Managing Your Online Profile for Lawyers
In an era where Google is the new first impression, your online presence as a lawyer matters more than ever. Whether you’re a sole practitioner, part of a boutique firm, or a senior partner in a national practice, how you appear online directly affects your professional reputation, client trust, and referral opportunities.
Yet many lawyers still treat their online profile as an afterthought, or worse, ignore it altogether.
At Emma Turnbull Lawyers, we know that being among the best criminal lawyers in Melbourne isn’t just about skill in the courtroom. It’s also about showing clients, referrers, and the wider community exactly who we are, what we do, and how we fight for our clients and that starts online.
1. Clients Are Googling You Before They Contact You
The overwhelming majority of potential clients research a lawyer online before picking up the phone. They want to know:
- Do you specialise in their kind of case?
- Are you respected and well-reviewed?
- Do you have a clear, accessible profile?
- Do you feel like someone they can trust?
If all they find is an outdated LinkedIn page and a barely-there Google Business listing, they may never reach out at all. This is especially critical in criminal defence, where trust, responsiveness, and expertise need to be evident immediately.
2. Referrers Check Your Online Presence
Other lawyers, health professionals, and community organisations regularly refer clients to criminal defence lawyers in Melbourne, but only if they feel confident in the person behind the name.
A well-maintained digital presence helps referrers trust that their client will be in good hands. When your online footprint reflects your competence, care, and clarity, you make it easier for others to confidently send work your way.
At ETL, many of our referrals come from lawyers in other practice areas, family law, commercial litigation, wills and estates, who know we specialise in indictable criminal matters and intervention orders. And they know that not just because we’ve told them, but because our online presence consistently reflects it.
3. Google Reviews Build Trust Before You Speak
It used to be that lawyers relied solely on word-of-mouth. Now, Google Reviews are the new referral.
Potential clients, particularly in sensitive areas like sexual offences, fraud, or family violence, are looking for reassurance before they contact a lawyer. A solid profile with reviews helps clients to know that you are safe, professional, and proven. A profile with none, even if you’re technically excellent, raises questions.
At Emma Turnbull Lawyers, our reviews are a vital part of our brand. They don’t just say we’re experienced criminal lawyers, they show that we listen, we fight hard, and we deliver results.
4. Consistency Online Builds a Powerful Legal Brand
For lawyers looking to grow their practice or personal profile, consistency is everything.
Whether it’s your law firm bio, your LinkedIn page, or your listing on a professional registry, each platform should reflect the same message:
- Your area of specialisation
- Your tone and values
- Your client approach
- Your credibility
Consistency doesn’t mean being boring, rather, it means being clear. At ETL, our online materials consistently reflect who we are: a specialist criminal law firm in Melbourne led by accredited criminal law specialists who are courtroom advocates, not just paper-pushers.
We aren’t everything to everyone and our profile reflects that. And that clarity makes it easier for the right clients to find us.
5. Search Engines Favour Lawyers with Strong Profiles
Want to rank on Google when someone searches “best criminal lawyer near me”? Your online profile plays a critical role.
Search engine optimisation (SEO) isn’t just about keywords. It’s about authority, relevance, and engagement. This includes:
- A completed, regularly updated Google Business Profile
- Reviews that show recent client activity
- Backlinks from law directories and reputable legal websites
- Well-structured website content (like this blog) that answers client questions
ETL invests in SEO not because it’s trend, but because it helps clients find the support they need. We want to be visible when someone is urgently searching for a criminal lawyer in Victoria after being charged. We want to be the first name that comes up when a family lawyer searches for someone to handle a client’s intervention order. And we want to appear when someone is looking for serious defence in serious matters.
If your firm isn’t showing up in those moments, you’re invisible at the exact time someone needs you most.
6. You Can Shape, Monitor, and Protect Your Reputation
An unmanaged online profile can allow old or irrelevant content, or worse, unfair reviews, to dominate the digital space. In contrast, managing your online presence lets you:
- Shape the narrative around your expertise
- Push accurate and updated information to the top of search results
- Monitor your reputation and respond appropriately when needed
- Build a protective layer of positive content that drowns out noise
At Emma Turnbull Lawyers, we don’t just monitor our presence, we invest in it.
Because we know that our reputation isn’t just what we do in the courtroom. It’s how we show up when no one’s watching, especially online.
7. A Clear Profile Attracts the Right Clients
When your online presence clearly outlines who you help and how you operate, it acts as a filter.
Clients who value clear communication, high-level advocacy, and expert strategy gravitate toward us. Clients looking for the cheapest fix or who want to tell us how to run their case often realise we’re not the right fit, before they call. And that’s a win for everyone.
Final Thoughts
Being one of the top criminal lawyers in Melbourne doesn’t mean being everywhere. What it means is being clear, visible, and credible in the right places.
Your digital presence isn’t just a marketing tool, rather it is a professional asset. It builds trust, attracts ideal clients, and strengthens your standing in the profession.
At Emma Turnbull Lawyers, our online presence reflects the same values we bring into every courtroom: experience, integrity, and relentless advocacy. And we think every lawyer, regardless of practice area, deserves to be seen that way too.
