Law Firm Marketing: The 2026 Playbook From Top Firms
Law firm marketing in 2026 works when a firm builds six things: one positioning sentence, a visible partner bench, published authority, a marquee case, brand discipline across offices, and presence in AI answers. Firms that do this, from Kirkland & Ellis to Wachtell to Morgan & Morgan, win shortlists before any pitch is written. This playbook shows how each discipline works and how to start.
What do the best law firms actually do in marketing?
The best law firms run six disciplines, and the firms below each show one of them clearly. The firms differ in size and client base, which is the point: the disciplines scale up and down, and ad budget is not the common factor.
Discipline
What it means
Firm that shows it
1. A positioning sentence
One line that tells the market what the firm is for
Quinn Emanuel presents itself as devoted solely to business litigation and arbitration. Morgan & Morgan has used "For the People" since the Orlando firm started in 1988
2. A visible partner bench
Named, quotable partners who comment on the record
Boies Schiller Flexner built its brand on David Boies. Paul Weiss tied its profile to chairman Brad Karp
3. Published authority
Memos, alerts and analysis that others cite
Wachtell's client memos on takeover defense and governance. Latham's client alerts and its Book of Jargon series
4. A marquee case
Work on a visible matter that earns coverage
Susman Godfrey was among counsel for Dominion Voting Systems in its defamation suit against Fox News, which settled for $787.5 million in 2023
5. Brand discipline at scale
One consistent voice across practices and offices
Latham reads as one firm across more than 30 offices. Kirkland reported $10.556 billion in 2025 gross revenue, the first law firm above $10 billion, according to The American Lawyer
6. Presence in AI answers
Being named when buyers ask an AI engine for counsel
Kirkland leads EPR's AI visibility rankings, and Wachtell ranks high with the smallest website in BigLaw
The scale effect is real but not required. Forbes reported in its December 2024 and January 2025 issue that Morgan & Morgan spends about $350 million a year on advertising, which no AmLaw 100 firm approaches in consumer advertising. EPR's analysis of why smaller firms cannot copy that model is in Morgan & Morgan and the digital marketing arms race. The sections below cover what a firm of any size can do.
How do you write a law firm positioning sentence?
Write a positioning sentence by finishing one prompt: "We are the firm clients choose when ___." A good sentence is specific enough that a competitor could not also claim it, and short enough that a journalist can repeat it. Most large firms describe themselves as full service, which describes hundreds of firms and gives the press and recruits nothing to remember.
Pick the work you want more of. Positioning is a commitment about future work, not a description of everything the firm has done.
Test it against three competitors. If a competitor could use the same sentence, it is not positioning yet.
Say it in one sentence. Business litigation and arbitration is a sentence. A list of twelve practice groups is not.
Put it on every surface. The sentence belongs on the homepage, partner bios, press boilerplate, recruiting materials and LinkedIn pages, so the market and AI engines read the same thing everywhere.
Specific positioning can also be a subject area, as Holland & Knight shows with public policy and government relations, a position that holds across changes of administration.
How do you build a visible partner bench?
Build a partner bench by choosing three to five partners who are willing to speak on the record, preparing them, and making them easy for reporters to reach. EPR's view is that sustained partner visibility is the highest-leverage channel most large firms underuse, because the named partner is the brand surface that both reporters and AI engines retrieve.
Choose by subject, not seniority. A reporter covering antitrust wants the antitrust partner, whatever their title.
Prepare a one-page expertise sheet per partner. It lists the subjects they will comment on, recent matters that are public, and how to reach them quickly.
Give a fast answer. Press requests routed through a long approval chain produce no quotes. Agree a short clearance process in advance.
Train for the interview. Rule 3.6 and client confidentiality limit what a lawyer may say, and the limits are covered in What Lawyers Can Actually Say.
Spread the visibility across several people. Paul Weiss tied its public profile closely to chairman Brad Karp, who led the firm from 2008. Karp stepped down as chairman on February 4, 2026, after emails released by the Justice Department showed his connections to Jeffrey Epstein, and he remained a partner, according to Bloomberg Law and Fortune. A firm that makes one person its main spokesperson concentrates its reputation in that person, and the lesson is to build a bench, not a single face.
What should a law firm publish to build authority?
A law firm should publish analysis that a reader cannot get from a competitor's alert: a position, a data point or a practical answer to a live question. Wachtell shows the model at its sharpest, because its client memos on takeover defense and corporate governance anchor much of the public discussion of those topics, and its partners write for major business outlets. The 2026 Am Law 100 reported average profits of $12.152 million per equity partner at Wachtell, the first firm above $12 million, according to LawFuel's summary. The firm's profile is at Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz.
Publish fast on live events. A client alert on a new ruling or rule has the most value in the first days.
Take a position. A summary that every firm publishes earns no citations.
Name the author. Named partners build the entity record that AI engines match to a firm.
Keep it crawlable. Content behind a login or a PDF wall cannot be retrieved or cited.
How do you use marquee cases without breaking the rules?
Use marquee cases by publicizing only what is public record, with client consent, inside Rule 3.6 and any court order. A single visible matter can give a boutique coverage it could not buy, as Susman Godfrey's work for Dominion Voting Systems shows. The same case appears in EPR's litigation public relations guide, which covers what counsel may say during a case.
