What drives growth at today’s fastest growing law and legal services firms?
For over a decade, we’ve been asking this question and finding the answers in our annual High Growth Study. Since its inception, this research project has tracked the evolving marketing strategies of successful law firms. The 2025 High Growth Study: Law Firms & Legal Services Edition reveals the primary factors that separate today’s fastest growing legal firms from their slower growing peers.
In today’s blog post, we’ll share some key insights from this year’s research report on firms in the legal space. You can purchase the full research report here.
Meet the Fastest Growing Law & Legal Services Firms
Today’s law firms find themselves confronting a multitude of persistent challenges, including heightened price sensitivity, ongoing talent acquisition difficulties, evolving generational workforce dynamics, and the imperative to cultivate new skill sets.
Despite these considerable obstacles, a select group of High Growth law firms has achieved remarkable performance, demonstrating a minimum of 20% compound annual growth over a three-year assessment period. These high-performing firms constitute slightly more than a third of the 84 legal practices surveyed in our study.
With an impressive growth rate of 41.7%, these High Growth firms have outpaced the average by a factor of 5.2—a notable increase over the previous year’s median growth of 29.6% for this top-tier cohort.
What strategic insights can be gleaned from these rapidly expanding legal practices? How are they adapting to the demands of today’s market? Which specific marketing tools and techniques do they use? Let’s delve into some of the key findings from this year’s study.
Finding 1: Downward Price Pressure on Legal Services Has Spiked
In recent years, marketplace uncertainty has consistently ranked as a primary concern for law firms, claiming the top spot in the previous year’s survey. However, this year reveals a significant shift, with marketplace uncertainty dropping over twelve percentage points and plummeting to the ninth position.
Dominating the list of current concerns is the mounting pressure to reduce fees, a sentiment echoed by four out of ten participants. This development is particularly noteworthy given the recent rise in legal fees, particularly within larger firms, as well as the industry’s upward trend in both growth and profitability.
What factors are contributing to this heightened concern over fees? Many firms may be reacting to the growing commoditization of specific legal services. They may also be worried about the growing impact of artificial intelligence (AI) and automation, which now ranks third among concerns. While these technological advancements enhance productivity, they also exert downward pressure on service pricing.
Furthermore, the fourth-ranked concern (not shown)—intensifying competition from emerging firms, including disruptive online legal service models—further contributes to the downward pressure on fees.
See also: The Pretenders Are Coming: How ChatGPT Will Transform Professional Services Marketing
Finding 2: Search Engine Optimization as a Top Priority
With AI-powered search and content generation tools reshaping how people access information, search engine optimization (SEO) remains a cornerstone of high-growth law firm marketing strategies. SEO was listed as the second highest marketing priority behind content creation. Our research reveals that top-performing firms are keenly focused on enhancing their reputation and visibility, with SEO playing a crucial role in achieving these objectives.
In an era when potential clients increasingly turn to search engines like Google to find legal representation, being easily discoverable is paramount. While AI-driven summaries and zero-click features may alter the search experience, they underscore the need for a strong online presence. Even in this environment, High-growth firms understand that SEO continues to drive valuable, high-quality traffic to their websites.
For smaller law firms or those with a regional focus, regional SEO becomes particularly vital. Optimizing for local search terms, such as “personal injury lawyer [city name]” or “real estate attorney [county name],” ensures that these firms appear prominently in local search results. This targeted approach allows them to connect with potential clients in their immediate geographic area, fostering stronger relationships and driving local business. Moreover, maintaining up-to-date Google My Business profiles with accurate contact information, client reviews, and relevant content further enhances local visibility.
Creating content directly supports a firm’s SEO efforts. Producing educational blog posts, articles, and other forms of content that address common legal questions not only builds thought leadership but also improves search engine rankings. By incorporating relevant keywords into their content, law firms can attract organic traffic from highly motivated individuals seeking legal information and services.
