That 1 Star Review Shows Up Before Your Website Does
You know the one. The client you couldn’t help, or the one who expected a miracle, or the one who’s actually confusing you with another firm. Doesn’t matter. When someone Googles “personal injury lawyer Miami,” that review is sitting right there next to your name.
You can’t delete it. You can’t sue them. You can bury it, but only one way works.
The Review You’re Not Seeing
Summary: Miami attorneys lose cases to competitors without knowing why. Google Local Service Ads prioritize review count and rating. A firm with 15 reviews loses to a firm with 100 reviews even with identical ad spend. 40% of Miami clients are Spanish-dominant and weight reviews more heavily than English-speaking clients.
You spent $8,000 on Google Ads last month. You got 40 clicks. Three became consults. One signed.
Your competitor spent $8,000 too. Same keywords, same area. They got 60 clicks. Eight consults. Four signed.
What’s the difference?
They have 87 reviews at 4.6 stars. You have 12 reviews at 4.1 stars.
Google showed them first. Clients called them first. Your ad dollars bought second place.
This is happening to you right now and you can’t see it because Google doesn’t send a report saying “you lost 47 potential clients this month to attorneys with better reviews.”
Why I Know This Works
Summary: Percy Martinez P.A. Google profile built by Jorge Argota over 10 years: 98 reviews, 4.7 stars, zero fake reviews, zero ethics violations. Percy appears above Morgan & Morgan in Hialeah LSA despite Morgan having 36 years and unlimited budget. Morgan & Morgan has 1 review at 1.0 stars in Hialeah. Reviews win.
Morgan & Morgan has 36 years in business. Billboards on every highway in Florida. TV ads during every commercial break. Unlimited budget.
In Hialeah, they have 1 Google review. 1.0 stars.
Percy Martinez has 98 reviews. 4.7 stars.
Guess who shows up first in Local Service Ads.
I built Percy’s review profile over 10 years while working there as a paralegal. Not by buying reviews. Not by begging. Not by gaming the system. Just by asking every satisfied client, the same way, at the right time, and following up once.
98 reviews. 4.7 stars. Zero purchased. Zero fake. Zero Bar complaints.
What the “Reputation Companies” Won’t Tell You
Summary: Many reputation management companies sell fake reviews, review gating, or removal services that violate Google terms and Florida Bar Rule 4-7.13. Fake reviews risk Bar discipline. Review gating violates Google policy. Paid removal services rarely work and often make problems worse.
A company called you promising to “remove negative reviews” for $500 each. Here’s what they actually do:
They file fake legal threats hoping Google removes the review out of caution. Works about 10% of the time. The other 90%, nothing happens except you’re out $500.
Or they sell you fake positive reviews from accounts created last week in Bangladesh. Google’s algorithm catches these within 6 months. Your profile gets flagged. Sometimes suspended.
Or they offer “review gating” where only happy clients get asked to review. Google explicitly prohibits this. When they catch it, and they do, your entire review profile becomes suspect.
Florida Bar Rule 4-7.13 prohibits misleading advertising. Fake reviews are misleading. If the Bar investigates and finds you purchased reviews, that’s your license at risk. Not the reputation company’s. Yours.
I don’t do any of that.
What I Actually Do
Summary: Ethical review management includes systematic asking at case resolution, Spanish-language requests for Hispanic clients, one follow-up reminder, professional response to every review within 24 hours, and monthly reporting. No fake reviews, no incentives, no gating. Fully compliant with Google terms and Florida Bar rules.
- Ask every client. After resolution, every client gets one request. Simple. Direct. “Would you share your experience on Google?”
- Ask in the right language. Your Hialeah client’s case was in Spanish. The request should be too. Spanish-language asks convert 2x better with Hispanic clients.
- Make it one click. Direct link to your Google review page. No account creation, no hunting, no friction.
- Follow up once. If no response in 7 days, one reminder. That’s it. No harassment.
- Respond to everything. Positive reviews get acknowledged within 24 hours. Negative reviews get professional responses that address concerns without violating client confidentiality.
- Report monthly. How many reviews came in, what the rating trend looks like, how you compare to your top competitors. Numbers, not fluff.
