Short video for lawyers
How should a lawyer use short video on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube?
One question per video, filmed on a phone in a monthly batch, captioned and posted everywhere. The setup, the script, and the mistakes that waste a filming day.
By Charlotte Thompson, Co-Founder, Ad Hoc Digital
Last updated
The short answer
If you read one part of this page, read this.
Film one client question per video, answered in about a minute, on your phone, held vertical, in one monthly sitting. Caption every video and post the same file to Instagram, TikTok, YouTube Shorts and Facebook.
People watch these for what you're saying, not the production. Almost everything we post for client firms was filmed on a phone, and the lawyers who stay consistent are the ones who batch a month of videos into an hour or two.
Charlotte runs social media for our client firms, and this is the process we hand every lawyer before their first filming day. We work with law firms across the US and Canada, and also in Australia and the UK.
Why short video
Short video lets a stranger hear you explain something before they ever call.
A lawyer's website says what the firm does. A one-minute answer shows how you think and how you talk, which is what people are trying to judge before they hire.
It's also a quick way to learn what your market cares about. Short videos are quick to make, quick to read the numbers on, and they get your reps up. Longer pieces come later, once you know which topics pull.
Our guide to what a law firm should post covers the bigger picture: why social exists for a firm, what to post and how to measure it. This one is about the camera.
The setup
A phone, a window in front of you, and ten seconds of testing.
You don't need a videographer, a studio or any real equipment. Light and orientation are the two things worth getting right, because neither can be fixed in editing.
| Item | What to do | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Orientation | Short videos vertical (9:16, portrait); long videos horizontal (16:9) | We can't fix orientation in editing |
| Light | Face a window so light hits your face evenly | A window behind you turns you into a silhouette |
| Framing | Centered, a little space above your head, shoulders in frame | Captions sit at the bottom and need room |
| Camera | Back camera if you can, at the quality setting your phone tops out at (4K if it has it) | Sharper picture; the front camera is fine if you need to see yourself |
| Stability | Phone on a tripod or propped on books | Handheld only for selfie-style clips |
| Sound | Quiet room and the phone's mic, or a proper clip-on mic | Cheap no-name mics are often worse than the phone |
| Storage | Clear old videos and empty Recently Deleted first | High-quality batches fill a phone fast |
Where to film: home, the office, your desk, a hallway, even outdoors. Home is often simplest because you're comfortable, and comfort shows. Keep the background simple, not cluttered, not noisy, and not a bright distracting color. Wear what clients see you in day to day.
What to say
Open with the question, answer it plainly, and stop.
The first sentence decides whether someone keeps watching. If viewers get confused they don't rewind, they scroll.
Say the question or the point first
"Can you move out of state with your kids after a divorce?" beats "Hi, I'm a family lawyer and today I want to talk about something I get asked a lot." The wind-up is where viewers leave.
Give the general answer for your state
Explain how it usually works, what decides it, and the one thing people get wrong. Talk like you're explaining it to a smart friend, not writing a brief.
Say what it depends on
Every honest legal answer has an "it depends". Name the two or three things it depends on. That's what makes people want to ask you about their own situation.
End with a plain next step
"If this is you, book a consult and bring your court order." No hard sell, no promise about outcomes.
Bullet points beat a full script for a one-minute video, because you can talk about this all day. If you prefer a script, use one, as long as it doesn't sound read.
You will stumble. Everyone does. Keep the camera rolling, pause, and say the sentence again. We cut the stumble out in editing and nobody ever sees it. Starting the whole clip over every time is what turns a one-hour session into three.
The filming day
Batch a month of videos into one sitting, then change your shirt every five.
Filming a video every few days never sticks, for anyone. The clients who stay consistent film the whole month, sometimes the whole quarter, in one go.
Pick the time you have energy
For most people that's earlier in the day. You don't need to be loud, just not flat.
Start with the ideas you know cold
Open with the agreed topics you feel most ready to talk about. You'll warm up faster, and the harder ones come out better later in the session.
Change the look every five videos
Film up to five videos in one outfit and spot, then change your shirt or move rooms, so a month of posts doesn't look like one long video.
Cross off what you've filmed
Mark each topic as done so the next list doesn't repeat it.
Upload everything to one place
On our accounts every clip goes into one shared folder straight from the phone, which feeds editing. Clips saved anywhere else tend to sit unseen.
Editing and posting
Clean cuts, captions on everything, and the same video on every platform.
Most people watch with the sound off, so captions aren't optional. Heavy effects don't help: we tested them, and they didn't improve watch time.
- Keep the edit simple
Cut the pauses and stumbles, add captions, add a title card if it helps. People about to hire a lawyer found flashy edits off-putting when we tried them.
- Post once, publish everywhere
One short video goes to Instagram, TikTok, YouTube Shorts, Facebook and LinkedIn, and to the firm's Google Business Profile where it fits. YouTube now counts vertical or square videos up to three minutes as Shorts.
- Long videos have their own place
A horizontal walk-through of eight to twenty minutes goes to YouTube, Facebook and LinkedIn, and works well on the firm's website. Wing a one-minute video, never a twenty-minute one: talk from a simple outline.
