Social media rules
What do bar rules say about lawyers posting on social media?
When a post becomes an ad, when a DM becomes solicitation, why client stories are off limits, and what changes when you repost a review or pay to boost.
By Charlotte Thompson, Co-Founder, Ad Hoc Digital
Last updated
The short answer
If you read one part of this page, read this.
Your own posts are lawyer communications, so the same truthfulness rules apply as everywhere else. The rules get stricter at four points: when you pay to boost a post, when you message a specific person about their legal problem, when a post touches client information, and when you share someone else's praise of you.
Florida, for example, doesn't require filing for a firm's own social pages but does for paid or boosted posts beyond basic information, and it treats targeted posts about an accident like direct mail, with a 30-day wait. Ontario warns against testimonials with emotional appeals, and Quebec tells lawyers not to solicit testimonials on social media at all.
Charlotte runs social media for our client firms, and every post goes past the lawyer before it's scheduled. This is a plain summary for marketing planning, not legal advice. Check the current rule with your bar or law society. We work with law firms across the US and Canada, and also in Australia and the UK.
Post or ad
An organic post on your own page is usually treated differently from a paid one.
Most rules on advertising apply to both, but filing and labeling rules often bite only once money is behind the post.
The Florida Bar's handbook is the clearest example. A lawyer doesn't have to file the firm's own page on Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn or similar sites. But a banner on someone else's page is an ad that must be filed, and paid, boosted or sponsored posts must be filed under Rule 4-7.20 unless their content is limited to the basic information in Rule 4-7.16.
Other states have their own filing rules, or none. Our guides to Texas and Nevada cover the two other states where filing comes up most, and the rules hub compares every jurisdiction we cover.
Messages and solicitation
Messaging someone about their legal problem is where social media meets the solicitation rules.
Posting to the public isn't solicitation. Reaching out to a specific person you know needs help can be, and accident-related contact has extra limits in some states.
- Public posts aren't solicitation
The ABA's comment to Model Rule 7.3 says a communication directed to the general public, such as a website, isn't solicitation, and neither is one that answers a request for information or is automatically generated in response to electronic searches.
- Live contact is the ABA's line
Model Rule 7.3 bans live person-to-person solicitation for pay, with exceptions. Its comment defines live contact as in-person, live phone and other real-time visual or auditory contact, and says it doesn't include chat rooms, text messages or other written communications people can easily disregard. A video call to a stranger about their case is on the wrong side of that line.
- Targeted posts about accidents
Florida treats targeted social media communications like direct mail. If one concerns personal injury, wrongful death, or an accident or disaster involving the recipient or a relative, the lawyer must wait at least 30 days. Florida's Board of Governors also treated a paid post aimed at people who self-identified a specific legal issue as a targeted solicitation.
- Replying to people who ask
Someone who messages you first has asked for information. Reply, keep it general, and move them to a proper intake call where conflict checks happen. Our guide to speed to lead covers why that reply should be quick.
Client information
Client stories are the rule most lawyers break on social media without noticing.
ABA Formal Opinion 480 says lawyers may not reveal information about a representation in public commentary, even if it's in a public record, unless a rule allows it.
The opinion also says calling it a "hypothetical" doesn't help if there's a reasonable likelihood someone could work out who the client is. In a small town, or in a case that made the local news, that bar is low.
- "Just won a custody case for a dad in [your town]" can identify the family. Skip it.
- "A question I hear from dads every week" teaches the same thing without a client in it.
- A courtroom selfie with a date and a case type is a client detail. So is a thank-you card on camera.
- General law, your process, deadlines and myths are always safe ground.
That's why our what to post guide builds every content plan from questions, not wins.
Reviews and testimonials
A review on Google is the client's. A review you repost is your marketing.
The moment you share someone's praise on your own feed, the rules on testimonials apply to it as if you'd written the ad.
| Jurisdiction | What the regulator says | What it means on social |
|---|---|---|
| British Columbia | Testimonials must be true and verifiable; praise like "great advice" can't be verified. An unsolicited Google or Yelp review the lawyer doesn't reproduce is unlikely to be marketing | Reposting a review makes it your marketing, so check every claim in it |
| Ontario | Marketing may breach the rule by suggesting the lawyer is aggressive or using testimonials with emotional appeals | Skip "they fought like a pit bull" style praise |
| Quebec | Don't solicit testimonials on social media or a professional web page; remove ones that appear | No review asks on your feed, and no testimonial posts |
| Florida | Testimonials allowed only if they meet Rule 4-7.13(b)(9)'s conditions, including that nothing of value was given | No giveaways tied to reviews; results need the required disclaimer |
| US federal (FTC) | Endorsements must be honest; material connections must be disclosed | Paid creators and staff who praise the firm disclose the connection |
Our guide to testimonials covers each jurisdiction in full, and asking for reviews within the rules covers the ask itself.
Before you post
A six-point check before anything goes out in your name.
On our accounts, our team checks each post against this list, then the lawyer approves it. It takes a minute per post once it's habit.
Is anything in it a client detail?
Names, places, dates, case types plus a town, photos with paperwork in the background. If a client could recognize themselves, cut it.
