Key points at a glance
- Referrals from clients and colleagues remain the strongest channel; but they only work if the people referred can quickly find you online.
- For first contacts without a referral, the Google profile, separate pages per practice area and the official lawyer directory matter most.
- Commissions and benefits for referred mandates are prohibited: in Germany under § 49b Abs. 3 BRAO, in Austria under § 47 Abs 3 Z 6 RL-BA. This also affects portals that charge per mandate.
- Talks, expert articles and LinkedIn build visibility over months, especially with business clients.
- Google Ads bring enquiries quickly but cost money continuously; they make sense for clearly defined, urgent areas of law.
This post is general information, not legal or tax advice for your individual case. Laws, professional guidelines and chamber fees change: check the details with your chamber, the relevant authority or your professional association before you make a decision.
How mandates come about today
A typical path: a woman receives a termination notice. She asks a friend, who names a lawyer. She then searches for the name on Google, reads the employment law page, checks reviews and the cost of the initial consultation, and calls. Another path: a man searches at night for “Anwalt Strafrecht Graz” (criminal lawyer Graz) and the next morning calls the first firm whose website tells him clearly what to do. In both cases, the online presence plays a part, even when a referral was the trigger.
This suggests a simple order: first the foundation that catches every referral (website, Google profile, directories), then the channels that bring new contacts (talks, expert articles, cooperations, ads).
The channels compared
| Channel | Effort and cost | When it pays off | Professional law note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Referrals from clients | Low, but slow | Always; it carries most firms | No bonuses or gifts for referrals |
| Colleagues and other professions | Time for networking | Founding, special areas, conflicts of interest at other firms | No commission for referrals |
| Google profile and local search | Set up once, maintain monthly | Private clients with a local connection | Reviews without incentives, replies without mandate details |
| Official directories | Free, keep the entry up to date | Always | State areas of law truthfully |
| Paid portals | Fixed fee or payment per enquiry | Private clients in competitive areas | Payment per referred mandate is problematic |
| Talks and expert articles | High, works long term | Companies, associations, specialisation | Factual, no cases without consent |
| Ongoing time | Commercial law, employer side | Link the legal notice from the profile too | |
| Google Ads | Budget per click, ongoing | Urgent matters such as criminal law, dismissal | Ad text like the website: no guarantees, no superlatives |
Referrals from clients and colleagues
Satisfied clients recommend you of their own accord if you make it easy for them: a business card to pass on, a memorable domain, a Google profile that appears immediately when someone searches your name. Often nothing more is needed. Feel free to ask at the end of a mandate whether you may be recommended to friends and acquaintances, but without anything in return.
Referrals from colleagues are the second most important channel for many firms. Other lawyers pass on mandates when they have a conflict of interest themselves, do not cover the area or are overloaded. Then there are tax advisers, notaries, property managers, doctors or banks who are regularly asked: “Do you know a good lawyer for …?” Make it easy for these people to name you: clear focus areas, a short profile, reliable feedback on whether a mandate came about, as far as confidentiality permits.
How to encourage referrals systematically without crossing the line is described in Referrals for professional firms. For passing your details on, a simple business card from the business card generator and an email signature with website and phone number help.
Google profile, local search and directories
For private clients with a local connection, that is family law, employment law, tenancy law, traffic law or criminal law, local search is often the most important channel without a referral. How a website for family law firms reaches people in a crisis and pre-sorts enquiries is covered in a separate guide. Three building blocks work together:
- Google Business Profile: the right category, the real firm name, photos and reviews. How to set it up and reply to reviews without breaching confidentiality is explained in the guide Google Business Profile.
- A separate page per practice area: Anyone searching for “Anwalt Arbeitsrecht Linz” (employment lawyer Linz) should land on your employment law page, not on a general list of services. More on this in SEO for lawyers.
