🚨 LawTalk Guide: Making Lawyer Search Services More Fair and Clear

Today Korean Social News | 2025.05.28

📌 Ministry of Justice Announces 'LawTalk Guide'...Makes Lawyer Search and Advertising Rules Stronger

💬 Korea's Ministry of Justice announced new rules called "Lawyer Search Service Operating Guidelines" to make lawyer search services more fair and clear. Lawyers can no longer pay money to appear first in search results (CPC ads). They also cannot show their connections to government officials as a "connection score." The rules also limit showing case fees in advance and using star ratings. These changes aim to make legal services more trustworthy and stop too much advertising competition. LawTalk and other lawyer search platforms must improve their services to follow these rules, or they may face penalties.

Summary

• The LawTalk Guide is a set of rules from the Ministry of Justice to make lawyer search services more fair and clear.
• It stops lawyers from paying to appear first and limits showing connections to powerful people, creating a fair environment for choosing lawyers.
• The goal is to make legal services more trustworthy and prevent too much advertising competition.

1️⃣ What is the LawTalk Guide?

The LawTalk Guide is a set of rules from Korea's Ministry of Justice called "Lawyer Search Service Operating Guidelines" to make lawyer search services more fair and clear. The official name is "Lawyer Search Service Operating Guidelines," but people call it the "LawTalk Guide" after the famous lawyer search platform "LawTalk."

These rules fix unfair practices in lawyer advertising and search services so people can choose lawyers based on good, correct information.

💡 Why is this important?

• It gives people fair and clear information when choosing lawyers.
• It stops unfair situations where lawyers who pay more money appear first.
• It makes legal services more reliable and better quality.
• It prevents lawyer fees from going up because of too much advertising competition.

2️⃣ Main Rules and What is Not Allowed

📕 Rules About Advertising and How Lawyers Appear in Search

• Lawyers cannot pay money to appear first in search results. The main rules are:

  • CPC (Cost Per Click) advertising that makes lawyers appear first is not allowed.
  • Lawyers who pay more money cannot automatically appear at the top of search results.
  • Search results must be organized by objective standards like the lawyer's skills, experience, and ability to solve cases.
  • Advertisements and regular search results must be clearly separated and marked.

• Showing "connection scores" is limited. The main limits are:

  • Lawyers cannot show scores based on their connections to government officials or powerful people.
  • Marketing that focuses too much on being a former judge or prosecutor is limited.
  • Expressions that suggest a lawyer can solve cases through connections (not skills) are not allowed.
  • Showing superior status based on relationships with specific organizations is limited.

📕 Better Rules for Lawyer Fees and Rating Systems

• Showing case fees in advance is limited. The main rules are:

  • Lawyers cannot pre-set and display specific fees for different types of cases.
  • This prevents showing the same fees for all cases without considering how complex each case is.
  • Expressions like "lowest price guaranteed" that encourage price competition are limited.
  • Lawyer fees should be decided through individual consultation, considering the case difficulty, time needed, and the lawyer's expertise.

• Star rating systems will be improved. The main improvements are:

  • Instead of simple star ratings, specific and objective evaluation standards must be provided.
  • Systems must be built to prevent fake reviews and manipulated ratings.
  • Procedures are needed to verify who is writing reviews and whether they actually hired the lawyer.
  • Evaluations should focus on real service quality like the lawyer's expertise, communication skills, and case handling process.

📕 Making Information More Clear and Honest

• Lawyer information must be more accurate. The main requirements are:

  • Information about lawyers' education, experience, and specialty areas must be displayed accurately.
  • Showing false or exaggerated career information or achievements is not allowed.
  • Basic information like lawyer license numbers and law firm affiliations must be clearly provided.
  • Information must be updated regularly to stay current.

• Service procedures will become more transparent. The main improvements are:

  • The entire process from searching for lawyers to consultation and contracts must be transparently disclosed.
  • Platform fee structures and their impact on lawyer fees must be clearly stated.
  • The possibility of additional costs during case progress and their standards must be explained in advance.
  • Procedures for contract cancellation or changing lawyers must be clearly presented.

Main Issues and Challenges with the LawTalk Guide

1. Making it work: How to monitor whether guidelines are actually followed and impose penalties
2. Technical problems: Technical implementation issues like separating ads from regular search results and detecting fake reviews
3. Industry pushback: Resistance from platform operators and lawyers due to changes in their income structure
4. Consumer confusion: How to minimize confusion and adaptation time for existing service users
5. Legal basis: Whether the guidelines have legal binding power and appropriate penalty levels for violations

3️⃣ Current Situation and Problems with Lawyer Search Services

✅ Current Lawyer Search Services in Korea

• Various platforms are operating. The main services are:

  • LawTalk: Korea's largest lawyer search platform, providing lawyer matching services by case type.
  • Law firm platforms: Lawyer introduction services operated by large law firms.
  • Korean Bar Association lawyer search: Official lawyer search service providing basic information.
  • Other legal consultation platforms: Various platforms providing online legal consultation and lawyer connection services.

