Thinking About Leaving FindLaw?
I Worked at FindLaw. Now I Help Law Firms Leave It.
If your FindLaw contract is coming up for renewal, you may be asking the same questions many attorneys ask every year:
- Is my FindLaw marketing actually working?
- What content do I own?
- What happens if I cancel?
- Will I lose my Google rankings?
- Can my website be rebuilt without starting over?
I have been helping law firms answer those questions for years.
I worked for FindLaw before starting Swell Sites in 2008, and I have spent more than twenty years building and improving law firm websites. I have helped firms across the country transition away from FindLaw, Lawyers.com, Scorpion and other large legal marketing companies while preserving the valuable assets they have spent years building.
Every firm is different. Some attorneys simply want a professional website they completely own. Others depend on their website to generate new business every month and need a long-term marketing strategy.
The goal is not to sell everyone the same package. It is to build a website and marketing plan that actually fits your practice.
What Happens When You Leave FindLaw?
Leaving FindLaw does not necessarily mean starting from scratch.
In most cases, your firm’s custom-written practice area pages, attorney biographies and other original content belong to you. Those are often the most valuable parts of your website and can usually be rebuilt on a modern WordPress site while preserving the structure and search visibility you have already developed.
The transition process typically includes:
- Reviewing what content and other website assets you own
- Preserving important URLs whenever possible
- Migrating your custom content
- Rebuilding the website on WordPress
- Setting up hosting in an account owned by your firm
- Connecting Google Analytics and Google Search Console
- Improving technical SEO during the rebuild
- Creating redirects for any URLs that need to change
Instead of continuing to rent your website, you own it.
Is Your FindLaw Marketing Actually Working?
This is usually the first question we need to answer.
Many firms pay for several FindLaw products without knowing which ones are actually producing qualified leads or new clients.
Some firms receive measurable value from FindLaw or Lawyers.com directory listings. Others get nearly all of their business from Google Maps, referrals or organic search. Some are paying for products that generate very little traffic or produce no meaningful return.
Before making recommendations, I can review your website, traffic, rankings and subscriptions so you can better understand where your leads are coming from and which services may be worth keeping.
Sometimes the right answer is rebuilding the website. Sometimes it makes sense to keep one or two products and eliminate the rest.
The point is to make decisions based on real performance rather than a complicated invoice or another sales presentation.
What Content Do You Own?
In most cases, content written specifically for your law firm belongs to you. This may include your main practice area pages, attorney biographies, firm history, case results and other customized website copy.
Some material may be licensed, syndicated or reused across multiple FindLaw websites. This can include certain blog posts, legal articles, frequently asked questions or practice center content. That material may not be transferable, and it may not be worth carrying over even when it is available.
The most important assets are usually the original pages that describe your attorneys, your firm and the legal services you provide. Those pages can generally be reused, improved and reorganized on your new website.
It is also important to understand that a substantial amount of your traffic may come from your Google Business Profile and local map results. Those listings are separate from FindLaw and do not disappear simply because you move your website.
Can You Keep Your Search Rankings?
In many cases, yes.
Your Google rankings are rarely tied to FindLaw’s website platform alone. Search performance is influenced by several factors, including:
- Your original website content
- The age and authority of your domain
- Links pointing to your website
- Your Google Business Profile and local reputation
- Your website’s technical performance
- The organization and usefulness of your practice area content
If the rebuild is planned correctly, important URLs can be preserved and redirects can be added wherever a page address needs to change. Your existing content, page titles, metadata and other useful SEO elements can also be reviewed and carried over.
There are never guarantees with search rankings, but rebuilding a FindLaw website does not automatically mean losing years of SEO work. In many cases, moving to a faster and better-organized website creates opportunities for improvement.
Can Your FindLaw Website Be Rebuilt on WordPress?
Yes.
Most current FindLaw websites already use a customized version of WordPress behind the scenes. However, moving the site away from FindLaw is not always as simple as downloading the existing files and uploading them somewhere else.
I rebuild the website using a standard WordPress installation that your law firm owns. I can recreate the design, migrate the content, preserve important SEO information and make sure the new site works properly on your own hosting account.
The result is a website that can be updated by you, by me or by another qualified web developer in the future.
What About FindLaw’s Ongoing Optimization?
Many FindLaw clients are told that their monthly fees include ongoing optimization, but it is not always clear what work is actually being completed or whether that work is producing results.
Ongoing services may include blog posts, directory listings, technical updates or other marketing products. Some of those services may provide value. Others may be ineffective, difficult to measure or priced well above what they are worth.
I can help you review your traffic, rankings, leads and subscriptions so you can understand what FindLaw is actually providing.
More importantly, I can help you identify better ways to invest in your website, including stronger practice area content, useful FAQs, technical SEO improvements, local search optimization and clearer conversion paths.
Regardless of whether you work with me or someone else, you should not be paying hundreds or thousands of dollars each month simply to keep an underperforming website online.
Is Your Website Ready for AI Search?
