Law Firm PR: Law Firm Public Relations for Attorneys, Trial Lawyers and Practice Teams That Follow the Ethics Rules

Updated November 2026 · Written and maintained by the Progression Agency strategy team

Law firm PR is the work of getting attorneys quoted, profiled and known by the people who hire them or refer to them, without breaking a rule that a business never has to think about. A law firm PR agency pitches reporters on legal trends, prepares lawyers for interviews, handles case news and lateral hires, and knows that client confidentiality covers even what is in the public record. This page is for managing partners, marketing directors and solo attorneys. It covers what legal PR includes, how it differs for trial, corporate and consumer practices, what a lawyer can say about a pending case, trade press and rankings, and what it costs. Every engagement starts with a free proposal and a written scope.

Legal PR firms and agencies: what they do for attorneys

Legal PR firms help lawyers and law firms earn attention from reporters, referral sources and clients, and they do it inside the limits that govern lawyers. A legal PR agency, one of the legal PR companies that works only or mostly with firms, or a generalist with a legal practice, will usually take on media relations, interview preparation, byline articles, announcements and support when the firm is in the news. A legal PR firm differs from a marketing firm in that its output is earned coverage rather than paid advertising.

What is legal PR in practice? It is a steady program of stories, comments and appearances that make a lawyer’s expertise visible to people who need it. Do law firms need PR? Many do, especially where reputation drives referrals, where competitors are well known or where the firm may one day be in the news for a reason it did not choose.

Do law firms need PR?

A firm needs PR when its reputation affects who hires it or who refers work to it. A firm with a steady flow of cases and no plans to grow or change may need less, but most firms eventually announce a hire, respond to news or want to be quoted as experts.

• Media relations with reporters who cover law and business.
• Interview and speaking preparation for lawyers.
• Byline articles and commentary that use no client facts.
• Announcements of hires, offices and recognitions, with consent.
• Support when the firm is in the news.
• Reporting on coverage, referrals and search.

Thought leadership, not just verdict announcements

A verdict is news once, and only if the client consents. A clear view on a change in the law, a trend in the courts or a problem clients face can be shared again and again. Thought leadership is also safer, since it can be written without client facts.

Lateral hires, new offices and rankings news

A lateral partner, a new office or a published ranking gives a legal trade publication a reason to write. Prepare a short announcement, check the details with the people named, and send it to the reporters who cover that market. Check each claim in an announcement against Rule 7.1, which is covered below.

What is law firm PR?

Law firm PR is the practice of earning attention for a law firm and its lawyers through the press, public speaking, writing and relationships, instead of buying it. It covers media relations, thought leadership, announcements and, when needed, crisis support. Because lawyers are bound by professional conduct rules, law firm PR differs from PR for most businesses: what can be said is limited, and the limits come from the rules of the state where each lawyer is licensed.

Do law firms have PR? It varies. Do law firms have PR teams of their own? Some employ a communications director, while others retain an outside firm. A note on terms: this page is about PR for law firms, and not about the lawyers who handle legal matters for PR companies.

Law firm PR is also not the same as marketing. Marketing covers intake, ads, search and the website, and PR earns third-party attention. Our law firm marketing agency page covers the first, and this page covers the second.

What a lawyer can and cannot say

A lawyer can say a great deal in public, but not everything a business could. Each state adopts its own version of the American Bar Association’s Model Rules of Professional Conduct, and the rules of the states where a lawyer is licensed control. The summaries below follow the ABA’s published materials, and the firm’s ethics counsel decides how they apply.

Confidentiality covers the public record too

The ABA’s Formal Opinion 480 says lawyers who blog or comment publicly may not reveal information relating to a representation, including information in a public record, unless a Model Rule authorizes it. The duty of confidentiality in Rule 1.6 is broader than attorney-client privilege, and the Opinion notes that even a client’s identity is protected. A court order that is public does not release the lawyer from it.

“Hypothetical” does not fix a recognizable case

Calling a story a hypothetical does not avoid a violation if there is a reasonable likelihood that a third party could work out who the client is or what the situation is. The Opinion cites a case in which an Illinois public defender was suspended for sixty days over blog posts about her clients, whom she identified by first name or jail identification number.