In short, SEO remains an indispensable tool for high-growth law firms, enabling them to navigate the evolving digital landscape and connect with potential clients seeking legal expertise.
Finding 3: High-Growth Law Firms Invest Heavily in Digital Ad Campaigns and Video
Unlike other professional service sectors, the fastest-growing law firms are making significant investments in digital advertising campaigns. This strategic focus underscores the highly competitive nature of the legal market, where visibility and rapid lead generation are critical.
To achieve meaningful results, law firms are committing substantial resources to digital ad initiatives. This includes rigorous testing and optimization, ensuring that campaigns reach the right audience with compelling messages. The legal industry’s investment in digital ads reflects a need to quickly acquire clients in a competitive online space where search results pages are often crowded.
Video blogging is the technique requiring the third-highest level of investment for high-growth firms. This willingness to put time and money into video content reflects the growing importance of visual communication in the legal field. Video blogs allow law firms to showcase their expertise, project a personal image to potential clients, and address complex legal topics in an accessible format. While producing high-quality video content requires a collaboration of strategists, subject matter experts, writers, and designers, the payoff in client engagement and brand building can be significant. Even with the rise of accessible, “low-fi” videos, high-growth firms understand the value of polished, professional video content in establishing credibility and trust.
Their focus on digital ads and video blogging highlights the legal industry’s embrace of the digital age. These investments signal a commitment to modern marketing techniques—and the rapid growth and competitive edge they can deliver.
Finding 4: High-Growth Law Firms Prioritize Strategic Research
A defining characteristic of high-growth law firms is their commitment to conducting formal research. Our findings reveal that an impressive 9 out of 10 of these top-performing firms engage in regular research activities, demonstrating a data-driven approach to their business strategies. Data equips them to gain critical insights into their marketplace, client perceptions, and other factors that contribute to effective marketing and client service.
Client satisfaction/experience research leads the pack, with 71.4% of high-growth firms using this method. This typically involves post-engagement surveys, providing valuable feedback on client experiences. Its ease and affordability make it a popular tool.
Marketplace research, employed by 50% of these firms, encompasses a broad spectrum of activities, from assessing demand for new services to conducting focus groups. This research helps firms stay attuned to market trends and identify emerging opportunities.
Client research, at 46.4%, enables firms to track evolving client habits and preferences. This intelligence informs strategic decisions, service offerings, and marketing initiatives, ensuring alignment with target audience needs.
Other notable research areas include SEO/keyword research (42.9%), competitive research (39.3%), and pricing research (25%). Notably, only a small fraction (10.7%) of high-growth firms report not conducting any form of formal research, highlighting the role of data-driven decision-making in their success.
Finding 5: Many Firms Are Not Adept at Tracking and Using Marketing Metrics
A new addition to this year’s research was a question asking companies to rate their proficiency in capturing and utilizing marketing and business development metrics. The data tells a clear story: This is a massive challenge for the legal marketing industry.
The High Growth group is over twice as likely to use metrics with high proficiency. However, four out of five firms in this group have only some or low proficiency. The No Growth cohort fares even worse, with 9 out of 10 in one of these two lower categories.
When firms reported low or some proficiency in tracking metrics, they cited a set of familiar hurdles: insufficient time, a shortage of dedicated staff, budget constraints, outdated technology, and the persistent challenge of integrating data from disparate systems. While every professional services marketer acknowledges the importance of metrics, our data highlights a significant gap between recognition and effective implementation.
Dive Deeper with the Full Report
These findings offer a glimpse into the strategies of the fastest growing law firms in 2025. The full 2025 High Growth Study: Law & Legal Services Edition provides a comprehensive analysis of the factors driving success in today’s market. It offers detailed insights, data-driven recommendations, and actionable strategies. This report is an invaluable resource for any law firm that wants to thrive in the face of change. Ready to dive deeper and unlock the secrets of high growth? Get the full report here.