• Service usage is rapidly increasing. The main current situation is:

  • After COVID-19, demand for non-contact legal services increased rapidly.
  • Online lawyer searching has become common, especially among younger people.
  • Various legal services from simple legal consultation to complex litigation cases are being connected online.
  • Platforms are developing case analysis and lawyer matching services using AI technology.

✅ Problems with Existing Services and Need for Improvement

• Unfair display systems were problematic. The main problems were:

  • Lawyers who paid more for advertising appeared higher in results and got more cases regardless of their actual skills.
  • New lawyers or small independent lawyers were at a disadvantage due to advertising cost burdens.
  • Search results were often influenced more by marketing ability than lawyer expertise.
  • Users found it difficult to distinguish between advertisements and regular search results, causing confusion.

• Exaggerated advertising and information were problems. The main problems were:

  • Many advertisements excessively emphasized being former judges or prosecutors, suggesting they could guarantee case victories.
  • Exaggerated ads presented numbers like "90% win rate" without specific evidence.
  • Uniform fee displays that didn't consider case complexity could mislead consumers.
  • Fake reviews or manipulated ratings sometimes provided information different from actual service quality.

4️⃣ Related Terms Explained

🔎 CPC Advertising

• CPC advertising is an online advertising method where you pay for each click.
• CPC (Cost Per Click) advertising is an online advertising method where you pay a cost every time your ad is clicked. It's widely used in Google search ads and Naver search ads, where advertisers only pay for the number of times their ads are actually clicked.
• CPC advertising characteristics include: First, costs only occur when clicked, not just for showing the ad. Second, ad ranking is determined through a bidding system, where ads with higher bids generally appear higher. Third, targeting functions allow ads to be shown to specific keywords or user groups.
• The reason CPC advertising is problematic in lawyer search services is that lawyers who pay more for advertising appear higher regardless of their actual skills or expertise. This can provide distorted information to consumers and harm fair competition, which is why it was banned in the LawTalk Guide.

🔎 Legal Fees (Suim-ryo)

• Legal fees are the payment lawyers receive for handling and processing cases.
• Legal fees refer to the payment lawyers receive from clients for performing legal work after being hired to handle cases. Simply put, it's the money paid to lawyers for their services. Legal fees vary depending on the case's nature, difficulty, time required, and the lawyer's experience and expertise.
• Main components of legal fees include: First, retainer fees paid when starting a case. Second, success fees paid additionally when a case is successfully resolved. Third, actual expenses like court fees and service costs that occur during case progress. Fourth, hourly fees calculated per hour for consultations or simple tasks.
• Legal fees are determined by agreement between lawyers and clients, and can refer to fee standards provided by the Korean Bar Association. The LawTalk Guide prohibits uniform fee displays that ignore case individuality, so clients can pay appropriate fees that match their case characteristics.

🔎 Preferential Treatment for Former Officials

• Preferential treatment for former officials means special benefits retired government workers receive using connections from their time in office.
• Preferential treatment for former officials refers to various special benefits or conveniences that people who previously worked in government positions receive when working in the private sector after retirement, using their past positions or connections. This especially means former judge or prosecutor lawyers using connections with former colleagues to get favorable treatment for cases.
• Main forms of preferential treatment include: First, information privileges like getting inside information that's hard for regular people to know. Second, procedural privileges like simplifying complex administrative procedures or getting priority processing. Third, outcome privileges like influencing judgment or investigation results. Fourth, access privileges like easily getting meetings or consultation opportunities with high-ranking officials.
• Preferential treatment for former officials undermines the principle of equality before the law and harms fair judicial order, so continuous improvement has been demanded. The LawTalk Guide blocks marketing through preferential treatment by prohibiting connection score displays, ensuring fair choices based on lawyers' actual skills and expertise.

5️⃣ Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Q: Won't the LawTalk Guide make it harder to find lawyers?

A: Actually, it's expected to become easier to find better lawyers. Previously, lawyers who paid more for advertising appeared higher, providing information unrelated to actual skills, but after the guidelines are implemented, search results will be provided according to objective standards like lawyers' expertise, experience, and actual case-solving ability. Also, with reduced false and exaggerated advertising, people can choose lawyers based on more accurate information. However, initially, users familiar with existing services may need time to adapt to new methods. Platforms plan to proceed with improvements like enhancing search filter functions and displaying lawyers' specialty areas and experience more clearly so users can easily adapt. Ultimately, choices based on actual legal service ability rather than lawyers' marketing ability will become possible, providing better legal services to clients.

Q: What penalties apply for violating the guidelines?

A: The LawTalk Guide is currently an administrative guidance guideline, not a legally binding law. Therefore, there's no direct criminal punishment, but various forms of penalties are possible. First, the Ministry of Justice can issue administrative guidance and corrective orders to platforms violating the guidelines. Second, if violations of lawyer laws or advertising-related laws are recognized, disciplinary action or fines can be imposed on lawyers. Third, the Fair Trade Commission can impose sanctions by judging it as unfair trade practices. Fourth, corrective measures or penalty surcharges according to consumer protection-related laws are also possible. Also, platforms that don't comply with guidelines may lose users due to decreased social trust, which will act as natural market sanctions. In the future, related law amendments or separate legislation may be considered to increase the effectiveness of the guidelines.