Reviews
Part of Law firm social media: a governance framework
Which law firm social media post needs clearing before it goes out?
law firm social media checklist covers audience, ownership, access, claims, disclosures, privacy, rights, accessibility, moderation, records, and incidents.
What to take away
- Verify the account, post, destination, and response system.
- Posts that claim results, fees, or skill, name a client, or solicit need a lawyer's clearance under the state bar advertising rules and ABA Model Rules 7.1–7.5.
- Essential accessibility and security failures block release.
- Give exceptions an owner, safeguard, deadline, and retest.
A law firm social media post review turns policy into observable release conditions. A law firm social media checklist covers the operational half; the legal half is a licensed lawyer applying the rules that govern lawyer advertising to the actual post, audience, platform, and jurisdiction.
In the United States those rules are the state bar's lawyer advertising rules and the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct that most states have adopted: Rule 7.1 on false or misleading communications, Rule 7.2 on advertising, Rule 7.3 on solicitation of clients, Rule 7.4 on fields of practice, Rule 7.5 on firm names and letterheads, and Rule 1.6 on confidentiality of information relating to the representation. Some jurisdictions also require lawyers to file or submit advertisements with the state bar, and state bar ethics opinions interpret those rules for websites and social media.
In the checklist below, the professional review gate means a licensed lawyer in the relevant jurisdiction clears the post against those rules before it publishes. The release record names that lawyer and the rule the decision turned on.
Which posts need clearance before they go out
The category decides the review. A post should stay unpublished until a lawyer has cleared it when it falls into one of these groups:
- Case results and client stories.Rule 7.1 bars misleading statements and Rule 1.6 requires informed consent before information relating to the representation is revealed. Add the prior-results disclaimer where the jurisdiction requires one.
- Testimonials and endorsements.Get written client consent, keep the quote genuine, disclose any payment, and follow the FTC endorsement guides that apply to testimonials in advertising.
- Claims about skill, specialization, or ranking.Rule 7.1 and Rule 7.4 govern comparative and specialization claims, so "best," "top," and "expert" need evidence behind them.
- Fees, prices, and free consultations.Any figure is an advertising claim that must be accurate, current, and complete.
- Solicitation, including direct messages.Rule 7.3 governs outreach to a person known to need legal services and, in many states, requires the solicitation to be labeled "Advertising Material."
- Anything naming or picturing a client, or commenting on an open matter.The duty of confidentiality applies even when the client would be identifiable to only a few readers.
- Advertisements that name no responsible lawyer.Rule 7.2 requires the communication to include the name of at least one lawyer or law firm responsible for its content.
- Firm names, lawyer bios, and letterhead-style graphics.Rule 7.5.
- Posts that summarize the law.Keep the statement current, and add the "not legal advice" notice the firm uses on informational posts.
- Posts aimed at readers in another state.The advertising rules where the reader sits often apply, not only the rules where the firm is licensed.
Use the account and post checklist
| Gate | Pass condition |
|---|---|
| Purpose | Audience, task, channel job, and outcome are defined |
| Ownership | The firm controls the account, email, recovery, and assets |
| Access | Named roles, least privilege, multifactor authentication, and logs work |
| Claim | Specific sources support the final wording and scope |
| Professional review | Jurisdiction, advertising, service, and contact issues are approved |
| Relationship | Paid, employment, referral, and other material ties are clear |
| Privacy | No unnecessary client, matter, personal, or tracking data appear |
| Rights | Text, music, image, video, likeness, and logo use are authorized |
| Accessibility | Text meaning, alt text, captions, transcript, contrast, and timing work |
| Moderation | Comment, message, threat, complaint, and error routes are staffed |
| Records | Approved copy, context, edits, comments, and reports can be preserved |
| Measurement | Definitions, denominators, owners, and stop rules are documented |
One critical failure should prevent release even if the rest of the checklist passes. Examples include an unsupported legal statement, identifiable client fact, inaccessible essential message, missing material disclosure, compromised administrator, or unsafe response path.
Section508.gov's social media accessibility guidance explains alt text, closed captions, and other accessible publishing practices for federal communicators. Private firms should test actual platform output and obtain advice about applicable accessibility requirements.
Protect administrator access
CISA's small-business guide to requiring multifactor authentication recommends multifactor authentication for privileged or administrative access. Firms should prefer phishing-resistant methods where supported and combine authentication with role and recovery controls. A shared list of common law firm social media questions helps firms decide which access controls to test first.
- Open the published post on mobile and desktop
- Play video with sound off and inspect captions
- Check Instagram alt text on the published post before release
- Review YouTube captions in the caption editor for timing and accuracy
- Use the platform's accessibility view or screen reader
- Follow the destination and verify the exact supporting claim
- Send a test message and run the escalation path
- Save the release record outside the platform
Record the gate result
The W3C Privacy Principles statement gives web-system designers shared privacy concepts and warns against shifting privacy work to individuals. Apply it to the post, the account, and the release record, then review the governing law and configuration.
The CISA software acquisition fact sheet covers development practice, supply-chain exposure, deployment, and vulnerability management. Add those government-acquisition questions to a law firm social media release review to test the publishing tools, scheduling services, analytics vendors, and admin access behind the post, not as local approval.
For every checklist item, record pass, fail, not applicable, or accepted exception. Add the evidence location, reviewer, decision date, and next review. A checked box without proof cannot protect a release.
Illustrative completed gate record:
| Gate | Result | Evidence location | Reviewer | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Instagram alt text | Fail | Release folder /accessibility/instagram-2412 | Accessibility lead | 2025-03-12 |
Keep the release record beside the decision. Record rejected options as well as the chosen path, because the original constraint may later change.
Use the same definitions in the interface, export, meeting note, and correction log. Close unused reports and permissions after the decision cycle ends. A later reviewer should be able to reproduce the reasoning from that file, not from memory, which is why law firm social media release records matter.
Common questions
Who signs the checklist?
A licensed lawyer in the relevant jurisdiction signs the professional review gate. Assign editorial, privacy, security, accessibility, service, and community owners to the remaining gates according to the post's risk.
Does every post need the same review?
No. Routine posts still run the operational gates, but anything that claims results, fees, or skill, names or pictures a client, targets a person known to need a lawyer, states the law, or can be read as an advertisement goes to a lawyer for clearance against the state bar's advertising rules and ABA Model Rules 7.1–7.5, with Rule 1.6 for client information.
When should the checklist repeat?
Repeat relevant gates after edits, reposting, paid distribution, format changes, platform updates, complaints, incidents, and source changes.
