Defending Your Practice: Expert Strategies for Managing Negative Attorney Reviews

As an attorney, you have no choice but to give a damn about your reputation. You should probably give several damns about it, actually. Your professional reputation can feel like a direct reflection of your character—especially since you’re providing specialized services to clients who trust you with some of the most important, and often intimate, aspects of their lives. You can spend years carefully cultivating positive brand association, and just when you think it’s set in stone, a negative review surfaces, seemingly souring your hard-won rep overnight and causing you to seriously question your career path. 

But here’s the kicker: your reputation isn’t as untouchable as it seems. Would a singular, anonymous one-star rating stop you from visiting a mechanic with otherwise positive client feedback? Most searchers aren’t deterred by a couple of one-offs. 

Despite feeling like it’s in the hands of anonymous users, you do have a measure of control over it—both proactively and reactively. So, let’s dive into how you can manage, respond to, and even leverage those pesky negative reviews to not only protect the brand you built but to potentially elevate your practice.

Digital Discovery: Where Reviews Are Found

When you Google a business or a service in a particular geographic area, the first ratings and reviews you see are populated by Google Business, but that’s just one piece of the reputation management puzzle. There are several relevant platforms attorneys should keep an eye on to truly understand and manage firm reputation.

Pro tip: set up Google Alerts for your firm’s name to stay on top of mentions in the news and on social media. Your main rating and review platforms are likely:

• Google Business
  • Because it’s most likely the first place a user will see reviews, Google Business really does serve as the very first impression your firm makes. High ratings and a robust volume of reviews boost both click-through rates to your site and rankings and visibility in the SERP and Google Maps. A well-managed GMB profile can significantly boost your firm’s online presence and credibility.
• Legal Directories
  • Legal directories like Avvo, Martindale-Hubbell, Super Lawyers, Best Lawyers, and FindLaw are a few of the most relevant sites to monitor for negative reviews and constructive feedback. Potential clients use these directories to find legal experts in their area, read credible reviews from real clients, and evaluate the reputation of the professionals they’re considering. Some sites, like Super Lawyers and Best Lawyers, include peer ratings and professional nominations and awards. These sites are invaluable to prospective clients and should be included in your routine reputation monitoring.
• Social Media
  • Social media is still so new, so broad, and seems to be in constant flux, but what we know for certain is that these platforms exert major influence on public perception and client decisions. Facebook (Meta) and LinkedIn are crucial for attorneys to monitor due to their wide-ranging reach and professional impact. Facebook offers official reviews and ratings, while Instagram, LinkedIn, and X (formerly known as Twitter) serve as hubs for unofficial commentary, feedback, and general chatter. Monitoring these channels is essential for gauging firm recognition and reputation, quickly responding to feedback, and engaging with your audience. It also strengthens your online authority and overall SEO by showing both your audience and search engines that you’re active everywhere your clients post.

Ratings vs. Reviews: A Case For Each

Siskel and Ebert may have made their names as film critics solely on the 5-star rating system, but even they knew their ratings needed detailed commentary to be fully understood and make an impact. The same goes for online business reviews–ratings give a quick snapshot, and reviews provide the juicy details that really give the ratings meaning.

Decoding the Stars – Understanding Ratings

Ratings are an “at-a-glance” read on your online reputation. As you likely know, your Google Business rating is an aggregate of ratings specifically left on your Google Business profile. Thus, more ratings usually result in a higher average, giving your firm a first-impression boost and painting an overall positive picture for your business. 

The Power of Words – Diving into Reviews

Ratings give the summary, but reviews tell the story. Ideal reviews contain detailed explanations of the reason for the rating, positive or negative, and are written by identifiable Google users. When negative, these reviews shed light on specific issues, providing all the information necessary for your firm to address and resolve the concerns at hand. When positive, they highlight your firm’s strengths and successes, reinforcing trust and credibility with potential clients.

Customer Service Savvy For Firms of Any Size

When a negative review strikes the firm, it can feel like a call for all hands on deck–rally the troops and assume your stations! We implore you to take a deep breath, remember that this is business not battle, and ready your best customer service spirit. If you’re a medium to large law firm, your online responses should be consistent and cohesive across the web, reading as a friendly, helpful voice. Yes, professionalism is key, but your firm voice should have a personal touch that shows you’re not a bunch of robots in suits, but humans who genuinely care about your clients (because you are and you do!).

Now, what about the reviews that specifically mention attorneys at your firm or you yourself as a private practice attorney? It can feel like diffusing a bomb, but with the right approach, it doesn’t have to be explosive. Simply handle with care and compassion first and foremost. Don’t be afraid to use your own voice, to make it feel like a real one-to-one conversation. Acknowledge the complaint without throwing your colleague to the wolves or throwing yourself into panic mode. Whatever the review, keep it professional but real. 

