State bar associations appeared in 165 of 288 four-engine answers (57.3%). Martindale-Hubbell and Avvo followed at 47.6% and 46.2%, and their intervals overlap with the state bars'. Wikipedia was the most cited domain. Google showed AI Overviews on 4 of 72 lookups.
TECH & B2B
Finding a Lawyer: Which Sources AI Engines Name and Cite
Published June 28, 2026 · Updated October 30, 2026
288
AI answers analyzed across ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Perplexity
57.3%
of answers named State bar associations, the most-named (165 of 288)
25
tracked names named at least once (of 25)
5.6%
of Google searches showed an AI Overview (4 of 72)
Version 2. This version replaces the first version of this study, first published June 28, 2026. It uses measured counts, so the two versions are not comparable. Version 2 asks 24 questions three times each on ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Perplexity (288 answers) and adds Google AI Overviews. Every rate comes with its count and a 95% interval.
What the data shows
01
165/288 (57.3%)
State bar associations appeared in 165 of 288 four-engine answers (57.3%, CI 51.5–62.9%). That was the highest rate of the 25 tracked names.
02
47.6% / 46.2%
Martindale-Hubbell (137 of 288, CI 41.9–53.3%) and Avvo (133 of 288, CI 40.5–52%) have intervals that overlap with the state bars' interval. The data cannot separate these three.
03
104/288 (36.1%)
State bar associations were the first name in 104 of 288 answers. The next most frequent first names were LegalZoom (31 of 288) and Vault (23 of 288).
04
147 of 2,447
en.wikipedia.org was the most cited domain, with 147 of 2,447 citations (6%). It appeared in 72 of the 265 grounded answers (27.2%).
05
50.9%
Of 2,447 four-engine citations, directories and rankings supplied 746 (30.5%), company and brand sites 671 (27.4%) and review and comparison publishers 280 (11.4%). Directories and rankings made up 522 (21.3%), and official or government sources 85 (3.5%).
06
54/265 (20.4%)
bestlawyers.com was cited in 54 of 265 grounded answers (20.4%), the highest own-domain rate of any tracked name. The engines named Best Lawyers itself in only 70 of 288 answers (24.3%).
07
15/72 vs 45/72
Perplexity named Martindale-Hubbell in 15 of 72 answers (20.8%). Gemini named it in 45 of 72 (62.5%). Perplexity also named Avvo, FindLaw and Justia far less often than the other three engines.
08
4/72 (5.6%)
Google showed an AI Overview on 4 of 72 lookups (5.6%, CI 2.2–13.4%). With so few overviews, the AIO results are thin.
09
49/288 (17.0%)
Kirkland & Ellis was named in 49 of 288 answers (17%), but kirkland.com was cited in only 4 of 265 grounded answers (1.5%). Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz was named in 20 of 288 answers, and its own domain was never cited.
Appearance rate across 288 four-engine answers. The bar is the 95% confidence interval; overlapping bars cannot be told apart at this sample size.
Which names AI engines name
State bar associations
57.3%
Martindale-Hubbell
47.6%
Avvo
46.2%
LegalZoom
42.4%
FindLaw
41.7%
Super Lawyers
35.4%
Justia
35.1%
Rocket Lawyer
34.0%
ABA
27.8%
Nolo
26.4%
Best Lawyers
24.3%
Lawyers.com
24.0%
Chambers and Partners
23.3%
Kirkland & Ellis
17.0%
Latham & Watkins
16.7%
| # | Name | Named in | Appearance rate | 95% interval |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | State bar associations | 165/288 | 57.3% | 51.5–62.9% |
| 2 | Martindale-Hubbell | 137/288 | 47.6% | 41.9–53.3% |
| 3 | Avvo | 133/288 | 46.2% | 40.5–52.0% |
| 4 | LegalZoom | 122/288 | 42.4% | 36.8–48.1% |
| 5 | FindLaw | 120/288 | 41.7% | 36.1–47.4% |
| 6 | Super Lawyers | 102/288 | 35.4% | 30.1–41.1% |
| 7 | Justia | 101/288 | 35.1% | 29.8–40.7% |
| 8 | Rocket Lawyer | 98/288 | 34.0% | 28.8–39.7% |
| 9 | ABA | 80/288 | 27.8% | 22.9–33.2% |
| 10 | Nolo | 76/288 | 26.4% | 21.6–31.8% |
| 11 | Best Lawyers | 70/288 | 24.3% | 19.7–29.6% |
| 12 | Lawyers.com | 69/288 | 24.0% | 19.4–29.2% |
| 13 | Chambers and Partners | 67/288 | 23.3% | 18.8–28.5% |
| 14 | Kirkland & Ellis | 49/288 | 17.0% | 13.1–21.8% |
| 15 | Latham & Watkins | 48/288 | 16.7% | 12.8–21.4% |
The full list
Own-domain citation is the share of 265 grounded answers that cited the entity's own domains (subdomains included). Citation share is of all 2,447 citations.
