The Real Reason for That One-Star Attorney Review (Hint: It’s Not What You Think)
Let’s talk about bad reviews. Every attorney—scratch that, every professional in just about any service industry—has one. Maybe two. Sometimes more. And if you’ve been practicing law long enough, you’ll notice a pattern: The loudest, nastiest reviews rarely come from people who had a bad case outcome due to bad lawyering. They come from people who lost because of their own actions or failure to act—and needed someone else to blame for it.
I know this might rattle a few egos, but let’s get real. When someone leaves a one-star review for an attorney they barely listened to, didn’t follow instructions from, or expected miracles from in impossible circumstances, that review says a lot more about them than it does about the lawyer.
Bad Reviews 101: A Guide to Dodging Responsibility
Here’s the classic setup:
- Client gets into a mess—legally, financially, medically, or all of the above.
- Client hires an attorney.
- Client expects said attorney to immediately turn water into wine and somehow erase all consequences of their own decisions. Client refuses to follow attorney advice, even in simple matters, that could help their outcome.
- Reality sets in. The legal system doesn’t work like a Marvel movie. Client maybe doesn’t get what they want due to their own actions/inactions, or sometimes they DO get what they want, despite themselves, and still are mad at the world.
- Instead of accepting that they’re (nominally) an adult and have some agency, they slam out a keyboard tantrum in the form of a Google review.
Now, to be clear: I’m not above criticism. If someone has a legitimate complaint about my service, I take it seriously. But 99 times out of 100, the people leaving bad reviews aren’t really reviewing the attorney—they’re venting about their own life choices and frustration that I couldn’t legally time travel to fix for them, or they’ve simply refusing to accept any degree of responsibility for their own actions or failure to act when advised.
What’s REALLY frustrating about this for attorneys is that the Bar tells us we can’t explain the situation in response to the review, as to give details about the representation would be a betrayal of attorney/client privilege. That’s horrifying, because what it really means is that we are at the total mercy of some keyboard warrior anytime they’re pissed off at the world. They can give us as many 1-star reviews as they want, even when we’ve performed admirably, and those reviews can cost us THOUSANDS of dollars.
As a result, I won’t give a lot of detail in response to any bad reviews I get (they are thankfully few and far between). But if you happen to see some on my profile or another attorney’s, here are some translations that might be helpful to understand what probably really happened:
“He Didn’t Care About My Case”
Translation: I didn’t get the result I fantasized about, despite doing very little to help myself, ignoring advice, and possibly lying during intake.
“She Didn’t Communicate With Me!”
Translation: I called fifteen times in one week and expected a personal TED Talk every time I had a random thought about my case.
“He Was Mean To Me!”
Translation: I wanted this attorney, who deals exclusively with X and Y, to give me advice on A and B, and he refused to answer my questions. Or I asked a really stupid question repeatedly, or made really offensive assumptions, and he pointed out my stupidity.
Now, this one has a special place in my heart, because I can sometimes be quick to call people out on their nonsense. If I don’t handle family law cases, or defense work for civil claims, or whatever, then I not only won’t give you any advice, I CAN’T because I don’t know anything about it. Be cool! I might be a bit brusk, that’s certainly a fault of mine (if you see it like that), but I prefer the adjectives “real” and “honest.”
“She Said THIS and THAT Didn’t Happen!”
Translation: I didn’t actually listen to what the attorney told me and only heard what I wanted to hear.
“He Didn’t Fight For Me”
Translation: I expected courtroom drama and shouting matches, but what I got was an attorney who quietly and professionally tried to negotiate a good outcome for me in a system that runs on facts—not feelings.
Let’s Be Honest
Legal representation is not magic. It’s strategy, law, timing, and evidence. I’m not your therapist, your dad, or your co-conspirator in delusion. I’m your lawyer. My job is to give you the truth, use the facts, and work within the law to get you the best possible outcome. If you want someone to validate your bad decisions, I recommend TikTok or a Reddit support group.
So the next time you read a one-star review of a lawyer, consider the source. Then scroll past it and ask:
- Did the person follow their attorney’s advice?
- Were they honest and realistic?
- Or were they looking for someone to blame because they couldn’t handle the consequences of their own actions?
If you’re looking for an attorney who’ll shoot straight with you, fight smart, and treat your case like it matters (because it does), I’m here for that. If you’re looking for a scapegoat—keep scrolling. There are plenty of lawyers who’ll tell you what you want to hear, right up until the moment your case falls apart.
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