Category: Industry Insights

Just as the rise of generative AI tools has given new relevance to awards and rankings, there’s another facet of legal communications drawing attention from the LLMs: practice group pages.

The conventional wisdom (and Google Analytics) said that firms should focus on attorney biographies and “Contact Us” pages, as they were the sections that drove the most traffic from a traditional human audience. It wasn’t uncommon to see just 4 to 5 percent of website visits going to practice pages.

However, our new robot overlords consume law firm websites differently, and it’s evident that LLMs are trained to scout practice pages early and often.

Consider these outputs from a recent AI visibility analysis for a boutique litigation firm. Using software that rotates IP addresses and generates thousands of queries, we asked different AI platforms about the firm’s practice areas (“Who are the best lawyers for XYZ litigation?”) and tracked the sources.

• On ChatGPT, law firm practice pages were 13 of the top 25 most-cited URLs. As a category, law firm practice pages surpassed all other source types; Wikipedia pages were second, with four in the top 25.
  
• On Perplexity, law firm practice pages were 14 of the top 25 most-cited URLs. The next-highest-performing category, awards and rankings, had four.
  
• In Google AI Overviews, law firm practice pages comprised 15 of the top 25 most-cited URLs. The category in second place, awards and rankings, had three.

While every firm’s context is different – and LLM parameters are changing every day – law firms that want to be visible in AI queries must ensure their practice pages are positioned to deliver the information LLMs want in the format they want it in.

The Anatomy of an “AI Friendly” Practice Page

The team at MantyWeb thoroughly researched the factors driving performance in AI visibility. Many will feel familiar to law firms that actively engage in SEO; they span site setup, content presentation and key content ingredients.

Key factors include:

Site Setup

• AI Bot Access: This is a straightforward issue, but an imperative one. Does your site allow AI bots to crawl it? If you have restricted their access, you will not be visible in any AI answers.
  
• Schema Markup: Have you added code to the back end of your website to help robots understand the context of your page?

Content Style

• Readability: Is the page easy to scan? Take cues from presenting to humans here; break up long sentences, avoid jargon, use subheads as visual cues and break up long lists with bullet points.

• Length: Does your page have sufficient substance? AI bots want to see 300 or more words.

• Active Voice: Is most of your prose in active voice? 

Content Ingredients

• Statistics: Does your page show authority through data? Does your practice page provide quantitative evidence (number of litigators, number of verdicts, number of states covered)? Do you provide external data about the market (e.g. XYZ litigation claims are up 25 percent)?
  
• Citations: Do you link to reliable external sources? (Recall that LLMs love legal awards and rankings; your Chambers, Best Lawyers, Best Law Firms and Super Lawyers pages could be excellent contenders.) Aim for three.
  
• Content Age: LLMs want to see that your information is current. Is there a clear sign of the content age, such as “Updated January 2026”?
  
• Definitions: Do you provide definitions of key terms? Try to include two.
  
• FAQs: Do you provide an on-page Q&A section that can help LLMs answer user queries? 

(MantyWeb provides a free scanner you can use on your site’s content as well as a paid tool that tracks which pages LLMs are visiting.)

Where to Go From Here

Does this mean that you should rewrite all of your practice pages to adhere to AI’s preferences?

Time for the classic legal answer: It depends.

Take into account your brand and your clientele. For a consumer-facing family law firm, definitions and Q&A are value-adds for the human visitors as well as the robots. But if your firm serves a sophisticated audience, tread carefully; the general counsel of a publicly traded company may be put off thinking you need to define “securities” for them or seeing very rudimentary FAQs.

Despite the neverending AI buzz, you are still in a people business, and your website must not alienate, confuse or turn off your human visitors in an attempt to court the robot variety.

Consider how important AI visibility – and AI leads – are to your overall business development strategy, and act accordingly. If nothing else, checking that your site is available to AI bots and that your schema markup is complete and relevant can boost your visibility without changing any client-facing material.

