LP Magazine — Why Influencers Might Be Your Law Firm’s Next Big Marketing Move

In a digital landscape where attention is currency, law firms are beginning to ask a provocative question: Can influencers drive legal business? My latest marketing column, in the September/October 2025 issue of ABA Law Practice, addresses The Rise of the Influencer in Legal Marketing.

Gone are the days when law firm marketing revolved solely around SEO, pay-per-click campaigns, and carefully crafted blog content. Today, the spotlight is shifting toward social media influencers—individuals with massive followings and the power to shape consumer behavior. As I note, influencer marketing is no longer a novelty; it’s a $10 billion industry projected to keep growing. And while it’s long been a staple in retail and entertainment, its potential in legal services is just beginning to surface.

Shortly after moderating an ABA CLE on the subject of influencers, and having already submitted this column to the magazine editors, I read an interesting article in the Wall Street Journal, These Restaurants, Salons and Workouts Are Free for Hot People—if They Post About Them, that focused on the influencer-targeted social media app, Neon Coat, founded by a model as a way to book entire days of meals and experiences for free, by tying brands and businesses. Unfortunately, I don’t appear to qualify as “hot,” and must grab hard-to-book tables on Open Table by being first when a reservation window opens, but wondering if you could offer up legal services, is an interesting notion. It was highlighted by Jones Walker attorney Kaytie Pickett in a blog post on the firm website.

From TikTok trends shared by my daughter to the viral success of Charli D’Amelio’s Dunkin’ Donuts campaign, I illustrate how influencers can move markets—and why law firms should take notice. But this isn’t just about chasing trends. It’s about understanding how influencer marketing intersects with legal ethics, advertising regulations, and client trust.

If you are blocked from reading the column behind the ABA paywall, it is provided below in its entirety.

The Rise of the Influencer in Legal Marketing

Summary

• Influencers have become a powerful tool for marketers.
• Law firms with social media influencer practice groups can identify the issues that arise for your corporate clients and your own law firm marketing.
• Know the best practices for utilizing influencers in your law firm’s marketing campaigns.

Remember the good old days when your law firm’s digital marketing playbook focused on the cost of keywords and pay-per-clicks, search engine optimization, and crafting better online content or videos for better organic search results? Those were the days.

For many consumer-facing practices, Google reviews have become paramount. And we’ll save the topic of artificial intelligence search/content results in the Copilots, ChatGPT, and Geminis of the world for another day. Today is about influencing…and the ultimate pay-to-play delivery service of new clients. An influencer is a person with the ability to influence potential buyers of a product or service by promoting or recommending the items on social media.

The Clock Is Tik-Tokking

It was slightly annoying when my college-age daughter would forward me TikToks and Instagram reels daily with various tips and trends that supposedly would improve my life. But it became aggravating when my 50-something-year-old wife would do the same—we’ve changed the way we cook turkey bacon, among other valuable tools for life. I’ve stopped making fun of it and decided to embrace it. Because if it works for reaching multiple generations, I probably should consider using it for a law firm’s business development efforts.

I became convinced when my kid raced out to try the Charli drink at Dunkin’ Donuts. Charli D’Amelio is a 21-year-old social media influencer with over 100 million TikTok followers. Besides the drink selling out, the influencer campaign led to a 57 percent surge in mobile app downloads. Cold brew sales increased by 20 percent on the launch day, and 45 percent on day two. The numbers were staggering. I’ve tried to wrap my head around these newer forms of advertising and promotion. There is no question that influencers influence–corporate spending on influencers will exceed $10 billion in 2025, more than doubling since 2021, according to eMarketer.

The challenge for me was to figure out a way for lawyers to effectively utilize the influencer space while avoiding many potential legal and ethical issues that are attached to it. Social media marketing and advertising are not new. However, incorporating the influencer angle on YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, and Facebook, among others, is. Is it a spokesperson, or a celebrity endorsement, neither, or both? Don’t go looking for any ethics opinions on the use of influencers—some state bars are still stuck in the mud, figuring out how the internet works.