Talking about a pending case

Rule 3.6(a) of the Model Rules, as published by the ABA, says a lawyer who is participating or has participated in the investigation or litigation of a matter shall not make an extrajudicial statement that the lawyer knows or reasonably should know will be disseminated by means of public communication and will have a substantial likelihood of materially prejudicing an adjudicative proceeding in the matter. Paragraph (b) lists statements a lawyer may make notwithstanding paragraph (a), such as the claim or defense involved, information in a public record and the scheduling or result of any step in litigation. Paragraph (c) allows a statement a reasonable lawyer would believe is required to protect a client from the substantial undue prejudicial effect of recent publicity not initiated by the lawyer or the client, limited to what is necessary to mitigate it. Paragraph (d) applies the limit to lawyers associated in a firm. Read the full text at the ABA’s Rule 3.6 page, and note that Rule 1.6 confidentiality is a separate duty.

Results, awards and comparisons

Rule 7.1, as published by the ABA, says a lawyer shall not make a false or misleading communication about the lawyer or the lawyer’s services, and that a communication is false or misleading if it contains a material misrepresentation of fact or law, or omits a fact necessary to make the statement considered as a whole not materially misleading. The comment to Rule 7.1 adds that a truthful report of a lawyer’s achievements may be misleading if it leads a reasonable person to form an unjustified expectation that the same results could be obtained for other clients in similar matters, and that an unsubstantiated comparison of a lawyer’s or firm’s services or fees with those of others may be misleading. It also says an appropriate disclaimer or qualifying language may preclude a finding that a statement is misleading. Press materials about wins, rankings and credentials are communications about the lawyer’s services. Each state’s version can add requirements, so have your ethics counsel review them before release.

Can a lawyer talk to the press about a client’s case at all?

Sometimes, within the rules and with the client’s consent. A lawyer can speak about the law in general, and can state the items that Rule 3.6(b) lists, but must still respect confidentiality under Rule 1.6 and avoid statements likely to prejudice a pending matter. Take every case to your ethics counsel first.

None of this replaces advice from your own ethics counsel. An agency prepares the materials and the people, and the lawyers approve what is said.

Lawyer public relations for trial and consumer practices

Lawyer public relations for trial and consumer practices runs on local media, expert comment and community presence. Attorney public relations in these fields has to respect the trial publicity limits above, and the client’s consent, from the first call. Our practice pages cover the marketing side: personal injury lawyer marketing, criminal defense lawyer marketing, family law marketing and immigration lawyer marketing.

Local TV, radio and the expert quote

Local reporters often need a lawyer to explain a new law, a court ruling or what people should do after an event, and a lawyer who explains clearly is invited back. The comment should be about the law and not about a client. Prepare a few short, plain sentences in advance, and agree who will take reporters’ calls.

High-profile criminal and civil matters

In a high-profile matter, the trial publicity limits apply with the most force. The lawyer on the case should be careful under Rule 3.6, the client’s interests come first, and any statement should be prepared with counsel. Paragraph (c) allows a limited response to recent publicity that neither the lawyer nor the client started, and an agency should draft any such response to say no more than is necessary.

Law firm public relations for corporate and business practices

Law firm public relations for corporate practices centers on legal and business trade press, deal announcements, rankings submissions and bylines by partners. A law firm PR agency for this work knows which reporters cover which sector, and which announcements need client approval. Most of this work is about being useful to journalists who cover business and law.

Trade press and rankings

Legal trade titles include Law360, The American Lawyer and the ABA Journal, and directories and rankings include Chambers and Best Lawyers. Some rankings and directories invite firms to submit information about their work. Read each one’s own process before you submit, ask whether any fee is involved, and treat any claim you make about a ranking as a communication under Rule 7.1.

Can a firm announce a deal it advised on?

Only with the client’s consent, because the client’s identity and the matter are information relating to the representation. Ask early, agree the wording and let the client choose the timing.

Deal and matter announcements: consent first

A deal announcement names a client and a matter, and under Opinion 480 information relating to a representation, including the client’s identity, is protected unless the client consents or a rule allows disclosure. The usual path is to ask the client in writing, agree the wording and release it on the client’s schedule.

Litigation PR: working alongside the trial team

Litigation PR supports a client or a firm while a case is open, and it works alongside the trial team and never ahead of it. The lawyers decide who speaks, the client approves what is said, and statements are prepared by counsel. An agency helps by monitoring coverage, preparing the spokesperson and drafting statements for approval.

