76.2% of Law Firms Never Reply to Their Google Reviews vs a 52.8% Average

Someone injured in a car accident searches for a lawyer and reads the reviews under the first three firms Google shows. One firm has replied to a critical review, calmly explaining how it handles fees. The other two have left every review, good and bad, without a word.

For a law firm, the Google Business Profile, the free listing that shows a business's reviews, star rating, hours, phone number and website in Google Search and Maps, is often a prospective client's first look at the firm. Legal clients choose carefully and read reviews closely, and a firm's replies show how it treats the people it represents.

Most law firms say nothing. 76.2% never replied to any of their 20 newest Google reviews, the highest rate of 18 categories and more than 23 points above the 52.8% average. Law firms also rank last on replies to negative reviews, and 77.4% have fewer than 20 reviews in total.

We used two samples of US law firms, collected on September 23, 2026. The first is 694 law firm Google Business Profiles, where we recorded the number of reviews, star rating, website, opening hours, description, claim status, business categories and photos. The second is 550 law firms with at least one review, for which we collected up to 20 of their newest Google reviews, 5,095 in all, with each review's star rating, text and any owner reply. We compare every law firm figure with the average of the 18 local business categories in the same study.

A firm "never replied" when none of its 20 newest reviews has a reply from the owner. Negative reviews are one- and two-star reviews. A profile is unclaimed when no owner has verified it with Google, so the firm cannot edit the listing. The median is the middle firm: half have more, half have fewer. The 18-category average is the simple average of the 18 category figures.

Law firms rank last of 18 categories on the main reply measures. Across all recent law firm reviews, 23.6% carry an owner reply, against a 40.5% average, and law firms rank 18th of 18 on that measure. They reply to 16.2% of one- and two-star reviews, also last of 18, and to 25.5% of five-star reviews. When they do reply, they take 5.1 days on average, with a median of 4.9 days.

Lawyers have a reason for caution: a public reply cannot reveal anything about a client's matter. That rules out a detailed rebuttal, not a reply. A short, professional response that thanks the client or invites a critical reviewer to call the office shows prospective clients that the firm listens, and says nothing confidential.

The firms that do reply are the busy ones. 37.8% of law firm reviews from the last 30 days have a reply, higher than the overall rate. Across all 18 categories, businesses with many reviews reply more often: 20.5% of businesses with 200 or more reviews never reply, against 81.7% of businesses with fewer than 10.

77.4% of law firm profiles have fewer than 20 Google reviews, the third-highest rate of 18 categories, against a 58.2% average. The median law firm has 3 reviews, against a median of 27 across categories, 28.1% have none and 5.8% have 100 or more.

Ratings are lower than for other businesses: 4.38 stars on average against 4.52, and 20.4% of rated law firms sit below 4 stars, against 13.8%. Legal outcomes are not always what a client hoped for, which makes a steady flow of reviews from satisfied clients even more important. Claimed law firm profiles have a median of 13 reviews against 1 for unclaimed ones. Among firms with 20 or fewer lifetime reviews, review volume fell 8.1% over the last 12 months compared with the year before, and 13.6% received at least a third of their reviews in a single month.

After replies, law firms' widest gaps with other businesses are the description and opening hours. 63.8% have no description, against 43.9%, and 48.6% list no hours, against 28.6%. 47.1% are unclaimed, against 29.2%, and the median law firm profile has 1 photo, against a median of 18. Law firms lead on accessibility: 88.9% list wheelchair access, against 62%.

The firms that win the map look very different. In a separate Suff Digital study of 3,160 Google Maps searches across 79 US cities, the top three results for "personal injury lawyer" had a median of 108.5 reviews, almost three times the 37 of listings ranked 4 to 20, and 99.2% linked a website, against 94.7% below them. Chains held 11.2% of top-three spots, 30.2% of top-three names include the service word, and adding "near me" changed the top three in 50.6% of city searches.

Satisfied clients recommend their lawyer: 41.8% of five-star law firm reviews use the word "recommend" and 26.6% say "professional", while 3.5% say "friendly". Law firm reviews from the last 12 months average 54.9 words, among the longest of any category.

Of English-language one-star reviews, 37% mention price or cost and 20.5% mention rude or unprofessional staff. Fees and how clients were treated drive the worst reviews, the same two subjects a firm can address in writing at the start of every engagement.

Start replying. Thank clients for positive reviews without confirming any detail of their matter, and answer critical reviews with a short, professional note that invites the reviewer to contact the office. Check your jurisdiction's rules on client confidentiality before you write, and keep a template your team can adapt so no review goes unanswered for more than a few days.

Next, ask for reviews at the natural end of a matter, by email with a direct link, from every client who is satisfied. With the top three map results carrying a median of more than 100 reviews, a firm with 3 reviews is easy to pass over. Then fill in the fields most firms skip: a description naming your practice areas, your office hours, photos of your team and office, and every relevant category.

Finally, set clear fee expectations in writing, since 37% of one-star law firm reviews mention price or cost. Our seo for lawyers programs build review volume, handle replies and complete Google Business Profiles for law firms.

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