Google reviews for solicitors: how to earn more, properly

Solicitors earn more Google reviews by asking every client, at the right moment, with a direct link and no incentive. Asking only happy clients, offering anything in return, or discouraging negative reviews can breach Google's policy and the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024, as the CMA's guidance explains. Replies to reviews must never disclose client information.

Reviews matter to law firms for a reason specific to how people choose a solicitor. The Legal Services Consumer Panel's 2025 tracker found that 57 per cent of people who received a recommendation still looked for more information about the provider before contacting them. The Google listing, with its star rating and the latest few comments, is often the first thing they find. Reviews do not replace word of mouth; they are where word of mouth gets checked. This post is part of our guide to how law firms get clients.

Why do Google reviews matter for law firms?

Three reasons, in order of importance:

• They confirm a recommendation. A client told "use this firm" looks the firm up. A thin or stale set of reviews creates doubt at exactly the wrong moment.
• They help local search. Google's local results show rating and review count next to the firm's name, and a listing with recent reviews looks active.
• They answer the questions prospective clients cannot ask a firm directly. Was I kept updated? Did they return calls? Was the price what they said?

The consumer panel data also shows what prospective clients compare when shopping around: price (56 per cent), reputation (48 per cent) and, increasingly, independent verification of the quality of the service (27 per cent in 2025). Reviews are one of the few forms of independent verification a small firm can build itself.

What do the CMA rules say about reviews?

From April 2025, the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 made certain review practices automatically unfair and illegal. The CMA's guidance on fake reviews (CMA208) explains what that covers. The points most relevant to a law firm, as the guidance describes them:

• Fake reviews are banned, including reviews written or commissioned by the firm, its staff or anybody connected to it.
• Concealed incentivised reviews are banned. "Commissioning" can take many forms and is not limited to money, so a discount, gift or prize draw in exchange for a review is an incentive.
• Publishing reviews in a misleading way is banned. The guidance lists cherry-picking positive reviews, which it says can happen "by encouraging just those who are satisfied to leave reviews", and suppressing genuine negative ones.
• Traders should not interfere with negative reviews, for example through threats of legal action, by arbitrarily stopping and starting review invitations, or by making dispute resolution conditional on a client not leaving a negative review.

That last point has a law-firm-specific edge. A firm handling a complaint must not make the resolution depend on the client not reviewing, or on withdrawing a review. If you are unsure whether something you are considering crosses a line, speak to your COLP before doing it.

What does Google's own policy say?

Google's contribution policy for Maps reviews sets out similar rules. It prohibits offering incentives "such as payment, discounts, free goods and/or services" in exchange for a review, and says businesses should not "discourage or prohibit negative reviews, or selectively solicit positive reviews from customers". It does allow businesses to solicit reviews that represent a genuine experience, without incentives or attempts to influence the rating or content.

Put the two together and the lawful approach is clear: ask every client, the same way, and let them say what they think.

How do you ask a client for a Google review?

A simple process a small firm can run without software:

• Get the direct review link from your Google Business Profile, so the client lands on the review form rather than searching for you.
• Decide the moment. For most matters this is at completion, when the outcome is known and the file is closing. For long matters, a natural milestone may also work.
• Ask every client at that moment. Not only the ones the fee-earner thinks are pleased. Put the request in the closing letter or closing email template so it is sent by default.
• Keep the wording neutral. "We would welcome your honest feedback" is fine. "We would love a five-star review" asks for a particular rating.
• Send one reminder at most, also to everybody. Repeated chasing starts to feel like pressure.
• Never offer anything in return. No discount, gift, charity donation per review or prize draw.

A template that fits most firms:

Thank you for instructing us. If you have a moment, we would welcome your honest feedback about how we handled your matter. You can leave a review here: [link]. It helps other people choosing a solicitor, and it helps us improve.

What is review gating, and why should firms avoid it?

Review gating is sending a short satisfaction survey first, and only inviting clients who answer positively to leave a public review. Some review tools offer it as a feature. It is exactly the selective solicitation that Google's policy names, and it is a form of the cherry-picking the CMA guidance describes. If your firm uses a review platform, check its settings. An internal satisfaction survey is fine on its own; the problem is using its answers to decide who gets asked for a public review.

How should a solicitor respond to a negative Google review?

Carefully, because the duty of confidentiality does not end when a client posts publicly. Paragraph 6.3 of the SRA Code of Conduct for Solicitors requires you to keep the affairs of current and former clients confidential unless disclosure is required or permitted by law or the client consents. A client describing their matter in a review is not consent for the firm to describe it back.

