Law Firm Marketing in 2026: What’s Working, What’s Failing and What to Prioritize Now

By Michelle Calcote King and Jordyn Cordner, Strategic Technology Solutions

For many law firms, marketing in 2026 feels harder than it used to — not because firms lack talent or expertise, but because the market has fundamentally changed.

Discovery is digital. Competition is louder. Clients are more skeptical, more informed and less patient. And the tactics that once worked in isolation no longer compound the way they used to.

The firms that will win in 2026 aren’t chasing every new channel or trend. They’re building clarity, adopting an editorial mindset and putting systems and technology in place to ensure consistency.

Recently, the authors of this post, Michelle Calcote King of Reputation Ink and Jordyn Cordner of Strategic Technology Solutions, presented a webinar on what’s actually changing and what law firms should prioritize now. Here’s the webinar and a recap of our discussion:

Why 2026 looks different for law firms

AI-driven search and answer engines are reshaping discovery

Law firms are no longer competing for website clicks or referrals alone. They’re competing to be the source AI systems trust enough to reference, summarize and recommend. That’s a fundamental shift.

Search engines and AI-driven answer tools don’t just point users to links; they assemble responses. They decide which firms and attorneys get named, how they’re described and in what context they appear. In that environment, visibility is no longer about being the loudest. It’s about being the clearest and most credible.

In this environment:

• Being mentioned, quoted or cited by media outlets, awards programs and other authoritative sources matters more than ranking #1 for a search keyword.
• Generic content disappears; specificity wins. 
• Clarity, structure and demonstrated expertise determine visibility.

The legal market is noisier and more fragmented — even as firms get bigger

At the same time that we’re seeing headline-grabbing mergers creating larger, more geographically expansive firms, the legal market itself hasn’t consolidated in the way those headlines suggest. In fact, it’s splintered.

While the top of the market grows through mergers:

• More boutiques continue to spin out of Big Law, often built around narrow, high-value specialties.
• Mid-sized firms are expanding geographically, bringing new competitors into markets that were once more stable or localized.
• Alternative legal service providers are capturing work that once defaulted to traditional firms.
• Accounting, consulting and technology firms are increasingly offering legal-adjacent services that compete for the same client attention and budgets.

The result is a market with more players, more overlap and more noise, not fewer.

Mergers may simplify firms’ internal platforms, but from a client’s perspective, they increase choice, complexity and competition. Clients aren’t choosing from “Big Law vs. everyone else” anymore; they’re evaluating a crowded field of credible options across firms, boutiques and adjacent providers.

That’s why clarity, positioning and consistent visibility matter more now than at any point in the past.

Clients demand transparency, credibility and speed

Transparency is now table stakes. Clients want to understand:

• How firms work
• How lawyers think
• What happens next

Credibility comes from proof, not adjectives. Speed isn’t about rushing; it’s about responsiveness, process and confidence. Firms that meet these expectations feel easier to hire. And easier almost always wins.

Shrinking organic reach on social and the rise of attorney visibility

Algorithms increasingly favor people over brands. Individual voices outperform institutional firmwide messaging.

As organic reach declines, firms don’t win by marketing more as a brand. They win by empowering attorneys to consistently and authentically show up as credible, helpful experts.

More pressure to show marketing ROI

Legal marketing has never produced clean, last-click attribution, and it still doesn’t. But accountability has increased.

Firms are expected to show:

• Growth in qualified inquiries
• Share of voice in priority practices
• Attorney visibility and authority
• Relationship acceleration

The goal isn’t false precision. It’s directional confidence. In other words, it’s about showing that the firm is becoming more visible, credible and relevant in the markets it wants to win, and that those signals are moving in the right direction.

The 2026 law firm marketing blueprint

Pillar 1: Get your foundations right

Before worrying about tactics, every firm needs the fundamentals in place.

Positioning has always been difficult for law firms, especially those built in an era when geography, proximity and in-person relationships did much of the work. That context no longer exists.

