When should a law firm open a second office, and how do you market it?

Leads keep coming from an area you serve badly

Your CRM shows a steady share of leads from a city or county an hour away, and those people book less often or don't show up. Distance is costing you cases you've already paid to get.

The team has to grow anyway

If you're hiring to keep up, the question becomes where the new people sit. A second office can put them closer to the clients and courts they'll serve.

You've turned work down for capacity

One tenant defense lawyer we work with was over capacity within two months of launching. We switched her ads off while she expands the practice to absorb the volume. Expanding first, then turning the ads back on, is the right order.

Not a signal: wanting to show up in another city

Rankings in a nearby city aren't a reason to rent space there. Google's rules tie a profile to a staffed office, and search ads can reach that city without one.

Service areas

Google recommends setting service areas broadly, for example a whole county rather than specific postal codes, and refining them if you get leads you don't want. Add the new office's area once someone there can take those cases.

Checks and licenses per location

Google's screening page says that where background checks apply, an owner who runs more than one location under the same business name submits a business background check for each location, and a business serving multiple locations provides business and employee licenses for each. For US lawyers, every lawyer's bar license is checked. Our Google Verified guide lists the documents.

Overlapping offices don't double your exposure

Google's ranking page says that if a business has multiple locations serving the same area, only one of its ads shows for a search: the one that ranks higher. Two offices covering the same county compete with each other, not alongside each other.

For lawyers, Google offers Local Services Ads in the US and, in the UK, only in Greater London. Our guide to LSA categories for lawyers covers service areas and licenses by category.

A real location page

The office's address, hours, the lawyers who work there, how to get there, and a phone number. This is also the page the new Business Profile links to. Our websites page covers how we build law firm sites.

Matching details everywhere

The new office's name, address and phone number should read exactly the same on the site, the Business Profile and every directory. AI tools trust details that are consistent everywhere they read about a firm.

Who answers which call

Decide whether each office answers its own calls or one team answers both, and who covers court days. Book consultations into the right office's calendar, and tag every lead with its office in the CRM so you can see what each location brings in.

Staff before marketing

If the new office's phone rings before anyone sits there, the leads you pay for go to voicemail. Our guides to hiring intake staff and speed to lead cover both sides.

1. 1

   Confirm the office will be staffed with signage

   Lease signed, permanent sign up, staff schedule set for business hours. Nothing else qualifies the office.

2. 2

   Set up intake for two locations

   Routing, calendars and the office tag in the CRM, tested with a real call.

3. 3

   Publish the location page

   Address, hours, lawyers and phone number, matching what will go on the profile.

4. 4

   Create and verify the Business Profile

   Once the office is open and staffed. Then ask clients served at that office for reviews.

5. 5

   Extend the ads

   Local Services Ads service areas, licenses and checks; Google Ads location targeting and the city page.

6. 6

   Update directories and check AI answers

   List the new office where the firm is already listed, then ask ChatGPT and Google who to hire in the new city, and note what they say.