Case study: London law firm becomes the go-to AI recommendation for contract law

The firm

Thornton Legal is a specialist commercial law firm focused on contract law, commercial disputes, and business acquisitions. Despite a strong referral reputation, founding partner David Thornton was aware that the next generation of clients searched differently.

Our referral network is strong, but it is aging with us. The founders and directors we want to work with are using AI constantly. When they need a solicitor for a commercial matter, they are not asking their golf partner — they are asking ChatGPT.

The baseline problem

An initial AI visibility audit found that for queries like best commercial contract solicitor in London and contract law firm for SMEs UK, Thornton Legal did not appear at all. The audit identified no practice area depth in website content, no published thought leadership, absence from specialist legal directories AI models frequently cite, and website copy written for peers rather than clients.

The programme

Building content authority

Eight articles were published over two months, each written by a Thornton solicitor under their byline. Topics covered what to look for in a commercial contract, what is involved in a business acquisition, options when a contract is breached, and when to instruct a solicitor for a commercial dispute. Each article was 800 to 1,200 words with a FAQ section and schema markup.

Directory and association presence

Thornton joined two specialist legal associations, updated all major legal directory listings, and submitted to Chambers and Partners for consideration.

Thought leadership placement

Two senior solicitors placed commentary pieces in legal publications and a regional business journal. A partner was featured in a podcast on commercial law for small businesses.

Results at three months

Thornton Legal appeared in 5 of 8 target queries, up from zero. They were appearing on both ChatGPT and Perplexity for specialist queries, consistently in the top three recommendations, and AI responses frequently cited their published articles.

David Thornton said: We had two new client enquiries in month three that mentioned AI recommendations specifically. One was a 45,000 pound matter — business acquisition work. That has more than paid for the entire programme.

What made the difference

Solicitor-authored content published under real names carried more authority signals than anonymous website copy. Specificity in content meant AI models matched it precisely to specialist queries. The Chambers and Partners submission had a disproportionate impact on ChatGPT visibility.