Not really — and definitely not the way most firms are tempted to. Google’s review policy explicitly prohibits incentives of any kind, and the ABA layer (Model Rule 7.2(b) and most state variants) adds a second prohibition for lawyers specifically. The narrow gray zone is a small, non-contingent thank-you after the fact — and even that varies by state. The honest answer for almost every firm: ask warmly, don’t offer anything, and let the volume come from doing it consistently.
If you came here hoping for permission to run a “$50 gift card for a five-star review” promotion, the answer is no — and the deeper reason is that any incentive program puts your whole review profile at risk of removal AND creates a bar-grievance breadcrumb trail. Below is the full picture. (For context: ABA Rule 7.2(b) prohibits giving anything of value for a recommendation. Most state bars adopt this rule with minor variations.)
What Google’s policy actually says
Google’s review content policy reads, in part: “Don’t offer or accept money, products, or services to write reviews for a business or write negative reviews about a competitor.” Note the breadth. It’s not just cash — it’s products and services too. A free hour of consultation, a discounted next case, an entry into a raffle, a coffee gift card — all of it falls under “products or services” in Google’s interpretation.
The enforcement is automated and pattern-based. When Google detects incentivized reviews, it generally removes them in waves and can suspend the underlying Google Business Profile if the pattern is egregious. Suspension is the bigger risk — it knocks you out of the local pack until you can reinstate, which sometimes takes weeks. More on GBP suspension here.
The ABA layer is stricter than Google
Google can take your reviews. The bar can take your license. ABA Model Rule 7.2(b) is broader and older than Google’s policy, and it prohibits a lawyer from “giving anything of value to a person for recommending the lawyer’s services,” with narrow exceptions for things like normal lawyer-referral-service fees and reasonable advertising costs. Most state bars adopt this rule almost verbatim.
A handful of state bars have issued specific ethics opinions on online review incentives. Most have come down on the side of: anything offered before, or contingent on, a review is a violation. The discipline outcomes range from informal admonition to formal reprimand, and in repeat cases, more serious sanctions. It is, generally, not the kind of complaint you want on your record.
The small-thank-you gray zone
Here’s where it gets nuanced. Most states draw a distinction between (a) offering something in exchange for a review, which is prohibited, and (b) giving a non-contingent token thank-you to a client who has already left a review, which is sometimes acceptable. The key word is “contingent.” If your office sends a handwritten note saying “thanks for the kind words” to a client who left a review — without that being a known policy, without it being a quid-pro-quo — most states won’t touch it.
The line gets crossed when the thank-you becomes systematic and known. If your intake staff says “and we’ll send you a $25 gift card after you post the review,” that’s a contingent inducement, even if it’s delivered after the fact, because the client knew about it going in. If your firm makes a habit of “thank-you” gifts to reviewers but not to non-reviewing clients, the bar is going to view that as a de facto incentive program. The safe rule: would you be sending this thing to a client who hadn’t left a review? If no, don’t send it.
What you can do
The legitimate path is unglamorous. Ask every client, at the right moment (post-resolution, not mid-case), with a frictionless direct-link to your Google review form, and follow up exactly once if they don’t act. That’s it. No incentive needed. Firms that ask consistently convert 30-50% of post-resolution clients into reviewers. More on how to actually ask here.
What’s underrated as a “warmth signal” without crossing the line: the attorney signing off the final document personally hands over a small printed card with a QR code linking to the review form, and says one sentence — “If you have a minute to share your experience, this goes straight there.” No promise of anything in return. No “would mean the world.” Just the ask, in person, at the right moment.
The reason incentives feel necessary is the same reason they’re prohibited: they work — by short-circuiting the trust signal a review is supposed to convey. The thing they break is the thing you’re trying to build.
What about non-client incentives — like staff bonuses?
Some firms ask: can I pay my paralegal a $5 bonus for every review they generate from a closed client? Be careful. Internally incentivizing staff to push for reviews is generally allowed, but it changes the asking behavior in ways that can cross ethics lines — staff who are bonus-driven start asking earlier in the case, asking more aggressively, or hinting at content. If you do this, train the staff that the bonus is paid regardless of star rating, and prohibit them from asking before resolution. Or just skip the bonus and make review-asking part of the standard closing checklist. The volume gain from cash incentives is real but small; the ethics risk is not worth it.
Pro bono and reduced-fee work: a related question
One question that comes up: if I took the client pro bono, can I ask for a review? Yes — pro bono representation is still representation, and the post-resolution ask is fine. What you can’t do is suggest that pro bono treatment was conditional on a review, or imply that the firm “expects” a review in return for the free work. The structural problem is that the client knows they got something of value (the free work). If your review-ask language even hints at reciprocity, you’ve created a contingent inducement after the fact. Keep the ask language identical to what you’d use for a paying client: short, optional, no quid-pro-quo flavor.
Related reading: can lawyers pay for reviews, what’s the ABA rule on testimonials, and the reviews and reputation guide.