Divorce Lawyers: AI Market Discovery Index

Benchmark Summary

Cordell & Cordell led the Divorce Lawyers benchmark in September 2026 with 30.3% valid recommendation coverage. While it remains the category leader, it is a significant decliner across this series, falling from 41.9% in July 2026. The gap to the next brand, Stange Law Firm at 19.0% in September 2026, narrowed to 11.3 percentage points from 29.6 points in July 2026.

No brand posted a significant coverage increase this month. Stange Law Firm's rise to 19.0% in September 2026 from 16.0% in August 2026 was the largest numeric gain in the category but remained within normal month-to-month variation. Significant declines were limited to the baseline-to-current series. Three additional brands registered meaningful declines from July 2026: Goldberg Jones fell to 4.1% in September 2026 from 14.5% in July 2026, McKinley Irvin declined to 8.2% in September 2026 from 15.6% in July 2026, and Wilkinson & Finkbeiner dropped to 2.1% in September 2026 from 7.3% in July 2026.

The benchmark began with 259 prompt-surface observations in September 2026, producing 195 qualified observations after qualification.

Current Benchmark at a Glance

Qualified surface breadth counts the canonical AI/search surface families with at least one qualified observation. The six families tested are ChatGPT, Copilot, Gemini, Perplexity, AI Overviews, and AI Mode. In September 2026, all six families had qualified observations, up from four in July 2026. August 2026 sat between the two with five families represented.

For the strategic interpretation of this benchmark, read CiteWorks Studio's analysis of How AI Search Is Recommending Divorce Lawyers

Research Scope and Qualification

The public benchmark is narrower than the raw collection universe by design. Brand-level percentages in this report use the qualified observations as the public denominator, not the raw collection.

Brand-level percentages use the qualified observations as the public denominator, not the raw collection. See the AI Market Discovery Methodology for full details.

Current Brand Standings

How to Read the Standings

• Presence rate: Share of qualified observations where the brand appears in the AI answer at all.
• Valid recommendation coverage: Share of qualified observations where the brand receives a clear, actionable recommendation.
• Top-three rate: Share of qualified observations where the brand appears among the top three recommended options.
• Rank-one rate: Share of qualified observations where the brand is the single top recommendation.
• Net sentiment: Balance of positive over negative mentions, from -1.0 to 1.0.

For formulas and denominator rules, see AI Market Discovery Metric Definitions.

Recommendation Coverage Movement

The recent month brought a modest Stange Law Firm gain of 3.0 points from August 2026, while Sterling Lawyers, Goldberg Jones, and McKinley Irvin each added between 0.4 and 1.8 points. Charles R. Ullman & Associates eased slightly from August 2026, and Boyd Law declined in each of the two months since July 2026.

Largest Decline: Cordell & Cordell

Cordell & Cordell remained the category leader but saw its valid recommendation coverage fall to 30.3% in September 2026 from 41.9% in July 2026, a decline beyond normal month-to-month variation. Presence rate eased to 66.7% in September 2026 from 71.5% in July 2026, and top-three rate declined to 22.6% from 30.7%. Rank-one rate rose slightly to 14.9% in September 2026 from 13.4% in July 2026.

Largest Decline: Goldberg Jones

Goldberg Jones declined to 4.1% in September 2026 from 14.5% in July 2026, a move beyond normal variation. Presence rate fell to 5.6% in September 2026 from 15.6% in July 2026, top-three rate dropped to 1.5% from 5.6%, and rank-one rate declined to 0.5% from 3.4%. The brand posted a small 0.4-point gain from August 2026.

Largest Decline: McKinley Irvin

McKinley Irvin declined to 8.2% in September 2026 from 15.6% in July 2026, a move beyond normal variation. Presence rate fell to 9.7% from 16.8% over the same period. The brand gained 1.8 points from August 2026, leaving the most recent month below July 2026 levels.

Largest Decline: Wilkinson & Finkbeiner

Wilkinson & Finkbeiner declined to 2.1% in September 2026 from 7.3% in July 2026, with presence rate moving to 2.1% from 7.3%. Top-three rate fell to 1.5% from 5.6%, and rank-one rate declined to 0.0% from 3.4%. Net sentiment held at 1.0 across both months.

Not a Trend: Charles R. Ullman & Associates

Charles R. Ullman & Associates rose to 3.1% in September 2026 from 2.2% in July 2026, with a notable rank-one increase to 2.1% from 0.0%, but this is not yet a trend.

Recommendation Placement Snapshot

Coverage alone does not show how prominently a brand is recommended when it does appear. Cordell & Cordell held the highest top-three rate in September 2026, while Stange Law Firm showed strong placement efficiency relative to its growing coverage.

Close coverage can still hide different first-position rates. Charles R. Ullman & Associates and McKinley Irvin held different coverage levels in September 2026, yet the smaller brand reached rank one in 2.1% of observations versus 2.1% for the larger brand.

Buyer-Intent Distribution

All qualified observations in both months fell into the Brand Recommendation class.

The current public series measures brand-recommendation discovery and does not yet contain qualified observations in the pricing or multi-brand comparison classes.

Historical Measurement Record

Evidence and Source Layer

The benchmark is built from prompt-level observations that retain the query, AI/search surface, answer, brand outcome, recommendation placement, sentiment, and where exposed, citations or attributable evidence sources. Source presence is evidence about the information environment. It is not automatically proof that the source caused the recommendation.

Scope Boundaries

This public benchmark does not measure market share, attributable sales, every possible AI response, organic-search ranking, social mention volume, or private or sponsored channels. A metric movement alone does not establish causality.

About This Benchmark

The LLM Authority Index AI Market Discovery Index tracks how often and how prominently brands appear in AI-generated answers across major AI surfaces. It is a neutral, industry-level benchmark built from prompt-level observations.

Research links:

• AI Market Discovery Index
• AI Market Discovery Methodology
• AI Market Discovery Metric Definitions
• AI Market Discovery Research Standards
• Modeled AI Authority Value

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