How we order firms, and what a firm can pay for
The short version: firms appear in a random order that changes each visit, some firms pay a flat fee to be shown in a separate labelled block above that list, and nothing anyone pays changes which firms you are matched with or what happens to your consultation request.
Four rules, in plain words
These are printed in short form on every page that lists firms, and this page is the long form.
01
Organic results are shuffled, not ranked
Firms that are not paying for placement appear in a random order, reshuffled for each visit. No firm is ordered ahead of another because of anything it pays, and we publish no score, rating or merit order at all.
02
Featured placement is a paid advertisement
A featured firm is pinned in a separate block above the shuffled list, labelled "Featured - paid placement" every time it appears. The label sits next to the firm's name, and the explainer is the first thing in any list that contains one.
03
We are never paid per enquiry
Featured placement is a flat fee for a period. A firm's invoice is identical in a month with a hundred consultation requests and a month with none. There is no per-enquiry fee, no commission and no referral fee anywhere in this product.
04
Paying changes placement and nothing else
Featured placement never changes who the questionnaire matches you with, never changes whether a firm's page can be found in a search engine, and never changes what happens to a consultation request after you send it.
The limits on featured placement
- At most three featured firms in one practice area in one state or region, so a block of advertisements can never crowd out the firms below it.
- Personal injury is never available as a featured placement, in any state or region.
- A firm that pauses, ends or fails to pay for a placement keeps its ordinary position in the shuffled list.
What this directory is, and what it is not
What it is
- A record of law firms in Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States, built from what each firm publishes on its own website, so you can see where a firm has offices, what work it says it does and who it says works there.
- A way to send a consultation request straight to a firm. The firm decides whether to take it on.
- Free for a firm to be listed, free to claim, and free to correct. Nothing on this page is behind a payment.
What it is not
- Not a ranking, a rating, a score or an award. We publish nothing evaluative about a firm, and we do not reproduce anyone else's rankings. Where a firm states something about itself, we can quote the firm and link to where it said so.
- Not a review site. There are no consumer reviews and no star ratings.
- Not legal advice. We do not endorse any firm. Using this directory does not create a lawyer and client relationship with anyone.
Where the information on a firm page comes from
Every firm page carries the date we last checked the firm's own website.
- 01
The firm's own website
Offices, practice areas, people as the firm publishes them, languages, accreditations and any short quote are taken from the firm's own pages, with the source page recorded. We never publish a personal email address, a mobile number or a direct line for an individual.
- 02
Public registers, used internally only
Statutory registers tell us which firms are in scope and help us confirm we have the right entity. That material is never published, never quoted and never shown as text on a firm page.
- 03
The firm itself, once it claims the page
A firm that claims its page can correct the details and add its team. Claiming is free and is not a paid tier.
Getting something changed or taken down
Every firm page carries two links, side by side and equally prominent: one to claim the page, and one to ask us to remove the listing. Both are free.
A removal request is honoured. We take the page down first and ask questions afterwards, if at all. A firm that changes its mind later can claim the page and bring it back.
A correction can be made by claiming the page, or by writing to us. If a page has a fact wrong, tell us what is wrong and where the correct version is published, and we will fix it or remove the page.
If you are a person named on a firm page and you would rather not be, write to us and we will take your name off, without asking the firm first.
This directory is information about law firms. It is not legal advice, and we do not endorse any firm. Sending a consultation request is a request for a consultation; it does not create a lawyer and client relationship.