Influencing Is a Practice Area

A few months ago, I moderated a CLE program for the ABA Law Practice Division on Advertising Regulations in the Age of Social Media Influencers, Dark Patterns, and Consumer Reviews (available free, on-demand for ABA members). The program explored the legal challenges of influencer marketing and social media, from Federal Trade Commission (FTC) regulations to the role of the National Advertising Division (NAD) and handling consumer reviews, including understanding dark patterns and how to help clients maximize impact while staying compliant in today’s rapidly evolving digital landscape.

The panel featured two BigLaw partners who are experts in the social media influencer realm—Michelle Q. Pham, at Buchalter in Seattle, Washington, and Gonzalo E. Mon, at Kelley Drye in Washington, D.C. They were joined by Zheng Wang, an attorney with the NAD of Better Business Bureau National Programs in New York. There is a myriad of legal issues that come into play when negotiating with and using influencers in your marketing efforts.

“I’m not aware of any law firms using ‘influencers’ and I’m not sure that’s likely. But some law firms––particularly smaller ones––may use reviews, endorsements or testimonials from clients in their ads. The issues are similar,” said Gonzalo Mon. “If an influencer provides an endorsement, the endorsement must reflect that person’s honest experiences and opinions.”

Mon reminds law firms that an influencer would need to be an actual client, as opposed to being an “actor.” There would need to be clear disclosure that the endorsement was sponsored and properly disclosed in any marketing materials.

“The term ‘influencer’ is generally used to refer to a person who provides an ‘endorsement’ or ‘testimonial’ in exchange for some type of compensation,” Mon continued. “And the words ‘endorsement’ and ‘testimonial’ are generally used interchangeably.”

Will Influencers Work in Law Marketing?

Why not? Besides a host of ethical, strategic, and reputational concerns?

While I don’t see a billionaire agreeing to promote that he only uses Cravath for his biggest merger and acquisition matters, I can see a celebrity influencer (a Jenner, perhaps?) touting her divorce attorney, or personal injury lawyer. A YouTube creator talking about immigration law. Or simply “legal tips” sponsored by a law firm.

“Hey, I’m Bruce Springsteen, and when I need to protect my catalog of copyrighted materials, from songs to albums and lyrics, I only use the intellectual property lawyers at XYZ Law Firm. The Boss has spoken.” Could this be a real influencer purchase by an IP firm? Perhaps. It would likely be quite expensive, but assuming he really was a client, and he only used this one firm for IP and the relationship was properly disclosed, it would probably fly. For the most part, IP is a federal practice. But some states might interpret the influencers under their rules as it relates to celebrities, endorsements and testimonials.

Follow your state’s advertising regulations. And remember that you need to “control” the influencer—you will be responsible if they say something that is prohibited. And if the influencer engages in various controversial topics, be it political or otherwise, you might find your own firm’s brand damaged.

An influencer needs to be woven into the fabric of your law firm’s overall marketing strategy. Don’t just unload your advertising budget on an influencer and ignore everything else. If your law firm is considering using an influencer, take the following steps:

• Vet the influencer—understand the history of their content and other potential partnerships.
• Have an attorney review your contracts. Michelle and Gonzalo can spot issues you might not consider, such as FTC compliance.
• Include all necessary disclosures and disclaimers.
• Watch out for anything that might be tagged as “deceptive and misleading.”
• Make sure you approve posts and videos before publication.
• Monitor thoroughly.

Should I Consider Influencer Marketing for My Law Firm?

If I thought a flow of social media posts by a powerful, on-point influencer with millions of followers could generate a plethora of new clients for my law firm, absolutely. Just know the space, the rules, and regulations. Like many successful entrepreneurial lawyers who had the first websites, blogs, and social media followings, something akin to first-mover advantage will provide greater dividends than when I find myself writing about the “newest” digital marketing tool that has not yet come down the pike. Corporate marketers are not throwing millions at influencers without a clear return on investment. Law firms should pay attention.