Frequently asked questions

Law Firms Ranked is an independent directory that ranks law firms city by city in 18 practice areas, from personal injury and criminal defense to estate planning, using one published score. It is free to use and covers the United States and Canada outside Quebec. It is not a law firm and does not give legal advice.

Each firm gets an LFR Score from 0 to 100 built from 9 factors: reputation (25%), bar status (10%), review volume (10%), recency (10%), availability (5%), practice focus (15%), proximity (5%), claimed profile (10%), law firms ranked reviews (10%). The same weights apply in every city. The full method is on the How we rank page.

No. Paid placements are labelled “Attorney advertising”, sit in a separate block outside the ranked list, are limited to 3 per page, rotate daily and never change a score or rank.

No. We do not review your legal problem, choose a lawyer for you or take any part of a lawyer’s fee. You decide which firm to contact. For a referral service, ask your state or local bar association or your provincial law society.

No. The score summarises public signals such as reviews, practice focus and location. It does not measure legal skill, and past results do not predict the outcome of your matter. Meet more than one lawyer before you decide.

Contacting a firm does not make it your lawyer. Share only basic contact details and the type of matter until the firm has checked for conflicts and agreed to meet you.

Search the lawyer’s name in the state bar directory (in Canada, the provincial law society directory). It shows whether the lawyer is active and usually any public discipline.

To be ranked a firm needs a confident match to the practice area and at least 3 Google reviews or a claimed profile. Firms listed only as “Lawyer” or “Law firm” appear under general practice. Others that serve the city appear unranked in the “Also serving” table on the same page.

Scores are recalculated weekly, oldest cities first. Each list shows the date it was last scored.

Find your profile and choose the claim option, or start from List your law firm. A free claimed profile lets you correct hours, practice areas, offices and languages and reply to reviews.

Listing and claiming are free. Pro is $39 a month or $390 a year. Featured advertising is a flat monthly fee by practice area and city size, from $59 to $399 a month, with 3 equal slots per page rotated daily. Fees never depend on the number of calls or clients.

No. Payment is never read by the score. You can improve what is measured: keep hours and practice areas accurate, and invite clients to leave honest reviews without offering anything in return.

Yes, with our free badge. It carries the rating date, our name and a link to the method. Lawyer advertising rules differ by state and province (some require extra wording or limit comparative claims), so check your own rules before you publish it.

Claim your profile to edit it, or email hello@lawfirmsranked.com with the page link and the correction. Verified fixes go live with the next weekly update.