The FindLaw Exit Guide
I worked for FindLaw before starting my own legal marketing company in 2008.
Since then, I have reviewed FindLaw invoices, analyzed directory products, rebuilt FindLaw websites and helped law firms transition to websites they control.
This guide is not here to convince every law firm to leave FindLaw.
In some cases, keeping a FindLaw product makes sense. A directory listing may generate valuable traffic. A paid advertising campaign may be producing profitable cases. A firm may be satisfied with the service it receives.
The problem is that many attorneys do not know which products are working, which services are being performed or what they actually own.
My goal is to give you enough information to make that decision for yourself.
By the end of this guide, you should have a clearer understanding of:
- What you are paying for
- What website assets you probably own
- What may happen when you leave
- How to evaluate directory products
- How to preserve your Google visibility
- How to prepare a replacement website
- What questions to ask before renewing
- How to determine whether your current investment is justified
You may read this guide and decide to stay with FindLaw.
That is completely reasonable if the numbers and the service support that decision.
You may also discover that your firm is paying for products or services that no longer fit its needs.
Either way, you should understand what you are buying before you spend another dollar.
You Exist on Google With or Without FindLaw
One of the biggest fears attorneys have about leaving FindLaw is that their firm will suddenly disappear from Google.
That fear is understandable.
You may have had the same website for years. It may rank for several searches. It may appear alongside your Google Business Profile. You may receive calls and form submissions through it.
It is easy to begin thinking that FindLaw created your entire presence on Google and that leaving FindLaw means losing that presence.
That is not how it works.
Your law firm exists on Google because of a collection of assets and signals that have developed over time.
Those may include:
- Your domain name
- Your original website content
- Your Google Business Profile
- Your online reviews
- Links from other websites
- Local directory citations
- Your firm’s history and reputation
- The age and authority of your domain
- Mentions of your attorneys and firm across the internet
FindLaw may currently host the website that presents some of those assets, but FindLaw is not the entirety of your Google presence.
But moving away from FindLaw does not automatically erase your footprint.
A better way to think about the transition is this:
You are not leaving Google. You are changing the company and technology used to manage your website.
Your reviews do not vanish because you change website vendors.
Your law firm’s years in business do not disappear.
Your Google Business Profile does not automatically go away.
Your domain does not lose all of its history simply because a new website is published on it.
A poorly managed transition can damage traffic and rankings. Important pages can be lost. URLs can be changed without redirects. Valuable content can be left behind.
That is why the move needs to be planned carefully.
Start With Clarity, Not Cancellation
Many attorneys contact me because they are frustrated.
They may feel that they are paying too much. They may not know what their account manager is doing. They may have waited weeks for a basic website update. They may have received an invoice filled with product names that no one has clearly explained.
That frustration is real, but frustration alone is not a transition plan.
The first step is not necessarily to cancel.
The first step is to understand what you have.
Before recommending that a firm leave FindLaw, I want to know:
- Which products the firm is paying for
- How much each product costs
- What traffic each product produces
- What leads or cases can be connected to it
- What content the firm owns
- Who controls the domain
- Who controls Google Analytics
- Who controls Google Search Console
- Whether the firm’s Google Business Profile is secure
- What ongoing work FindLaw has performed
- When the current agreement renews
- What notice is required
You cannot make a good marketing decision until you understand your current marketing.
That is why I often begin with a spreadsheet.
The spreadsheet is not complicated. It simply forces every product to answer a basic question:
What are we receiving in return for what we are paying?
Understand What You Are Actually Paying For
Many law firms believe their monthly website payment represents constant work on the website.
That is not always the case.
For many website packages, most of the visible work happens near the beginning of the relationship.
The company may:
- Design the website
- Write a set number of pages
- Add attorney biographies
- Configure the initial website structure
- Publish the site
- Set up certain marketing products
The firm then makes monthly payments under the terms of the agreement.
There may also be ongoing services, but those services are normally limited to what is described in the contract or product specifications.
That distinction matters.
A sales presentation may leave an attorney with the impression that a team will be actively developing, improving and expanding the website every month.
The contract may promise something much narrower.
