9 of 10
legal questions we gave an assistant ended with the person told to call or fill in a form. It named firms but could not see a consultation.
Picked by Agents runs, 5 practice areas in Austin and Columbus, Sept 2026
42%
of AI citations for lawyers point to Google profiles. Avvo gets 2.5% and Justia 3.2%.
BrightLocal AI directory sources, Aug 2026
$127
is what a click on "lawyer seo" costs. Firms are a hard fought market for the people selling to them too.
Google Ads keyword data via DataForSEO, Sept 2026
The client asks an assistant before they call anyone
We gave an assistant the questions people actually type in five practice areas. A rear-end collision, a first DUI, a spouse's work permit, wills and a trust for a family with two kids, a debt collector who will not stop calling. In every case it searched, read firm sites, and came back with two or three firms and a reason for each.
It picked independent firms 25 times out of 28, not directories or national referral services. The firm's own site was where it found the reason to name it. The shortlist is decided by what you publish.
“The assistant named firms it could explain. It passed on the ones that left it guessing.”
What the assistant could not find
Reading every reason the assistant gave, the same gaps kept firms off the list or left the person with a phone number and nothing else.
- 01
Fees nobody publishes
In 23 of 28 picks the assistant noted a fee it could not confirm. The flat fee for a will, the cost of a DUI consultation, whether case expenses are owed if nothing is recovered.
- 02
No consultation it could see
A free consultation is on every site. A time it could offer the person was on almost none. One booking calendar would not open for it at all.
- 03
Practice areas that are too general
A firm that lists employment matters but never says it handles an H-4 work permit, or lists personal injury without naming car accidents, was described in vaguer terms than one with a page for the exact matter.
- 04
Who handles the case
The assistant wanted to know whether a lawyer or an intake team answers, and which attorney takes this kind of matter. Few sites say.
- 05
Forms built for a person
A consultation form that only works with JavaScript was a dead end for it. It could not tell what the form would ask or what happens next.
What gets a firm named
The firms that were named made the assistant's job easy. A page for each matter and city, naming the lawyer who handles it. Consultation terms stated plainly, and a fee or a fee structure where your bar allows it. Bar standing and certifications the assistant can link to. Reviews on the directories it reads, consistent with your Google profile.
This is still law firm SEO. The pages that answer the client's question are the ones search engines reward too. The difference is the test. We check whether the assistant names you, not only where a page ranks.
What we do for a law firm
- 01
Run the client's real questions, monthly
The questions your clients ask, in each city you serve, through the assistants people use, against the firms that beat you. You see who got named and, in the assistant's own words, why.
- 02
Matter and city pages that answer the question
One page per matter type and office, naming the lawyer, the consultation terms and what the client should expect, written for an assistant to cite.
- 03
Standing and reviews the assistant can confirm
Bar profiles, certifications and the directories the assistants read, made consistent with your site and your Google profile.
- 04
A consultation an assistant can see
Where you are willing, published consultation times or a request path that does not end at a callback form. We tag AI-sourced calls and forms in your intake so you can see which matters the assistant sent.
- 05
Within the rules, every time
Everything we publish respects your state bar's advertising rules. No "best" claims, no promised outcomes, no results without the context your bar requires. We are paid a flat monthly fee, never per lead or per case. You approve every page before it goes live.
Who this is for
Consumer-facing firms where a partner or a marketing director owns intake. Personal injury, criminal defense, family, estate planning, immigration, employment and consumer law. One office or twenty.
No assistant signs a client or books a consultation today. We sell a place on the shortlist and proof you are on it, not cases. Personal injury firms have their own page, linked below.
Law firm SEO as usual vs Picked by Agents
| Law firm SEO as usual | Picked by Agents | |
|---|---|---|
| Where the client decides | A page of ten links, a map pack and ads | One answer with about three firms and a reason for each |
| What it measures | Rankings, traffic, cost per signed case | Whether the assistant named your firm, and why, every month |
| What it fixes | Content volume and backlinks | Matter pages, consultation terms, fees, bar standing, reviews |
| Compliance | Reviewed after the fact | Written to your bar's advertising rules, approved by you first |
| Proof | A rankings report | The assistant's own words, then AI-sourced calls in your intake |
| When it stops working | When the next update moves the rankings | The pages stay yours. You keep them if you leave. |
Questions we get asked
Is this law firm SEO or something else?
- Both. The pages that get a firm named by an assistant, one per matter and city with the facts a client needs, are the pages search engines reward too. What changes is the test. We run your clients' questions through the assistants every month and report whether you were named, not only where a page ranks.
How many clients really ask an assistant for a lawyer?
- Nobody has measured it for legal specifically, and we will not invent a number. What is measured is that 45% of US consumers used an AI tool for local business recommendations in the past year, per BrightLocal. We start with your intake data and add AI-sourced calls as we tag them.
Can you make the assistant call us the best firm?
- No, and you should not want that under most bar rules. We do not write "best" claims or promise outcomes. We publish accurate facts the assistants weigh and let them draw the conclusion.
Do we have to publish our fees?
- No. It is your call, and anything published must be accurate and comply with your bar's rules. In our runs the assistant noted a fee it could not confirm in 23 of 28 picks, so a firm that states its terms clearly stands out.
How are you paid?
- A flat monthly fee. Never per lead, per referral or per case, which keeps the work clear of fee-sharing and referral rules.
Does this replace our SEO agency?
- No. Keep your agency and your ads. We fix the one thing they do not measure, whether the assistant names you when someone asks which lawyer to call.
Your next step
See which firms the assistants name in your city.
The report is free. It shows who they named for the questions your clients ask, and what they found or could not find about you. Then we fix it, guaranteed.
Or write to Greg at greg@pickedbyagents.com.