Finally, remember that optimized practice pages are a key part of LLM output, but they are not the only part. AI tools also consult attorney awards and rankings, trade media, Wikipedia and even Reddit. As this nascent field evolves, the best defense and offense remains a well-rounded communications strategy that keeps your law firm visible across channels.

Your ideal client opens ChatGPT and types in “Make me a short list of the best lawyers for [your specialty] in [your location].”

Will you show up?

It’s a complicated answer for many reasons:

• The longer one uses a given LLM, the more it tailors responses – and incorporates assumptions about one’s preferences. 
•  It’s a matter of time before the companies behind these tools monetize the results. Google AI Overviews is doing it already.
• LLM responses are incredibly inconsistent, even within the same platform. Research shows there is a less than 1 percent chance that ChatGPT or Google AI will give you the same list of brands in any two responses. Claude is the consistency leader at a whopping 1.65 percent.
• There is a considerable Big Law bias that will challenge many small firms.

All of this while experts predict everything from a deflated AI bubble to Skynet becoming self-aware.

At best, assessing AI visibility right now feels like being a meteorologist on the local news: I can tell you the current conditions and look about ten days out. (But a thunderstorm may still pop up tomorrow.) It’s dangerous to rely on sweeping one-size-fits-all “get seen on AI” advice. I saw a statistic last week that said something like 96 percent of AI results come from earned media; that’s not accurate. 

To understand what the LLMs are looking at – right now – let’s take a look at an actual boutique law firm for whom I did this analysis. To eliminate bias, we use special software that rotates IP addresses daily; to provide reliable trend data, it runs thousands of queries.

While every law firm’s context is different, this can help show you the sources that LLMs are using to recommend lawyers and law firms.

We set up an exercise based on this law firm’s practice areas (i.e. What are the best law firms for XYZ litigation?) and tracked the sources. This shows not only what resources the LLMs are relying on but how different the outputs can be.

CHATGPT

Favorite source: Wikipedia. ChatGPT referenced law firm pages on Wikipedia in 35.6 percent of queries. No other source topped 9 percent.

Runner up: Large law firm practice pages. Among the top 20 most frequently cited domains, 16 were law firms, and eight of those were AmLaw 200 firms. On these websites, the LLMs are crawling practice pages, not lawyer biographies or educational content. (This is a marked difference from human habits; your carbon-based lifeform clients will look at biographies more than anything else.)

Rankings: ChatGPT does not rely on rankings. It referenced Chambers in 4.1 percent of queries, the only lawyer ranking to make the top 20 most frequently cited sources. Legal 500 surfaced in 2.7 percent of answers, and Best Law Firms and Martindale both showed up in 1.4 percent.

Earned media: ChatGPT isn’t bullish on traditional news, either. It referenced a regional legal trade publication in 6.8 percent of answers; a national newspaper in 2.7 percent; and a global news site in 1.4 percent. These were the only three “earned media” sources cited in the top 100.

Wild card: ChatGPT loves lurking on Reddit. It was the No. 11 most frequently cited source. To be sure, some of the pages ChatGPT cited were dedicated to associate kvetching, but in the eyes of this LLM, Reddit is a reliable source.

What I’d recommend: If you wanted to prioritize ChatGPT, I’d tell you to prepare to play a long game earning a Wikipedia page. For a shorter turnaround and simpler actions, you should align your practice pages to accommodate both humans and robots (and that’s another article).

PERPLEXITY

Favorite source: Awards and rankings, and it’s not close. Perplexity cited Super Lawyers in just more than half (50.7 percent) of all answers. Right behind it: Best Lawyers, with 45.2 percent, and Chambers, with 38.4 percent. 

Runner up: Law firm practice pages. Among the top 20 most frequently cited domains, 12 were law firms. The big firm bias is a little less pronounced on Perplexity; just three of the 12 were AmLaw 200 firms.

Rankings: As stated above, Perplexity favors rankings more than any other source. The platform tends to steer people toward resources that help them scout law firms themselves more than explicit recommendations. Other rankings and roundups in the top 20 include Avvo (27.4 percent); BTI Consulting’s client recommendations (20.5 percent); and Vault (17.8 percent).