Do not rely only on what you remember hearing during the sales process.
Ask what work is actually included.
Then ask what work has actually been performed.
If your firm has paid $2,000 per month for the past year, that is a $24,000 investment.
If your firm has paid $5,000 per month, that is a $60,000 investment.
The amount alone does not prove that the investment was good or bad.
A $60,000 annual investment that consistently produces profitable cases may make perfect sense.
A much smaller investment may still be wasteful if the service provides no measurable benefit.
The issue is not simply price.
The issue is whether the work and results justify the price.
Do Not Let Pride Keep You in the Wrong Investment
Attorneys are not immune to the sunk-cost problem.
When a firm has spent tens of thousands of dollars on a website and marketing package, it can be uncomfortable to question whether the decision was worthwhile.
The website may also be connected to the firm’s identity.
The partners approved it. The firm invested time in it. The attorneys posed for photographs. Someone selected the design. The website may have been presented internally as a major marketing initiative.
No one wants to admit that a large investment may not have produced the expected value.
But continuing to pay for an underperforming product does not recover the money already spent.
It simply adds more money to the same decision.
You do not need to decide that you were deceived or that everything FindLaw provided was worthless.
You only need to ask whether the current arrangement still makes sense today.
Marketing changes.
Firms change.
Practice areas change.
Technology changes.
A product that made sense five years ago may not make sense now.
The honest question is not:
“Was this a mistake?”
The useful question is:
Knowing what I know today, would I make this investment again?
FindLaw Packages Can Make Sense
Large marketing companies need standardized products.
That is not automatically a bad thing.
The problem is that a similar package may also be sold to a completely different kind of law firm.
Consider an insurance defense firm.
Aggressive consumer or personal injury firm
- Active marketing
- Frequent content
- Advertising
- Conversion tracking
- Ongoing optimization
Referral-driven defense or business firm
- Professional design
- Attorney biographies
- Representative experience
- Occasional news
- Limited ongoing updates
A standardized website and marketing package may make sense for an aggressive personal injury firm that wants:
- A large website
- Frequent content
- Active paid advertising
- Call tracking
- Conversion measurement
- Local search work
- Directory visibility
- Continuous campaign management
That firm may need a comprehensive package and a team working on the account regularly.
That firm may receive nearly all of its work through:
- Referrals
- Existing institutional clients
- Professional relationships
- Industry reputation
- Direct recommendations
Its website may have a much simpler job.
It may need to:
- Look professional
- Explain the firm’s capabilities
- Provide a biography for every attorney
- Display representative experience
- Publish occasional firm news
- Confirm the firm’s credibility to referral sources and opposing counsel
That website may only need a handful of updates each year.
There is nothing wrong with that.
A website does not need to become a publishing operation simply because a vendor offers a content package.
The marketing strategy should reflect the business.
If the website is expected to remain largely unchanged for two years, with the exception of attorney updates, awards and occasional articles, the pricing and service should reflect that reality.
If your website is effectively on autopilot, it is reasonable to ask what the monthly payment is buying.
The Website Should Fit the Law Firm
I do not believe every law firm needs the same website.
Some firms need a highly active marketing platform.
Others need a polished online brochure.
Many fall somewhere in between.
I do not begin with a predetermined package.
I begin with questions:
- How does the firm currently get clients?
- Does the firm want more of the same type of work?
- Is the firm trying to enter a new market?
- Does the firm depend on organic search?
- Does the firm receive most of its work through referrals?
- How frequently will the website be updated?
- Who will make those updates?
- Does the firm need lead tracking?
- Does the firm need paid advertising?
- Does the firm need ongoing content?
- What is a new case worth?
- What budget is appropriate for the firm’s actual goals?
A small website is not necessarily an inferior website.
A large website is not necessarily a better website.
The correct website is the one that performs the job the firm needs it to perform.
Every Client Matters
When I agree to build a website, I am happy to build it for the agreed price.
I do not have clients who are unimportant because their project is smaller.
I do not stop caring because a website does not produce a large commission.
Every project is connected directly to my reputation.
More importantly, every client is trusting me with money they worked hard to earn.
