Attorney Video Marketing Under the Florida Bar Rules
You've watched other firms post videos, and you want to know what you can film without trouble from the Bar. Attorney video marketing works when the videos answer the questions prospective clients already ask, show the actual attorney and follow the same Florida Bar advertising rules as any other ad.
Video isn't exempt. Rule 4-7.11 applies the rules to "all forms of communication in any print or electronic forum," and names "social networking, and video sharing media," as The Florida Bar's advertising handbook lays out.
Below is what to film, the rules that come up most on camera, where to post and how I run a shoot so the attorney doesn't sound scripted.
- Florida Bar advertising rules apply to video the same as any other ad, including on video sharing sites.
- A testimonial must be the client's real experience, in their own words, not paid for, with a disclaimer.
- If anyone on camera isn't your lawyer, or a scene is a dramatization, say so on screen.
- Ads outside the firm's own website generally get filed 20 days before first use, at $250 per ad.
- Film 10 FAQ answers in one session and cut them for your site, YouTube and social.
What videos should a law firm make?
Make short answers to the questions clients ask on the first call. They match what people search, and the attorney is the one answering. In order:
- FAQ videos. One question, one answer, 60 to 120 seconds. "What does a consultation cost?" "How long does a Florida divorce take?" "Do I have to go to court?" Ten of these can cover a lot of a practice area's first calls.
- Practice-area explainers. Two to four minutes on what the firm does in one area and what the first steps look like. These sit on the practice-area page.
- The attorney intro. Who you are, what you handle, where you are and how to reach you, in about 90 seconds. Put it on the home page, the Google Business Profile and the YouTube channel.
- Process videos. What happens after someone hires you: intake, timeline, what to bring.
I'd skip the courthouse-steps montage with stock music. Under Rule 4-7.15, the emotional appeal can itself be the violation.
What do the Florida Bar rules say about video?
The same rules apply to video as to any ad, and a few come up in video more than anywhere else. Rule 4-7.13 (deceptive and inherently misleading ads) and Rule 4-7.15 (unduly manipulative or intrusive ads) are the two to read before you shoot.
I host and produce The Florida Bar Business Law Section's CLE series on lawyer advertising compliance, but I'm not a lawyer. Read the rules yourself and ask the Bar when in doubt.
Testimonials
Rule 4-7.13(b)(9) prohibits a testimonial that isn't the speaker's actual experience, doesn't reflect what the firm's clients generally experience, was drafted by the lawyer or was given for something of value. It also needs the disclaimer that the prospective client may not obtain the same or similar results.
Actors are out too. In 2016 the Bar's Board of Governors found actors reading client testimonials improper, even with a disclaimer, as the Jacksonville Daily Record reported. Use a real client, in their own words, with the disclaimer on screen.
Dramatizations and actors
Rule 4-7.13(b)(6) requires a clear and conspicuous disclaimer when a reasonable viewer wouldn't recognize a dramatization from context. Subsection (b)(7) requires the same when an actor portrays a profession, and (b)(5) when a voice or image could be mistaken for the attorney or a firm employee.
If the person on camera isn't your lawyer, say so on screen.
Emotional appeals and authority figures
Rule 4-7.15 treats an image, sound, video or dramatization designed to appeal to emotion rather than a rational evaluation of the lawyer as unduly manipulative. It bars judges, law enforcement officers or actors playing them as endorsers, and generally bars celebrity voices and images.
The commentary gives examples. A photo of the lawyer, a map, a car after an accident or a person on crutches is fine. Graphic injuries in a staged crash are not, and neither is a child taken from a crying mother.
Filing
The Bar's filing page says TV, radio, print and internet ads other than the firm's own website must be filed at least 20 days before first use, unless they contain only safe-harbor content under Rule 4-7.16. Websites are exempt under Rule 4-7.20, "including pop-ups on the lawyer or law firm's own website."
For a video, the Bar wants the file, a transcript of the audio and a printed copy of all the text in the ad, on screen and spoken.
- 20 daysFiled at least this long before first use
- $250Fee per ad filed on time
- $750Fee per ad filed late
Source: The Florida Bar, Advertising Filing Requirements
The filing page doesn't address a video posted on the firm's own YouTube or social accounts. Confirm with the Bar's Ethics and Advertising Department how your placement is treated before it goes up.