- Official directories: In Austria the lawyer search of the ÖRAK (Austrian Bar), in Germany the Bundesweites Amtliches Anwaltsverzeichnis (official nationwide lawyer directory) of the BRAK. In Germany there is also the lawyer search of the Deutscher Anwaltverein for members of the local bar associations. Keep your areas of law, languages and website up to date there. An overview is given in Online directories.
Paid lawyer portals
Lawyer portals promise visibility and enquiries. Whether they pay off depends heavily on the area of law and the city. Before signing, check three things: How is billing done, who are the users, and how many colleagues compete there for the same enquiries?
How to get it right
- A fixed fee for a profile or listing, regardless of mandates
- A trial period with clear measurement: how many enquiries, how many mandates?
- Write profile texts by the same rules as the website
- If in doubt, ask the bar about the billing model
Better avoid
- Payment per referred mandate or a share of the fee to the portal
- Portals that label you as a “top lawyer” or “specialist” when that is not true
- Collecting reviews on portals in exchange for discounts
- Long terms without a notice option after the trial period
Talks, expert articles and LinkedIn
If you want to advise companies, associations or particular professional groups, you win mandates less often via Google and more often through visibility within the target group. A talk at the Chamber of Commerce (WKO or IHK), an article in a trade journal or a webinar for property managers puts you in touch with exactly the people who will later have a problem. Expert articles on your own website work twice over: they show competence and they get found. More on this in Writing expert articles.
LinkedIn is worthwhile above all in commercial law and on the employer side. Short, factual posts on recent decisions or changes in the law work better than self-praise. Describe cases only in anonymised form or with express consent; since 01.12.2025, § 6 Abs. 2 BORA expressly requires this consent in Germany for advertising with mandates, and in Austria § 47 Abs 3 Z 5 RL-BA requires it for naming clients. Tips for firms are in LinkedIn for professional firms.
Google Ads: fast, but not cheap
Search ads are permitted for lawyers in both countries. They suit urgent matters with a clear search query, such as “Anwalt Strafrecht” (criminal lawyer) or “Kündigung erhalten Anwalt” (lawyer after receiving a termination), and for the start, as long as your website and profile are not yet found well. In large cities and competitive areas, clicks can be expensive. The same rules apply to the ad text as to the website: no guarantee of success, no superlatives, “Fachanwalt” only with the title. And the ad must lead to the matching practice page, not to the home page.
In Germany, since the revised BORA took effect on 01.12.2025, advertising for an individual mandate is also expressly permitted, as long as it is factual and not misleading. Phone and email advertising without consent remains prohibited under § 7 UWG, and in Austria under § 174 TKG 2021.
A realistic plan for the first 12 months
Months 1 to 2: foundation
Website with one page per practice area and a clear initial consultation page, complete legal notice, Google profile, entry in the official directory, business card and email signature.
Months 2 to 3: inform your network
A short personal message to former colleagues, university friends, tax advisers and notaries: what you do, for whom, how to reach you. No mass mailing.
Months 3 to 6: build visibility
One expert article per month on a frequent question from your area, a first talk, and after completed mandates a neutral request for a Google review.
Months 6 to 9: test
If an area is urgent and clearly defined, test Google Ads or a portal with a fixed budget and fixed term. Record every enquiry: where did it come from?
Months 9 to 12: evaluate and reinforce
Which channels brought mandates, not just enquiries? Stop what brought nothing; expand what works. Add pages to the website covering the most frequent questions from initial meetings.
Keep measurement simple: a column “How did you hear about us?” in your client intake is enough. In addition, Google Search Console shows which searches your pages appear for. How to measure the success of your website in a privacy-friendly way is described in Measuring success; a plan across all channels is offered in A plan for more visibility. If you are just founding a firm, the overall path is covered in Starting a law firm in Austria and Starting a law firm in Germany.
The foundation for new mandates
Our websites for lawyers come with a separate page per practice area, a clear initial consultation page and the right legal notice for Austria or Germany. Request a free preview.
A no-obligation preview of how your firm website could look with us.