Earned media: The only traditional earned media cited was Law360 (in 1.4 percent of answers).

Wild card: Perplexity also likes Reddit; Reddit chats surfaced in 17.8 percent of answers. Unlike ChatGPT, there were zero citations for Wikipedia.

What I’d recommend: For Perplexity, work on your rankings game. I would prioritize Chambers department rankings in the practices and regions that matter most. Keep your lawyers active in Super Lawyers and Best Lawyers voting, and explore paid placements for your most lucrative niches.

GOOGLE AI OVERVIEWS

Favorite source: There’s a slight edge to law firm websites, but it’s less pronounced than the favoritism shown by the other LLMs to their preferred sources. Among the top five sources, three are law firms; one is Chambers; one is Vault. 

On Google AI overviews, small law firms with smart SEO fare better. Of the 13 law firms cited most frequently, only two were Am Law 200 firms. One firm was a sole practitioner. Google AI overviews are more democratic – and reward firms that play Google’s original game.

Runner up: Legal reference pages took three spots on the top 10 sources. This includes Vault (31.9 percent) as well as law firm lists maintained by BCG Search (16.7 percent) and BTI Consulting (16.7 percent). Like Perplexity, Google AI overviews often direct users to resources that help them scout lawyers themselves.

Rankings: Google AI overviews do not rely on rankings as heavily as Perplexity, but Chambers was the second most-cited source, appearing in 36.1 percent of all answers. Other industry accolades that appeared: Super Lawyers (15.3 percent); Legal 500 (11.1 percent); Best Lawyers (5.6 percent); Best Law Firms (1.4 percent).

Earned media: Google AI overviews cited earned media more than the other LLMs. Law360 appeared in 22.2 percent of answers, the seventh-most-cited source, but usage dropped after. The ABA Journal, Law.com and a specific regional legal trade were each cited in 1.4 percent of answers. (Note that this is the LLM with the highest use of earned media, but it doesn’t approach the apocryphal claim that 96 percent of LLM answers use earned media).

Wild card: Pay-to-play newswires. Google AI overviews treat press releases posted on PR Newswire and EIN Presswire as “news.” Savvy law firms used this to announce rankings in Best Law Firms and major case results.

Interestingly, there were no Wikipedia citations, and Reddit was cited only once.

What I’d recommend: Specific to Google AI overviews, look to build a well-rounded online presence – just as you would for traditional Google results. Consider using paid newswires to share major accomplishments and rankings.

THE BOTTOM LINE

There is no magic answer to AI visibility, but this actual case study shows the sources each platform tends to favor.

Without getting into tactical takeaways (which should be based on your firm’s context), here are the two primary lessons:

• While there’s no silver bullet to top all of the LLM charts, a well-rounded online presence will help you rise across all of them. Many of these pieces work together; for example, we know that Google AI likes earned media but ChatGPT favors Wikipedia. What helps you get a Wikipedia page? Earned media mentions.
  
• If it’s worth saying, it’s worth repeating. LLMs pull from varied sources. If your firm ranks Band One in Chambers, it will obviously appear on that site, but it should be on your practice page and run as a newswire item. Demonstrate your firm’s strengths frequently, consistently and in a variety of outlets. No one, human or bot, is scanning just one source.

A comprehensive approach and consistent messaging: These fundamentals have been key to effective law firm marketing long before generative AI, and they will be instrumental to your firm’s success with it.

If you’re planning to hang your own shingle, chances are you are doing it alone; according to Forbes, only 22 percent of small business owners have mentors when they start.

While we can’t deliver your own personal mentor, we can provide advice from people who have been there before: lawyers who left the security of established firms to create their own shops. From corporate to criminal, these legal entrepreneurs offer guidance on several aspects of legal entrepreneurship:

Start with inspiration. Scott Levine started AEGIS Law in St. Louis in 2003; the firm has grown to 40 lawyers practicing in the classics (litigation, real estate, corporate) as well as emerging aspects of the law (blockchain and crypto).