I care about every dollar I make because I care about every dollar my clients spend.
That is why I do not believe in forcing every law firm into the same product.
A modest website for a referral-driven firm deserves the same care and attention as a large marketing website for an aggressive consumer practice.
The scope may be different.
The level of ongoing activity may be different.
The importance of doing the work correctly is not.
Evaluate Every Product Separately
A law firm may have one FindLaw product that performs very well and three that do not.
That does not mean the firm must keep everything.
It also does not mean the firm should cancel everything.
Each product should be evaluated separately.
The review may include:
- Website fees
- FindLaw directory listings
- Lawyers.com listings
- Top Spot placements
- Spotlight placements
- County or regional listings
- Pay-per-click advertising
- Call tracking
- Review or reputation products
- Social media services
- Blog content
- Local search services
- Video products
- Other add-ons
For each product, I want to know:
What does it cost?
What does the product claim to provide?
What work has actually been completed?
How much traffic did it generate?
How many leads did it generate?
What was the quality of those leads?
Did any of the leads become clients?
What was the effective cost per visitor, lead and case?
Every product review comes back to the same measurements:
- Monthly cost
- Traffic
- Leads
- Case quality
- Cost per visitor
- Cost per lead
- Cost per case
- Work performed
This is how marketing becomes understandable.
Being Number One Does Not Matter if No One Visits the Page
Premium placement sounds valuable.
A “Top Spot” or “Spotlight” position may place your firm prominently on a directory page.
But position alone does not establish value.
It does not matter if you are number one on a directory page that receives almost no traffic.
If a listing costs $1,000 per month and sends four visitors to your website, you are effectively paying $250 per visitor.
This is particularly important with listings in neighboring counties or narrow categories.
The sales description may emphasize visibility and placement.
The actual data may show very little user activity.
I have reviewed accounts in which directory products generated visitors at an effective cost of hundreds of dollars per click.
That does not automatically mean every directory product is bad.
A single click could theoretically produce a valuable case.
But you should know the number.
You can then compare that cost to:
- Google Ads
- Local Services Ads
- Organic search investments
- Referral campaigns
- Other directory listings
- Content development
- Your actual case value
The right question is not:
“Am I listed first?”
The right question is:
“Is the traffic and business produced by this listing worth what I am paying?”
A $30,000 Monthly Package Still Needs to Prove Itself
I once reviewed an account for an employment law firm in Washington, D.C. that represented federal employees.
Its directory package cost approximately $30,000 per month.
The firm operated in a narrow and specialized area of employment law.
The number was striking, but the price alone was not the most concerning part.
The larger problem was that the firm did not know whether the package was producing business.
A $30,000 monthly investment could be justified if it reliably generated profitable matters.
But a law firm should never spend $30,000 per month without a clear method for connecting the investment to traffic, leads and clients.
I have also reviewed smaller packages in which most of the monthly cost was tied to directory products, while several listings produced almost no traffic.
In those situations, the value becomes easier to evaluate once the products are separated and the cost per click is calculated.
The point of the analysis is not to create outrage.
It is to replace uncertainty with information.
Price is not the ultimate test.
Measurement is.
Ask Whether Ongoing Services Are Actually Ongoing
Product names such as reputation management, social media management, optimization and brand management imply continued activity.
The exact work may be much narrower than the product name suggests.
That is why the service should be evaluated against both:
- The written product description
- The work that can actually be verified
Can you show me what was completed?
For example, I reviewed an account that included a reputation-related service costing approximately $900 per month.
At the same time, several prominent online profiles contained outdated firm names and inconsistent information.
Those inconsistencies appeared across platforms such as LinkedIn, legal directories and social accounts.
The lesson is not that every reputation service fails.
The lesson is that the firm should have been able to ask:
“What are you maintaining, and can you show me what was completed?”
If your firm is paying for online reputation or business information management, review:
- Firm name consistency
- Address consistency
- Phone number consistency
- Attorney names
- Website links
- Social profiles
- Legal directory profiles
- Duplicate listings
- Outdated office locations
- Former attorneys
- Old branding
Do not assume that a service is being performed because it appears on the invoice.
Verify it.
