Being visible is not the same as being trusted

Competition for visibility in the legal sector has long been competitive.

Now, more firms are spending on paid search and social advertising as these channels offer speed and scale. Used well, they can support new practice areas, promote expertise and drive short-term awareness.

However, as law firms compete for the same audiences and keywords, costs continue to rise.

And while advertising captures attention, prospective clients value credibility and reassurance.

For the individual choosing a firm, decisions are often high-stakes and very personal. Whether someone is instructing a family solicitor, a clinical negligence specialist or a commercial disputes team, they rarely make that choice on advertising alone. Prospective clients are, naturally, cautious by default.

They understand promotional messaging for what it is. What they place greater weight on is independent validation. This is where the difference matters.

Being visible is not the same as being trusted. Advertising creates presence. PR builds credibility.

 

Why credibility carries more weight

For law firms, credibility is earned through reputation and third-party endorsement.

It can come from:

• being quoted in respected publications
• contributing insight in their area of expertise
• having work recognised by reputable journalists who understand the sector
• being interviewed on TV, radio or podcasts
• securing positive scores on customer review sites
• winning industry awards or earning a place in coveted league tables.

Achieving cut through in any of these areas sits outside of a firm’s direct control, which is precisely why they matter.

Earned media signals authority in a way paid channels cannot replicate – whether that’s a  comment on regulatory change, coverage of a complex, high-value settlement or expert insight into workplace negligence.

Over time, this body of work shapes perception. It tells clients, referrers and peers not just what you do, but why you are trusted to do it.

 

The role of advertising

Importantly, this isn’t about dismissing advertising. Paid media plays an undeniably important role, but it’s an inflationary marketplace and the firms with the biggest budgets are winning that battleground.

PR, by contrast, delivers lasting value.

Editorial credibility doesn’t switch off when budgets pause. Articles get shared internally. Features appear in pitch decks. Insight pieces are referenced months later. Coverage in respected media continues to benefit your website long after publication, generating desirable backlinks that support search visibility and domain authority.

Over time, this accumulation becomes part of a firm’s professional identity.

 

Reputation, recruitment and storytelling

In a sector built on long-term relationships, reputation influences more than client decisions.

It also shapes how the firm is perceived by future talent. Lawyers increasingly want to work for firms with a clear and visible purpose. Media coverage that reflects a firm’s values, culture and expertise, supports recruitment just as much as it supports client acquisition.

PR also plays a part in making legal expertise tangible. Legal services can appear abstract from the outside, but thoughtful coverage and case-led stories demonstrate what that expertise actually means in practice. PR brings them to life by showing how complex issues are navigated, how challenges are resolved and how clients are supported.

 

Reputation is built, not bought

Firms do not stand out through volume, but through relevance.

For law firms deliberating where to focus their marketing investment, it comes down to this.
Visibility can open the door, but trust shapes decisions.

In competitive practice areas, clients look for reasons to feel confident in their choice – evidence of expertise, a clear and consistent track record and recognition from respected third parties. PR delivers all three.

There is also a structural shift underway. Increasingly, prospective clients are not just searching, they are now asking AI tools for recommendations, summaries and explanations. Those systems draw heavily on authoritative, published sources. Firms that appear consistently in credible media are more likely to be referenced.

In law PR, as in leadership, it isn’t who competes hardest for attention that earns confidence and respect. It’s who shows up consistently, thoughtfully and with something meaningful to say.

 

At Freshwater, we work with law firms to build that trust over time through strategic PR. If you’d like to explore how we support law firms, you can find out more here.