| # | Name | Named in | Appearance rate | 95% interval | First mention | Own-domain citation | Citation share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | State bar associations | 165/288 | 57.3% | 51.5–62.9% | 2.6 | 0% (0/265) | 0% |
| 2 | Martindale-Hubbell | 137/288 | 47.6% | 41.9–53.3% | 3.2 | 15.8% (42/265) | 1.9% |
| 3 | Avvo | 133/288 | 46.2% | 40.5–52% | 3.5 | 13.2% (35/265) | 1.7% |
| 4 | LegalZoom | 122/288 | 42.4% | 36.8–48.1% | 4.8 | 10.6% (28/265) | 1.4% |
| 5 | FindLaw | 120/288 | 41.7% | 36.1–47.4% | 5 | 16.2% (43/265) | 2% |
| 6 | Super Lawyers | 102/288 | 35.4% | 30.1–41.1% | 4.2 | 13.2% (35/265) | 1.6% |
| 7 | Justia | 101/288 | 35.1% | 29.8–40.7% | 5 | 14.7% (39/265) | 1.6% |
| 8 | Rocket Lawyer | 98/288 | 34% | 28.8–39.7% | 5.4 | 1.9% (5/265) | 0.2% |
| 9 | ABA | 80/288 | 27.8% | 22.9–33.2% | 3.3 | 10.2% (27/265) | 1.3% |
| 10 | Nolo | 76/288 | 26.4% | 21.6–31.8% | 6.6 | 6% (16/265) | 0.7% |
| 11 | Best Lawyers | 70/288 | 24.3% | 19.7–29.6% | 3.5 | 20.4% (54/265) | 4% |
| 12 | Lawyers.com | 69/288 | 24% | 19.4–29.2% | 6.1 | 7.2% (19/265) | 1% |
| 13 | Chambers and Partners | 67/288 | 23.3% | 18.8–28.5% | 3 | 17% (45/265) | 3.6% |
| 14 | Kirkland & Ellis | 49/288 | 17% | 13.1–21.8% | 3.6 | 1.5% (4/265) | 0.2% |
| 15 | Latham & Watkins | 48/288 | 16.7% | 12.8–21.4% | 4.2 | 2.3% (6/265) | 0.2% |
| 16 | Vault | 43/288 | 14.9% | 11.3–19.5% | 2.1 | 12.1% (32/265) | 1.6% |
| 17 | Legal 500 | 32/288 | 11.1% | 8–15.3% | 3.7 | 6.4% (17/265) | 0.9% |
| 18 | UpCounsel | 29/288 | 10.1% | 7.1–14.1% | 6.5 | 1.5% (4/265) | 0.2% |
| 19 | Skadden | 28/288 | 9.7% | 6.8–13.7% | 3.7 | 1.9% (5/265) | 0.3% |
| 20 | Fish & Richardson | 23/288 | 8% | 5.4–11.7% | 3.5 | 1.9% (5/265) | 0.2% |
| 21 | Finnegan | 21/288 | 7.3% | 4.8–10.9% | 4.3 | 1.5% (4/265) | 0.2% |
| 22 | Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz | 20/288 | 6.9% | 4.5–10.5% | 2.9 | 0% (0/265) | 0% |
| 23 | LegalShield | 15/288 | 5.2% | 3.2–8.4% | 4.9 | 0.4% (1/265) | 0% |
| 24 | Morgan & Morgan | 13/288 | 4.5% | 2.7–7.6% | 4.2 | 1.1% (3/265) | 0.1% |
| 25 | Trust & Will | 12/288 | 4.2% | 2.4–7.1% | 1.1 | 0.8% (2/265) | 0.1% |
The top eight, side by side
| # | Name | Appearance rate | Answers and interval | Other measures |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | State bar associations | 57.3% | 165/288 answers · 95% CI 51.5–62.9% | first-mention position: 2.6; owned-domain citation (0/265): 0%; citation share: 0% |
