Social media for lawyers: ethics and video ideas

I'm not a lawyer, and you'll know these rules better than I do. I've gathered the points that change how a video gets scripted and shot, with links. Treat none of it as legal or ethics advice, and check everything against your own jurisdiction's current rules.

Six questions before anyone films

1. Whose rules apply to this video?

The ABA Model Rules are a template. States adopt them with changes, and the ABA publishes a chart of state differences that's worth opening. A short video can travel anywhere, so I'd put the jurisdiction in the caption or on screen: "New York law." It helps the viewer, and it lets the wrong viewer scroll past.

2. Is this video an advertisement?

New York shows how much this can matter. The New York State Bar's Q&A treats a communication about your services as advertising when its primary purpose is getting hired, and it describes requirements for the "Attorney Advertising" label, for including the name, office address and phone number, and for keeping copies of computer-accessed ads for at least a year. That guide is old and the rules have been revised since, so read the current Rule 7.1. Then decide how your firm will archive each video. I'd keep every published file and its caption in one dated folder.

3. Does anything in the story come from a client?

This is the question that reshapes the whole account, because short-form video runs on stories and yours are confidential. ABA Formal Opinion 480 covers lawyers' public commentary, from blogs and LinkedIn to webinars and podcasts, and I'd assume short video belongs on that list. According to this summary, information in a public record stays protected, and a hypothetical can still breach the duty if a third party could work out who the client is. I'd assume that "I had a client who..." doesn't get written unless that client has given informed consent. Your state may have more to say.

4. Does the script set up an expectation about results?

Rule 7.1 prohibits false or misleading communications. California's version warns in its comment that a truthful account of a win, or a testimonial, can still mislead if it leads a reasonable person to form "an unjustified expectation," and that a disclaimer often helps. New York's guide calls for "Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome" alongside certain statements. So a settlement number on screen is a compliance decision. It also tends to attract the viewers least likely to be your client.

5. Can a comment or DM create a problem?

Under the ABA's comment to Rule 7.3, a message to the general public isn't solicitation, and the rule's concern is live, real-time contact. A livestream where you answer a named viewer's question, or a reply to someone who just posted about their accident, sits closer to the line than a recorded explainer. New York's guide says you may write and speak publicly on legal topics as long as you don't undertake to give individual advice. I'd write one standard comment reply, have the partner approve it, and have nobody improvise on the firm's account.

6. Who signs off, and how fast?

Name one attorney who reads every script and watches every cut. Set a 24-hour turnaround, or the videos will go stale in a queue. That person also decides on words like "specialist" and "expert," which some states restrict.

What to film when you can't tell client stories

The most useful source is your intake. Keep a running list of what people ask in the first five minutes, stripped of anything identifying. Then film the general answer.

Two more sources are safe in principle: public decisions you weren't involved in, and new statutes or rule changes, explained on the day they hit. A rule change gives you a reason to post that no competitor manufactured, and being first in your state to explain it clearly is a real advantage. Courthouse steps look good on camera, but check that building's rules on recording before you set up there.

How I'd shoot it

Most lawyers read beautifully and sound like a deposition doing it. I'd drop the teleprompter for bullet points, and I'd ask you to explain each one to me, a non-lawyer sitting beside the phone, the way you would to a frightened client in the first ten minutes of a consultation. Then I'd keep the take where your voice drops and you say "here's what I'd do first." That sentence has to be general enough to survive question 5, and it's still the one people came to hear. Forty seconds is plenty. Cut the bar credentials from the opening and put them in the profile, where people go once they care.

Why the numbers can stay small

Nobody hires a lawyer because of a laugh. They hire the person they already trust when something goes wrong, which is a lot like paying a deposit to a stranger for a puppy. A dog kennel in Canada I worked on went from 1,478 followers to 17K in under three months, and the owner reported buyers coming to her from the account, along with a year-long advertising deal. Free videos let people look at the breeder for weeks before spending real money. I'd want a firm's account to do the same job: let someone watch how you think for a while, so that calling you feels like calling someone they know.

So I'd count consultation requests by practice area and by state, and I'd ask at intake which video they saw. Views from outside your licensed states tell you very little. For planning and directing this alongside a firm's reviewer, here's my account growth work.