A safe pattern for replies:

• Do not confirm the person was a client. Even that may disclose something.
• Do not discuss any facts, dates, outcomes or fees.
• Acknowledge, do not argue. Thank them for the feedback and say the firm takes it seriously.
• Move it offline. Invite them to contact a named role, such as the complaints partner, directly.
• Remember the complaints process. If the review is effectively a complaint, the firm's complaints procedure applies.

A reply that fits most situations:

Thank you for your feedback. We take every comment seriously, but our duty of confidentiality means we cannot discuss any individual matter here. We would welcome the chance to talk this through: please contact [name or role] on [number or email]. We also cannot confirm whether we have acted for anyone.

If a review is fake or breaches Google's policy (for example, it was not written by a real client, or it contains offensive content), the firm can flag it to Google for review. Disagreeing with a genuine review is not a ground for removal. Where a review may be defamatory, that is a matter for proper legal advice, and the CMA guidance's warning about threats of legal action to suppress negative reviews is worth reading first.

What do the best law firm reviews say?

The reviews that help most are specific about the things prospective clients worry about: being kept informed, calls being returned, the price matching the estimate, and being treated kindly. A firm cannot tell clients what to write, and should not. It can make those things true, so that the reviews write themselves. The firms with the steadiest review profiles tend to be the ones that keep clients updated during the matter, not the ones with the cleverest request email.

That is a useful operational test. If your reviews mention "never returned my calls", the fix is in how calls are handled, not in how reviews are requested. There is more on the phone side in who answers your firm's phone after five.

A checklist for a lawful review process

• Direct review link saved in the closing letter template.
• Every client asked at the same point in the matter.
• Neutral wording, with no mention of a rating.
• No incentive of any kind, including prize draws.
• No satisfaction survey used to decide who is asked.
• One reminder at most, sent to everybody.
• Replies never confirm client status or discuss facts.
• Complaints handled through the complaints procedure, never conditioned on a review.
• Review tool settings checked for gating.
• Responsibility for replies given to one named person.

How do reviews fit into growing the firm?

Reviews are a lagging indicator of client service and a leading indicator of new enquiries. They work best alongside the steps in how to grow a small law firm without more marketing spend, and in practice areas where clients research heavily, such as family, they carry extra weight. See marketing a family law firm. They also only turn into instructions if the website and phone convert, which is the subject of why your law firm website gets visits but not enquiries. For tracking which reviews and referrals actually produce work, see repeat instructions and referral sources.

What mistakes do firms make with Google reviews?

The common ones, roughly in order of how often they appear:

• Asking only at the end of the best matters. It feels natural and it is exactly the selective solicitation Google's policy names.
• Asking in person with a tablet in reception. Check Google's current contribution policy before asking on the premises, and never pressure anyone to leave a review.
• Replying defensively. A reply that argues with a client reads badly to every future visitor, and a reply that mentions facts risks the duty of confidentiality.
• Letting reviews go stale. A strong rating with nothing recent suggests the firm has changed, or stopped caring.
• Having no owner. Reviews that are nobody's job get no replies and no follow-up.

The fix for most of these is the same: put the request in the closing process for every matter, give one person responsibility for replies, and look at the reviews monthly alongside complaints. The themes in both tend to match.

Where WasilX fits

A common theme in poor reviews is not being able to reach anybody. Cam, our AI Engagement Coordinator, takes calls on the firm's line at any hour, says it is AI, and books the call back, and each fee-earner's personal assistant drafts matter updates for the fee-earner to approve. If that is a gap your reviews are pointing at, we would be happy to talk.

Frequently asked questions

Can solicitors ask clients for Google reviews? Yes. Google's policy allows businesses to ask for reviews that reflect a genuine experience. Ask every client the same way, without incentives and without steering them towards a rating.

Can a law firm offer a discount or prize draw for reviews? No. Google's policy prohibits incentives, and the CMA's guidance on the DMCC Act 2024 treats concealed incentivised reviews as banned. Commissioning a review is not limited to money.

Is it allowed to only ask happy clients for reviews? Google's policy prohibits selectively soliciting positive reviews, and the CMA's guidance describes encouraging only satisfied customers to review as a form of cherry-picking that can be misleading.

How should a solicitor reply to a bad review? Without confirming the person was a client or discussing any facts, because of the duty of confidentiality in the SRA Code. Acknowledge the feedback and invite them to contact the firm directly.

Can a law firm get a Google review removed? The firm can flag a review that breaches Google's policy, such as a fake one. A genuine negative review is not a ground for removal.