| 2 | Martindale-Hubbell | 47.6% | 137/288 answers · 95% CI 41.9–53.3% | first-mention position: 3.2; owned-domain citation (42/265): 15.8%; citation share: 1.9% |
| 3 | Avvo | 46.2% | 133/288 answers · 95% CI 40.5–52% | first-mention position: 3.5; owned-domain citation (35/265): 13.2%; citation share: 1.7% |
| 4 | LegalZoom | 42.4% | 122/288 answers · 95% CI 36.8–48.1% | first-mention position: 4.8; owned-domain citation (28/265): 10.6%; citation share: 1.4% |
| 5 | FindLaw | 41.7% | 120/288 answers · 95% CI 36.1–47.4% | first-mention position: 5; owned-domain citation (43/265): 16.2%; citation share: 2% |
| 6 | Super Lawyers | 35.4% | 102/288 answers · 95% CI 30.1–41.1% | first-mention position: 4.2; owned-domain citation (35/265): 13.2%; citation share: 1.6% |
| 7 | Justia | 35.1% | 101/288 answers · 95% CI 29.8–40.7% | first-mention position: 5; owned-domain citation (39/265): 14.7%; citation share: 1.6% |
| 8 | Rocket Lawyer | 34.0% | 98/288 answers · 95% CI 28.8–39.7% | first-mention position: 5.4; owned-domain citation (5/265): 1.9%; citation share: 0.2% |
The engines agreed most on state bar associations. ChatGPT named them in 42 of 72 answers (58.3%), Claude 42 of 72 (58.3%), Gemini 41 of 72 (56.9%) and Perplexity 40 of 72 (55.6%). They agreed far less on lawyer directories. Gemini named Martindale-Hubbell in 45 of 72 answers and Avvo in 43 of 72. Perplexity named them in 15 and 13.
ChatGPT
72 asked · 72 returned · 72 grounded
Same questions, different answers
State bar associations
58.3%
Rocket Lawyer
55.6%
LegalZoom
54.2%
Martindale-Hubbell
50.0%
Avvo
50.0%
FindLaw
41.7%
Claude
72 asked · 72 returned · 49 grounded
State bar associations
58.3%
Martindale-Hubbell
56.9%
Avvo
56.9%
FindLaw
52.8%
Super Lawyers
48.6%
Justia
44.4%
Gemini
72 asked · 72 returned · 72 grounded
Martindale-Hubbell
62.5%
Avvo
59.7%
State bar associations
56.9%
Justia
54.2%
LegalZoom
51.4%
FindLaw
51.4%
Perplexity
72 asked · 72 returned · 72 grounded
State bar associations
55.6%
Best Lawyers
41.7%
Chambers and Partners
25.0%
ABA
23.6%
Martindale-Hubbell
20.8%
LegalZoom
20.8%
Google AI Overviews were captured through 72 U.S. desktop searches and scored only where an overview appeared, so five-engine figures use 288 + 4 = 292 answers.
