Technically excellent. But does the AI also understand what your law firm stands for?
A business law firm has proven specialists, many years of experience, and a broad range of advisory services. Nevertheless, its specific areas of expertise are sometimes surprisingly difficult to identify on its website.
Many areas of law, numerous partner profiles, multiple locations—but little clarity about who is the right person to contact for which issues.
This is a problem for clients. It’s also a problem for visibility in search engines and AI-powered information systems.
The crucial question, therefore, is not only: Can your firm be found? But also: Is its expertise properly understood?
Our website project for ALKATOUT Legal demonstrates what professional depth looks like in practice.
For this internationally active family law firm, we developed a multilingual content architecture featuring specialized topic pages and detailed expert guides. The website combines accessible entry points with in-depth legal detail—while demonstrating that SEO- and GEO-oriented content need not stand in the way of exceptional web design.
AI VISIBILITY DOESN'T START WITH AI.
Whether it’s ChatGPT, Gemini, or Google AI Overviews: AI-powered search systems can take information from various sources into account, link it together, and use it to formulate answers to complex questions. How this works in detail varies depending on the provider and the search function.
An important principle applies to Google Search: the technical and content-related fundamentals of good search engine optimization remain relevant. Google explicitly states that no special GEO files or structured data are required to be considered by its AI search functions.
For law firms, this means that a compelling AI strategy does not begin with a technical trick, but rather with a website whose content is factually accurate, accessible, and logically structured.
AREAS OF LAW ARE NOT AN ORGANIZATIONAL CHART.
The challenge becomes particularly apparent at larger law firms.
A law firm provides advice on corporate law, labor law, and intellectual property law. It has multiple offices and various international teams. Practice areas are offered at different locations but are not necessarily handled by the same professionals.
A simple list of services does little to reflect these relationships.
A better approach is an information architecture that makes relevant relationships visible: What expertise is available at which location? Who is responsible for a specific area of practice? Which professionals publish on which topics? And which contacts are responsible for international clients?
A well-designed website answers these questions not only through individual texts but also by linking practice area pages, professional profiles, office information, and publications.
This creates a clear, comprehensive picture of the firm.
SUBSTANTIVE DEPTH MUST BE TRANSLATED INTO CONCRETE TERMS.
The claim that a law firm is competent, experienced, and operates internationally does little to set it apart from other providers.
It is more convincing when these qualities are demonstrated through verifiable information.
This may include specialized articles, published presentations, detailed explanations of advisory approaches, specific industry knowledge, or relevant references. It is crucial that the content be substantive, factually accurate, and clearly attributable to a specific individual or the law firm.
Instead of describing a practice area solely in general terms, a law firm can address and contextualize typical issues faced by its target clients.
For example, the legal challenges of a cross-border corporate acquisition, the specific requirements of a restructuring, or the intersections between labor law and corporate organization.
Such content makes professional expertise more tangible. At the same time, it can create additional touchpoints for organic search and AI-powered searches.
However, this does not guarantee that the content will be mentioned in AI-generated responses.
Our website project for ALKATOUT Legal demonstrates what professional depth looks like in practice.
For this internationally active family law firm, we developed a multilingual content architecture featuring specialized topic pages and detailed professional guides. The website combines accessible entry points with in-depth legal detail—while also demonstrating that SEO- and GEO-oriented content need not be an obstacle to exceptional web design.
INTERNATIONAL LAW FIRMS NEED MORE THAN JUST TRANSLATIONS.
The issue becomes particularly complex for law firms with multiple language versions, international offices, and varying areas of expertise.
A German website may list a contact person in Munich for a specific area of law. On the English- or French-language version, a different partner may be responsible. Perhaps both are listed, or perhaps the advisory services differ depending on the market.
In such cases, simply translating all content automatically is not enough.
The underlying information structure must account for these differences. People, services, and locations should be meaningfully linked and maintained with editorial consistency.
From our work on international law firm websites, we know that such decisions become important as early as the design phase and when selecting the content management system.
It’s about much more than multilingualism. It’s about digitally representing a complex law firm organization in a way that’s easy to understand.
STRUCTURED DATA HELPS. IT DOES NOT REPLACE CONTENT.
Schema.org markup can provide search engines with additional information about a business, a product, or a person.
For law firm websites, for example, correctly implemented organizational, person, and article data can be useful. It is crucial that this information matches the details actually visible on the site.
However, structured data alone does not turn a generic services page into a compelling expert article. Nor does it guarantee a mention in ChatGPT or Google AI Overviews.
Technical quality and editorial substance must work together.
This includes indexable pages, clear headings, logical internal linking, and well-researched content, as well as the maintenance of existing profiles and publications.
VISIBILITY IS GOOD. RELEVANCE IS BETTER.
A law firm that primarily handles complex corporate matters does not need to address as many general legal issues as possible.
What’s more important is whether its specialized expertise is evident in the technical issues for which it actually wants to be retained.
That’s why we don’t view SEO and GEO for law firms in isolation from brand strategy. First, it must be clear what the firm stands for, who it wants to reach, and what sets its services apart.
The website’s structure, content, and technical optimization are built on this foundation.
After all, a good law firm website shouldn’t just convey that a firm is capable of doing a lot. It should make it clear what the firm does particularly well.
STILL IN THE RACE?
Mariam Purtseladze
Project Manager
We’ll figure out if we’re a good fit during our conversation. vierzehn02 develops corporate websites—from positioning and concept development to UX/UI design and technical implementation.
And yes: We ask quite a few questions at the beginning.
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