What Content Do You Own?
Content ownership should be reviewed carefully before a transition.
In many FindLaw arrangements, content written specifically for the law firm may belong to the firm or may be available for continued use.
Other content may be licensed, syndicated or subject to different terms.
Do not make assumptions in either direction.
Review the contract and ask for a written explanation of what can be taken.
Usually Firm-Owned
- Attorney biographies
- Firm history
- Custom practice area pages
- Custom service pages
- Case results
- Firm-provided articles
- Original photographs
- Firm logos
- Documents supplied by the firm
May Depend on the Agreement
- Stock photography
- Generic legal articles
- Syndicated practice center content
- Certain blog posts
- Shared FAQs
Usually Rebuilt or Replaced
- Proprietary design elements
- Themes
- Software
- Platform-specific code
Note: ownership depends on the contract and the specific asset. This chart is general information, not legal advice.
This may include:
- Attorney biographies
- Firm history
- Custom practice area pages
- Custom service pages
- Case results
- Firm-provided articles
- Original photographs
- Firm logos
- Documents supplied by the firm
This may include:
- Stock photography
- Generic legal articles
- Syndicated practice center content
- Certain blog posts
- Shared FAQs
- Proprietary design elements
- Themes
- Software
- Platform-specific code
In my experience, the most important content is usually the material that specifically explains:
- Who your attorneys are
- What your firm does
- Who your firm represents
- Where your firm practices
- Why someone should hire or refer business to your firm
Generic content that appears across many law firm websites often has limited value.
The goal is not to preserve every word.
The goal is to preserve the assets that are actually valuable.
Who Owns the Domain?
The domain is one of the most important assets in the transition.
The domain is the address people use to reach your website.
It may also carry years of history, links and authority.
Do not wait until the final days of the contract to resolve domain ownership.
A domain transfer can take time.
Your replacement website should not be dependent on last-minute access negotiations.
Before cancelling anything, determine:
- Who is listed as the registrant?
- Which registrar holds the domain?
- Who controls the registrar login?
- Which email address receives domain notices?
- Is the domain locked?
- Is privacy protection enabled?
- When does the domain renew?
- Can the firm initiate a transfer?
- Does the firm control its DNS settings?
Ideally, the law firm should directly control:
- The domain registrar
- Website hosting
- DNS
- Google Analytics
- Google Search Console
- Google Business Profile
- Call tracking accounts
- Form submission records
Your firm should not lose access to its core marketing assets simply because it changes vendors.
What About the EUI Files?
FindLaw may provide website files at the end of the agreement, sometimes referred to as End User Interface or EUI files.
For most of the projects I handle, those files are not the foundation of the new website.
The old files may contain:
- Platform-specific code
- Unnecessary scripts
- Proprietary components
- Old formatting
- Complicated templates
- Elements that are difficult to maintain
- Code that does not belong on the replacement site
The valuable portions of the old website are normally:
- The original content
- The URL structure
- Titles and descriptions
- Images the firm owns
- Internal linking information
- Search performance data
- The domain
- Existing authority and backlinks
A clean rebuild often produces a simpler and more manageable result than attempting to preserve every part of the old framework.
Build the Replacement Before the Old Website Comes Down
One of the biggest transition mistakes is cancelling before the replacement is ready.
Do not create unnecessary downtime.
The safer process is usually:
- Audit the current website and marketing products.
- Review the contract and notice requirements.
- Confirm domain ownership and access.
- Inventory the content.
- Export analytics and lead data.
- Record all existing URLs.
- Build the replacement website.
- Review and approve the new site.
- Prepare redirects.
- Coordinate the launch.
- Update tracking and connected platforms.
- Confirm the new site is working.
- Complete the cancellation or nonrenewal process.
The exact order may vary based on the contract and technical circumstances.
The main point is simple:
Do not remove the old website until the new website is ready to take its place.
Preserve the URLs That Matter
Every page on your existing website has an address.
For example:
yourfirm.com/personal-injury/car-accidents/
If that page has earned links, rankings or traffic, changing the address without a plan may cause problems.
Whenever possible, valuable URLs should be preserved.
