Legal marketing
Social ads
for law firms.
Law firms can run Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn ads, but two rulebooks apply at once. Meta won't accept ads that assert or imply someone's personal attributes, such as criminal record, health or financial status, so 'Charged with drink driving?' is likely to be rejected. And the profession's rules travel with the ad: NSW has no specific injury advertising ban but bans paid claim referrals, while in Queensland the injury limits apply on any website other than your own, which takes in Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn. Write about the service, not the person.
Written by Dan Picken, a marketer who checks the sources. Last checked 2 November 2026.Two rulebooks,
one ad.
Every legal ad on social has to pass two checks. Meta's ad review looks at what the ad says about the person seeing it. The profession's rules look at whether it's misleading, claims expertise it can't back up, or touches injury work in a restricted state. In NSW, rule 36 means a solicitor's advertising must not be false, misleading, deceptive or offensive, and a sponsored post is advertising like any other.
Neither rulebook knows about the other. An ad can sail through Meta's review and still breach Queensland's injury rules, or meet every legal rule and get rejected for one word.
Meta's personal
attributes rule.
Meta's personal attributes policy bars ads that assert or imply things like criminal record, physical or mental health, vulnerable financial status, ethnicity, religion and sexual orientation. Its own examples of what not to write include 'Are you bankrupt?' and 'Depression getting you down?'.
That catches a lot of legal copy, because legal problems are personal. 'Facing criminal charges?', 'Going through a divorce?' and 'Injured at work?' all point at the reader. Move the focus to the service: 'Drink driving charges: what happens at the first court date, explained by our Gosford team' says the same thing without telling anyone what you think they've done.
LinkedIn has its own version. Its advertising policies bar targeting on sensitive data, which includes criminal records and health, so you can't build an audience around those either.
Injury ads on social,
state by state.
A summary for marketers, checked 2 November 2026. It is not legal advice, and your law society has the final word.
| State | Injury ads on social | What to watch |
|---|---|---|
| NSW | No specific personal injury or work injury advertising ban | The 2025 claim farming law bans paid referrals and paid cold contact for many injury claims, with penalties up to $55,000 |
| Queensland | Restricted: the limits apply on any website other than your own, and a social platform isn't your website | Outside your own site, injury ads are limited to the firm's name, contact details and areas of practice |
| Western Australia | Restricted under s 17 of the Civil Liability Act, where publishing includes anything shared publicly online | Check the exceptions for your own website before boosting any post |
| Other states and territories | No social media rule specific to injury work confirmed | Rule 36 applies. See lawyer advertising rules by state |
What suits social,
by practice area.
Social ads interrupt people who weren't searching. That suits matters people plan or keep putting off, and suits urgent matters badly. This is a general pattern, not a rule, so test it against your own booked consultations.
| Practice area | Fit | What to run |
|---|---|---|
| Wills and estates | Good | A plain guide to what happens when someone dies without a will in NSW, shown to the age groups and suburbs you serve |
| Conveyancing and property | Good | First home buyer explainers, fixed-fee packages if you offer them, and retargeting people who read your settlement guide |
| Business and employment (for employers) | Good on LinkedIn | Target by job title, industry and company size, and lead with a useful guide rather than a consultation |
| Family law | Careful | Explain the process, never the reader's relationship. Wording about separation or money is where the personal attributes rule bites |
| Immigration | Careful | Talk about visa types, not the reader's background, which Meta's rule covers |
| Personal injury | Depends on the state | In NSW, no paid referrals, and 'no win, no fee' must say what the client still pays. Restricted in Queensland and WA |
| Criminal and traffic | Weak | People need help today and search for it. Put the money into Google Ads and call tracking |
Check the hook
before you boost.
Paste the first line of the ad, pick your state, practice area and platform, and see what each rulebook is likely to say about it.
Ad hook checker
Would this line
get through?
Paste the first line of your ad, then pick your state, practice area and platform. It checks the wording against Meta’s or LinkedIn’s rules and the lawyer advertising rules together. Pattern matching, checked 2 November 2026: a marketer’s check, not legal advice. Nothing is sent anywhere.
The starting text is a made-up example.
Things to fix
0
A service-first version
Small firm,
small numbers.
Meta's delivery system learns from results, and its guidance is that an ad set usually needs about 50 optimisation events in a week to finish learning. A firm in Newcastle booking six consultations a month will never get there optimising for consultations.
Two ways around it: optimise for something that happens more often and still means something, such as starting the enquiry form, or run fewer ad sets so the results aren't spread thin. Either way, judge the ads on booked consultations in your own records, not on what the platform reports.
LinkedIn is narrower and dearer to start. An audience needs at least 300 matched members, and LinkedIn lists a $10 minimum daily budget, with its examples in US dollars. For a commercial or employment practice selling to businesses, job title targeting can be worth it. For a suburban wills practice, it rarely is.
Everything you run
is on show.
Meta's Ad Library lets anyone search the ads a page is running on Facebook and Instagram: competitors, clients, journalists, regulators. Before you launch, search your own firm and two others near you, read what they say, and ask whether you'd be comfortable seeing your ad quoted back in a complaint.
What I see most often
What I'd check first
in a law firm's social ads.
- 1
Questions aimed at the reader
Hooks like 'Separated?' or 'Been charged?' that point at the person, which is what Meta's personal attributes rule is written to stop.
- 2
Boosted posts nobody reviewed
A post written for the firm's page, then boosted as an ad, without anyone checking it against the advertising rules first.
- 3
Leads counted, matters not
Form fills reported as wins, with no check of how many became booked consultations or opened matters.
The honest bit. Social ads rarely win urgent matters. Someone arrested last night is on Google, not scrolling Instagram. Use social for the matters people put off, and don't expect it to replace search.
Questions
people ask.
Can lawyers advertise on Facebook in Australia?
Yes. Rule 36 and consumer law apply as anywhere else, and Meta's personal attributes policy limits what an ad can imply about the reader. Injury ads are restricted in Queensland and WA.
Can personal injury lawyers advertise on social media in NSW?
Yes. NSW has no specific personal injury advertising ban, but its claim farming law bans paying or being paid for referrals of many injury claims.
Can personal injury lawyers advertise on social media in Queensland?
Only within the PIPA restrictions. The Queensland Law Society says they apply to advertising on any website other than your own, and a social platform isn't your website.
Why was my law firm's Facebook ad rejected?
A common reason is wording that implies something about the viewer, such as a criminal charge, a health problem or money trouble. Meta bans ads that assert or imply personal attributes. Rewrite the line around the service.
Is LinkedIn worth it for law firms?
For commercial and employment work aimed at businesses, it can be, because you can target by job title. Audiences need at least 300 matched members. It's usually a poor fit for consumer matters like wills or family law.
Related
Keep
going.
Get a free
Google Ads audit.
Takes a minute. Audits come back within 1 to 2 business days. For anything else, I'll get back to you as soon as possible.
What happens next
- 1I'll ask for read-only access, or just your website for a search audit.
- 2I go through it and write up the 3 biggest fixes.
- 3A 20-minute call to walk you through it. No pitch unless you ask.