The fifth engine
6%
Trigger rate: 4 of 72 searches
Google showed an AI Overview on 4 of 72 lookups (5.6%, CI 2.2–13.4%). There was no overview on the other 68, and no lookup failed. Overviews appeared on the largest-US-law-firms question (2 of 3), the immigration lawyer question (1 of 3) and the criminal defense lawyer question (1 of 3). Kirkland & Ellis, Latham & Watkins, Skadden and Vault each appeared in 2 of the 4 overviews. State bar associations, Martindale-Hubbell and Super Lawyers each appeared in 1 of 4. youtube.com had the largest share of overview citations, 3 occurrences (25%). Four overviews are too few to support a ranking.
| Five-engine rank | Name | Five-engine rate | Four-engine rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | State bar associations | 56.8% | 1 |
| 2 | Martindale-Hubbell | 47.3% | 2 |
| 3 | Avvo | 45.5% | 3 |
| 4 | LegalZoom | 41.8% | 4 |
| 5 | FindLaw | 41.1% | 5 |
| 6 | Super Lawyers | 35.3% | 6 |
| 7 | Justia | 34.6% | 7 |
| 8 | Rocket Lawyer | 33.6% | 8 |
Who each question surfaces first
Six questions from the set. Each tile uses that question's own four-engine answers as the denominator.
| Question | Leader | Next | AI Overview |
|---|---|---|---|
| Q01 · 12 answers | Martindale-Hubbell 91.7% | Avvo 91.7%; Justia 75.0% | AI Overview shown on 0 of 3 searches |
| Q02 · 12 answers | Martindale-Hubbell 100.0% | Avvo 100.0%; Justia 100.0% | AI Overview shown on 0 of 3 searches |
| Q03 · 12 answers | State bar associations 91.7% | Morgan & Morgan 83.3%; Martindale-Hubbell 66.7% | AI Overview shown on 0 of 3 searches |
| Q04 · 12 answers | State bar associations 100.0% | Martindale-Hubbell 75.0%; Avvo 75.0% | AI Overview shown on 0 of 3 searches |
| Q05 · 12 answers | State bar associations 100.0% | Avvo 75.0%; Martindale-Hubbell 58.3% | AI Overview shown on 1 of 3 searches |
| Q06 · 12 answers | State bar associations 83.3% | Martindale-Hubbell 75.0%; Avvo 75.0% | AI Overview shown on 1 of 3 searches |
The four engines produced 2,447 citations across 265 grounded answers. Of 2,447 four-engine citations, directories and rankings supplied 746 (30.5%), company and brand sites 671 (27.4%), review and comparison publishers 280 (11.4%), reference sites 279 (11.4%), institutions and trade bodies 138 (5.6%) and official and government sites 90 (3.7%). Institutions and trade bodies added 217 (8.9%) and reference sites 159 (6.5%). Official or government sources made up 85 (3.5%). The most cited domain was en.wikipedia.org, with 147 citations (6%).
Four AI engines · share of 265 grounded answers
Most-cited domains
en.wikipedia.org
27.2%
bestlawyers.com
20.4%
chambers.com
17.0%
bestlawfirms.com
17.0%
clio.com
16.2%
martindale.com
15.8%
avvo.com
13.2%
justia.com
12.8%
legalzoom.com
9.8%
clutch.co
8.7%
Google AI Overviews · share of 4 overviews
en.wikipedia.org
50.0%
ilrg.com
50.0%
vault.com
50.0%
youtube.com
25.0%
1000attorneys.com
25.0%
kanulaw.com
25.0%
reddit.com
25.0%
Citation share by source type
Share of all citations by the type of site cited. Source types were reclassified on October 29, 2026. 'Company / brand sites' now covers only the official sites of companies, brands and schools; publishers, directories, trade bodies and other sites have their own types, and sites that could not be placed are 'Other / unclassified'.
| Source type | Four AI engines (of 2,447 citations) | Google AI Overviews (of 12 citations) |
|---|---|---|
| Directories / rankings | 746 (30.5%) | 5 (41.7%) |
| Company / brand sites | 671 (27.4%) | 1 (8.3%) |
| Review / comparison publishers | 280 (11.4%) | 0 (0%) |
| Reference | 279 (11.4%) | 2 (16.7%) |
| Institutions / trade bodies | 138 (5.6%) | 0 (0%) |
| Official / government | 90 (3.7%) | 0 (0%) |
| Trade / specialist press | 90 (3.7%) | 0 (0%) |
| General news / business press | 79 (3.2%) | 0 (0%) |
| Community / social | 50 (2%) | 4 (33.3%) |
| Research / data providers | 18 (0.7%) | 0 (0%) |
| Other / unclassified | 6 (0.2%) | 0 (0%) |
How can names improve their AI visibility?
