FindLaw alternatives for small law firms

A solo family lawyer renewing a FindLaw website contract this winter has a question the last renewal did not raise. FindLaw changed hands. Thomson Reuters announced on December 2, 2024 that it had closed the sale of its FindLaw business to Internet Brands, and FindLaw’s own lawyer marketing FAQ now says that at the end of 2024 it became part of the Martindale-Avvo legal brand portfolio under Internet Brands.

So the firm is now buying from the company that also runs Martindale, Avvo and Nolo. That is not bad news on its own. It is a reason to reread the contract and to know exactly what the firm owns before deciding to stay or go. Everything below about FindLaw comes from its lawyer marketing pages, the Thomson Reuters release and Martindale-Avvo’s press page. We leave every price out, FindLaw’s and ours.

What FindLaw does well

FindLaw’s biggest asset is reach. FindLaw.com pairs free legal articles for the public with a lawyer directory, so people with a legal problem land on it while reading about custody, probate or a DUI charge. A firm with a profile there is in front of someone who is already reading about the exact problem the firm handles.

The second strength is convenience. FindLaw’s lawyer marketing services page lists law firm websites, search engine optimization, pay-per-click ads, video, social media and legal directory advertising. For a two-lawyer office with no marketing staff, one vendor and one invoice for all of that is a real saving in time.

The third is the new family. Thomson Reuters’ release describes Nolo, Avvo and Martindale as together forming the largest consumer information provider in the legal market, and Martindale-Avvo’s press page says Internet Brands’ legal companies, Martindale-Avvo and FindLaw, released a 2026 Law Firm Growth Report together.

Five things to get in writing before you leave

Ask your FindLaw representative these questions by email and keep the replies. Each one decides whether a move takes a week or costs you a year of search history.

1. The domain. Which registrar holds it, and in whose name is it registered? If the registrant is not the firm, ask how and when it would transfer, and in what state the website files would come with it.
2. The website and its content. Can you export the pages, attorney bios, practice area articles, photos and videos? Ask which of those the firm paid for outright and which are licensed while the contract runs.
3. The call-tracking numbers. Every number on your site, your ads and your directory profiles may forward through a tracking line. Ask who owns each line and whether it can be ported to the firm. A number printed on your business cards for five years is worth keeping.
4. The Google Business Profile. Open it and check who is listed as primary owner. The firm should be. If a vendor is the owner, ask for the role to be transferred before anything else changes.
5. The directory listings. Ask which profiles are paid placements that disappear when billing stops and which basic listings stay up, and on which sites in the network each one appears.

Moving a site is also the moment to reread what it says. Attorney bios, results pages and the word “specialist” all answer to your state bar’s advertising rules, and the firm, not the vendor, carries the license. What follows is general information and not legal advice; confirm with counsel which rules apply to the pages you keep, rewrite or retire.

FindLaw’s bundle beside Beyaoshy

The FindLaw column comes from its own pages. Where its pages do not answer a question, the cell says to ask, because terms can differ from one contract to the next. The Beyaoshy column is limited to what we can show.

	FindLaw	Beyaoshy
Built for	Solo, small and mid-size law firms, per its About page	Any business, law firms included, local or national
What comes bundled	Website, SEO, pay-per-click, video, social media and directory advertising	Website, SEO, Google Business Profile, ads, CRM and call tracking, run together
Audience you rent	FindLaw.com and the wider Internet Brands legal network	No directory of our own; the work builds your site, profile and ads
Domain, site, profile, CRM, tracking numbers	Ask in writing whose name each one sits in	Set up in the firm’s name from the start
Who does the work	Ask who will handle your account day to day	One team does all of it; nothing is subcontracted
Track record	Part of Internet Brands’ legal group since the end of 2024	4,700+ businesses served since 2015
Before you sign	Ask for the cancellation and transfer terms	A free plan the firm keeps whether or not it hires us

Pros and cons

FindLaw

• Pro: a profile on a consumer legal site that people already use to research their problem.
• Pro: one vendor for the site, search, ads, video and social, which saves a small office hours each month.
• Pro: a seat inside the Internet Brands legal group alongside Martindale, Avvo and Nolo.
• Con: directory visibility is rented, so it ends when billing ends.
• Con: ownership of the domain, content and tracking numbers is something to confirm contract by contract.
• Con: the ownership change means terms written before 2025 may not match the ones offered at renewal.

Beyaoshy

• Pro: the domain, website, Google profile, CRM and tracking numbers are opened in the firm’s name.
• Pro: the same team builds the site and runs the profile, ads and follow-up, so a lost call has one person to answer for it.
• Con: no legal directory audience comes with us; every call has to be earned through your own site, profile and ads.
• Con: we are not a law-only agency, so ask for examples in your practice area.

Whether a paid directory profile, a lead fee or a referral arrangement is allowed in your state is a question for your ethics counsel, not for any marketing vendor, FindLaw or us; treat this paragraph as background, not legal advice.

Who FindLaw fits

• A firm whose calls come mostly from directory profiles. Look at the last six months of intake. If people regularly say they found you on FindLaw, the audience is earning its place.
• A solo lawyer who wants one vendor and one invoice. If you would rather practice law than manage a website, a bundle is a fair trade.
• A firm on a site it is happy with and a contract it has read recently. If the five answers above came back in the firm’s favor, there may be little reason to move.

It fits less well when intake shows the directory sending few calls, or when the firm wants to own every piece of its marketing outright, so that no future sale or renewal can change what it holds.

Where Beyaoshy fits

We build for firms that want the assets in their own name. Our team builds the website, keeps the Google Business Profile current, runs the ads and sets up the CRM and call tracking, and the domain, site, profile, CRM and tracking numbers are set up in the firm’s name. If you leave us, nothing needs untangling. The work is done by one team, with nothing handed to a subcontractor, and we have served more than 4,700 businesses since 2015.

Read how we approach law firm marketing, or see how we work with business owners.