Clients now evaluate firms digitally, earlier and across geographies. Without physical proximity or personal introductions, firms must clearly articulate:

• Who they serve
• What they do best
• Why it matters
• Where they have proof

For larger firms, this requires layered positioning:

• Firm level: What kind of firm are we?
• Practice level: When do clients call this group?
• Attorney level: Why this lawyer, specifically?

As firms grow, positioning becomes less about differentiation and more about coherence, consistency and control.

A website built for AI and clients

Your website is no longer just a marketing asset. It’s a discovery engine for both human buyers and AI systems deciding who is surfaced, summarized and recommended. A law firm website now serves two audiences at the same time:

• Human buyers trying to quickly determine relevance and credibility
• AI systems deciding who gets surfaced, summarized and recommended

The same principle applies to both: clarity beats cleverness.

If a prospective client can immediately understand:

• What you’re known for
• Who you serve
• What problems you solve
• Why you’re credible

AI systems can, too.

Structure is how AI extracts meaning

AI doesn’t infer expertise the way humans do. It extracts meaning from structure. Clear headings, logical organization and topic-focused pages make it easier for AI to:

• Understand what you do
• Associate your firm with specific problems
• Surface your firm accurately in responses

This is where semantic organization matters. Instead of organizing content around internal departments or generic practice names, effective firms organize around:

• Client problems
• Industry contexts
• Common questions and decision points

The goal isn’t more pages. It’s clearer signals.

Practice pages are now decision pages

Practice pages are no longer background information. They are often the moment of evaluation.

A strong practice page helps a client immediately self-identify:

• This firm works with companies like mine
• They understand the specific issues I’m dealing with
• They’ve handled this before

That means reducing legal jargon and increasing specificity. So instead of: “We provide comprehensive employment counseling…,” say: “We advise multi-state employers on wage-and-hour compliance, workplace investigations and high-risk terminations.”

Attorney bios matter more than firms realize

Attorney bios are heavily used by AI systems to:

• Identify subject-matter experts
• Attribute authority
• Recommend specific attorneys, not just firms

This requires a mindset shift, from education and credentials first to reputation and relevance first. Credentials still matter, but they shouldn’t do all the work. Bios should clearly answer:

• What is this lawyer known for?
• Who do they regularly advise?
• In what situations are they brought in?

Expertise needs to be explicit, not implied.

Proof belongs where decisions are made

Authority signals (media mentions, Chambers rankings, speaking roles, awards) are no longer decorative. They’re functional. They should appear:

• On relevant practice pages
• Within attorney bios
• In context, not buried on a standalone “trophy page”

These signals help both clients and AI systems connect your expertise to real-world validation.

Messaging consistency: One firm, one voice

Consistency has always mattered. What’s changed is the consequence of inconsistency.

Historically, inconsistency was a brand problem. Today, it’s a credibility and visibility problem.

AI will create a single narrative about your firm, whether you intend it or not, pulling from your website, media coverage, bios and social content. The question is whether you shape it.

Consistency doesn’t mean uniform language. It means:

• Shared messaging principles
• Consistent tone and posture (authority vs. vendor)
• Structured content across channels
• Practice-level expression within guardrails
• Ongoing review and reinforcement

The goal isn’t eliminating variation. It’s eliminating confusion.

Pillar 2: Build a thought leadership engine (not random acts of content)

Why an editorial mindset matters in 2026

2026 rewards firms that think like publishers, not firms that post when they have time. One good article doesn’t create authority. A body of work does.

AI favors depth and consistency. Clients expect perspective, not just updates. Editorial thinking reduces waste and turns effort into assets.

The hub-and-spoke model

The hub-and-spoke model is a way to organize thought leadership so it compounds over time, rather than appearing as disconnected pieces of content.

• The hub is a substantial, authoritative piece of content on a core topic your clients care about
• The spokes are the smaller, derivative pieces that flow from it: articles, LinkedIn posts, media commentary, webinars, client alerts and website content

This approach mirrors how publishers build credibility: one strong idea, expressed consistently across multiple formats.