When a URL must change, a permanent redirect should normally point the old address to the most relevant new page.
The transition should include:
- A crawl or inventory of the old site
- Identification of indexed pages
- Review of pages receiving traffic
- Review of pages receiving backlinks
- Mapping old URLs to new URLs
- Creation of 301 redirects
- Testing before and after launch
- Monitoring Google Search Console
- Correction of broken links
- Updating internal links
- Updating sitemaps
A redirect is not magic, and no one can guarantee that every ranking will remain exactly the same.
But a carefully planned migration is very different from simply turning off one website and publishing another.
Preserve the Data
Historical data provides a benchmark.
Without it, the new website may launch without a reliable way to compare performance.
You should be able to evaluate:
- Traffic before and after launch
- Lead volume before and after launch
- Rankings before and after launch
- Conversion rate changes
- Directory performance
- Paid campaign performance
- Local search performance
Before access is removed, export or confirm ownership of:
- Google Analytics data
- Google Search Console data
- Form submissions
- Call tracking reports
- Call recordings, where appropriate
- Lead records
- Advertising data
- Directory traffic reports
- Keyword reports
- Ranking reports
- Website traffic reports
- Historical conversion data
- Existing URL lists
- Downloadable files
- Firm-owned photographs
- Logos
- Videos
- Documents
Do not leave years of useful information behind simply because the contract is ending.
Your Google Business Profile Is Separate From FindLaw
For many law firms, a large percentage of Google visibility comes from the local map results and the firm’s Google Business Profile.
The Google Business Profile is not the FindLaw website.
It is a separate Google property.
Before leaving, confirm that the law firm controls the profile.
Review:
- Primary owner access
- Additional managers
- Firm name
- Address
- Phone number
- Website URL
- Practice categories
- Business hours
- Photographs
- Reviews
- Office locations
- Duplicate profiles
When the replacement website launches, the website link may need to be updated or confirmed.
The move away from FindLaw should not require abandoning the reviews and local authority the firm has built.
What Has Been Done to Prepare for AI Search?
Legal search is changing.
Potential clients increasingly use AI-powered tools and search features to research legal issues.
These may include:
- Google AI-generated results
- ChatGPT
- Gemini
- Perplexity
- Other search and answer systems
No vendor can guarantee that a particular law firm will appear in AI-generated answers.
The field is evolving quickly.
However, it is reasonable to ask whether the website is being maintained in a way that makes its information easy to understand, verify and use.
That may involve:
- Clear practice area organization
- Accurate attorney information
- Strong authorship signals
- Useful original content
- Well-written FAQs
- Structured data where appropriate
- Fast page performance
- Clean technical architecture
- Strong internal linking
- Consistent firm information
- Clear geographic information
- Updated credentials and accomplishments
- Content based on genuine experience
- Pages that answer specific client questions
Simply adding the letters “AI” to a report does not establish that meaningful work has been performed.
Ask what was actually changed.
Ask why it was changed.
Ask what result the change is intended to produce.
Can You Leave Before the Contract Ends?
Possibly.
The answer depends on the agreement and the circumstances.
FindLaw contracts may be carefully written, and directly attacking the contract may not be the most practical first step.
In some situations, the more useful approach is to review whether the company is providing the services described in the agreement.
I recently worked with a firm that went through more than twenty emails while trying to have a single page added to its website.
The significance was not simply that the firm was frustrated.
The communication created a documented history showing:
- The request
- The follow-up attempts
- The delays
- The responses
- Whether the work was completed
- Whether the service matched reasonable expectations
If you believe the company is not providing the agreed services:
- Make reasonable requests in writing.
- Keep the requests specific.
- Save every response.
- Record dates.
- Document missed deadlines.
- Ask for clarification of the service obligations.
- Give the company a reasonable opportunity to respond.
- Consult your own attorney when legal advice is needed.
Do not manufacture a dispute.
Do not make unreasonable demands.
Simply ask the company to perform the work you believe you are paying it to perform, and document what happens.
Sometimes the clearest evidence comes from asking for the service rather than arguing abstractly about the contract.
I am not an attorney and do not provide legal advice about contract enforceability.
