Top legal brands are missing out on ‘vital’ customer interaction by failing to set up social networking sites, according to research seen exclusively by the Gazette.

A report on the legal sector by internet consultants Greenlight said that many of the most visible legal websites do not yet have a presence on sites such as Facebook and Twitter.

However, the report found that some legal websites – such as that belonging to national marketing network QualitySolicitors.com – are making intelligent use of social media.

QualitySolicitors has used its Facebook and Twitter accounts as a point of contact for customers to ask legal-related questions, the research said. It produces 25 tweets per month.

However, other legal-related brands with a powerful internet presence, such as National Accident Helpline and Contact Law, do not currently have official Facebook or Twitter accounts, and so are ‘missing out on vital interaction with social media customers’, the report said.

Greenlight’s ‘social media popularity index’ ranked the top 15 brands for legal search results, according to their social media performance. The best performing website was Wikipedia, followed by information site justanswer.com and graduate careers site Prospects. The Law Society’s website ranked in fourth place, followed by QualitySolicitors.