Is every factual claim true and provable?
Years in practice, results, awards and "experience with hundreds of cases" all need to be accurate and checkable under your rules.
Does it promise or imply an outcome?
"We'll get you the maximum" is a promise. "Here's what decides how much these cases settle for" is information.
Does it use restricted words?
"Specialist", "expert" and similar words are restricted in many places. Our ad copy guide lists the common ones and safer wording.
Is money behind it?
If it's boosted or sponsored, check your state's filing and labeling rules first.
Is it someone else's praise?
If you're reposting a review or featuring a client, the testimonial rules for your jurisdiction apply.
Other traps
Friending, giveaways and creators each have their own rule.
These come up less often, but they're the ones that turn a casual post into a complaint.
- Contacting the other side
Quebec's notice warns that sending a friend request to a represented opposing party, or using a fake profile to see private information, may be an ethics breach. The ABA rules on contacting represented persons point the same way.
- Contests and giveaways
A prize for tagging the firm or leaving a review can count as giving something of value for a recommendation, which ABA Model Rule 7.2(b) restricts, and Google's review policy bans incentives outright.
- Paying creators or influencers
Paying for advertising is allowed, but the FTC's Endorsement Guides expect a paid endorser's connection to be disclosed clearly, and your own rules on testimonials and results still apply to what they say about you.
- Clickbait
Quebec's notice names clickbait as something to avoid. Elsewhere, sensational hooks that overstate the law run into the general rule against misleading communications.
What we see
Educational content keeps a firm out of almost every one of these problems.
In our client work, the rule problems we catch in review almost always come from posts about wins and from reposted praise, rarely from plain answers to client questions.
That's not a coincidence. A feed built from questions and explanations doesn't need client details, doesn't promise outcomes and doesn't lean on testimonials, and it's also the kind of content that brings inquiries. One family law firm we work with gets almost all of its intake from Instagram and TikTok on exactly that kind of content.
If you also run ads, the same thinking carries into Facebook and Instagram ad creative, where paid placement brings in the filing and disclosure rules above.
Common mistakes
Where firms go wrong.
The social media slips that most often create a problem for a law firm.
Posting wins
A case result with enough detail to recognize the client is a confidentiality problem, and in some places a results claim that needs a disclaimer.
Boosting without checking
The boost button turns a free post into a paid ad. In Florida that can mean filing; elsewhere, labeling or result disclaimers.
Reposting every five-star review
Once you share it, it's your marketing. Unverifiable praise and emotional testimonials are exactly what BC and Ontario warn about.
Cold DMs to people who posted about an accident
That's targeted contact about a specific matter. Florida treats it like direct mail with a 30-day wait, and live contact is banned outright under the ABA model.
Letting staff post as the lawyer without review
Lawyers are responsible for the marketing done for them. Every post in a lawyer's name needs that lawyer's eyes before it goes out.
Real results
What this looked like for real firms.
A family law firm that built its intake on educational social content.
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.
Is a social media post considered lawyer advertising?
Often, yes, at least in part. The truthfulness rules apply to everything a lawyer says about their services. Filing and labeling rules vary: Florida exempts the firm's own social pages from filing but not paid or boosted posts beyond basic information.
Can a lawyer send a direct message to a potential client?
Replying to someone who contacted you is fine. Reaching out to a specific person about their legal problem is solicitation territory. Under the ABA model, written messages aren't live contact, but states add limits, like Florida's 30-day wait for accident-related targeted contact.
Can I share a client's Google review on Instagram?
Check your jurisdiction first. In BC, a review becomes your marketing once you reproduce it, so every claim in it must be true and verifiable. Quebec tells lawyers not to solicit testimonials on social media. Florida sets conditions for testimonials, including that nothing of value was given.
Can I talk about my cases if I change the names?
Not safely. ABA Formal Opinion 480 says a hypothetical doesn't help if someone could still identify the client, and public records aren't fair game either. Talk about the questions clients ask instead.
Do I need to file boosted posts with the bar?
In Florida, yes, unless the post holds only basic information under Rule 4-7.16. Other states differ. Our Florida Bar guide has the filing steps and fees.
Can I run a giveaway on the firm's page?
Be careful. Prizes for reviews or tags can count as giving something of value for a recommendation, and Google's review policy bans incentives for reviews. A giveaway with no link to reviews or referrals is a different question for your bar.
Can a non-lawyer run the firm's social accounts?
Yes, with supervision. The lawyer stays responsible for what goes out. On our accounts the team prepares and checks each post, and the lawyer approves it before scheduling. Schedule a consultation if you want that setup for your firm.
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.
- American Bar Association, Comment on Model Rule 7.3
- American Bar Association, Formal Opinion 480
- The Florida Bar, Handbook on Lawyer Advertising (13th ed., December 2025)
- Law Society of British Columbia, Ethics Advisory: Marketing activities
- Law Society of Ontario, Rules of Professional Conduct, Chapter 4
- Barreau du Québec, notice to members on social media conduct
- eCFR, 16 CFR Part 255, Endorsement Guides
- 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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