Structured Data for Law Firms: What to Use and What to Skip

Start with what Google says

Google's page on AI features says there are no extra machine-readable files, AI text files, markup or special schema.org structured data required to appear in AI Overviews or AI Mode. It also says that structured data must match the visible text on the page. So structured data is a way to describe your page clearly, not a switch for AI visibility. We found no documentation from any AI company showing that markup raises the chance of a citation, so we treat that claim as unconfirmed.

That said, markup can help a search system tell your firm apart from similarly named firms, and it is a reasonable part of technical hygiene. The following checklist covers what to consider and what to skip.

Checklist: types worth considering

Use LegalService, not Attorney

Schema.org marks the Attorney type as deprecated and says LegalService is more inclusive and less ambiguous. Google's local business guidance asks you to use the most specific LocalBusiness subtype that applies, which for a law firm is LegalService.

What Google requires and recommends for local businesses

For its local business structured data, Google lists name and address (a PostalAddress) as required. It recommends geo, openingHoursSpecification, telephone, url and priceRange, plus department where relevant. The values you write should match your site and your business profiles. A minimal example follows, with bracketed placeholders you must replace with real details.

<script type="application/ld+json">
{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "LegalService",
  "name": "[Firm legal name]",
  "url": "[https://www.yourfirm.example/]",
  "telephone": "[main phone number]",
  "address": {
    "@type": "PostalAddress",
    "streetAddress": "[street and suite]",
    "addressLocality": "[city]",
    "addressRegion": "[state]",
    "postalCode": "[postal code]",
    "addressCountry": "US"
  },
  "openingHoursSpecification": [{
    "@type": "OpeningHoursSpecification",
    "dayOfWeek": ["Monday", "Tuesday", "Wednesday", "Thursday", "Friday"],
    "opens": "[09:00]",
    "closes": "[17:00]"
  }]
}
</script>

Where Organization markup goes

Google says Organization structured data belongs on your home page or a single About page, and is not needed on every page. Use your legal name in legalName if it differs from the name you use publicly, link your official profiles in sameAs, and give a logo of at least 112 by 112 pixels.

What to skip

• FAQPage markup for Google. Google's changelog says the FAQ rich result would no longer appear in Search starting May 7, 2026, and that the documentation was removed in June 2026. Keep the visible FAQ on the page for readers.
• Markup that claims more than the page says. Ratings, awards or credentials that a visitor cannot see on the page create trust and compliance risks, and they can conflict with Model Rule 7.1.
• Hidden or copied markup. Do not paste another firm's schema or mark up content that is not on the page.
• Markup on every page for its own sake. Add types where they describe the page.

Test before and after publishing

1. Validate syntax with a structured data validator, such as the Schema Markup Validator, and fix any errors.
2. Compare every value with the visible page, your Google Business Profile and your bar listings.
3. Have a lawyer read the final text, because markup is a statement about your firm.
4. Re-check after any change of address, phone number, hours or lawyers.

For the other parts of technical setup, work through the technical readiness checklist, and write pages using the page-writing method.