When a potential client asks ChatGPT "מי עורך הדין הכי מומלץ לדיני עבודה בחיפה" ("who is the most recommended employment lawyer in Haifa"), the model answers with names. Whoever makes that list is usually whoever appears in the rankings and the articles the model leans on, and whoever has content on their site, in Hebrew, that answers that exact question. For a law firm that means three things: appear in the rankings for your industry, write content phrased as a client's question rather than as a legal article, and make sure the firm's specialisation is spelled out explicitly — "דיני עבודה בחיפה" ("employment law in Haifa") and not "ליטיגציה אזרחית ומסחרית" ("civil and commercial litigation").
What clients actually ask
Not "a recommended law firm". The questions are far more specific, and these are real phrasings out of the bank of questions we run in the legal industry:
- "מי עורך הדין הכי מומלץ ל{התמחות} ב{עיר}?" ("who is the most recommended {practice area} lawyer in {city}?")
- "עו״ד {התמחות} ב{עיר} — מי הכי מומלץ?" ("{practice area} lawyer in {city} — who is the most recommended?")
- "מחפש עורך דין ל{התמחות} ב{עיר}, מי הכי טוב?" ("looking for a {practice area} lawyer in {city}, who is the best?")
- "מי המשרד המוביל ב{עיר} בתחום {התמחות}?" ("which is the leading firm in {city} in {practice area}?")
Notice what recurs in all of them: a practice area and a city. Not "a good lawyer" but a lawyer for something, in a particular place. A firm whose site does not say those two things in explicit words makes it harder for the model to connect it to the question — not because the firm is any less good, but because there is no text that makes the connection.
Four kinds of question, four kinds of page
The "who is the most recommended" question is only one of several. The bank of questions we run in the legal industry covers several kinds, and a different page suits each one:
| What the client asks | The page that answers it |
|---|---|
| Who is the most recommended {practice area} lawyer in {city} | A practice-area page with the city in its name and in its heading |
| How do you choose a {practice area} lawyer | A choosing guide — what to ask at the first meeting |
| How much does {procedure} cost | A page on how fees are structured in that practice area |
| What is the difference between {route A} and {route B} | A factual comparison page |
The second and third kinds are the opportunity most firms skip. A question like "כמה עולה עורך דין לגירושין" ("how much does a divorce lawyer cost") is asked a great deal, almost no firm answers it in writing, and whoever does answer it — honestly, with ranges and with an explanation of what moves them — gets connected to that question almost on their own.
And yes, it is an uncomfortable question. That is exactly why competition for it is thin.
Why big firms do not necessarily win here
This is the point that surprises people most, and it is good news for a mid-sized firm.
Reputation in the market and visibility in the answers are two different things. The model does not know who is well regarded; it knows which text connects a name to a need. A firm with a hundred lawyers whose site writes about every area of law is spread across twenty subjects. A boutique firm whose content is all about employment law is connected more strongly to a question about employment law — not because of size but because of focus.
In practice that means the biggest opportunity is a defined niche in a defined city, not "lawyers in Israel".
Three places that decide whether you appear
1. Rankings and articles in the industry. If the engines cite a source you do not appear in, that is almost always the most worthwhile action available: get into a source that is already cited, instead of trying to replace it.
2. Content on your site that answers a question. A page headed "פוטרתם בלי שימוע? מה החוק מחייב את המעסיק" ("Dismissed without a hearing? What the law requires of the employer") contains the words the question contains. A page headed "תחומי עיסוק" ("Practice areas") contains none of them.
3. A consistent name. "משרד לוי ושות'" (the Levy & Co. firm), "לוי ושות' עורכי דין" (Levy & Co. Advocates), "Levy & Co" and "משרד עו״ד לוי" (the Levy law office) can be four separate entities as far as a machine is concerned. Choosing one version and using it everywhere you control — your site, your Google Business Profile, email signatures, your profiles in the rankings — is the cheapest action on this list.
The rankings that decide it in the legal industry in Israel
Going by what we see in answers in Hebrew, the ones that recur most are BDI and the Dun's 100 rankings, alongside articles in Globes, Calcalist and TheMarker. The international rankings — Legal 500, Chambers and Partners — appear less in a Hebrew question than in the equivalent question in English.
One thing worth knowing: in our report the rankings are reported separately from the competitors, deliberately. Had we shown them together, a law firm would get a report telling it that its competitors are "Legal 500" and "Dun & Bradstreet". That is not true, and it would also hide the useful information — because appearing in them is precisely the advice, not the competition.
How to write a page an answer engine can quote
The difference, in two lines:
Does not answer: "המשרד מתמחה בליטיגציה אזרחית ומסחרית ומעניק ייצוג משפטי מקיף ללקוחות פרטיים ועסקיים." ("The firm specialises in civil and commercial litigation and provides comprehensive legal representation to private and business clients.")
Answers: "פוטרתם בלי שימוע? החוק מחייב את המעסיק לקיים שימוע לפני פיטורים, ולתת לכם הזדמנות אמיתית להשמיע את עמדתכם. הנה מה שכדאי לעשות ומתי כדאי לפנות לעורך דין." ("Dismissed without a hearing? The law requires the employer to hold a hearing before dismissal, and to give you a real opportunity to state your position. Here is what to do, and when it is worth turning to a lawyer.")
The second one contains the words the question contains, it answers before it sells, and a single sentence can be quoted from it that stands on its own. Those three are what turns a paragraph into something quotable.
How to know whether it worked
Measure before, measure after, and ask exactly the same questions.
Write five to ten questions a client would ask — without the firm's name — and note down who is mentioned (the full guide). Once you have got into a ranking or published a page, ask those same questions again. Wording that changes between checks makes the comparison worthless.
Want to see who is mentioned in your industry today? The check is free — it runs dozens of real questions in the legal industry and shows who appears in your place.
Frequently asked questions
- How does a law firm appear in the answers ChatGPT gives?
- When there is text that connects the firm's name to the need being asked about — a particular specialisation, in a particular area — in the sources the engines lean on. In practice that means appearing in the rankings and the articles in your industry, and writing content on your site that is phrased as a client's question rather than as a legal article.
- Will a big firm always beat a small one?
- No. The model does not rank by size but by how clear the connection is between the name and the need. A boutique firm whose content is all about one practice area is connected to a question about that practice area more strongly than a big firm that writes about everything.
- What is worth writing on a law firm's website?
- Pages that answer the questions clients ask on the phone, in the client's wording and not in legal wording. A page called פוטרתם בלי שימוע (dismissed without a hearing) answers a question; a page called ליטיגציה אזרחית ומסחרית (civil and commercial litigation) answers no question at all.
- How long does it take to see a change?
- There is no known answer, and anyone who names a date is making it up. Getting into a source that is already cited has a relatively fast effect, because it rests on what is retrieved at the moment the question is asked. Changes on your own site may take far longer.
- Which rankings matter in the legal industry in Israel?
- Going by what we see in answers in Hebrew, BDI and the Dun's 100 rankings recur, alongside articles in Globes, Calcalist and TheMarker. The international rankings such as Legal 500 and Chambers appear less in a Hebrew question than in the equivalent question in English.