Scott said he was motivated by a clarity of purpose: “At that time, I was trying to bring my perspective, my energy, and my ambitions into the world. It was about what I thought I knew and what I believed I could contribute, even if I couldn’t fully articulate it to anyone else.”

Takeaway: Take some time to define the vision for your business. It’s energizing to design the kind of firm you want, and having a written plan will keep you from wasting time and resources on tactics that don’t support your vision.

This doesn’t need to be an 83-page binder; the EOS (Entrepreneur Operating System) has a two-page “Vision/Traction Organizer” that walks you through key aspects like:

• Core Focus
• Target Clients
• Key Differentiators
• Short- and Long-Term Goals and Projections

Stick to the plan. Michelle Marvel, who co-founded the personal injury firm Cannezzaro Marvel in 2022, said it’s not enough to define your focus; you must commit to it.

“Be selective about the cases you take,” she said. “It’s tempting to accept everything to keep referral sources happy, but taking on matters that aren’t a good fit can drain your time and attention from the clients who truly need your focus. The right cases will move your firm forward; the wrong ones will hold it back.”

Know your clients. Susie Jones co-founded Jones Robb, a patent boutique, in 2007. In the early days of her new firm, she was offered a secondment with one of her clients, an experience she said was invaluable to learning the client perspective. 

“Understand your clients beyond the work product and legal advice they are seeking,” she said. “There may be solutions in the way you deliver your product, or other things you can do for them that neither of you are considering.”

For those serving corporations, she said, efficiency is paramount: “In-house budgets are tight when it comes to using law firms, so it is important to ensure you can deliver your legal services efficiently and effectively. Learn about what those client needs are, leverage technology, and think through how processes can be streamlined.”

Takeaway: Sketch out a persona of your ideal client. What are their needs, motivations, hopes and fears? This will help you communicate with empathy instead of self-promotion, and as Susie said, brainstorm ways you can better serve (and keep) them.

For a straightforward process, you can download a persona template through the Digital Marketing Institute or explore their ChatGPT prompts to draft one with AI.

Communicate consistently. David Vogel launched Eischens Vogel Mediation Solutions, a mediation firm for employment law and business litigation, in 2021. He said he and his partner focused a lot of energy on the launch announcement, but in retrospect he would have had a longer-term plan to promote the firm to their networks.

“[We] probably should have developed a broader game plan on utilizing other forms of social media, like Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, et cetera,” he said. “Once you get moving, it’s hard to circle back and use those resources, which seem to be great forms of free publicity.”

Balance smart investment and cost control. Justin Poplin, who created the IP boutique Avant Law in April 2020 before merging into AVEK IP, said he regretted not hiring faster: “We were overly conservative in hiring. If I could change something now, I would have added one more associate attorney at the beginning.”

At the same time, Tom Bath of Bath & Edmonds, a criminal defense firm created in 1997, advised new law firms to “control your costs. Keep things small, as necessary. Hard work and hustle are the keys to success.”

Takeaway: It’s worth the investment in a virtual CFO who can watch your profitability and advise on timing for new hires. This also frees you up to build the business (and to do your day job of practicing law).

Anticipate the worst. David, the former employment lawyer, brings this advice: “Although you and your colleagues are likely confident you will be business partners forever, you should prepare detailed documents regarding how difficult issues will be handled, from compensation and expense formulas to dispute resolution procedures, up to and including the path to dissolution. We’ve all just seen too many lawsuits where a friendly team planning a startup falls back on ‘That’s not going to happen’ or ‘We’ll figure it out.’”

Michael Foster, who co-founded Foster Wallace in 2018, agreed, advising startup firms to have a safety net – and “work harder than you expect.”

“If you work hard and get results, you’ll make it work, and you’ll be way happier than you were before you started your own firm and worked for someone else,” he said. “You just have to be prepared to work the long hours and do whatever it takes to succeed.”

If you’re thinking of hanging your own shingle in 2026, know there’s plenty of upside: A Clio survey shows that legal entrepreneurs are happier with their client relationships, their mental and emotional wellness, and their overall professional lives.

