comment [6]
“A law firm with offices in more than one jurisdiction may use the same name or other professional designation in each jurisdiction, but identification of the lawyers in an office of the firm shall indicate the jurisdictional limitations on those not licensed to practice in the jurisdiction where the office is located.”
If your law firm has multiple locations, create unique content for each location's profile. This can help improve your visibility in local searches for different areas.
Ethical Consideration: Ensure each location is legitimate and properly represented.
Do:
Avoid:
Ethical Practice Examples:
Unethical Practice Examples:
❌ Claiming "offices throughout Pennsylvania" when using temporary meeting spaces.
To sum up, regularly update your Google Business Profile, engage ethically with clients, and ensure all information remains accurate and truthful. Implementing these best practices will help your firm attract more clients while maintaining the highest ethical standards.
Modern search engines use AI and machine learning to deliver personalized, contextually relevant local search results:
Personalization
AI algorithms assess user behavior, location, and preferences to tailor results. An optimized Google Business Profile ensures your firm is one of the top candidates presented to the user.
When someone searches "personal injury lawyer after car accident," the AI recognizes:
The AI then generates results tailored to this specific scenario, prioritizing firms with strong signals in these areas rather than simply those who've optimized for basic keywords.
Relevance and Accuracy
AI-driven systems favor profiles with complete, accurate, and regularly updated information. This helps your firm stand out in the local pack—the group of local listings that appear above organic results.
Enhanced User Experience
By providing rich, detailed profiles, you help AI systems better understand your firm’s value proposition, leading to higher rankings and more qualified inquiries.
AI is being used to generate concise summaries and overviews of local businesses, drawing information from various sources, including Google Business Profiles, reviews, websites, and third-party legal directories.
These summaries may highlight key information about your practice directly in search results.
As AI becomes more sophisticated, ethical considerations become more important:
By understanding and adapting to AI-driven local search, attorneys can maintain ethical marketing practices while improving visibility to potential clients who need their specific expertise in their specific location.
Further Reading:
Ethics and Local SEO: The article discussing the fundamental principles of ethical SEO practices for attorneys.
The Attorney's Guide to Google Business Profile: A comprehensive guide to maximizing your Google Business Profile while adhering to ethical guidelines.
A Lawyer's Guide to Ethical Client Testimonials: Best practices for collecting and using client testimonials in a compliant manner.
AI-Driven Local Search Results: What Attorneys Need to Know: An exploration of the impact of AI on local search and ethical considerations.
Ethics-First Marketing Checklist: A practical tool to ensure your marketing efforts align with your ethical obligations.
Take the Law Firm Growth Marketing Course: The marketing course for lawyers who want to further their knowledge.