Why don’t lawyers list where they worked before in their online law firm biographies?

Take a look at most lawyers’ bios on their law firm website.

Lawyers are quick to list a great law school (ahem, Go Green Wave!), highlight awards or notable cases (here), or note that they clerked for a terrific judge twenty years ago. Yet many lawyer bios say little or nothing about where the lawyer actually practiced. Where a lawyer has worked often tells you far more about how they practice today than the law school they attended decades ago.

There is no trademark rule or ethical prohibition against a lawyer truthfully stating prior employment. On the trademark-side, stating that you previously practiced at a law firm is standard nominative use and, when done clearly in the past tense, does not imply endorsement or ongoing affiliation.

So why the hesitation?

Often it is practical, not legal. Lawyers may leave firms under sensitive circumstances. Others do not want to highlight that they simply switched to a direct competitor. Some worry about confusing clients or triggering overly cautious advertising concerns. And some simply want to focus the present. Also… some lawyers just let the law firm marketing people write the bio and never pay attention beyond picking their profile picture!

That said, I take a different view.

Over nearly 30 years of practice, I am proud of the work I’ve done at firms like McDonald Hopkins, Akerman LLP, and Cole Scott & Kissane. Those experiences shaped how I practice today, and pretending they did not happen serves no one. In fact, I *want* prospective clients to know where I developed my practice and professional judgment. I am as much an alum of those law firms as I am of Tulane Law.

In most other industries, prior stops are part of your professional identity. In professional sports, no one finds it odd to list every team an athlete played for. Law should not be any different.

Done accurately and in plain language, prior experience is context. It is not confusion, and it is certainly not a legal problem.

Are you looking to hire a lawyer? Ask where they have practiced. If you cannot get a clear and confident answer, that is worth serious consideration before hiring someone to represent you. And if you are curious about my own path, be prepared to allow some time and hear a few war stories along the way!