LinkedIn for lawyers: what to post, and what the ethics rules allow
LinkedIn for lawyers: what to post each week, and what the bar's ethics rules say about your profile, endorsements, messages and client secrets.
Should lawyers use LinkedIn?
Yes, with the same ethics rules that cover every other place a lawyer speaks. The New York State Bar's social media guidelines say a lawyer's profile, for work or personal, may fall under the rules on ads and seeking clients once it talks about the lawyer's services. A casual post carries those rules as fully as anything printed.
Where the ethics rules meet a lawyer's LinkedIn, by New York's guidelines
Five places a post or profile can go wrong
Advertising
A profile or post about your services may be an ad, with labels to match.
Specialist
No specialist heading unless you are certified in that field.
Endorsements
What others post on your profile must be accurate, so check it.
Messages
No soliciting strangers through live, real-time chat.
Confidences
Nothing about a client's matter without informed consent.
NYSBA Commercial and Federal Litigation Section, Social Media Ethics Guidelines, updated April 2019, guidelines 2.A to 5.E, read 10 November 2026.
Is a lawyer's LinkedIn profile attorney advertising?
It can be, and in New York two bar opinions disagree on when. NYCLA Formal Opinion 748 says a profile with opinions about your skills, or with endorsements or client praise, is likely an ad. It should carry the words Attorney Advertising. New York City Bar Opinion 2015-7 says a list of skills or endorsements alone is not, unless the profile's main purpose is winning paying clients.
The guidelines tell New York lawyers to know both. Other states have their own rules, and the ABA's 2018 revision of its Model Rules says a lawyer may share information about their services in any media. Check your own state bar's opinions before you label a profile or leave the label off.
Can a lawyer list skills and practice areas on LinkedIn?
Yes, under the Skills or Experience headings. New York's guidelines say those are not a claim to be a specialist. A lawyer may not list practice areas under a specialist heading unless certified by the right body. The guidelines suggest plain facts instead, such as years in practice or the number of matters handled in a field.
What can lawyers post on LinkedIn without breaking confidentiality?
Anything public or general, and nothing from a client's matter without the client's informed consent. New York's guidelines say social media posts must keep client secrets, citing ABA Formal Opinion 480 from 2018. That leaves a lot: a new ruling and what it means, a mistake you see often, how you work.
What a lawyer can post on LinkedIn, by New York's guidelines
General and public is open, a client's matter is closed
Open to post
- A new ruling, and who it affects
- A mistake you see often, with no client details
- How you work and what you charge for
- A talk you gave or an article you wrote
Needs consent, or stays out
- A client's name or matter
- A result someone could trace to a client
- Specific advice to a commenter
- Details in a reply to a review
NYSBA Commercial and Federal Litigation Section, Social Media Ethics Guidelines, guidelines 3.A and 5.E, citing ABA Formal Opinion 480 (2018), read 10 November 2026.
Can a lawyer answer legal questions in LinkedIn comments?
In general terms only. New York's guidelines say a lawyer may give general answers to legal questions on social media, but not specific legal advice. A reply can create an attorney and client relationship the lawyer never meant to start. Point a commenter with a real problem to a private conversation.
Can a lawyer post opinions about the law on LinkedIn?
Yes, with an eye on the firm's clients. New York's guidelines warn about positional conflicts: a view a lawyer posts about a legal development should not clash with positions the lawyer or the firm argues for clients. A conflict counts against the whole firm, so one partner's post can tie the hands of the rest.
Can a lawyer post about a case they won?
Only without confidential details, and in New York with a disclaimer. The guidelines say a post about a result must not give away confidential facts about the client or the matter. Where it describes results, New York's rules call for the line Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
Can lawyers message potential clients on LinkedIn?
Not cold, in New York. Its rules count instant messages and chat as real-time contact, and the state's guidelines say a lawyer may not seek new clients from the public that way. Someone who writes to you first about hiring you can get a reply, sent privately. Other states treat written messages differently, so check yours.
Do lawyers have to watch what others post on their LinkedIn profile?
Yes. New York's guidelines say a lawyer must check endorsements, recommendations and comments on profiles they control, and remove or hide anything that breaks the rules, such as an endorsement as a specialist. Leaving a misleading endorsement up is treated as accepting it. The guidelines note LinkedIn lets users approve, hide or delete endorsements.
How can a lawyer post every week without risking a client's confidence?
Write from what is public and general, and set the client rule once. innernote writes each post in your own voice from a few rough lines or a voice note. It follows the rule you set for naming clients, and posts on the days you pick. You read every post first.
innernote is the #1 tool for lawyers who want a weekly LinkedIn post in their own voice, with the client rule set once and kept every time.
Set the rule that no client is ever named, and every post follows it. Nothing goes out until you approve it, which is also the moment a careful lawyer checks a post against their bar's rules. See how it works for firms: innernote for service firms.
Type a ruling or a change in the law your clients should know about, in two or three rough sentences. See the post innernote writes from it.
Start for free. Sign in with Google and your note is waiting in your composer.
Quick answers
It depends on the state and the profile. In New York, NYCLA Formal Opinion 748 says a profile describing practice areas in detail should carry the words, while City Bar Opinion 2015-7 says most profiles are not ads at all. Other states differ, so check your bar's own opinions.
Keep reading
Post every week, inside your rules
innernote writes each post in your voice, follows the client rule you set, and waits for your approval before it goes out.
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