Effective firms:

• Define 3–5 editorial themes (regulatory change in a specific industry, litigation trends affecting a defined client segment, transactional risk in a volatile market, etc.)
• Plan quarterly, not ad hoc
• Create one anchor asset per theme (a white paper, webinar, long-form article, client briefing)
• Repurpose intentionally across channels: Attorney LinkedIn posts, media pitches and commentary, blog posts and FAQs, email content, website updates

Attorneys as the face of the firm

Clients trust human signals more than corporate ones. In complex firms, attorneys are how the brand becomes specific, just as publishers rely on trusted bylines and contributors (think Ezra Klein of the New York Times or Kara Swisher of the Wall Street Journal).

Lawyers have always mattered in marketing. What’s new is how they’re evaluated: earlier, digitally and without the firm present.

The first impression used to be a meeting. Now it’s content. Thus, attorneys must shift their focus from building one-on-one relationships to building one-to-many relationships through public relations and thought leadership.

Why this matters for referrals and RFPs

Referrals no longer close deals. They open evaluation windows. Prospects verify:

• Website clarity
• Practice depth
• Attorney bios
• LinkedIn presence
• Media visibility

Thought leadership doesn’t win RFPs, but it gets firms invited. Familiarity and proof increasingly separate finalists.

Pillar 3: Earned media and authority building

Reporters aren’t looking for firm announcements, résumés or generic commentary. Instead, they want clear explanations, speed and reliability, practical interpretation and business and regulatory context. 

Small and mid-sized firms often outperform larger ones because they’re closer to the work and faster to respond. 

Authority compounds over time:

• Attorneys are quoted
• Visibility increases
• Reporters return
• Clients recognize names
• RFPs feel less speculative

Pillar 4: Make marketing a process, not a project

Most law firm marketing fails not because of bad ideas, but because it’s treated as a series of projects rather than a system.

A system includes:

• An editorial calendar with established deadlines
• Simple marketing ops
• Clear ownership
• Quarterly priorities
• Regular reporting focused on insight, not vanity

Common marketing mistakes to avoid

Given how the market is changing — AI-driven discovery, shrinking organic reach, earlier client evaluation and increased pressure to demonstrate ROI — many traditional marketing approaches simply don’t hold up in 2026. Yet we still see firms repeating the same missteps. These are the marketing mistakes that are most likely to limit impact in the year ahead.

Trying to be everywhere instead of choosing 2–3 high-impact channels

When firms spread themselves across too many platforms, nothing compounds. Effective firms choose a small number of channels where:

• Their clients actually spend time
• Expertise can be demonstrated (not just announced)
• Attorneys can show up consistently

They focus there first, build momentum and expand later once it’s working. Reach should be earned through repetition and results, not diluted by overextension.

Letting attorneys write content alone

Subject-matter expertise is essential. However, content strategy and execution are separate skills. When attorneys are left to write alone:

• Quality varies
• Tone becomes inconsistent
• Content becomes overly technical or unfocused
• Participation drops over time

The most effective firms pair attorneys with editorial support, so expertise is captured, shaped and amplified without burning lawyers out.

Confusing branding with visual identity

Branding is not your logo, color palette or website design. Your brand is:

• What you’re known for
• How clearly you explain problems
• How consistently you show up
• What others say about you when you’re not in the room

Visual identity supports the brand, but it can’t substitute for clarity, positioning or authority.

Publishing content without distribution

Creating content is only half the job. Without distribution:

• Even strong content goes unseen
• Momentum stalls
• ROI becomes difficult to demonstrate

Treating marketing as an event instead of an operating system

Many firms still approach marketing as:

• A website project
• A rebrand
• A campaign
• A push around a conference

These create spikes, not traction. The firms that win treat marketing as:

• A repeatable process
• A set of priorities per quarter
• An editorial system
• An ongoing investment in visibility and trust

How tech plays a role

In the increasingly virtual marketplace, potential clients are discovering, vetting and comparing law firms via digital channels more than ever before. While referrals and face-to-face opportunities still play an important role in client acquisition, law firms must be future-forward with technology in order to keep their marketing engine running.

Law firms lead with tech: an opportunity to stand out

According to Integris, 44% of clients would pay more for a law firm with modern technology. This figure is based on client experience and its correlation with technology — law firms using outdated systems, unreliable equipment or legacy CX features aren’t able to provide the availability, communication and streamlined experience clients need.

