May a Law Firm Ask Clients for Reviews?

A law firm asking clients for reviews answers to two rulebooks at once: its bar's ethics rules and Google's review policy. They do not line up. North Carolina's State Bar approved a review service in 2018 that sends only happy clients to Google, and Google's own policy forbids exactly that. A firm that follows only the bar can still lose the reviews, and a firm that follows only Google can still have an ethics problem over client confidentiality.

The bar's rule: nothing of value for a recommendation

ABA Model Rule 7.2(b) says a lawyer "shall not compensate, give or promise anything of value to a person for recommending the lawyer's services," with narrow exceptions such as advertising costs and "nominal gifts as an expression of appreciation that are neither intended nor reasonably expected to be a form of compensation." A review is a public recommendation. A fee reduction, gift card or free consult offered for one sits badly with the rule, whatever the review says.

States have written opinions on review programs and they vary. We read one in full, below, and would not generalize from it. Check your own bar's opinions before you build anything automated.

One state opinion, read closely

North Carolina 2018 Formal Ethics Opinion 7 considered a paid service that texts or emails former clients for a star rating. Clients who choose 4 or 5 stars are sent to the lawyer's Google page; 3 stars or fewer go to a private form. The opinion allowed it, with conditions:

Client names and contact details are confidential, so the lawyer needs the client's informed consent before giving them to the service.
The lawyer must explain the process, including that low ratings will not be posted.
When a client revises a negative review after the lawyer addresses a complaint, "there can be no quid pro quo for the revised review."
No fake or misleading reviews, and no pressuring clients for a better rating.

Google's rule: no incentives, no filtering

Google's fake engagement policy says it does not allow merchants to offer incentives, "such as payment, discounts, free goods and/or services," in exchange for a review, or to "discourage or prohibit negative reviews, or selectively solicit positive reviews from customers." The flow North Carolina approved routes only positive raters to Google, which is selective solicitation in the plainest sense. The ethics opinion answers whether the lawyer breached a professional rule. It does not answer whether Google will keep the reviews or the profile.

The same policy lists reviews "based on a conflict of interest," including "current or former employment." Staff and their families reviewing the firm are out.

Where reviews count, and where they do not

Reviews are one of the signals Google names for local prominence (Google Business Profile Help). They do not move every legal score: Avvo says client reviews "never affect your rating" (Avvo support). Whether AI assistants weigh review counts when recommending a lawyer is undocumented, and we have not measured it, so treat reviews as good for clients and local search, not as an AI lever.

What to do: an ask that passes both rulebooks

Ask every client at the same point, usually when the matter closes, whatever you think they will say.
Send a plain link to the profile. No star preselection, no private route for unhappy clients.
Offer nothing in return, and say so if asked.
If a vendor sends the requests, get each client's informed consent before sharing contact details.
Never ask for particular wording, and never ask staff.

What to do once the reviews arrive, good and bad, is in replying to a bad review, and the full cluster is on the AI visibility for law firms hub.

Not legal or ethics advice. This describes how AI systems can read a law firm in public; your state bar's rules and your own ethics counsel decide what you may publish.

Questions

Can a lawyer offer a discount in exchange for a Google review?

Google's fake engagement policy prohibits merchants from offering incentives, including payment, discounts, free goods or services, in exchange for posting a review. ABA Model Rule 7.2(b) also bars giving anything of value for recommending a lawyer's services. A law firm should ask for honest reviews without offering anything in return.

Is review gating allowed for law firms?

North Carolina's 2018 Formal Ethics Opinion 7 allowed a lawyer to use a service that sent only 4 and 5 star raters to Google, if clients were told how it worked. Google's policy separately forbids merchants to selectively solicit positive reviews. Permission from a bar opinion is not permission from Google, so a law firm should ask every client the same way.

May a firm ask clients for reviews, and where does the ask cross a line?