The Federal Bar Association, meanwhile, described the solo attorney as the “surprising outlier” to a “profession long plagued by burnout, stress, and mounting dissatisfaction,” citing data from ALPS Insurance:

• 74 percent of solo practitioners are satisfied (or very satisfied) with their current professional lives; only 9 percent are dissatisfied to any degree.
• 66 percent appreciate the flexibility of the gig, which contributes to “personal fulfillment and enjoyment.”

To be sure, this elevated state of entrepreneurship isn’t a given; it takes considerable work and, often, more than a bit of good luck. But aspiring law firm owners can set up for success with a few foundational steps early:

Before You Launch

Start with a simple business plan. This doesn’t have to be overly complicated; in fact, the simpler the better. But by taking the time to write down a simple framework for your business, you will be able to focus your time, energy and resources in your critical first year. 

• What is our basic positioning? (We do X for Y)
• Who is our ideal client?
• Why are we an ideal solution for them?
• Why are we a better choice than our peers?
• Where do we want to be in three to five years?

Don’t forget to make some eliminations here, too. As the saying goes, “The essence of strategy is choosing what not to do.” What cases and clients will you purposefully not accept? Where are you truly not a great option? (Think about building referral relationships here.)

Invest in a strong first impression. Your logo and website should give confidence to both you and your clients. This is becoming increasingly important with your younger clients, who are more likely to do their own research than rely on referrals. Indeed, Gen Z and Millennial clients care more about a lawyer’s website (49 percent and 48 percent, respectively) than Gen X and Boomers (34 percent and 21 percent, respectively).

I participated in a panel discussion with Missouri Lawyers Weekly, “From Attorney to Entrepreneur,” and one new legal entrepreneur said she decided to build a solid visual identity early because she wanted her clients to feel safe and secure despite choosing a brand new law firm. A clean, modern, professional – and mobile-friendly! – website signals that you are serious.

Beware the pitfalls that abound in the marketing arena:

• Avoid DIY design tools that may leave you not owning your firm’s mark.
• Similarly, make sure you own, not rent, your website and URL.
• Make sure your website vendor uses a common, accessible CMS like WordPress, so you are not hostage to a proprietary platform.

Determine what (and when) to delegate. You are an excellent lawyer, but owning a business carries a new set of demands, from invoicing to social media to fixing the dang printer. These administrative tasks pile up: According to Thomson Reuters, attorneys in small firms spend about 60 percent of their time practicing law, while solos spend just 55 percent of their time practicing law. 

The administrative burden of running a firm not only takes away from your billable time, it takes brain space and emotional energy. (And “winging it” can bring costly mistakes when it comes to your financial records and taxes.) Think about the business side of the firm, and start a list of the allies you may need. If your first call is to a virtual CFO or law firm financial planner, they can help you project when cash flow will allow you to hire additional experts.

After You Launch

Make sure people know how to find your firm. Your new law firm has no digital footprint. Set up your startup firm on Google Business and Bing Places for Business, or look at a service like Yext that can manage your business listings on a variety of platforms.

Meanwhile, make sure you capture people who may search for your name, not the firm’s; these may be referrals or old connections you missed in the outreach campaign. We want to make sure they find you at your new firm (and not call the old place). Updating your LinkedIn profile is a must; I recommend putting a press release about the firm launch on a search-engine-friendly distribution service like PRWeb.

Make direct outreach. Make a list of everyone you know. Mine your current email contacts, and download your LinkedIn connections. (Here’s how). Then sort them into groups:

• Hot Contacts: These can be people who match your ideal client profile right now (remember doing that above?) or people who are in direct contact with your ideal client profile. In short, these are the humans you know in the best position to give you business. (Make sure to mind solicitation guidelines if you are in a consumer-facing practice.)
• Warm Contacts: These are people who may enter your ideal client profile at some point, or people who are one or two degrees removed. For example, if you are typically hired by CEOs, this list could be vice presidents or department heads.
• Cold Contacts: These are the people you can’t imagine giving you business. Reach out to them anyway. You never know what they (or their network) are sitting on, and your new business will not suffer from more people knowing what you do.

