One profile for the firm, one for each attorney
Google names lawyers as individual practitioners and lets each one have a profile:
"An individual practitioner is a public-facing professional, typically with their own customer base. Doctors, dentists, lawyers, financial planners, and insurance or real estate agents are all individual practitioners." (Google Business Profile Help: Guidelines)
An attorney qualifies for their own profile if they work in a public-facing role and "can be contacted directly at the verified location during stated hours." Google adds that "Support staff should not create their own Business Profiles" (Google Business Profile Help: Guidelines).
What that means for a firm:
| Your situation | Profiles Google allows | Name format |
|---|---|---|
| Firm with several lawyers, one office | 1 for the office + 1 per client-facing lawyer | Office: firm name. Lawyer: their name only |
| Firm with 3 offices | 1 per office + 1 per lawyer, at the office where they can be reached during stated hours | Same as above |
| Solo lawyer practising under a firm brand | 1 shared profile | "Firm: Lawyer name" |
| Solo lawyer practising under their own name | 1 profile | The name on the door |
| Lawyer with several practice areas | Still 1 profile | Practice areas go in categories and services, not new profiles |
How to name the firm and attorney profiles
For a firm with several lawyers at one location:
"The organization should create a Business Profile for this location, separate from that of the practitioner. The title of the Business Profile for the practitioner should include only the name of the practitioner, and shouldn't include the name of the organization." (Google Business Profile Help: Guidelines)
Titles are allowed: practitioner profiles "may include title or degree certification (for example Dr., MD, JD, Esq., CFA)" (Google Business Profile Help: Guidelines). So "Maria Lopez, Esq." is fine.
For a lawyer who is the only public-facing lawyer at a branded office, Google says to share: "Create a single Business Profile, named using the following format: [brand/company]: [practitioner name]" (Google Business Profile Help: Guidelines).
Can I add "car accident lawyer" to the name?
No. The name must be the firm's real-world name, and extra words can cost you the listing:
"Including unnecessary information in your business name isn't permitted, and could result in the suspension of your Business Profile." (Google Business Profile Help: Guidelines)
Google's banned list includes marketing taglines, service descriptions, location details and phone numbers (Google Business Profile Help: Guidelines). Applied to a law firm:
| Not acceptable | Acceptable |
|---|---|
| Smith Law, Houston's Top Injury Firm | Smith Law |
| Smith Law Car Accident & Truck Lawyers | Smith Law |
| Smith Law Downtown Dallas | Smith Law |
| SMITH LAW | Smith Law |
The exception: if your sign, letterhead and website really read "Smith Accident Law," that is your real-world name. "LLP" or "PC" may appear only with real-world proof, such as signage or invoices (Google Business Profile Help: Guidelines).
Show practice areas through categories instead. Google says to use "as few categories as possible" and to pick ones that complete "This business IS a" (Google Business Profile Help: Guidelines).
Virtual offices, co-working spaces and satellite offices
A profile needs a real office where clients are seen. Google's eligibility test: a physical location customers can visit, or travel to customers (Google Business Profile Help: Guidelines).
"If your business rents a physical mailing address but doesn't operate out of that location, also known as a virtual office, that location isn't eligible for a Business Profile." (Google Business Profile Help: Guidelines)
A co-working office qualifies only if it "maintains clear signage, receives customers at the location during business hours, and is staffed during business hours by your business staff" (Google Business Profile Help: Guidelines). A shared or rented room used only by appointment, with no sign or staff, fails that test.
Also: "Do not create more than one page for each location of your business" (Google Business Profile Help: Guidelines). One office gets one firm profile, even if two marketing agencies each made one. Merge or remove the extra.
If you work from home and meet clients at their homes or by video, see service-area business on Google.
Bar and law society rules still apply
Google's rules decide whether a profile can exist. Your bar's advertising rules decide what it can say, including posts, descriptions and replies to reviews (see law firm website advertising rules and responding to negative reviews).
Google's guidelines page has no country-specific exceptions, so a Canadian firm follows the same profile rules. In Canada, the Federation of Law Societies' Model Code lets a lawyer market services if the marketing is "demonstrably true, accurate and verifiable" (FLSC Model Code, rule 4.2-1); check your own law society's version.
Example
Three-lawyer PI firm, one office
The firm keeps its office profile as "Garcia & Patel." Two partners and one associate who meet clients each get a profile with their own name only, at the same address. The two paralegals are support staff, so they get none.
Solo lawyer in a branded office
Jane Kim is the only lawyer at "Northside Immigration Law." She runs one profile named "Northside Immigration Law: Jane Kim," not two.
Family lawyer with two offices
She sees clients in Calgary every day and in a rented meeting room in Red Deer twice a month with no sign. The Calgary office gets a firm profile and her own profile. The Red Deer room does not meet the co-working test, so it gets none.
Different for you?
- Profile suspended after a change: Google Business Profile suspended.
- A client posted a bad review: lawyer responding to a negative review.
- You want Local Services Ads too: Google Ads for lawyers.
- Fake law firm listings near you: reporting spam listings.
- Want the listings and reviews managed for you: SEO & GEO Agent.