The short answer
Post what a future client needs before they call: short answers to the questions you hear in consultations, how your process works, and who they will talk to. Treat any post that offers your services as an ad under your state’s rules, keep client details out unless the client agrees in writing, never pay for likes or follows, and measure social by the cases it signs, not by followers.
Social media brings a law firm cases when it answers the questions people have before they call, and it gets a firm in trouble when a post becomes an ad that breaks the rules. This guide covers both: what to post, and what the bar opinions on social media say about each kind of post.
What should a law firm post on social media?
Post what a future client needs to trust you enough to call:
- Short answers to real questions. The ten questions you hear in every consultation, one per post or video, in plain language.
- How your process works. What happens after the first call, what a consultation costs, how long a typical matter takes, and who answers the phone.
- Who they will talk to. Lawyers and staff by name and face, in the languages your office really speaks.
- What is changing. A new law or deadline in your state, with a link to the official source.
What not to post: client stories without written consent, case results without the context your state requires, and anything that sounds like a promise.
Which posts count as lawyer advertising?
The ABA model rules let a lawyer share information about the lawyer’s services through any media, social media included.
The same standard applies to every post as to any ad: a lawyer must not make a false or misleading communication about the lawyer or the lawyer’s services.
A post that is an ad must also name at least one lawyer or law firm responsible for it, with contact information.
Some states add their own format rules: in Texas, a text message or a social media message that is an ad must start with the word “ADVERTISEMENT”.
Paying for posts or ads is allowed, but paying a person for recommending you is not, which is why contests that reward likes and shares draw ethics opinions.
What do the ethics opinions on social media say?
The bars below have written about lawyers on social media. Each line gives the holding in one sentence and links the opinion itself; read the opinion for your state before you act on it.
The ethics opinions in force on this topic in our ethics-opinions dataset, newest first:
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Florida · The Florida Bar, Standing Committee on Advertising, · August 21, 2023
Practice videos on sites like YouTube must follow the ad rules but need not be filed; banner ads there must be filed unless limited to safe-harbor content.
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Florida · The Florida Bar, Standing Committee on Advertising, · August 21, 2023
Social media used to promote a practice must follow the ad rules; paid or boosted posts must be filed, and targeted posts must meet the solicitation rules.
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New York · New York State Bar Association, Committee on Professional Ethics, 1251 · January 12, 2023
Making YouTube videos to educate the public is generally allowed and is not automatically advertising, but some videos could count as advertising.
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Oregon · Oregon State Bar, Board of Governors (Legal Ethics Committee), 2005-3 · February 1, 2021
A lawyer may write columns, answer reader questions, appear on radio or TV and give talks if nothing is misleading and the lawyer does not pay for the exposure.
Information about Legal Services: Disseminating Information through the Media or through Speeches
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North Carolina · North Carolina State Bar (Ethics Committee; adopted by the State Bar Council), 2019 FEO 6 · October 25, 2019
A lawyer may not offer prize entries for "likes" or follows when the platform shows that activity to other users, because it pays for what looks like a recommendation.
Offering Incentive to Engage with Law Practice’s Social Networking Sites
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New York · New York State Bar Association, Commercial and Federal Litigation Section (Social Media and New Communication Technologies Committee), · June 20, 2019
A lawyer's business or personal social media profile may fall under the advertising and solicitation rules when it is used to talk about the lawyer's services.
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Kentucky · Kentucky Bar Association, Ethics Committee (adopted by the Board of Governors), E-447 · January 18, 2019
Without client consent, a lawyer may not reveal a client's identity or case information in a blog or social media post, even if it is in a public record.
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California · San Diego County Bar Association, Legal Ethics Committee, 2018-1 · May 8, 2018
Lawyers may run geographically targeted social-media ads to disaster victims soon after a disaster if the ads are truthful and include required information; California has no waiting-period rule.
[Marketing to mass disaster victims through targeted social media ads]
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California · State Bar of California, Standing Committee on Professional Responsibility and Conduct (COPRAC), 2016-196 · January 1, 2016
A blog is advertising when it is on the firm website or invites readers to hire the lawyer; a stand-alone blog is not unless it signals availability for hire.
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District of Columbia · District of Columbia Bar, Legal Ethics Committee, 370 · November 1, 2016
Promotional social media must follow the ethics rules; lawyers must fix false content on pages they control, answer reviews without confidences, and endorse others only truthfully.
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New York · New York County Lawyers Association, Professional Ethics Committee, 748 · March 10, 2015
A LinkedIn profile listing only education and jobs is not an ad, but adding practice areas, skills or endorsements likely makes it one; lawyers must remove inaccurate endorsements.
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New York · New York State Bar Association, Committee on Professional Ethics, 1049 · March 2, 2015
Answering an online request for a lawyer, in the way invited, is advertising, not solicitation; posts seeking plaintiffs are allowed except about a specific incident during the waiting period.
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Pennsylvania · Pennsylvania Bar Association, Legal Ethics and Professional Responsibility Committee, Formal Opinion 2014-300 · September 1, 2014
Lawyers may use social media, accept and answer reviews if they monitor accuracy, and give or ask for endorsements; practice-promoting posts are subject to the ethics rules.
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California · State Bar of California, Standing Committee on Professional Responsibility and Conduct (COPRAC), 2012-186 · January 1, 2012
A lawyer's social media posts are advertising when they offer the lawyer's services, such as posting wins and inviting calls, and the ad rules still apply.
How do you measure social media for a law firm?
Give social its own tracked phone number and form, ask every new caller how they found you, and count signed cases by source each month. Paid posts on Meta and YouTube can be measured like search ads; see our social ads service and the Meta ads guide. For the full set of ad rules by state, see lawyer advertising rules by state.
Questions about this guide
Do law firm social media posts count as advertising?
Often, yes. A post that offers your services, invites people to call or shows results is treated as an ad in the opinions listed on this page, so the ad rules apply to it. A purely educational post usually is not, but the line differs by state: read your state’s opinion before you rely on it.
Can a law firm run a giveaway for likes or follows?
Be careful. North Carolina’s bar found that offering prize entries for likes or follows is paying for what looks like a recommendation, because the platform shows that activity to other people. Check your state’s rule before any contest.
Can we post about a client’s case if it was in the news?
Not without the client’s consent in several states, even when the facts are public: Kentucky’s opinion says so for blogs and social media posts. Get written consent before you name a client or describe a matter.
Which social platform should a law firm use first?
The one your clients already use to look for help, and the one you will post on every week. For most consumer practices that means a complete Google Business Profile first, then one social channel done well, with paid posts only where you can track the calls they bring.
Sources
- ABA Model Rule 7.1, Communications Concerning a Lawyer’s ServicesAccessed October 30, 2026
- ABA Model Rule 7.2, Communications Concerning a Lawyer’s Services: Specific RulesAccessed October 30, 2026
- State Bar of Texas, Advertising Review rules (social media and text messages)Accessed October 30, 2026