The Uncomfortable Truth About Negative Reviews
Summary: Legitimate negative reviews cannot be removed. They can only be buried through volume of positive reviews. Moving from 3.5 to 4.5 stars requires approximately 100 new positive reviews. At 5 reviews per month, that takes 20 months. Faster promises mean fake reviews.
You want that 1-star review gone. I get it.
If the review violates Google’s policies, I can flag it for removal. Fake reviews from non-clients, reviews with profanity, reviews that are clearly for a different business. Google removes about 30% of flagged reviews.
If the review is legitimate, meaning a real client sharing a real experience, it’s not going anywhere. Ever. Lawyers have tried suing. They lose, and then the lawsuit becomes its own news story.
The only path is burial. 10 negative reviews hurt less when surrounded by 90 positive ones. Your overall rating climbs. The negative ones fade into the noise.
The math is simple and slow. Moving from 3.5 stars to 4.5 stars with 50 existing reviews requires roughly 100 new 5-star reviews. If you’re generating 5 reviews per month, that’s 20 months.
Anyone promising faster results is either lying or cheating. I won’t do either.
Miami Specific Problems
Summary: Miami law firm reviews face unique challenges: Spanish-speaking clients need Spanish review requests, tourism cases involve out-of-state clients who forget to review, multi-location firms confuse review profiles across Miami-Dade/Broward/Palm Beach, and competition from billboard firms means review count directly impacts LSA visibility.
Your Spanish speaking clients aren’t reviewing. Their case was in Spanish. Your settlement call was in Spanish. Your review request is in English. They ignore it.
Your cruise ship clients go home. They settle, they’re happy, they fly back to Ohio. Three weeks later they’ve forgotten you exist. No review.
Your profiles are split. Main office in Miami, satellite in Fort Lauderdale, another in Boca. Clients leave reviews on the wrong one. Your flagship location looks weak.
Your competitors figured this out. Morgan & Morgan might have 1 review in Hialeah, but other billboard firms are building review machines. While you hope clients remember, they’re systematically asking.
By Practice Area
Summary: Review timing differs by practice area. Personal injury: ask 48 hours after settlement. Medical malpractice: ask at milestones since cases take years. Family law: respect privacy, ask selectively. Criminal defense: focus on dismissals and reductions. Immigration: encourage Spanish-language reviews.
Personal Injury timing is everything. Ask 48 hours after settlement when satisfaction peaks. Wait a month and they’ve moved on.
Medical Malpractice cases take years. Ask at milestones: after filing, after deposition wins, after mediation. Don’t wait for resolution.
Family Law requires discretion. Many clients won’t review because they don’t want their divorce public. Don’t push. Focus on those who volunteer.
Criminal Defense focuses on wins. Dismissals, reduced charges, acquittals. Those clients are relieved and willing to share.
Immigration reviews should be in Spanish. Encourage it. Spanish reviews signal to other Spanish-speaking clients that you serve their community.
What It Costs
Summary: Miami law firm review management: $1,500 to $3,000/month depending on firm size. Includes review request system, Spanish capability, response management, competitor monitoring, monthly reporting. $500 setup fee. 6-month minimum recommended. Results visible within 90 days.
$1,500 to $3,000 per month depending on firm size.
$500 one-time setup for system configuration.
6 month minimum commitment. Review building takes time. Expecting results in 30 days means you’ll be disappointed or cheated.
What’s included: Review request automation in English and Spanish. Response drafting for every review within 24 hours. Competitor review monitoring so you know where you stand. Monthly reporting with actual numbers.
90 days for measurable review count improvement. 6 to 12 months for meaningful rating improvement depending on starting position.
One Firm Per Practice Area
Summary: One Miami-Dade law firm per practice area for review management. Competitors cannot access your timing strategies, response templates, or client conversion patterns. What works for your clients stays yours.
What gets your clients to review is valuable intelligence. The timing, the language, the follow-up approach. Your competitors would pay for that.
I take one firm per practice area in Miami-Dade. Your strategy stays yours.
Find Out What’s Actually Hurting You
I’ll pull your Google profile, your top 3 competitors’ profiles, and show you the gap. Review count, rating, response rate, recent trends. Takes 15 minutes. You’ll know exactly where you stand.