Law firms tend to lag in modernizing technology, and those that prioritize it can leverage this against competitors in the exceedingly crowded legal marketplace, especially as clients increasingly prioritize modern technology.

Modernizing your law firm’s IT helps you:

• Support the latest marketing and CX tools
• Improve communication and build trust with clients
• Gain referrals and positive word of mouth due to excellent client experience
• Meet prospective clients where they are: online and looking for digital communication
• Create cybersecurity safeguards to protect your reputation in the event of a cyber incident

Organizing for sustainable law firm marketing success: Get your apps in order

“App sprawl” happens when a law firm uses many separate applications but only a fraction of their features, and the data between those tools isn’t connected. For example:

• Using a free social media tool that supports four of your accounts and creating a second free account to host two more accounts instead of upgrading
• Having several applications that house related data from the same accounts — a CRM, an intent tracker, a social media engagement tracker, etc. — instead of using an all-in-one tool
• Maintaining multiple subscriptions for applications that do the same things. For example, paying for a separate email marketing tool when one is available in your CRM or using an outside analytics tracker when one is available in your content hub.

Too complex to keep up: productivity and security issues

When law firms have app sprawl, it’s usually followed by related issues with lower marketing productivity and poor security practices:

• Marketing teams lack password hygiene, sharing credentials in unsafe ways due to frustration with managing too many accounts
• Law firms are double-billed for the same exact or similar subscriptions and have trouble managing renewals and costs
• Marketing directives fizzle out due to the frustrating “back-and-forth” of processes
• Data, including KPIs, account management specifics and other ROI measures, gets lost between channels to the detriment of business development opportunities

Cut down and save time, money, and headaches

Cutting back on your application stack helps move the needle toward more productive, sustainable marketing initiatives. You can work with your IT team, partner, or MSP to evaluate your current applications’ features and identify alternatives that balance training and time costs, manage multiple apps and fit your business needs and budget.

Cyberattacks: The PR and marketing killer

Law firms that suffer a cyberattack may face backlash, sanctions and reputational damage. Because search engines prominently feature AI summaries and clients increasingly use AI tools to find and vet service providers, law firms must consider how AI processes information about them online.

In the event of a cyberattack or breach, your law firm will have a duty to disclose the information. Whether you handle the matter internally or acknowledge it publicly, these issues often end up in the press.

Once your law firm’s name is attached to a credentialed and trusted source, AI will prioritize those search results in forming its information about you, and it is likely to include the incident in its summaries. It can be difficult to overcome that association.

Protecting your data and your reputation

Today, clients are more aware of cyber risk than ever, and many people fall victim to both large- and small-scale cyberattacks, including leaked credentials, scams and impersonations, phishing emails and text messages and malicious QR codes.

Because the general public now knows the full extent of the risk, they are seeking service providers they trust with their personal information (such as your law firm) to stay ahead of these threats and keep them safe. To do so, law firms need a robust, proactive cybersecurity approach.

PR Hail Mary: Incident response informs PR responses

Only about one in three law firms has an incident response (IR) Plan, a documented playbook for what happens when a cyberattack occurs. When trust between client and law firm is fractured by a data breach, how you respond can make all the difference in repairing the relationship. To formulate an appropriate response, your firm will need to act quickly and efficiently, relying on the IR plan to guide you through the tumultuous aftermath of a breach.

Clients want a timely, competent, confident and informed response in the event of the breach, including:

• The date and time the breach occurred
• Which systems and information were compromised
• How the threat has been contained and neutralized
• What the law firm will do going forward to prevent continued incidents
• How client data is affected
• What they can do to protect their data in the aftermath

A well-practiced incident response plan, along with proactive cybersecurity, helps ensure your law firm has these answers, instilling the trust and authority clients need from their legal team.

The bottom line

The firms that will win in 2026 won’t be the loudest or the busiest. They’ll be the clearest and most consistent. They’ll adopt an editorial mindset, empower attorneys as educators and build systems that compound credibility over time.

To do so, firms should leverage modern, secure technology that supports consistent marketing efforts, enables outstanding client service and bolsters their reputation as industry leaders.