Engagement terms
One firm per practice area, per market
We work with one law firm per practice area in each market. If we represent a personal injury firm in a given metropolitan area, we will not take on another personal injury firm there for as long as the first engagement lasts. The commitment is contractual. It exists because an answer engine names only a few firms for any question, so working for two competitors would mean working against one of them.
Why the limit exists
An answer to the question of which lawyer to call names a small number of firms. The slots are finite. If we built AI visibility for two personal injury firms in the same city, every gain for one would come partly at the other's expense, and we would be choosing between clients on every page we wrote.
The limit is not a marketing device. It is the only honest way to do this work.
What counts as a market
A market is the metropolitan area a firm actually draws clients from, defined at the start of the engagement and written into the agreement. For most firms that is a single metro area. For a multi-office firm it may be several, each listed separately.
A practice area is one of the twelve we work in, defined at the level clients ask about. Personal injury and workers' compensation are separate. Family law and divorce are separate. A firm may hold more than one.
What happens when a territory is claimed
If a firm asks about a practice area and market we already serve, we say so at the first conversation and decline the engagement. We do not run an audit for a firm we cannot take on, and we do not maintain a public map of claimed territories, because a firm's engagement with us is its own business.
A firm may ask to be notified if a territory opens. Engagements end for ordinary reasons, and we keep a short list.
What the commitment does not cover
It does not prevent another agency from working for a competitor. It binds us, not the market. It does not extend to practice areas or markets a firm has not engaged us for. And it ends when the engagement ends.
Questions
How do I find out whether my market is open?+
Ask. Request the free audit and name your practice area and metropolitan area. If the territory is claimed, we tell you in the first reply rather than after a sales process.
Can we claim a territory before we are ready to start?+
No. A territory is held by an active engagement, not a deposit. This keeps the commitment meaningful for the firms that hold one.
We have offices in three cities. Do we need three territories?+
Yes, one per metropolitan area per practice area. Each is listed in the agreement and each is held separately. A firm may hold several.
More guides
Definition
What is Answer Engine Optimization for law firms?
Comparison
AEO vs SEO: what a managing partner needs to know
Method
How AI chooses which lawyers to name
Compliance
AI content and state bar advertising rules
Editorial plan
What we publish, and why
Technical
Schema markup for law firms: what matters and what does not
Practice
How to get cited by ChatGPT and other answer engines
Reference
AEO glossary for attorneys