These steps follow from the measured results above. They describe what the engines cited in this study and are not a guarantee of results.
| Step | What this study measured |
|---|---|
| Put your facts on your own domain. | Best Lawyers's own domains were cited in 20.4% of grounded answers, Chambers and Partners's in 17.0% and FindLaw's in 16.2%. |
| Keep your facts accurate on the sites engines cite. | The most-cited sites other than the tracked names' own were en.wikipedia.org (in 27.2% of grounded answers), bestlawfirms.com (17.0%), clio.com (16.2%), mycase.com (11.7%) and clutch.co (8.7%). Directories and rankings supplied 30.5% of citations and review and comparison publishers 11.4%. |
| Check each engine separately. | Gemini named Martindale-Hubbell in 62.5% of answers against 20.8% on Perplexity. Gemini named Justia in 54.2% of answers against 12.5% on Perplexity. |
| Do not ignore video and community sites. | Community and social sites supplied 33.3% of Google AI Overview citations against 2.0% in the four chat engines. youtube.com was cited in 25.0% of overviews and reddit.com in 25.0%. |
| Re-run the same questions every month. | Compare counts and intervals, not ranks. The 24 questions are in the appendix. |
Frequently asked questions
Which source do AI engines name most when asked how to find a lawyer?
State bar associations, named in 165 of 288 four-engine answers (57.3%) and first in 104 of 288. Martindale-Hubbell (137 of 288) and Avvo (133 of 288) have 95% intervals that overlap with the state bars' interval.
Do AI engines name specific law firms?
Yes, on corporate questions. Kirkland & Ellis, Latham & Watkins and Skadden each appeared in all 12 answers on M&A law firms. Kirkland & Ellis was named first in 10 of 12 answers on the largest US law firms. Across all questions, Kirkland & Ellis was named in 49 of 288 answers (17%).
How often did Google show an AI Overview for these questions?
On 4 of 72 lookups (5.6%, CI 2.2–13.4%). The 4 overviews came from the largest-firms, immigration and criminal defense questions.
Which websites do the engines cite most?
en.wikipedia.org, with 147 of 2,447 citations (6%). Next came bestlawyers.com (97) and chambers.com (89). Of 2,447 four-engine citations, directories and rankings supplied 746 (30.5%), company and brand sites 671 (27.4%) and review and comparison publishers 280 (11.4%).
Are lawyer ranking sites like Super Lawyers and Best Lawyers mentioned?
Super Lawyers was named in 102 of 288 answers (35.4%) and Best Lawyers in 70 of 288 (24.3%). On the question about whether such rankings are reliable, Super Lawyers was named first in 8 of 12 answers.
Do the four engines agree?
They agree on state bar associations, which each engine named in 40 to 42 of its 72 answers. They differ on directories. Perplexity named Martindale-Hubbell in 15 of 72 answers, compared with 45 of 72 for Gemini.
How this study was measured
24 questions × 3 runs each × 4 AI engines = 288 answers + 72 Google searches · 4 AI Overviews
24 questions, each asked 3 times on each engine, measured October 26, 2026. Market: United States, English. The destination site was not mentioned to any engine. Entities count as named when they appear in the answer text or the extracted entity list; products, imprints and research arms roll up to their parent.
| Engine | Model IDs called | Asked | Returned | Grounded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ChatGPT | gpt-5-mini | 72 | 72 | 72 |
| Claude | claude-sonnet-5-5 | 72 | 72 | 49 |
| Gemini | gemini-3.7-flash | 72 | 72 | 72 |
| Perplexity | sonar-pro | 72 | 72 | 72 |
| Google AI Overviews | DataForSEO Google SERP (live, advanced) | 72 | 4 shown | 4 |
Own-domain citations count a domain plus all its subdomains, with the same rule in every table.
