Validate Accreditation and Licensing
A reputable law firm will be fully accredited and licensed to practice in the state where they are located. You can usually check accreditation and licensing information on the official state bar or similar organization website of the state or territory where the firm is located.
Most of these sites will have a lawyer directory that lists attorneys by name. Enter the last name of the attorney and look to see if the individual is listed as an active lawyer in the state . Any disciplinary actions will be listed. Some state bar websites may allow you to search by state, name, and area of expertise for immediate results.
If the site does not provide this information for free, contact the state bar directly by phone or email to request license, accreditation, and disciplinary history on the attorney or firm. Most states require fees for license verification and disciplinary history services.
Assess Client Feedback and Endorsements
While positive reviews on the firm’s own website can be a simple way to give the appearance of being legitimate, it’s the independent reviews that really matter. Independent reviews that you can read on platforms like Yelp, AngiesList, and Google can be good indicators for the above benchmarks and give you a pretty good idea of how reliable the firm is and what their true reputation is. If you see consistent issues that other clients have with the firm’s responsiveness or communication style, then you may want to consider this a red flag.
Examine Online Footprint and Web Presence
The Internet has indeed become a common tool for locating and selecting law firms. If a suspect comes up in your search, a very quick and basic way of validating a law firm is to visit its website: Is the website professional? Is there a clearly stated business name (preferably not a "doing business as" name with or without some fancy initials)? Are the lawyers listed with their bios and contact information? Are there a physical address and a phone number? Does it have a domain name that matches its name (as opposed to something generic)? Is there a plain vaneer as to who they are, what they do, and how they can be reached? If so, you may very well be dealing with a legitimate firm. However, while it is not conclusive, caveat emptor if you do not see anything that gives you a level of comfort.
Confirm Awards and Recognition
Awards and recognitions from trade organizations are very important to your law firm’s marketing strategy. They help to establish credibility with potential clients, but only if they are real. It is a well-known tactic of some disreputable firms to invent awards or accolades as part of a public relations campaign. If the award can be verified, it can also be used as social proof in your legal marketing campaigns.
Verifying if an award is legitimate is fairly simple. The first step is ascertaining who is behind the award itself. For instance, the 10 Best award is granted by the American Institute of Legal Counsel, so verifying it just requires a visit to their website , found here.
Most awards have information on the issuing body built right into their name. Legal Elite, for instance, is awarded by "The Florida Legal Elite," while "Super Lawyer" can be verified through the Super Lawyers magazine.
Once you know who grants the award, simply verify it by searching through attorney profiles on a firm’s website or even checking through online databases like Martindale.com. If an attorney claims, for example, to have been named a "Rising Star" (a Super Lawyers accolade) you would search through Super Lawyers until you find the appropriate award list. If they are not listed in the appropriate category, then it is a fake accolade.
Ask State Bar Associations
If you’re seriously committed to finding out whether a particular law firm is authentic, you’ll have to consult the authorities that govern the legal professionals in your state: the state bar association. In some states, this is put in charge of the lawyers who do business in that state.
Many states provide bar association information online. Through these resources, you should be able to determine whether or not a given law firm, or a lawyer there as well, is registered or admitted with that state’s bar association. For good measure, check other state bar associations in which either the firm or the individual lawyer is based or has done business.
Additionally, you should try to check the disciplinary history of the law firm or the lawyer. A good portion of law firms out there will have clean disciplinary records, meaning that they have no record of disciplinary action in any state’s bar association. If you can find anything in a bar association history, however, you’ll want to dig deeper into that information in the next part of the article.
Review Communication and Transparency
Communication and transparency are two other key factors that can help to determine whether or not a law firm is legitimate. After all, a firm that regularly ignores your phone calls or otherwise fails to keep you in the loop about your case is probably not interested in actually fighting for you.
To further this point, a legitimate firm will not place roadblocks in the way of information when it comes to your case . If a firm’s website requires you to submit extensive personal and financial information before you can even get a look at its qualifications, for example, it might be up to some shady business you would want to avoid. In general, transparency takes the form of a firm that provides information up front and clearly communicates how you can expect to be updated during your working relationship.