Hiring a lawyer is a high-stakes decision. You are entrusting this person with your legal rights, your confidential information, and often your financial future. Unfortunately, the legal profession is not immune to fraud. Impersonation scams, where someone poses as a licensed attorney to collect fees for services they are not qualified to provide, are a growing problem. Even when the person is a real lawyer, their credentials, experience, and disciplinary history may not be as represented. A face search engine like facesearching gives you the ability to find someone by photo and verify that a lawyer or legal professional is who they claim to be before you hire them. This step-by-step tutorial will guide you through the process of using reverse face search to verify a lawyer's identity and credentials, ensuring you work with a legitimate, qualified practitioner.
Step 1: Collect the Lawyer's Photo and Professional Information
Start by collecting the lawyer's photo from their professional website, LinkedIn profile, or legal directory listing such as Avvo, Martindale-Hubbell, or Justia. Also note down their full name as they present it professionally, the law school they claim to have attended, the state or states where they claim to be admitted to the bar, their claimed years of practice, and their areas of specialization. Having this information organized will help you cross-reference it against the face search results and other verification sources. If the lawyer does not have a photo on their website or professional profiles, that is unusual and worth noting. Most legitimate lawyers maintain a professional online presence that includes a photo. For more on legal professional verification, see our complete FAQ on face search for legal professionals.
Step 2: Run a Face Search to Verify Their Identity
Upload the lawyer's photo to facesearching. The face search engine will scan across social media platforms, professional networks, legal directories, news websites, and other online sources to find where the lawyer's face appears. This search typically takes 30 to 60 seconds. A legitimate lawyer will typically have a consistent, professional digital footprint. Their face should appear on their law firm's website, on legal directories, in bar association listings, in news articles about cases they have handled, and on professional networking sites like LinkedIn. The name associated with the face should be consistent across all platforms. Red flags include: the face appearing under different names, the photo tracing to a stock image library, a digital footprint that does not include any legal professional presence, or the face appearing in contexts that are inconsistent with a legal career. For guidance on verifying identities for transactions, read our article on how to verify someone's identity for a remote transaction.
Step 3: Verify Bar Admission and Professional Standing
Face search verification should be complemented by checking the lawyer's bar admission status. Every state has a bar association website where you can look up an attorney by name and verify their license status, admission date, and any disciplinary history. This is a critical step that should never be skipped. A lawyer who is not in good standing, who has been suspended or disbarred, or who was never admitted to the bar in the first place, should not be handling your legal matters regardless of what their face search results show. Check every state where the lawyer claims to be admitted. If the lawyer claims to be admitted in multiple states, verify each one. Also check federal court admissions if relevant to your case. The face search results should be consistent with the bar admission information: the name, photo, and law school should match across all sources.
A law degree on the wall means nothing if the person holding it is not licensed to practice. Face search plus bar verification is the one-two punch that separates real lawyers from impostors and disbarred practitioners.
Step 4: Cross-Reference with Legal Directories and Reviews
The final step is to cross-reference your findings with legal directories and client reviews. Check the lawyer's profile on Martindale-Hubbell, which provides peer review ratings, Avvo, which provides client ratings and disciplinary information, and Justia, which provides a comprehensive lawyer directory. Read client reviews on multiple platforms, not just the testimonials on the lawyer's own website. Look for patterns in reviews: consistent praise for specific qualities is a good sign, while multiple complaints about the same issues, such as poor communication or unexpected fees, should give you pause. Check whether the lawyer has published articles, given presentations, or been quoted in the media on topics related to their claimed expertise. A legitimate specialist will have a track record of professional activity in their field. If you are hiring a lawyer for a specific type of case, ask about their experience with similar cases and verify that experience through their online presence and references. By combining face search with bar verification, directory research, and review analysis, you can hire a lawyer with confidence. Start your lawyer verification process today with facesearching.