After you sort them, reach out. My first day “open for business,” I emailed the hot contacts; the second day, the warm contacts; the third day, the cold contacts. Make these individual and personal. 

In your words, the email should convey:

“Here’s what I’m doing now.”

• Set the table, and make it straightforward. 
• I wanted to reach out to tell you I’ve started my own firm, Clark Kent & Associates.

“Keep me in mind for…”

• This is the most important part: It’s where you tell your network the kind of work you want to do and for whom you want to do it.
• Please keep me in mind for trademark prosecution or litigation involving consumer brands.

“Here’s why you can trust me.”

• Reinforce your credentials. Not all of your contacts are intimately familiar with your expertise, and even those that are could use a reminder.
• Over the past decade, I’ve managed trademark portfolios for companies in retail, hospitality, and the beauty industry. I’ve been recognized by World Trademark Review and Best Lawyers in America.

“Here’s why I’m doing this.”

• Share the passion that led you to start your own firm, and why working with you is better than the alternatives.
• I believe trademark clients are better served by a flat-fee model, and I’m excited to launch a firm with predictable pricing and no budget surprises.

“Here’s how to learn more…”

• Invite them to learn more, and thank them for their attention. This is where you can also insert some personalization (e.g., it was great to see you last month, hope the kids are well, how about those Chiefs).
• You can learn more about my new firm at [link]. Thank you for your consideration, and best wishes for the year ahead.

Focus your social media. There are myriad ways to publicize your new firm on social media, but remember, you have a firm to run now. It’s OK to not be on every platform; it’s far better to pick one strategic option and be consistent there.

LinkedIn is a natural fit for many new law firms, as your referral sources and business clients are already there. If your ideal client skews more toward young consumers, there are opportunities on Instagram and TikTok. (Although producing visually engaging, algorithm-pleasing content is more work than many expect.)

Think about where your clients are, and show up consistently there. (For other platforms, consider claiming your name/handle, and make a post showing where they can find you and your firm updates.)

Update your rankings and credentials. If you have been recognized by Super Lawyers, Best Lawyers, Benchmark Litigation, or so on, reach out and let them know about the new firm. This is increasingly important as AI tools like ChatGPT are shown to scour attorney ranking sites for their search output.

Have entrepreneur friends. Running your own business is hard. It’s freeing and affirming and often fun, but it’s also hard. According to Forbes, 50.2 percent of entrepreneurs struggle with anxiety; 45.8 percent deal with high stress; and 26.9 percent feel lonely or isolated.

It’s imperative to have friends who can relate – friends who understand the pressure of making payroll, friends who can celebrate the wins, and friends who can tell you how they fixed such-and-such. If you don’t have those people in your circle yet, explore your bar association’s Solo/Small Firm Section, or drop by a startup networking group in your community. (Or reach out to me, I’ve been there too.)

Let your network help you. Your friends and family will be excited for you (and they should be, starting a firm is a big deal!). You will get some questions along the lines of “How can we help?” Have some answers ready for your contacts who won’t necessarily be clients.

Some examples:

• Follow your new firm on social media;
• Share or comment on your announcement post; or
• Visit your website to show Google there’s interest. 

If your contacts are attorneys, they can endorse you on Avvo or Martindale. 

One final note: Everyone will want to buy you lunch when you have “just started out.” Those offers will dry up after a few months. Take the lunches.

LLMs are more likely to give positive portrayals of large, global brands, according to a worldwide study. What does that mean for law firms hoping to secure visibility in ChatGPT output?

In late 2024, the Association for Computational Linguistics completed a comprehensive study to see how LLMs would discuss various brands of shoes, clothing, beverages and electronics, based on where the queries originated. Across product categories, LLMs, and geographies, the experiments found a “clear pattern” of brand bias; that is, “LLMs associate global brands with positive attributes and local brands with negative ones, consistently across multiple models.”

