Texas review rules for law firms
This page is not legal advice
General information, not legal advice. See Texas Professional Ethics Committee Opinions 685 and 662. A firm should read those opinions and its own engagement letter before it changes how it asks for reviews.
Opinion 685 and the public ask
Opinion 685 is the Texas advertising opinion firms cite when a website or a public page talks about the practice. A review request is still advertising in the ordinary sense: it is a communication about the firm. Do not promise a result, do not invent a specialty the firm does not have, and do not pay for a review.
Opinion 662 and the public reply
Replies never confirm the reviewer is a client or mention any matter detail (Texas Ethics Opinion 662). A public reply that says “we were glad to handle your case” or names a settlement, a date, or a kind of matter can reveal a confidence under Rule 1.05. Afterword drafts are filtered for that, and a person at the firm still has to read the draft before it is copied.
Google’s rule, and the FTC
Google's review policy prohibits it, and FTC guidance treats suppressing or skewing reviews as deceptive. Every person who is asked gets the same Google link. A private note on the same page is optional. It is not a gate.
Sharing a phone number with a vendor
Add review-request and text-message consent to your engagement letter before client contact data is sent to a vendor. A short clause can say: “The firm may send a text or email asking for an honest Google review, and may share the contact details needed for that message with its review-request vendor.” STOP ends further texts.