The way people search for lawyers is changing.
Potential clients are increasingly using Google AI Overviews, ChatGPT, Gemini and other AI-powered tools to research legal issues and compare attorneys. These systems tend to favor websites that provide clear, detailed and well-organized information.
Many older law firm websites were built before AI search became an important consideration.
When I rebuild a website, I can improve the structure and clarity of the content through:
- Better-organized practice area pages
- Useful frequently asked questions
- FAQ and legal service schema markup
- Clear attorney and law firm information
- Improved internal linking
- Modern technical SEO
- An llms.txt file when appropriate
The goal is not only to improve traditional Google rankings. It is to make your website easier to understand wherever potential clients are searching.
How Much Does It Cost to Keep a Website Online?
Much less than many law firms expect.
In most cases, standard website hosting costs approximately $80 to $150 per year, depending on the provider and hosting plan. Your domain registration is usually a separate annual expense.
I typically set up hosting in an account owned directly by your law firm. That means you control the account, the website files and the billing.
I offer optional monthly consulting, website management and marketing plans, but those services are not required to keep the website online. You are not locked into a long-term agreement simply to maintain access to your own site.
What If You Need to Update the Website?
Every website I build is designed to give you options.
You can:
- Make updates yourself through WordPress
- Contact me when you need occasional changes
- Choose an ongoing website management plan
- Hire another web developer in the future
Your website belongs to you. You should never be dependent on one company simply to change a photograph, update an attorney biography or add a new practice area.
Do You Need FindLaw’s End User Interface Files?
FindLaw may provide website files at the end of your contract term. These are sometimes referred to as End User Interface or EUI files.
For most rebuilds, I do not rely on those files.
The existing files may include unnecessary code, platform-specific elements and other complications that make the website more difficult to manage. It is often cleaner and more efficient to rebuild the site using the original content, images and important SEO information from the live or archived website.
The valuable part of the old site is usually not the FindLaw framework. It is your domain, your original content, your existing URLs and the authority your firm has developed over time.
Let’s Review Your FindLaw Website
If you are thinking about leaving FindLaw, I can review your current website and help you understand:
- What content and assets you own
- Which FindLaw products may be producing value
- Which services may be worth leaving behind
- What should be preserved during a rebuild
- What could be improved
- What it would cost to build a website you own
Sometimes rebuilding is the right move. Sometimes it makes sense to wait, keep a particular product or make smaller improvements first.
Either way, you will have a clearer understanding of what you are paying for and what your options are.
Frequently Asked Questions About Cancelling FindLaw
Possibly, but the answer often depends on more than simply reviewing the cancellation language in the contract.
FindLaw’s agreements are generally written to make early cancellation difficult. In some situations, however, the most effective approach is not to begin by attacking the contract. It is to carefully document whether FindLaw is actually providing the services it agreed to provide.
For example, I recently worked with a firm that went through more than twenty emails simply trying to have a new practice area page added to its website. The repeated delays, missed follow-ups and failure to complete a basic requested update became much more relevant to the discussion than a general complaint about cost or performance.
If you are considering leaving early, it may be helpful to:
- Review the services included in your agreement
- Submit reasonable website or marketing requests in writing
- Keep records of missed deadlines and unanswered follow-ups
- Document work that was promised but not completed
- Give FindLaw a reasonable opportunity to correct the problem
Sometimes the strongest argument for an early release is not that you have changed your mind. It is that the company has repeatedly failed to deliver the services you are paying for.
I am not an attorney and cannot provide legal advice about your contract, but I can help you review the services, communications and website history so you have a clearer factual record before speaking with FindLaw or your own lawyer.
Usually not. If your law firm owns the domain registration, you can transfer it to another registrar. If you’re unsure who owns the domain, I can help you verify it.
In most cases, yes—at least the content that was written specifically for your firm. Some syndicated content, blog articles, or licensed materials may not be transferable. We’ll review your site together before rebuilding.
Yes. Most modern FindLaw websites use WordPress behind the scenes, although they operate on a customized platform. Rebuilding the site on standard WordPress gives you full ownership and much greater flexibility.
Yes. Many firms see improved performance after moving to a faster, more focused website with better content and stronger technical SEO. Results vary, but leaving FindLaw alone does not cause rankings to disappear.
No. Once the website is complete, your only required ongoing expense is hosting and your domain registration. Ongoing marketing, SEO, content creation, or consulting are available if you want them, but they’re never required.
Most projects take between four and eight weeks, depending on the size of the website and how quickly content and feedback are available.
Absolutely. I’ll review your website, subscriptions, traffic, search performance, and overall marketing strategy so you can make an informed decision before spending money on a rebuild or signing another long-term contract.
Questions? Don’t Hesitate to Contact Me
If you have questions about getting away from FindLaw, Lawyers.com, Scorpion or another legal marketing company, call, email or text me today.
I will give you straightforward answers about what you have, what you own and what it would take to build a website your law firm controls.
