Today, reputation management is an important consideration with the proliferation of the Internet and the ease with which people can communicate and post both negative and positive reviews online.

According to The Washington Post, one third of American adults utilize some sort of technological device to purchase something online every week. In fact, in a poll conducted by CNBC in December 2017, 75% of respondents said they would complete most of their holiday shopping on Amazon.

Despite the pervasiveness of the World Wide Web, attorneys are not powerless if a disgruntled client posts a negative review about them online. However, it is important the lawyer react quickly in the hopes of softening the impact of the comments.

Examples of steps a lawyer can take to combat negative reviews online include:

• Contact the client to discuss the reasons for the comments
• Ask the client if anything realistic can be done to improve the situation
• Hire a reputation management company to assist in the process
• Ensure your firm’s website features positive reviews to counteract unfavorable ones
• Be certain your website allows comments to be reviewed before they actually appear on the site
• Learn from your mistakes and try not to repeat them

Social media expert Bryan Caplan published a list of what he perceives to be the 30 online review statistics for 2018. Among them is that 85% of consumers trust online reviews as much as recommendations from a friend or family member. Perhaps surprisingly, 40% of B2B buyers reported that negative reviews aid in establishing credibility for a product.

So, if Caplan’s research is to be believed, negative reviews won’t necessarily spell the end of a business. Certainly, of course, it’s better not to get them, but they don’t automatically mean the doors of your law practice will shutter immediately.

If you decide the negative review is patently false or perhaps meant for a different attorney, you might decide to respond to it. However, be extremely cautious about what you post. You don’t want to aggravate a situation that already is potentially perilous.

After penning a response, it would be wise to allow at least two objective people to read it and offer feedback before it is posted. An impartial reviewer is not marred by the emotion that might be coloring how the attacked attorney responds.

For additional information about how to handle negative reviews, check out a recent article posted by The National Jurist.

Tami Kamin Meyer is an Ohio attorney and writer.