- Review before it goes out
On our accounts the team checks every edit, then the lawyer approves it before it's scheduled. You're responsible for marketing in your name, so that last look matters.
The rules on camera
Organic videos are lawyer communications, and paid ones are ads.
Most bar rules on advertising apply to what you say in a video. The two traps are client information and boosting a post without checking your state's filing rules.
- No client stories that could identify anyone. ABA Formal Opinion 480 says lawyers may not reveal client information in public commentary even if it's in a public record, and a "hypothetical" doesn't help if the client could be recognized.
- No promises or results without the context your rules require. Our guide to testimonials and results covers that by jurisdiction.
- In Florida, the firm's own pages on social and video sites don't have to be filed, but paid, boosted or sponsored posts must be filed under Rule 4-7.20 unless they contain only basic information. See our Florida Bar guide.
- If you pay a creator or give them something to mention you, the FTC's Endorsement Guides expect the connection to be disclosed clearly.
The full list, including direct messages and reposting reviews, is in our guide to social media rules for lawyers. This is a plain summary for marketing planning, not legal advice. Check the current rule with your bar or law society.
What we see
The lawyers who get results from video aren't more polished. They're more consistent.
In our client work the pattern is plain: regular filming days, quick approvals and replies to comments beat any single great video.
For one family law firm we work with, almost all intake now comes from Instagram and TikTok. For a newer business law firm, video was one part of a six-month reputation build that ended with prospects and referral partners approaching them first. Different jobs, same habit: they kept filming.
Video also feeds AI search. When someone asks ChatGPT or Google's AI about a legal question in your city, clear spoken answers that live on YouTube and your site are more material for those tools to draw on. Our AI search work treats video as one of the inputs.
Common mistakes
Where firms go wrong.
These are the slips that waste a filming day or quietly cap what video can do for a firm.
Filming short videos horizontal
A landscape clip can't become a good vertical video. It's the one mistake editing can't fix, so check the phone's orientation before the first take.
A window behind you
Backlight turns the lawyer into a silhouette, and those clips are usually unusable. Turn around so the window is behind the phone.
Restarting after every stumble
Keep rolling, pause, repeat the sentence. Restarting burns energy and time, and the edit removes the stumble anyway.
Waiting to be good on camera
Everyone's first videos are a little rough. Reps are what make you better, and five good-enough videos teach you more than one perfect one.
Boosting a post without checking the rules
In some states a paid post is an ad that must be filed or must carry certain information. Check before you put money behind a video.
Real results
What this looked like for real firms.
A family law firm whose clients now come mostly from Instagram and TikTok, and a business law firm where a steady presence changed who reaches out first.
Identifying details are anonymized to protect our clients. Individual result, not a promise or prediction of any specific outcome for your firm.
FAQ
Questions lawyers ask us.
Straight answers to the questions that come up most.
How long should a lawyer's short video be?
About a minute for most topics: long enough to answer one question properly, short enough to keep people watching. YouTube treats vertical or square videos up to three minutes as Shorts, but the answers that work for our clients are usually well under that.
Do I need professional equipment?
No. A phone, natural light from a window in front of you and a tripod or a stack of books is enough. If you film somewhere noisy, a proper clip-on mic is worth it; cheap ones are often worse than the phone's own mic.
Should I script my videos?
For a one-minute answer, bullet points usually work better, because you already explain this in consultations. If you prefer a script, use one and practice until it sounds like you talking. For long videos, always work from an outline.
How many videos should I film in a session?
Enough for the month, often 12 to 20 short answers in an hour or two. Change your shirt or spot every five videos so the posts don't all look the same.
Is TikTok appropriate for a law firm?
It can be. The same educational video works there as on Instagram, and some practices reach people researching a problem long before they call anyone. It's not required, and a firm can start with Instagram, YouTube and Facebook.
Can my paralegal or a staff member be on camera instead?
They can, as long as nothing suggests they're a lawyer or giving legal advice. Clients are usually trying to get a feel for the lawyer they'd work with, so lawyer-led videos tend to do more.
Do I need to file my videos with the bar?
It depends on your state and whether the post is paid. Florida, for example, doesn't require filing for the firm's own pages but does for paid or boosted posts beyond basic information. Check our advertising rules guides for your jurisdiction.
Can you run the editing and posting for us?
Yes. We research the questions, plan the filming day, and edit, caption and post everywhere, and you approve what goes out. Schedule a consultation and we'll tell you whether social is worth your hour.
Where we do this
The services this guide touches.
What this looks like when we run it for a firm, with a demo for your practice on each page.
Sources
Where these facts come from.
Official pages we read when writing this page. Platforms and rules change, so check the current version before you act on any of it. This is marketing guidance, not legal advice.
- YouTube Help, Understand three-minute YouTube Shorts
- The Florida Bar, Handbook on Lawyer Advertising (13th ed., December 2025)
- American Bar Association, Formal Opinion 480: lawyer blogging and other public commentary
- eCFR, 16 CFR Part 255, Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising
- Federal Trade Commission, FTC's Endorsement Guides: What People Are Asking
Written by
Co-founder of Ad Hoc Digital. Leads social media and content, runs onboarding for new client firms, and is on the regular check-in calls with clients.
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