As the research conclusion stated, this “could affect consumer behavior and brand perception,” as it “could exacerbate challenges for local brands competing in a global market.”

Law wasn’t among the topics tested, but with Big Law “infiltrating” secondary markets and opening offices in locations like Salt Lake City and Nashville, an increasing number of law firms find themselves competing with global players.

Using my own market of Kansas City, I ran my own experiment to see if the research would hold true regarding law firm visibility in LLMs. Simply put: Do the robots think bigger is always better?

The Parameters

My search: “Give me a short list of commercial litigation firms in Kansas City.”

My reasoning:

• Searching for “law firms” instead of “lawyers” would surface legal brands instead of individuals.
• Commercial litigation is a field with significant talent in both small and large firms; in addition to dozens of strong local boutiques, our market has significant representation from the AmLaw 100 (eight firms) and AmLaw 200 (seven firms).

I performed the search on five platforms:

• ChatGPT: Paid
• ChatGPT: Free
• Microsoft Copilot
• Gemini
• Google AI Overview

The Results

To determine whether an LLM favored large or small firms, I evaluated the size of law firms it recommended in its first three results (who reached the podium, if you will).

There was a clear Big Law bias on three of the five platforms:

• ChatGPT: Paid. Here, the top three results went to an AmLaw 200 firm based in Kansas City, an AmLaw 100 firm based in Kansas City, and a local midsize firm. Average size of podium firms: 517.
• ChatGPT: Free. The top three results went to an AmLaw 100 firm outpost, then two AmLaw 100 headquarters locations. Average size of podium firms: 1,117.
• Gemini. The first three: an AmLaw 200 firm headquartered in Kansas City, an AmLaw 100 firm outpost, and an AmLaw 100 firm headquartered in Kansas City. Average size of podium firms: 950.

Meanwhile, there was a small firm preference on two of the five:

• Microsoft Copilot. All of the five results from Copilot were local small firms, ranging in size from 1 to 17 lawyers. Average podium size: 4.
• Google AI Overview. This was the longest list of results, with 17 suggestions. Small firms dominated these results, taking the first 13 results; the top three spots went to firms ranging from 1 to 14 lawyers. Average podium size: 7.

Of note:

• ChatGPT models cited sources, including firm Wikipedia pages and Chambers rankings, that naturally favor Big Law. It’s another reminder of the renewed relevance of rankings in the AI era.
• Microsoft Copilot’s exclusive use of small firms is particularly interesting given the tool’s popularity in large law firms, where it is bundled alongside business-as-usual tools like Word and Outlook. Copilot is in use at giant firms like Husch Blackwell, DLA Piper, and Clifford Chance; if their attorneys use the tool to find local counsel, they may receive reputable solos and small firms instead of their Big Law peers.
• Not surprisingly, Google AI Overview was the platform most subject to listing firms with aggressive SEO tactics, including one law firm seemingly based in Oklahoma but with significant keyword work for Overland Park and Kansas City.

What It Means

In this (limited, informal and certainly not peer-reviewed) experiment, there was a Big Law bias, with three of the five LLMs (60 percent) recommending large firms over smaller ones.

The discrepancy is not overwhelming, though; even the LLMs that favored larger law firms also included smaller firms on the list. And as legal marketers learn more about how these models are trained to scout lawyers and law firms, we can develop strategies to increase any firm’s visibility.

The Tale of the Tape: LLMs That Love Big Law

LLM	Firms Recommended	Size Range	List Average Firm Size	Top 3 Average Firm Size
ChatGPT: Paid	5	2 to 1,000	313	517
Gemini	12	6 to 1,250	399	950
ChatGPT: Free	4	90 to 1,250	860	1,117

The Tale of the Tape: LLMs That Favor Small Firms

LLM	Firms Recommended	Size Range	List Average Firm Size	Top 3 Average Firm Size
Copilot	5	1 to 17	7	4
Google AI Overview	17	1 to 1,100	156	7

Let’s get it out of the way: Referrals still reign supreme when it comes to getting new clients. In the 2025 edition of Greentarget and Zeughauser Group’s survey of decision-makers, “recommendations from sources you trust” is the No. 1 method clients use to find new outside counsel, cited by 92 percent of in-house counsel and 86 percent of C-suite executives.