I can, however, help a firm understand the website, marketing products, service history and factual record before it speaks with FindLaw or its own counsel.
What FindLaw Products Should You Keep?
Keep the products that produce value.
That answer may sound obvious, but it is not always how accounts are managed.
The analysis should be product by product.
A law firm may have a FindLaw directory product that consistently generates qualified visitors and profitable cases.
Cancelling it simply because the firm is rebuilding the website would make no sense.
A firm may also have a paid advertising campaign that performs well.
Again, the correct decision may be to keep it.
A product may be worth keeping when:
- It generates measurable qualified traffic
- It produces leads
- The leads match the firm’s preferred cases
- The cost per lead is reasonable
- The resulting cases are profitable
- The service is being actively managed
- Reporting is transparent
- The product supports a broader strategy
A product may deserve closer review when:
- No one can explain what it does
- No one can show recent work
- Traffic is minimal
- The effective cost per visitor is extremely high
- Leads are irrelevant
- Data is unavailable
- The product has not been reevaluated in years
- The service does not fit the firm’s business model
- The firm is paying for overlapping products
- The firm would not purchase the product today
I am not interested in cancelling products merely because FindLaw sells them.
I am interested in determining whether the firm should continue buying them.
A Practical FindLaw Exit Checklist
Contract and Billing
- Locate the current agreement.
- Confirm the contract end date.
- Identify the notice deadline.
- Review automatic renewal language.
- Review cancellation procedures.
- Review content ownership provisions.
- Review domain provisions.
- List every billed product.
- Calculate the monthly and annual cost.
- Request clarification for unclear line items.
Website and Content
- Create a list of all website pages.
- Save copies of custom content.
- Identify firm-owned photographs.
- Save attorney biographies.
- Save case results and representative matters.
- Identify licensed or syndicated content.
- Record titles and descriptions.
- Document internal links.
- Save downloadable files.
- Record the existing URL structure.
Accounts and Access
- Confirm domain registrar access.
- Confirm hosting access.
- Confirm DNS access.
- Confirm Google Analytics access.
- Confirm Google Search Console access.
- Confirm Google Business Profile access.
- Confirm advertising account access.
- Confirm call tracking access.
- Confirm social media access.
- Confirm legal directory access.
Performance
- Export website traffic.
- Export lead data.
- Export call data.
- Review directory clicks.
- Calculate cost per click.
- Calculate cost per lead.
- Identify profitable products.
- Identify low-performing products.
- Review local search traffic.
- Review organic search traffic.
- Review paid search performance.
Transition
- Build the replacement website.
- Review the new content.
- Preserve important URLs.
- Prepare redirects.
- Test forms.
- Test phone numbers.
- Test mobile display.
- Test analytics.
- Update connected profiles.
- Launch the new website.
- Monitor traffic and indexing.
- Confirm the old services are cancelled.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will I lose all my Google rankings if I leave FindLaw?
Not automatically.
Your rankings depend on many factors, including your domain, content, links, local authority and technical setup. A careless migration can cause problems, but a properly planned rebuild can preserve important content, URLs and search signals.
Does FindLaw own my website?
The answer depends on the contract and the specific asset.
FindLaw may own or control the design, theme, software and platform. Your firm may own custom-written content, logos, photographs and other materials. Review the agreement and ask for written clarification.
Does FindLaw own my domain?
Sometimes the law firm owns the domain but FindLaw manages it. In other situations, ownership or control may be less clear. Confirm the registrant and registrar access before cancelling.
Can I keep my website content?
Custom content written specifically for the firm may often be retained, but licensed, syndicated or generic content may be subject to different restrictions. Each page should be reviewed.
Can my FindLaw website be moved directly to another host?
Usually, a clean rebuild is more practical than attempting to move every component of the existing FindLaw framework. The valuable content and SEO information can be preserved without carrying over unnecessary proprietary code.
Do I need the EUI files?
Not always. The original content, URLs, titles, images and data are often more valuable than the old website framework.
Should I cancel every FindLaw directory listing?
No. Keep listings that provide a reasonable return. Evaluate traffic, leads, case quality and cost product by product.
