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"in a case like this is it sensible to preemptively remove the links with the disavow tool?"

Once again, the Disavow tool was offered as a last resort by Google. Many webmasters seem frustrated the tool is not working as they expected, and the issue is typically they ignored Google's instructions for the tool's usage.

Prior to using the Disavow tool, you need to make an exhaustive effort to remove the links. Send a polite letter to the WHOIS address for the domain explaining the problem and identifying specific links from that domain which are pointing to your site. If there is no response within 3 days, send the same letter to an email address found on the site itself. If you still do not receive a response, check for a Contact Form on the site.

Try to learn what is going on with the site. Ask site owners how these links were created. It surely can be the result of negative SEO, but in the overwhelming majority of cases I have worked with, it is either the client or an agent acting on behalf of the client. Try digging a little deeper.

There are not any general endorsements I can share. Your chosen expert may vary depending on your hosting environment, site software and budget.

"As for the client's site hacking, as far as I'm aware their webmaster & in-house team dealt with that when it happened."

The webmaster and inhouse team likely had a gap which was exploited. It may be best to bring in an outside security consultant to review the matter.

"if our messages go unacknowledged, what else can we do about it?"

In my experience, 25 - 60% of removal requests are honored, depending on the site. If you are working with numerous site owners, either some of them will respond or you are likely doing something wrong. Ways to contact a webmaster:

• use the WHOIS information to send an email

• use information from the site. Before you say they don't have anywhere, check thoroughly.

• use the site's Contact Us form

• call the site with the number on the site or their WHOIS phone number

• mail the site

• check for social pages such as facebook and contact them via that method

You shared there are around 20 sites linking to your client's site. Some of them should respond.

"The client's site was compromised a few months ago and had a bunch of spam links inserted into the homepage code."

Has the issue been fully resolved? What steps have you taken to ensure the site's code is clean and remains clean? Some examples:

• placing the code on a test server and having an expert examine the code
• crawling the site and examining all links
• upon completion of the code analysis, implement a system which detects any coding changes and notifies you of the change
• ensure you are using professional development services with professionally developed extensions
• check your hosting. At a minimum, VPS hosting should be used. Do you have a firewall in place? What type of precautions does the host take (i.e. are you with a major host such as Rackspace, HostDime, etc? Or a host no one has heard of?)
• Use a service such as Symantec or McAfee SSL which offers daily site malware scanning

Every time I have worked with a compromised site, there have been major gaps or a complete lack of site security.

With respect to the links, the Disavow Tool can be used as a means of last resort. Google is very clear the tool should not be used until all other methods have been exhausted.

Have you tried contacting any of the webmasters to inquire about the links? That would be a start. You stated they are from independently owned sites. If that is true, then some of those webmasters will likely be cooperative and help you understand why they are linking to you.

We are happy to help Matthew. There is a lot more detailed information required which is missing from your question. There are dozens of possible causes and solutions.

Steven, the first response shared remains the answer to your inquiry. You offered further clarification, and EGOL responded very nicely. The only thing we can do at this point is to continue to repeat ourselves.

With respect to practicing different areas of law, you have a very unique perspective that is not in alignment with the best user experiences or search engine practices.

Take any store...let's use Walmart....they have groceries, clothes, furniture, and tv's and so forth. They also offer a single website, walmart.com.

The law firm is a single business entity. It likely should have a single site.

At this point my impression is you clearly know and understand the advise which has been offered, but you fear the ranking loss. That is understandable. It will take a significant amount of SEO skill and investment to merge the sites without losing rankings.

None of these sites are linked at all, and all 28 of the sites are under the same hosting account (all are subdomains of root domain of hosting account).  Question, should I link these sites together at all and if so how?

What you are asking about is creating a link network which violates search engine guidelines, and therefore is not advised.

A link is supposed to be an "independent vote" and unbiased in nature. You are simply taking a bunch of sites you own and linking them together. If you sincerely feel it is a benefit to link the sites, use the "nofollow" attribute to avoid a penalty.