2025 Am Law 200 Digital Visibility Report

Digital visibility is now a competitive differentiator, and top firms are underperforming where it counts.

This isn’t about SEO tactics or website aesthetics. It’s about revenue protection and competitive positioning. The research reveals that digital performance now functions like cybersecurity: invisible when it works, catastrophic when it fails. The complete analysis includes:

✓ Firm-by-firm performance benchmarks across all AmLaw 200

✓ Year-over-year trend analysis revealing which firms are pulling ahead

✓ ROI frameworks for building business cases around digital infrastructure

✓ KPI dashboards designed for boardroom reporting

✓ Strategic roadmap for emerging trends (AI search, mobile-first indexing)

 

Mockup of a book titled The 2025 AmLaw 200 Digital Visibility Index exposes a widening digital performance gap that’s quietly reshaping competitive dynamics across the legal industry. The findings should concern any firm leadership focused on sustainable growth:

  • 72.4% of AmLaw firms lost backlinks year over year
  • 97% remain largely invisible to prospects searching by practice area rather than firm name
  • 30% of top-tier firms fail mobile performance standards while clients increasingly validate referrals on mobile devices
  • 35 firms regressed on Core Web Vitals precisely when Google raised performance standards

With online presence now directly impacting a law firm’s ability to attract, convert, and retain clients, digital visibility has become more than simply a marketing tool. As client behaviors shift toward mobile-first research and AI-assisted search, they’re putting greater trust in what they find (or don’t find) on a firm’s website than in its reputation alone.

Recognizing the shift, we developed the 9Sail Digital Visibility Score™ to assess how well law firms are positioned to meet modern expectations of speed, clarity, and search visibility.

This year’s study of Am Law 200 digital visibility performance examines each firm’s website through the lenses of technical health, SEO growth, and online authority to provide a clearer picture of digital competitiveness. Our findings offer law firm leaders actual benchmarks for success in online performance, and highlight what it will take to improve.

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