12 Top Legal Directories

Quick answer: Legal directories are websites where people find and compare lawyers by location and practice area. Claim and complete your profile on Google Business Profile, Avvo, FindLaw, Justia and Martindale-Hubbell, keep your name, address and phone number consistent, and check each listing against your bar’s advertising rules.

In this article, we will discuss what lawyer directories are, why they’re important, effective strategies that come from utilizing legal directories, and the top legal directories your law firm should be included in. Let’s get started! For a full local plan, see our local SEO for lawyers guide.

What are Lawyer Directories?

First, it’s important to define what an online directory is. An online directory is a website that populates, ranks and categorizes different businesses to help individuals discover and learn more about different businesses’ information. Typically a business listing includes NAP (name, address, phone number) information along with business hours and imagery. Adding your business to multiple directories helps build your online presence and helps it reach out to a variety of individuals.

Lawyer directories are a specific type of online directory. They tend to only include business listings on individual lawyers or law firms. Every legal directory is different, but legal directories are great tools to help people narrow down their search on what they’re looking for. Categories such as location, specialties, or legal focus can help people find what they’re looking for in an easier way.

Why are Legal Directories Important for Law Firms?

Besides helping your law firm get more recognized online, there are more important reasons why including your law firm in legal directories is a vital thing to do:

• Build online trust: Listings with consistent details help search engines and clients see your firm as a real, established business.
• Local SEO: Clients often start with what is closest to them. Local legal listings put your firm in more of the places people look for legal services, and they support your local rankings.
• Backlinks: Trusted legal directories can link to your website. Some links are nofollow, so treat directories as one part of your link building, not the whole plan.

Top Legal Directory Strategies

There are multiple strategies and considerations that your law firm should keep in mind when adding yourself to legal directories:

• Have Consistent Information: It’s important to take the time to make sure your law firm’s information is the same on all profiles. Legal directories and search engines both find your business to be more credible when your information is the same on every profile. Your NAP (name, address, and phone number) information should always be the same. If one of these were to change, it’s important to update listings ASAP to help keep everything consistent. 
• Check Online Reviews: Online review management is extremely important nowadays. It can sometimes be the deciding factor on whether or not someone chooses your law firm over another. Having positive client experience reviews help build your reputation and help current clients come back and future clients choose your law firm. 
• Choose the Right Legal Directories: There are lots of legal directories out there and it can be hard to know which ones are the right ones to be listed in. Look in finding legal directories that are trustworthy and already have high traffic, offer features that attract clients, and let you add content to your profile. These features help build value and authority back to your legal website over time.

12 Legal Directories To Consider

Here is a list of some of the top legal directories your law firm should look to be included in.

1. Avvo

Avvo is an online legal directory with client reviews, peer endorsements and lawyer-submitted legal guides. Claim your profile to help your firm stand out and to keep your information accurate.

2. Lawyers.com

Lawyers.com is a legal directory that offers lawyer and law firm profiles, free legal information and articles about common legal issues.

3. Lawyer.com

While this URL name seems to be the same as the one above, it is indeed a different website. Lawyer.com serves legal markets worldwide and offers ways to connect lawyers directly with individuals. They have their online directory, free legal content, a legal plan, and a free question & answer section for individuals to use to their advantage.

4. Nolo

Nolo has long been a legal publisher that helps consumers and small businesses find answers to everyday legal and business questions. Its tools, articles and lawyer directory connect people with legal professionals.

5. FindLaw

FindLaw is one of the original online legal directories to provide online legal information and online marketing services for law firms. Besides the legal directory, FindLaw offers online legal question & answer forums and free legal guides, and they are also known to have credible legal blog articles to help build your online legal business.

6. US News (Lawyers)

U.S. News & World Report offers a lawyer directory powered by Best Lawyers, where people can search by legal issue, location or lawyer name. Check how listings are chosen before you plan around it.

7. LegalZoom

LegalZoom has a mission to help connect the best attorneys and lawyers to the customers who need them. It also helps customers create legal documents without having to hire a lawyer. While their directory isn’t free, they have a Legal Plan Attorney Network, that gives customers direct access to lawyers that you can pay for.

8. Justia

Justia is one of the largest online databases of legal cases. They have multiple legal guides on specific fields of law such as:

• Injury law
• Family law
• Criminal Law
• Home Ownership
• Business Law
• And more!

Justia’s legal directory helps find your legal needs by finding the right area of law for your needs. 

9. Martindale-Hubbell

Martindale-Hubbell is a long-running legal directory with a large database of legal professionals. You can search by name, practice area, school, articles or location. A profile gives your firm exposure to people looking for lawyers.

10. Local Legal Authorities

Local Legal Authorities is an online exclusive directory that pairs you with the best local attorneys. You can search by where attorneys practice, a specific state, or by featured attorneys. They also provide blog articles from local legal authorities directly!

11. greatinflux

GreatInflux offers local listing management so your law firm’s details stay consistent across directories. Our team has over 15 years of digital marketing experience. See our guide to local SEO for lawyers.

12. Google Business Profile

A Google Business Profile (GBP) is an essential listing for your law firm and often one of the first places it appears in search. Without one, you miss a major way for potential clients to find you.

Listing Your Law Firm with greatinflux

Lawyer directories can help potential clients find your firm and give search engines consistent details about it. They work best alongside a strong website and reviews. Lawyer advertising rules vary by state and country, so check that your profile content follows your local bar rules. Learn more about our local SEO and link building services.