While referrals remain the dominant go-to method for your potential clients, they are also frustratingly finite: Your potential referrals are limited by your personal network. While the Pew Research Center estimates that most of us have about 634 ties in our overall networks, the number of relationships we can maintain for mutual benefit (i.e., I do your legal work, and you refer me to a friend) is 150.

So how can you attract clients outside your 150 ties? Let’s look at the other tactics your prospects turn to:

Publications and Presentations.

Writing and speaking take second place, with both in-house counsel and C-suite leaders, used by 78 percent and 74 percent, respectively. And for good reason: both provide the equivalent of free samples of your perspective and your approach – exactly why they would hire you. The influence of your writing and speaking is amplified when it is delivered through a publication, organization or event they highly trust.

Professional Biography.

If your law firm website was a store, the biography is your product description, showing potential clients your experience, background and – ideally – the benefits they can expect by hiring you. Bios are reviewed by 67 percent of in-house counsel and 74 percent of business leaders.

Related, your LinkedIn profile matters, too: It’s consulted by 62 percent of in-house lawyers and 74 percent of the C-suite.

Content.

While they lack the third-party endorsement of a major publication or trade organization newsletter, blog posts on topics that are relevant to their particular industry or issue are used by a majority of potential clients in the scouting process – 62 percent of in-house counsel and 57 percent of executives.

Peer-Driven Rankings and Directories.

Love them or hate them, accolades like Chambers, Benchmark, IP STARS and others still carry weight with more than half of your prospective clients – 56 percent of in-house lawyers and 62 percent of executives.

Quotes in Relevant Media Outlets.

Being quoted as an expert source helps with fewer than half (42 percent) of in-house lawyers, but earned media remains a popular way to reach business leaders, with 51 percent considering quotes in their attorney searches.

What’s not on the list?

Posts on X (formerly Twitter) took a precipitous drop in this edition of the survey, going from use by 48 percent of the C-suite to just 36 percent, and from 21 percent of in-house lawyers to just 13 percent.

Meanwhile, law firms should not be overly concerned with their Wikipedia pages, referred to by 24 percent of C-level executives and 13 percent of in-house lawyers.

What does this mean for you?

To reach potential clients outside your immediate network – and to bolster your standings among referrals who look you up – consider four activities:

1. Pursue writing and speaking opportunities with outlets that are relevant to your target clients. Think beyond bar events; what conferences or conventions do your prospects attend? Where do they speak or sponsor? What do they read? Some light Linkedin stalking can be very informative.
   Want to be a true authority in your priority industries or markets? Consider conducting a survey to position yourself as an authority with exclusive insights.
2. Update your firm biography. This website page may be the most powerful document in your marketing arsenal, capturing the attention of two out of three in-house counsel. Make it current and compelling, and make sure it provides evidence of your capabilities, not just claims.
3. Show your expertise through content. Publishing insights and analysis on your firm’s website gives you an owned media channel that can impress potential clients and draw additional traffic, expanding your network even more. Make it useful, current and concise.
4. Take a purposeful approach to awards and rankings. The Greentarget/Zeughauser report refers to these as “icing on the cake” for your prospects; they may not get you the work on their own, but they can serve as a third-party seal of approval in the consideration process. Survey your competition: Where are they ranked? Where can you unseat them? Are there any industry awards – e.g., the Widget Industry Lawyer of the Year – that could mean more to your clients than another lawyer-to-lawyer prize?

Choose one award you can either add or upgrade, and play to win.

In 2025, nearly half of attorneys and law firm marketers said that business development will be harder than in 2024, according to BTI Consulting – and that was before increased chatter about a possible recession. In this kind of environment, it’s dangerous to rely on passive referrals alone; improve your business development probabilities with marketing communications tactics that are shown to get the attention of the prospects who matter most.