---
title: "Law Firm Google Reviews Study: 76.2% of Firms Never Reply"
url: https://www.suffdigital.com/resources/data-studies/lawyers-google-reviews-study
description: "Law firm Google reviews study of 694 firms: 76.2% never replied to their 20 newest reviews, the most of 18 categories. Read the study."
lang: en
---
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**76.2%** of US law firms never replied to any of their 20 newest Google reviews, the highest rate of 18 local business categories, against a 52.8% average. Law firms reply to 16.2% of negative reviews, and 77.4% have fewer than 20 Google reviews.
Analysis of 694 law firm Google Business Profiles and 5,095 Google reviews · Google Business Profiles and Google reviews, September 2026
## Key Findings
1. 1. **76.2%** of law firms never replied to any of their 20 newest Google reviews, the highest rate of 18 local business categories, against a 52.8% average. Copy stat
2. 2. Law firms reply to **16.2%** of their one- and two-star Google reviews, the lowest rate of 18 local business categories, against a 30.8% average. Copy stat
3. 3. **77.4%** of law firm Google Business Profiles have fewer than 20 reviews, and the median law firm has 3 Google reviews, against a median of 27 across 18 local business categories. Copy stat
4. 4. **63.8%** of law firm Google Business Profiles have no business description and 48.6% list no opening hours, against averages of 43.9% and 28.6% across 18 local business categories. Copy stat
5. 5. **41.8%** of five-star Google reviews of lawyers use the word "recommend", while 37% of one-star reviews mention price or cost. Copy stat
## Summary
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.
## What we measured
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.
## Three in four law firms never reply to reviews
76.2%
of law firms never replied to any of their 20 newest Google reviews.
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.
Law firms by reply measure
Never replied to recent reviews
76.2%
Reviews with an owner reply
23.6%
Negative reviews with a reply
16.2%
Five-star reviews with a reply
25.5%
Reviews from the last 30 days with a reply
37.8%
Source: Suff Digital analysis of 694 law firm Google Business Profiles and 5,095 Google reviews · Google Business Profiles and Google reviews, September 2026
| Reply measure | Law firms | Average of 18 categories |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Never replied to recent reviews | 76.2% | 52.8% |
| Reviews with an owner reply | 23.6% | 40.5% |
| Negative reviews with a reply | 16.2% | 30.8% |
| Five-star reviews with a reply | 25.5% | 42% |
| Reviews from the last 30 days with a reply | 37.8% | 55.3% |
| Average days to reply | 5.1 | 4 |
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.
## Most law firms have a thin review profile
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.
Law firms by review measure
Fewer than 20 reviews
77.4%
Zero reviews
28.1%
100 or more reviews
5.8%
Rated below 4 stars
20.4%
Perfect 5.0 rating
39.9%
| Review measure | Law firms | Average of 18 categories |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Fewer than 20 reviews | 77.4% | 58.2% |
| Zero reviews | 28.1% | 18.3% |
| Median reviews | 3 | 27 |
| 100 or more reviews | 5.8% | 20% |
| Average rating | 4.38 | 4.52 |
| Rated below 4 stars | 20.4% | 13.8% |
| Perfect 5.0 rating | 39.9% | 35.7% |
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.
## Law firms leave much of their Google profile blank
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%.
Law firms by profile field
No website
37%
No opening hours
48.6%
No description
63.8%
Unclaimed
47.1%
Only one business category
58.8%
Lists wheelchair access
88.9%
| Profile field | Law firms | Average of 18 categories |
| --- | --- | --- |
| No website | 37% | 35.1% |
| No opening hours | 48.6% | 28.6% |
| No description | 63.8% | 43.9% |
| Unclaimed | 47.1% | 29.2% |
| Only one business category | 58.8% | 55.2% |
| Median photos | 1 | 18 |
| Lists wheelchair access | 88.9% | 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.
## Clients recommend lawyers and complain about fees
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.
## What this means for law firms
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 (https://www.suffdigital.com/seo/lawyer-seo) programs build review volume, handle replies and complete Google Business Profiles for law firms.
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Source: 76.2% of Law Firms Never Reply to Their Google Reviews vs a 52.8% Average - Suff Digital
## Cite this study
APA
Suff Digital. (2026). 76.2% of Law Firms Never Reply to Their Google Reviews vs a 52.8% Average. https://www.suffdigital.com/resources/data-studies/lawyers-google-reviews-study
Plain link
76.2% of Law Firms Never Reply to Their Google Reviews vs a 52.8% Average - Suff Digital - https://www.suffdigital.com/resources/data-studies/lawyers-google-reviews-study
## Frequently asked questions
### Do lawyers reply to Google reviews?
### Do law firms reply to negative Google reviews?
### How many Google reviews does a typical law firm have?
### What is the average Google rating for law firms?
### What do clients complain about in one-star lawyer reviews?
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- Local SEO 46.7% of Chiropractors Haven't Claimed Their Google Listing vs 29.2% of Local Businesses: https://www.suffdigital.com/resources/data-studies/chiropractors-google-reviews-study
- Local SEO 81.7% of Local Businesses With Under 10 Google Reviews Never Reply vs 20.5% With 200+: https://www.suffdigital.com/resources/data-studies/google-review-reply-rates
- Local SEO 47.1% of Local Businesses Have Fewer Than 10 Google Reviews: https://www.suffdigital.com/resources/data-studies/google-reviews-per-local-business
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