In an era where Google search results and Instagram reels can make or break a business, criminal defence lawyer Ahmad Faraj says the legal profession can no longer afford to overlook its digital presence.
Speaking on a recent episode of The Protégé Podcast, Ahmad Faraj, the principal and senior lawyer at Faraj Defence Lawyers, stressed that law firms must embrace effective online platforms or risk falling behind in an increasingly competitive and digitally savvy legal market.
In the same episode, he reflected on how confronting he found the process of setting up his own law firm and discussed the often-overlooked factor that he believes is crucial to securing a lawyer’s first client when starting their own practice.
In today’s hyper-connected world, Faraj explained that a strong digital presence is no longer a luxury for law firms, but a necessity, as “definitely where most practices get a big chunk of their work right now” from online platforms.
While Faraj still values traditional referrals, noting that “word of mouth is king”, he emphasised that firm owners “need to be online in 2025”, recognising that the digital landscape has transformed how potential clients discover and evaluate legal services.
But for Faraj, building a strong digital presence goes far beyond having a sleek website or eye-catching social media graphics. It’s about consistency, credibility, and delivering real value.
“You have to have a very good website. [But] when I say a very good website, I don’t mean [having separate] websites and socials. Really, with my team and my web developer, we wanted everything to be consistent. So whatever’s on the site is actually on the socials,” he said.
“When I say having a good website, I don’t mean have a website on there with some nice photos and flashy artwork and just call to actions, which we refer to as CTA, is all over the place that just say, yep, call now, call now.”
At the heart of his strategy for building an effective website is creating a platform that provides clear, accessible information for those seeking legal advice online.
“We went for the knowledgeable approach. Let’s give people knowledge, let’s give people free legal advice. Let’s be where people go to understand what they’re charged with. When someone looks up a common assault charge, let’s make sure that we have a very detailed, long fact sheet about every single thing they need to know,” he said.
To achieve this, Faraj explained that he focused on writing fact sheets for every common criminal and traffic offence in NSW.
“It took me six and a half months to finish my website with my web developer, and that’s purely because I wrote a fact sheet about every single criminal offence you could think of and then every traffic offence you could think of,” he said.
“Then they all get repurposed into social media. So what we then do is we take that fact sheet, pick the most important parts and put it on an Instagram post. Or the full blog, we put it on Facebook, because on Facebook you can do that.”
Crucially, Faraj believes that a well-executed digital presence isn’t about aggressive marketing – it’s about educating the public in a way that builds trust and credibility.
“You’re reaching people from so many different avenues, but you’re not there saying, hey, contact us. We’re good lawyers. Yeah, it’s just brand awareness. You’re saying, hey, you’ve been charged with assault. This is what you need to know,” he said.
