Large law firms lagged small firms when it came to the use of the Internet for marketing and after that publishing (particularly blogging) to build authority and business and then SEO for high search rankings.
The problem in the case of many large law firms is that they are lagging again.
Rather than recognizing that AI is changing the game in digital publishing for business development as smaller and more nimble firms are, many large law firms are now chasing SEO, search and analytics. And designing their web strategy around it.
Google AI overviews is causing a huge drop (25% this year per Digiday) in referrals from Google traffic for publishers — included in that is the content marketing of law firms. ChatGPT and Gemini is having the same effect.
For AI, authority—not SEO, website traffic, or analytics—is everything. The lawyers and firms taking deliberate steps to ensure their publishing is recognized and cited as authoritative in AI will again be ahead of many large law firms.
Smaller firms—and some innovative larger ones—are studying the research, listening to trusted authorities, and acting. Meanwhile, many large law firms are repeating the past and lagging behind.
It’s a shame. Lawyers in large firms have the chops to lead in AI authority. Ironically, their firms’ outdated marketing strategies are going to hold them back.
None of us can predict exactly where AI will take legal publishing for business development in a year or more. But the authorities tell is and rthe esearch makes clear one thing is obvious—it’s not moving toward SEO, website traffic, or analytics.