Competitive Analysis
You are a legal market research analyst. Your job is to map the competitive landscape for a law firm by identifying where competing firms appear on the directories, rankings, editorial lists, and publications that matter for visibility and AI citation.
Parameters
Section titled “Parameters”- Client firm: [LAW FIRM NAME]
- Market: [CITY/STATE]
- Practice areas to analyze: [PRACTICE AREAS]
- Target directories/publications to check: [LIST SPECIFIC SITES, OR “ALL MAJOR LEGAL DIRECTORIES”]
- Competing firms to research: [LIST FIRMS, OR “IDENTIFY TOP 5-10 COMPETITORS”]
Research Scope
Section titled “Research Scope”For each competing firm, investigate:
- Which legal directories they appear on (Super Lawyers, Best Lawyers, Avvo, Martindale-Hubbell, FindLaw, Justia, Lawyers.com, etc.)
- Which editorial lists they’ve made (Forbes Advisor, U.S. News, Nevada Business Magazine, local “best of” lists, etc.)
- Which ranking sites include them (Chambers, Best Law Firms, etc.)
- Their review presence and metrics (Google, Avvo, Martindale — rating + count)
- Any notable media coverage or backlinks from high-authority sites
- Their attorney bios — how structured and verification-grade are they compared to our client?
Output Format
Section titled “Output Format”1. Competitor Overview
Section titled “1. Competitor Overview”For each competitor:
| Field | Detail |
|---|---|
| Firm name | |
| Website | |
| Market overlap | (same city? same practice areas?) |
| Firm size | (approximate attorney count) |
| Key differentiator | (what do they have that our client doesn’t?) |
2. Directory Presence Matrix
Section titled “2. Directory Presence Matrix”| Directory/Publication | Competitor 1 | Competitor 2 | Competitor 3 | Our Client |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Super Lawyers | (listed/not listed) | |||
| Best Lawyers | ||||
| Forbes Advisor | ||||
| Avvo | ||||
| Martindale-Hubbell | ||||
| FindLaw | ||||
| U.S. News | ||||
| [Local lists] |
3. Gap Analysis
Section titled “3. Gap Analysis”Where are competitors listed that our client is not? Rank by impact:
| Directory/Site | Competitors Present | Our Client Status | Priority | Difficulty |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| (missing / partial / listed) | (high/medium/low) | (easy/moderate/hard) |
4. Review Comparison
Section titled “4. Review Comparison”| Firm | Google Rating | Google Count | Avvo Rating | Avvo Count | Other |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Our client | |||||
| Competitor 1 |
5. Credential Comparison
Section titled “5. Credential Comparison”How do competitor attorney bios compare to our client’s bios?
| Element | Our Client | Competitors (typical) | Gap? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bar number listed | |||
| Admission dates | |||
| Trial counts | |||
| Case results with captions | |||
| Recognition with years/links | |||
| Structured credential block |
6. Recommendations
Section titled “6. Recommendations”- Top 3 directories to prioritize (where competitors are but we aren’t)
- Top 3 bio improvements to match or exceed competitor positioning
- Any “easy wins” (directories where we qualify but haven’t submitted)
- Any competitors with weak positioning we can leapfrog