Law Firms: AI Visibility Market Discovery Index

Benchmark Summary

Barley Snyder led the Law Firms index in September 2026 with a valid recommendation coverage of 25.0%, up from 17.2% in July 2026. The gap to the next closest firm stood at 15.0 percentage points, as Eckert Seamans and Saxton & Stump each recorded 10.0% valid recommendation coverage in September 2026.

No tracked firm posted a significant single-month movement in September 2026. Across the full July-to-September series, however, McNees Wallace & Nurick was the category's only significant decliner: valid recommendation coverage fell from 17.2% in July 2026 to 0.0% in September 2026, a cumulative decline of 17.2 points, including a 10.3-point drop from 10.3% in August 2026 to 0.0% in September 2026 in the most recent month alone. From August 2026 to September 2026, Barley Snyder (up 7.8 points, to 25.0%), Saxton & Stump (up 6.5 points, to 10.0%), and Obermayer (up 5.0 points, to 5.0%) all recorded month-over-month increases; none reached the level of a significant single-month shift.

Across the full series, Barley Snyder rose from 17.2% in July 2026 to 25.0% in September 2026, while Eckert Seamans held near 10.0% in both comparable months. McNees Wallace & Nurick declined in each of the two months since July 2026, from 17.2% to 0.0%.

The benchmark began with 128 prompt-surface observations in September 2026 and produced 20 qualified observations after qualification.

Current Benchmark at a Glance

Qualified surface breadth counts the six canonical AI/search surface families (ChatGPT, Copilot, Gemini, Perplexity, AI Overviews, and AI Mode) with at least one qualified observation. The September 2026 series drew on four of the six: ChatGPT, Copilot, AI Mode, and AI Overviews, expanding beyond the three canonical families recorded at the July 2026 baseline.

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

Research Scope and Qualification

The public benchmark is narrower than the raw collection universe by design.

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

Current Brand Standings

How to Read the Standings

• Presence rate: share of qualified observations where the brand is mentioned in any form.
• Valid recommendation coverage: share of qualified observations where the brand receives a valid recommendation.
• Top-three rate: share of qualified observations where the brand appears in the first three recommendation positions.
• Rank-one rate: share of qualified observations where the brand is recommended first.
• Net sentiment: positive mentions minus negative mentions, divided by total mentions.

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

McCormick Law Firm: Company Focus

McCormick Law Firm posted a 10.0% presence rate in September 2026 but converted none of that presence into a valid recommendation, top-three placement, or rank-one placement — all three metrics stand at 0.0%, unchanged from July 2026. Net sentiment, at 0.5, sits at the same level as Obermayer and Stevens & Lee, so the gap is not a sentiment problem; it is a conversion problem.

Barley Snyder records 25.0% valid recommendation coverage, while McCormick Law Firm stands at 0.0%. The more important issue is what that gap means for McCormick Law Firm's recommendation position: the firm is appearing in AI-surfaced answers at a meaningful rate (10.0% presence) but is not being converted into a named recommendation in a single qualified observation across the two most recent measured months. Even Eckert Seamans and Saxton & Stump, tied at 10.0% valid recommendation coverage, each convert presence into recommendations at a rate McCormick Law Firm has not reached at all. Left unresolved, this presence-without-recommendation pattern means McCormick Law Firm's visibility in the AI information environment is not translating into commercial outcomes while at least three tracked peers are already capturing recommendation share.

Highest-priority diagnostic: What is preventing McCormick Law Firm's 10.0% AI presence from converting into any valid recommendation, and what would need to change in the firm's cited evidence, content, or positioning to close that conversion gap?

Recommendation Coverage Movement

From August 2026 to September 2026, Barley Snyder, Saxton & Stump, and Obermayer all recorded month-over-month increases, while McNees Wallace & Nurick recorded the largest month-over-month decline, down 10.3 points from 10.3% in August 2026 to 0.0% in September 2026.

Largest Decline: McNees Wallace & Nurick

McNees Wallace & Nurick's valid recommendation coverage declined in each of the two months since July 2026, falling from 17.2% in July 2026 to 10.3% in August 2026 and then to 0.0% in September 2026, a total decline of 17.2 points beyond normal month-to-month variation. The firm's presence rate also declined from 27.6% in July 2026 to 15.0% in September 2026, and its top-three and rank-one rates each fell from 17.2% to 0.0% over the same period. McNees Wallace & Nurick recorded 0 valid recommendations out of 20 qualified observations in September 2026.

Category Leader: Barley Snyder

Barley Snyder led valid recommendation coverage at 25.0% in September 2026, up from 17.2% in July 2026, representing 5 valid recommendations out of 20 qualified observations. The firm's presence rate slipped slightly from 31.0% in July 2026 to 30.0% in September 2026, and its rank-one rate rose to 10.0% from 6.9% in July 2026.

Among firms classified as stable, Saxton & Stump rose 6.5 points from 3.5% in July 2026 to 10.0% in September 2026, and Obermayer rose 1.5 points from 3.5% to 5.0% over the same period. Stevens & Lee declined 3.5 points from 3.5% to 0.0%, and McCormick Law Firm held at 0.0% throughout. These movements fell within the normal range of variation across the series.

Recommendation Placement Snapshot

Valid recommendation coverage does not show how prominently a firm is recommended. In September 2026, Barley Snyder held the highest top-three rate at 10.0% (2 observations) and also recorded the leading rank-one rate at 10.0% (2 observations). Eckert Seamans and Saxton & Stump each held a 5.0% top-three rate in September 2026, with Eckert Seamans posting a 5.0% rank-one rate while Saxton & Stump recorded no rank-one placements.

Similar coverage levels can still hide different first-position rates: Eckert Seamans and Saxton & Stump shared 10.0% valid recommendation coverage in September 2026, but Eckert Seamans reached the first position in 5.0% of observations while Saxton & Stump recorded no rank-one placements.

Buyer-Intent Distribution

In September 2026, all 20 qualified observations fell into the Brand Recommendation class, matching the pattern across the full series.

The current public series measures only the Brand Recommendation class of discovery and does not yet contain qualified observations in the Pricing & Value or Multi-Brand Comparison classes.

Historical Measurement Record

Evidence and Source Layer

This 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 a cited source caused a given 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/sponsored channels. A metric movement alone does not establish causality.

About This Benchmark

The LLM Authority Index AI Visibility Market Discovery Index tracks how often tracked brands are mentioned and recommended across major AI/search surfaces, providing a neutral, repeatable industry-level benchmark. It is refreshed monthly on the same evergreen report.

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

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