• Name one spokesperson, and send every press call to that person.
• Keep a holding statement approved and ready.
• Never speak outside what the client has approved.
• Log every reporter contact and what was said.
• Review coverage daily during a trial and share it with the trial team.
• Leave the outcome out of any promise.

Where an issue reaches beyond the case, our crisis management PR page covers the wider topic.

When the law firm itself is the story

When the law firm itself is the story, because a partner leaves, data is exposed or a disciplinary matter becomes public, the firm needs a holding statement and an approver within the hour. The firm’s own counsel and ethics counsel decide what can be said, and the agency drafts the words and prepares the spokesperson.

Who speaks for the firm when it is the story?

One named person, usually a managing partner or a general counsel, with a second person as backup. Everyone else sends calls to that person, and the agency prepares them and drafts the words.

A good plan names who speaks for the firm, who speaks to clients first, and who updates staff. Clients should hear from the firm before they read about it. Our crisis management PR page covers how a crisis unfolds.

Bylines, podcasts and social posts for attorneys

Bylines, podcasts and social posts are the part of legal PR a firm controls, and Opinion 480 applies to every one of them. Public commentary includes blogs, online articles, webinars, podcasts and short posts, and a lawyer must keep client information confidential in all of them.

Opinion 480 also notes, in a footnote, that lawyers should take care to avoid inadvertently forming attorney-client relationships with readers of their commentary, and suggests that where practicable a lawyer include a disclaimer on websites and blogs saying that reading or viewing the information does not create an attorney-client relationship. Our law firm social media marketing and law firm video production pages cover the formats, and our AEO for law firms page covers how assistants answer questions about firms.

Pick one piece a quarter for each partner, and have each draft read by the firm’s ethics counsel before it goes out.

• Remove every client name, matter detail and date that could identify a client.
• Check that no hypothetical could be traced to a real case.
• State what the piece says about the law, not about a result.
• Add a note that reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship, where practicable.
• Have the firm’s ethics counsel read the final draft.

Legal PR for a solo attorney or a small firm

Legal PR for a solo attorney or a small firm is realistic when it is local, steady and low in cost. It rests on a few bylines, comments to local reporters, talks at bar associations and a clear profile, and it does not need a large retainer.

• Offer a local reporter a plain-language explanation of a new law or rule.
• Write one article a quarter for a local business or community outlet.
• Speak at a bar association event, a library or a school.
• Keep your profile and your website current and consistent.
• Ask to be listed as a source with the reporters who cover your area.
• Check every piece with your ethics counsel or your bar’s guidance before it goes out.

For a longer view of building a lawyer’s personal profile, see our personal branding agency page.

Choosing a law firm PR agency

Choosing a law firm PR agency comes down to how it handles the rules, who does the work and what it can show. Ask how it works with your ethics counsel, who clears statements and what it does when a client has not consented.

Be careful with lists of the top legal PR agencies. A list may be a paid placement or may not explain how it was made, so ask how any list was put together.

What does a law firm PR agency cost?

Fees for legal PR are set either as a monthly retainer or as a project fee, and they follow the size of the team, the market and the scope. We quote our own work after a written scope, and the market figures in the second table are other providers’ published numbers. Rankings fees, media training, wire services and travel are never included in either.

Our prices

We quote law firm PR after a written scope that lists the media work, the writing, the approvals and the reporting. There is no published rate card for this service, and the quote is free.

Published market price bands

The figures below come from other providers’ published pages and run from the typical low to the published high. None of them is a Progression quote:

Measuring law firm PR

Law firm PR is measured by the quality of coverage and what it leads to, not by volume. Count stories in the outlets your clients and referrers read, quotes as an expert, referrals that mention coverage, branded search and whether AI assistants name the firm.

Skip advertising value equivalence scores, which put an invented ad price on coverage. Settle the measures before the program starts.

Media training, wires and travel sit outside these

Rankings fees, media training, wire distribution and travel are billed apart from a retainer. Ask any provider to list in writing what the fee includes and what it leaves out.

More pages on the services around law firm PR:

• Law firm marketing agency
• Law firm branding agency
• AEO for law firms
• Crisis management PR firm
• Personal reputation management
• Public relations agency
• Law firm SEO
• Law firm email marketing

Frequently asked questions