Definitions
- Appearance rate: answers naming the entity ÷ answers returned, with Wilson 95% intervals.
- First mention: average order in which the entity first appears (1 = first).
- Own-domain citation: grounded answers citing the entity's domains ÷ grounded answers.
- Citation share: citations to the entity's domains ÷ all citations.
Limits
- Measured on one day, October 26, 2026. Answers came from each engine's API (model IDs above); the consumer apps can answer differently.
- Citation figures are based on 265 grounded answers. Claude grounded 49 of its 72 answers, compared with 72 of 72 for each of the other engines.
- Google AI Overviews appeared on only 4 of 72 lookups. AIO figures are reported but too few to rank entities.
- 'State bar associations' is a grouped category, not a single organization, so no own domain could be credited to it.
- Names are counted when they appear in an answer's text, so longer forms such as legal company names (for example "Meta Platforms, Inc." or "Ralph Lauren Corporation") count toward the brand.
- Two questions, "Are lawyer rankings like Super Lawyers and Best Lawyers reliable?" and "Should I use LegalZoom or hire a lawyer to form an LLC?", name sources, so their counts include up to 12 answers to each. Without them, state bar associations, Martindale-Hubbell and Avvo are still the top three.
- Intervals treat each answer as independent, so they understate uncertainty for the 24 repeated questions.
Appendix: The 24 questions
Questions marked "Core question" are the original study questions, asked word for word. The others are added neutral questions.
| # | Question | Group | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | How do I find a good lawyer? | Finding a Lawyer | Core question |
| 02 | What are the best websites to find a lawyer? | Finding a Lawyer | Core question |
| 03 | How do I find a personal injury lawyer? | Finding a Lawyer | Core question |
| 04 | How do I find a good family law attorney for a divorce? | Finding a Lawyer | Core question |
| 05 | What is the best way to find an immigration lawyer? | Finding a Lawyer | Core question |
| 06 | How do I find a criminal defense lawyer? | Finding a Lawyer | Core question |
| 07 | What are the best online estate planning services? | Finding a Lawyer | Core question |
| 08 | What are the best law firms for mergers and acquisitions? | Finding a Lawyer | Core question |
| 09 | Which law firms are best for intellectual property? | Finding a Lawyer | Core question |
| 10 | How do I find a bankruptcy attorney? | Finding a Lawyer | Core question |
| 11 | Are lawyer rankings like Super Lawyers and Best Lawyers reliable? | Finding a Lawyer | Core question |
| 12 | Should I use LegalZoom or hire a lawyer to form an LLC? | Finding a Lawyer | Core question |
| 13 | How do I find an employment lawyer? | Finding a Lawyer | Added question |
| 14 | How do I find a real estate attorney? | Finding a Lawyer | Added question |
| 15 | How do I find a tax attorney? | Finding a Lawyer | Added question |
| 16 | How can I check whether a lawyer is licensed? | Finding a Lawyer | Added question |
| 17 | How do I find a patent attorney? | Finding a Lawyer | Added question |
| 18 | What are the largest law firms in the US? | Finding a Lawyer | Added question |
| 19 | How do I find free legal aid? | Finding a Lawyer | Added question |
| 20 | What are the best online services for registering a trademark? | Finding a Lawyer | Added question |
| 21 | How do I find a lawyer for a startup? | Finding a Lawyer | Added question |
| 22 | How do I find a medical malpractice lawyer? | Finding a Lawyer | Added question |
| 23 | How much does a lawyer cost per hour? | Finding a Lawyer | Added question |
| 24 | How do I find a landlord-tenant lawyer? | Finding a Lawyer | Added question |
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5W is an independent PR, creative and GEO agency founded in 2003, and we get you in the chatbox. All of our work is done in house, including media relations, site building and content. Learn more about our GEO practice or write to info@5wpr.com.
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