Turning the Tables: Strategies for Handling Negative Attorney Reviews

Are you ready to face the feedback head-on? Follow our step-by-step guide to turn negative reviews into opportunities to highlight your professionalism, transparency, and commitment to your clients:

1. Take A Deep Breath: The very first step in handling negative feedback is to tend to your emotions. It’s okay! It’s only natural to freak out for a minute. Before becoming a keyboard warrior….
   • Get up from your desk. Get some fresh air. Touch grass and remember that though the digital world is more real than ever, it’s still not everything. You run a great practice, and you will be okay!
   • You’re passionate about your business, and that’s fantastic! But that same passion makes it easy to take criticism personally. Take a beat and let the heat of the emotion settle before firing off a response you may regret. The goal is to address the issue professionally, personably, and constructively, not to engage in a digital shouting match. Keep it cool, calm, and collected.
2. Evaluate the Rating and Review: As an attorney, you know all too well the importance of gathering evidence. When evaluating reviews, we’re looking for facts, useful information, and areas where we can take action to remedy. As an attorney..
   • Check for specifics: Sometimes a client will leave a low rating with no additional comment or review. If the user is anonymous, that gives you no real information about the reason for the rating. But don’t worry—this is your chance to show you’re on the ball with a thoughtful response that reflects your brand voice. Your response may spark a more detailed dialogue with the user, or simply demonstrate to other browsers that you’re responsive and open to feedback. Draft a couple of templated responses to easily and quickly respond to these ratings.
     • Example Template: Hi [Name], thanks for taking the time to leave us a rating. We’d love to hear more about your experience and how we can improve. Please reach out to us at [contact info].
     • Example Template: “Hi [Name], thanks for taking the time to leave a rating. Hopefully next time we can make sure we meet your expectations and boost that rating.”
   • Identify Patterns: Look for any patterns in the feedback. If multiple reviews mention the same issue, it might indicate a systemic problem that needs to be addressed internally. Once you’ve tackled the issue, you can respond to individual comments thanking them for surfacing it. In your response, confirm that you’ve taken steps to improve and pledge to make it right if they choose to use your services again. When future users stumble upon these interactions, your management of client feedback can stand as a bold testament to your commitment to excellent service.
3. Ready your Keyboard: It’s Time to Respond. As a courthouse regular, you understand the importance of timeliness. Speedy responses show clients (and Google) that you’re attentive and proactive. While you should keep a stash of templated responses in your reputation management arsenal, personal language is your secret weapon. You may be responding to clients as the firm, but the firm is powered by real humans who genuinely care.Your tone and language should reflect that. Sometimes all it takes to turn a negative rating into a positive review is a thoughtful response to feedback. Here are some ideas for general review responses:
   • General Acknowledgement of Negative Review: Hi [Name], thanks for your feedback. We appreciate you taking the time to leave a review and want you to know we take all feedback seriously, and are committed to improving our services.
   • Specific Issue Addressed: Hi [Name], thank you for taking the time to bring this to our attention. We’re so sorry to hear about [specific issue]. Please contact us at [contact info] so we can address your concerns directly and make things right.
   • Positive Spin: Hi [Name], thank you for your feedback. While we’re disappointed to hear about your experience, we’re grateful for the opportunity to improve. Please reach out to us at [contact info] so we can make things right.
   • Other phrasing:
     • We appreciate how frustrating this must have been for you, and we want to make it right.
     • We appreciate how frustrating this must have been for you, and we are committed to preventing this from happening in the future.
     • We take full responsibility for [issue] and are working to resolve it as quickly as possible.
     •  Hi [Name], thank you for taking the time to bring this to our attention. We’re so sorry to hear about [specific issue]. We’ve taken [actions taken] to remedy the issue internally and prevent it from happening in the future. We appreciate your feedback and would like to make things right with you. Please reach out to us at [contact info] so we can talk further.

Let’s Take This Offline: The Follow-Up

That’s right–sometimes, one online response isn’t enough to smooth over a less-than-stellar review. In the case of a negative review that lacks specifics, it’s worth asking for more detail or requesting a phone or email conversation to get to the bottom of the issue. Taking the conversation offline removes the pressures of the public eye and often leads to quicker resolutions. Your willingness to speak with a former client privately to address their concerns demonstrates your commitment to resolution and may even result in an updated rating. 

If you received a negative review and promptly responded with acknowledgment and an apology, consider following up with the user once the issue they raised has been adequately addressed. This response should reinforce your appreciation for their review and confirm that you’ve acted on their feedback while conveying you’re investing in rebuilding trust with the client. 

Spamalot: Spotting Scammy Reviews

Anyone active on Facebook or X knows just how many “bots” there are wreaking havoc across the web. Google Business may be a digital giant, but it’s not safe from spammers either. Spammy reviews can be identified by a few key characteristics: they lack detail, use nonsensical or generic language, and often come from anonymous or newly-created accounts. Engaging with these types of reviews, which are often not even posted by real humans, can exacerbate the situation–and no one wants to be in a keyboard war with a robot. The bot has nothing to lose, but your brand reputation is on the line. Consider flagging or reporting seemingly malicious or invalid reviews to the platform, especially if the review violates the platform guidelines. 

Leveraging Opportunities to Learn and Grow  

What if you had the perspective to see negative reviews as nothing but opportunity? A 1-star rating is just the perfect setup for a plot twist worthy of M. Night Shyamalan–an unexpected challenge that leads to a triumphant comeback. Evaluate the review, respond appropriately, internally address the issue, update the client, and then turn the entire saga into a punchy story about your firm’s adaptability, resilience, and continuous growth. 

If the reviewer is happy with the resolution, ask if you can highlight how you handled their criticism and the issue at hand–you can share as a positive client testimonial on your website or social media channels, or draw up a detailed blog post about the lessons learned throughout this review management process. Don’t call it a comeback!

Turn negative reviews into success stories with a little help from our Reputation Management pros. Let us tell your tale!

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