What happens to my Lawyers.com listing?
Paid features may change or end when the relevant product is cancelled. Ask FindLaw what the listing will look like after termination and whether a basic profile will remain.
What happens to my Google reviews?
Google reviews belong to the Google Business Profile, not the FindLaw website. Confirm that the law firm controls the profile.
What happens to my call tracking number?
A tracking number may belong to the service provider. Determine whether it can be transferred and identify everywhere it appears before the account ends.
How long should a transition take?
A typical rebuild may take several weeks, depending on the size of the site, content availability, approvals and technical access. Begin before the cancellation date.
How much should hosting cost?
Hosting costs vary based on the website and service level. A basic law firm website often costs far less to host than the monthly price of a comprehensive marketing package. Hosting, website management and active marketing should be treated as separate services.
Can I update the replacement website myself?
A standard WordPress website can be configured so the firm can make routine changes. The firm can also hire the original developer or another qualified provider.
Do I need ongoing SEO?
That depends on your goals and competition.
A referral-driven defense firm may need limited ongoing work. A consumer-focused firm competing for high-value searches may need a substantial continuing strategy.
Can I leave before the agreement expires?
Possibly, depending on the agreement and service history. Document requests and performance issues, and consult an attorney for legal advice.
Should I contact FindLaw before building the replacement?
You should understand your agreement and notice obligations, but the replacement website should generally be well underway before the old site is removed.
Can you review my account without automatically recommending that I leave?
Yes.
The purpose of the review is to identify what is working, what is not and what the firm is actually receiving. I may recommend keeping products that perform well.
The Final Test: Ask FindLaw to Explain the Work
Before cancelling or renewing, give your account manager an opportunity to explain what FindLaw has done.
Send a simple written request.
Ask for specific work, specific dates and specific results.
Then compare the response to the amount your firm has paid.
Email Your FindLaw Account Manager
Subject: Request for Website and Marketing Activity Review
Hello,
Before making a decision about our upcoming renewal, I would like a detailed review of the work performed on our website and marketing account.
Please provide the following:
- A list of all work completed on our website during the last two months.
- A list of all work completed during the last six months.
- A list of all work completed during the last twelve months.
- A list of content that was added, rewritten or updated during those periods.
- A list of technical SEO changes made during those periods.
- A list of changes made to page titles, descriptions, internal links, structured data or website architecture.
- A description of any work performed to improve our local search visibility.
- A description of any work performed on our online profiles, directory information, reviews or business information consistency.
- A description of what has been done to prepare our website for AI-powered search tools and search features.
- Performance data for every directory, advertising, reputation, content or marketing product included in our account.
- Traffic, leads and other measurable results attributed to each product.
- Your recommendation regarding which products we should continue, discontinue or modify if our primary goal is maximizing return on investment.
Please include supporting reports or documentation where available.
Thank you.
Now Do the Math
Once you receive the response, calculate how much you paid during the same periods.
For example:
- Monthly payment multiplied by two months
- Monthly payment multiplied by six months
- Monthly payment multiplied by twelve months
Then ask:
- Does the amount of verified work match the amount paid?
- Did the work produce a measurable benefit?
- Can FindLaw connect the products to traffic, leads or cases?
- Were any products allowed to continue despite poor performance?
- Did anyone recommend reallocating the budget?
- Does the current package still fit the law firm?
- Would the firm purchase the same products today?
Remember that the underlying website content and other firm-owned assets may already belong to you.
The question is not simply what it costs to keep the website online.
The question is how much active work is being performed and how much benefit that work provides.
Give FindLaw the opportunity to stand behind the account.
Let them explain the value.
Then evaluate the answer using statistics, facts and the actual terms of the service.
Want Help Understanding the Response?
If you receive a response and want help understanding it, I will be happy to review it.
I can help separate concrete work from general marketing language.
I can show you where the response aligns with the data, where the service may be valuable and where the explanation may fall short.
If FindLaw is providing good value, I will tell you.
If the firm’s money could be used more effectively, I will explain why.
Do not leave because you are angry. Do not renew because you are afraid.
Get the information, understand it and make the decision that is right for your law firm.