A recent survey by legal marketing agency TBD Marketing reveals that 65% of legal professionals have received harassing, negative, or “troll” messages or comments on LinkedIn.

The survey also found that 35% of respondents have experienced sexual comments on the platform, either occasionally, frequently, or very often. Alarmingly, 44.26% have reported receiving sexual advances or harassment via LinkedIn’s private messages or comments.

Additionally, seven in ten professionals are aware of similar experiences happening to their colleagues or friends. As a result, 40% of respondents said they are less likely to use LinkedIn, half are less inclined to connect with new people, and a quarter reported feeling less confident at work.

When asked how they responded to what happened, two-fifths reported the user, two-thirds blocked the user, one in five confronted the user, and one in four spoke to a colleague about it. As a result, 70% felt that the action they took resolved the issue.

More women than men filled in the survey, with a 60:40 ratio of respondents, and more than half of them had been in the legal industry for 15 years, with over three-quarters of them being active on LinkedIn for over seven years.

Simon Marshall, CEO of TBD Marketing, said:
“We’ve long celebrated LinkedIn as a powerful tool for networking and building personal brands, but this survey sheds light on a dark side of the platform. Legal professionals, encouraged to share their voices and engage authentically, are facing bullying and harassment that silences them and undermines their confidence. It’s time for change.”

Jodie Hill, CEO and founder of Thrive Law, added: “Online bullying, particularly on professional platforms like LinkedIn, can take a real mental toll on lawyers. The pressure to maintain credibility, combined with public criticism or harassment, can lead to anxiety, self-doubt, and even burnout. For those advocating for change in the legal sector, standing up and talking about mental health, diversity, or inequality – the backlash can feel personal and relentless. We need a culture shift to foster a healthier, more inclusive professional space where all voices can be heard without fear.”

The need for action

While platforms like LinkedIn are integral to professional life, they have yet to address the safeguarding concerns revealed by the survey. TBD Marketing is calling for a collective effort from employers, LinkedIn, and regulators to tackle the issue. Recommendations include:

• Implementing firm-wide social media safeguarding policies.
• Providing training and mental health support for employees.
• Working with LinkedIn to strengthen anti-harassment measures.

The survey also highlights the urgent need for LinkedIn to enhance its reporting systems and privacy settings, proactively address harassment, and offer better support to affected users.

Sophie Wardell, People Director at Higgs LLP, says: “Over the last few years, the legal sector has made great strides in improving workplace culture, with a stronger focus on mental wellbeing, diversity, and inclusion. But these improvements have not yet fully extended to the online world, where many professionals now operate in a quasi-workplace environment like LinkedIn. It’s a place of great community in some ways, where people want to be open and authentic – yet too many of us have also had unpleasant or off-putting experiences. If firms encourage their people to use social media for networking and business development, they must also take some responsibility for their safety. It’s not enough to just send them out there without flagging potential risks. No law firm can claim to have a great culture if it is not proactively safeguarding its people on digital platforms.”

Florence Brocklesby, CEO and founder of Bellevue Law, said: “Employers have a duty of care to protect their employees from harassment – and that doesn’t stop when they go online for work purposes. With the introduction of the Worker Protection Act 2023, employers have the obligation to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment. Law firms and regulated professionals must also recognise that online misconduct can have serious regulatory and even criminal consequences. While legal frameworks exist to tackle online harassment, real change requires a cultural shift in how we treat and respond to such behaviour, especially in a sector where trust is so paramount.”

A LinkedIn spokesperson commented: “People come to LinkedIn to connect with professional contacts, find jobs, and stay up to date on industry news and information. Romantic advances and harassment of any form is a violation of our rules, and our community policies include detailed examples that show what kind of content does not belong on LinkedIn. That’s why we invest in technology and our teams of experts to keep LinkedIn a professional place that every member of the global workforce can trust.

“To help foster a trusted community, we’re continuing to expand our verification features, which can help members make more informed decisions about who to interact with on LinkedIn. We also offer features like an advanced safety feature that, when enabled, warns members when harassment is detected within private messaging. You can learn more about how to turn on the setting here.

“We encourage members to report any instances of harassment on LinkedIn and signal to us that such behaviour is unwanted, allowing us to take action.”

A new resource: the Harassment Playbook

To support legal professionals, TBD Marketing is launching an open-access Harassment Playbook. This practical guide offers strategies for dealing with harassment, empowering users to navigate LinkedIn safely while advocating for systemic change. The Playbook is designed for individual professionals, employers, and industry leaders and is entirely free to download, neither collecting or sharing any personal data.

Si Marshall said: “Rather than burying these resources, we need to surface them so that people can use them when they need them. TBD is going to take a lead on promoting safety on its favourite professional networking site, because the alternative is to sit by and watch something great wither, and we don’t want that.”

A call to action

TBD Marketing urges the legal sector to take the lead in fostering safer online practices. As Marshall states:
“Law firms must recognise LinkedIn as an extension of the workplace. By setting best practices and advocating for change, they can ensure their people feel safe and supported while building their networks.”