That's the point that's easy to miss. A video on your own site is exempt. The same video cut into a Meta ad may not be.
A free 15-minute call with Blake by phone or Zoom about your goals and whether we're a fit. No pitch deck, and nothing to fill out before the calendar.
Where should a law firm post video?
Start with the four places your prospective clients already look. Each one does a different job:
- Your website, on the page the video is about. This is the one place the Bar's filing exemption clearly covers.
- YouTube, with the question as the title, because people search there and Google shows YouTube results.
- Google Business Profile, for the attorney intro and one or two FAQs.
- Meta and LinkedIn, as cut-downs of the FAQ videos, and as retargeting creative once the compliance check and any required filing are done.
Film once and cut for all four. One session of 10 FAQ answers produces 10 site videos, 10 YouTube uploads and 10 vertical cut-downs.
How do you film an attorney so it doesn't look scripted?
Don't script it. Producing the CLE series and shooting lawyers has taught me that the attorney reading a teleprompter loses the room. The one who answers the way they'd answer on the phone keeps it.
I write the question on a card, ask it off camera and let them answer three times. The second take is usually the one.
You don't need a studio, because a conference room with a window works. You do need a lavalier mic on the attorney, a camera that holds focus on a face (I shoot on a Sony) and someone asking the question off camera so the answer sounds like a conversation.
The compliance pass happens before the shoot. My free Florida lawyer ad pre-flight checklist covers the same ground for any ad.
- Read Rules 4-7.13 and 4-7.15 against the plan
- Send the question list and on-screen text to the firm's compliance contact
- Write any testimonial disclaimer before the client sits down
- Add a disclaimer if anyone on camera isn't your lawyer
- No judges, officers or actors playing them as endorsers
- Plan the filing for any cut that runs outside the firm's website
Source: Rules Regulating The Florida Bar, Rules 4-7.13 and 4-7.15; The Florida Bar filing requirements
Source: Rules Regulating The Florida Bar; The Florida Bar filing requirements
Doing it in that order costs nothing. The other order costs a re-shoot.
How much does attorney video marketing cost?
It varies with how many videos you need, where you shoot and whether you want one person or a crew. Single jobs like a short video edit start at $350, and I price every filming session in writing before anything is booked. A multi-camera brand film with a crew, lighting and a day of editing is a different budget, also scoped in writing before anyone shows up.
If the firm also runs search ads, the ad-copy side of the Bar rules is in Google Ads for law firms.
What to do next
- Write down the 10 questions your intake person answers most often. Those are your first 10 videos.
- Read Rules 4-7.13 and 4-7.15 with that list in front of you.
- Ask the Bar's Ethics and Advertising Department how your YouTube and social placements are treated.
- Book a conference room with a window and a morning on the attorney's calendar.
FAQ
Can a Florida lawyer use client testimonials in a video?
Yes, if it follows Rule 4-7.13(b)(9): the client's actual experience, in their own words, not paid for, reflecting what clients generally experience, with a disclaimer that results may differ. The Bar has said actors may not read them.
Do lawyer videos have to be filed with the Florida Bar?
Video on the firm's own website is exempt under Rule 4-7.20. TV, radio and internet ads outside the website generally must be filed 20 days before first use with a $250 fee. Confirm with the Bar's Ethics and Advertising Department how a video on your own YouTube or social accounts is treated.
Can a law firm run its FAQ videos as Facebook ads?
Yes, but once a video runs as an ad outside the firm's own website, treat it as an ad that may need filing. Run the compliance check, file if required and then launch.
Can I use stock footage of a courtroom or an accident?
Informational images are allowed under Rule 4-7.15's commentary. Graphic or staged scenes built to provoke emotion are not, and anything a viewer could take for a real event needs a dramatization disclaimer under Rule 4-7.13.
Book a free call
Planning attorney video? Book a free 15-minute call with Blake by phone or Zoom. I film and edit video for law firms. Video brings prospective clients to the phone, so you can also request the free Buyer Test to see what happens when they call.
