For Professionals Such as Lawyers, What happens if Your Online Reputation is Damaged? 

Clients seek lawyers, solo practitioners, and firms based on their perceived reputation and experience. Still, if defamatory rumors appear online or if actual negative links show up in Google searches, the damage could be severe.

The result?

Lost work, and possibly, worse–shut down the business (I’ve worked with firms where their revenue fell over 80% due to a poor web presence–from one negative post).

Websites, blogs and online forums, social media platforms, review sites, videos, and even images that contain negative information are sources that can lead to reputation collapse.

This, in turn, could easily lead to a significant decrease in clients and billable hours.

Why Fixing or Building an Online Reputation is Important

Negative online information discourages potential customers from initially contacting you; it could result in termination for existing clients. Similarly, having no or a minimal web presence can be almost problematic since many would see the lack of online sites as illegitimacy.

Some lawyers may think that since much of their work comes from personal referrals, an online presence is not necessary or immune from damaging links.

This is not true, however. While there might not be an immediate impact, damage to the firm could be extensive and long-lasting, especially as more and more clients become accustomed to searching for online information before hiring a professional, including lawyers.

Bad Online Reputation Affects Ability to Practice

Law firms and solo practitioners engage with the public, clients, and others in the legal system, of course. Because of the nature of these interactions, the slightest hint of online malfeasance could impact relationships resulting in lost trust.

In addition, other lawyers,  judges, clerks, administrative personnel, witnesses, jurors, and potential clients, when seeing bad online reputations, might give the court, opposing counsel, or jury ammunition that could significantly affect the results of a case.
Here are some tips to help you repair or fix your online reputation for lawyers:

1. Monitor Your Online Reputation

Frequently review how you and your firm appear online by searching Google results.  Check weekly and set up Google Alerts to be notified immediately of any posts–good or bad–where your name or firm is mentioned.

2. Repairing Your Online Reputation Takes Time

If an online reputation problem shows up, it takes time to repair, so prepare for the long term (except if removal is possible–see below).

Several months of active suppression work is undoubtedly necessary, and, in many cases, six months or more with hours of daily work is probable to resolve the issue correctly.

The level of severity determines the reputation repair timeline. It depends on how many links appear, where they show up, and the source. For example, if the first page of Google search results includes damaging posts from the New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and the SEC, the process will take much longer than if one blog post appears at the bottom of the first page searches.

3. Try to Remove Negative Reports

Once something is online, it is challenging and nearly impossible to get rid of. Removal is always preferred for obvious reasons but is rarely successful.

Even though the posts can seem libelous, many sites often ignore deletion requests, such as RipoffReport.com and most, if not all, journalistic/news sites.

However, a very narrow range of items are candidates for potential removal. These include copyright violations of images, videos, or other content, posts that conflict with a site’s terms and conditions, publishing personal information such as home addresses or bank accounts, or selecting other posts.

4. Create Good Content

The best way to fix a damaged online reputation or build one is to create excellent and targeted content. Flooding the internet with quality content eventually pushes harmful elements off the first page, making this a critical online reputation management tactic.

Write high-quality blog posts, white papers, or presentations that solve real-world problems for clients and make a brief video walk-through of a process or case you resolved. Focus on common questions and law-related topics you specialize in. As this information is published and discovered through internet searches by potential clients, you’ll be seen as a knowledgeable and trusted expert, adding a further boost to your reputation.

5. Share on Social Networks

Use social media to share and connect with others. Spread the word about content generated from above and share related news from other sources and sites.

Engaging in this way shows you are an active “thought leader” in the legal community and naturally draws clients. Key platforms to use are LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Scribd, university alumni sites, Medium, Quora, YouTube, and even Instagram.

Additionally, be sure your platforms’ profiles are up to date. Include links back to your site, have the correct verbiage blurb that appeals to your clients, contains a headshot photo of yourself, and completes any empty profile sections–all of which help you be found in searches.

6. Get a Presence on Law-Specific Websites

Search engines prefer and prioritize sites related to your industry—i.e., law–and thus usually rank them higher than others sites with more traffic. Create, update and be active on Avvo,  Nolo, ABA Journal, Justia, and more. Answering questions here helps showcase expertise, increasing the likelihood of being found online during searches.

7. Continue to Add Useful Information

The last step is to repeat constantly. Setting up a Twitter account or having an intern write one blog will not work. Instead, continually add new content, post and share daily on social media platforms, and pivot to new solutions.

Because the process can take months, prepare to spend hours weekly repairing your online reputation.

So, it is quite possible to build, boost and repair an online legal reputation, but the key is excellent content and constant engagement to draw in clients.