Announce engagements only when the client agrees and the matter is public.
Comment on filings and rulings, not on strategy or privileged information.
Prepare the statement for both a win and a loss before the verdict.
Reuse the matter afterward in bios, case studies and recruiting, which is where most of the long-term value sits.
How do you keep a law firm brand consistent across offices?
Keep a brand consistent by setting one firmwide message and giving practice groups templates instead of separate voices. Latham & Watkins is the reference for this: across a global platform of more than 30 offices it reads as one firm in every market, which is harder at that size than it sounds. See the Latham & Watkins profile.
The common failure is practice groups that market separately and produce an inconsistent firmwide voice. Three controls help. A short style and messaging guide sets the shared vocabulary. A central review desk with a fast turnaround keeps content moving without a bottleneck. A shared calendar prevents two practice groups publishing contradictory positions in the same week.
How do law firms win in AI answers?
Law firms win in AI answers by earning the sources the engines read: named-deal press coverage, sustained trade coverage, partner commentary in national outlets, and accurate entity records. Buyers now start counsel research in ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, Gemini and Google AI Overviews, so a firm that is absent from those answers is absent from the shortlist.
What should different kinds of law firms prioritize first?
Different law firms should start in different places, because the disciplines carry different weight by size and client base.
Firm type
Start here
First move
Solo and small practice
Positioning and one visible partner
Write the positioning sentence and publish one useful answer a month under the lawyer's name
Litigation or specialty boutique
Marquee matters and published authority
Pick the three matters that best prove the specialty and build a public page and commentary around each
Mid-size full service
A partner bench and a defined niche
Name three to five spokespeople and agree a fast press clearance path
BigLaw
Brand discipline and AI presence
Audit how the firm and its top partners appear in AI answers, then fix entity records and crawl access
Consumer plaintiffs
Frequency and a recognizable name
Decide the channel mix first, and read the economics in the Morgan & Morgan analysis before copying it
What does a 90-day law firm marketing plan look like?
Window
Focus
Outputs
Days 1 to 30
Audit and position
A positioning sentence tested against three competitors, an audit of how the firm appears in AI answers, a list of public matters and partners who can speak
Days 31 to 60
Build the bench and the content
Three to five prepared spokespeople with expertise sheets, a fast press clearance path, a publishing calendar tied to live legal developments
Days 61 to 90
Publish and measure
The first alerts and commentary live and crawlable, corrected entity records, a repeat AI answer audit, and a first quarterly review
How do you measure law firm marketing?
Measure law firm marketing with leading indicators first, because business arrives indirectly through referrals, RFPs and shortlists. Useful measures include partner quotes in target outlets per quarter, trade press mentions, the share of AI answers that name the firm on a fixed set of buyer prompts, and inbound inquiries that cite a specific article or partner. Lateral and recruiting inquiries are a second signal. Keep the prompt set fixed so results compare over time, and report at least one outcome measure every quarter.
What do most law firms get wrong in marketing?
Most law firms repeat the same five mistakes, and the firms above avoid each of them.
Brochureware websites with practice descriptions and partner bios but no content worth retrieving.
Press requests routed through communications gates that produce no quotes.
Generic positioning such as "full-service global law firm."
Practice groups that market separately and produce an inconsistent firmwide voice.
Awards used as the strategy, with Chambers, Legal 500 or Best Lawyers standing in for sustained brand work.
Where does this fit in EPR's legal marketing coverage?
This playbook is the how-to layer, and EPR's other legal marketing pages each own a different question.
What is the most effective law firm marketing strategy?
Sustained partner visibility paired with a specific positioning sentence. EPR's view is that named, accessible partners who publish and comment on the record build authority that paid channels do not replicate.
Which law firm spends the most on marketing?
Morgan & Morgan, which Forbes reported spends about $350 million a year on advertising. No AmLaw 100 firm approaches that level of consumer advertising spend.
Does law firm marketing generate business?
Indirectly. It builds awareness, partner visibility and presence in AI answers, which decide who is on a shortlist, and business then comes through referrals, RFPs and competitive pitches.
How important is AI visibility for law firms?
Buyers increasingly start counsel research in AI engines, so firms named in those answers enter the consideration set and firms absent from them do not. EPR treats Citation Share as a directional measure.
Can a small law firm compete with BigLaw on marketing?
Yes, on positioning and visibility. A boutique can win with a specific specialty, a visible partner and one or two marquee matters, which is how Quinn Emanuel and Susman Godfrey show the model.
What rules limit law firm marketing?
ABA Model Rules 7.1 through 7.3 govern advertising and solicitation, and Rule 3.6 limits statements about pending matters. Most states have adopted versions of them, so check the rules of the relevant jurisdiction. Figures cited above come from The American Lawyer, Forbes, LawFuel, Bloomberg Law and Fortune as noted, and EPR's own audits. Nothing on this page is legal advice. Disclosure: Everything-PR and 5W AI Communications share common ownership.
Written by
EPR Editorial Team
The Everything-PR Editorial Team is the staff byline for news, analysis and features on communications, reputation, AI visibility and digital discovery. Everything-PR has published since 2009. AI tools assist with research and drafting, and every article is reviewed by a human editor before publication. Coverage follows the Editorial Policy, and substantive corrections are noted on the article under the Corrections Policy.
