Back in October 2024 Thomson Reuters announced its intention to sell FindLaw to Internet Brands. In December 2024, the sale was finalized and announced in a Press Release. Internet Brands is an owner of significant properties on the internet, with the most well known figurehead being, WebMD. The company owns:
- WebMD: Health information services for consumers and physicians.
- Medscape: Clinical reference and education platform for healthcare professionals.
- PulsePoint: Healthcare advertising technology company.
- StayWell, Krames, Coliquio, Aptus Health: Healthcare communication and patient education.
- FindLaw: Legal information and attorney marketing.
- Avvo: Lawyer ratings and consumer legal Q&A.
- Nolo: Legal forms and DIY law solutions.
- Martindale-Hubbell: Lawyer directory and peer review ratings.
- Martindale-Avvo: Combined marketing solutions for law firms.
- Henry Schein One (HS1): Dental software and marketing solutions (Joint venture).
- Lighthouse 360, Dentally, Jarvis Analytics: Dental marketing and analytics.
- CarsDirect: Online car buying service.
- Corvette Forum: Community for Corvette enthusiasts.
- Loan.com: Auto lending marketplace.
- Fodor's Travel: Travel content and guides.
- FlyerTalk: Frequent flyer and travel rewards community.
- Wikitravel: Collaborative travel guide.
- ApartmentRatings.com, DavesGarden.com, DoItYourself.com, FitDay.com, HealthNews.org, CruiseReviews.com: Lifestyle, home improvement, gardening, health, and travel communities.
- AttorneyLocate.com, AllLaw.com, Jim.fr, Grupo Saned, QxMD, Mercury Health Care, Limeade, The Wellness Network
In 2014 Internet Brands was acquired by KKR Private Equity, and in 2022 the company was re-capitalized at a valuation of $12 Billion with more private equity involvement from Warburg-Pinkus, and Temasek. Temasek alone had a portfolio value of over $297 Billion in 2022. This is not the first time Private Equity has jumped into the acquisition of legal directories. Back in 2021 Abry Partners, acquired the Best Lawyers Directory for nearly $500m.
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I’ve been looking closely at this area since that acquisition and discussed how Legal Directories could potentially impact Legal Marketing with GenAI adoption back in November 2023.
One of the strangest things about the Thomson Reuters sale of FindLaw, Super Lawyers, LawInfo, and Abogado.com, is the fact that Thomson Reuters hasn’t disclosed any information about the transaction. Their financial statements refer to the transaction as a “disposal,” which is kind of interesting given the problems ant FindLaw.
Disposing of FindLaw caused margins to freaking increase. On a business model like a legal directory, that’s absolutely nuts. The fact that FindLaw, Super Lawyers, and other properties are in the hands of a Private Equity directed figurehead like Internet Brands should be concerning for every single attorney that uses the services. Yahoo estimated that FindLaw division annual revenues were $418m. This is a fairly significant transaction for Thomson Reuters that deserves some additional information for shareholders.
In February 2025, I pointed out a crazy inconsistency about Thomson Reuters doing advertising for FindLaw 3 months after the company was sold to Internet Brands. Thomson Reuters literally placed an ad on LinkedIn for the companies nearly 2 million followers.
It should be noted, that although Thomson Reuters has nearly 2 million followers on LinkedIn, the company rarely receives more than 200 reactions to posts. This ad was boosted on February 19, 2025, so it’s possible it could have been a part of the advertising schedule that was overlooked by incompetence, or it was part of the deal with Internet Brands. Either way, the FindLaw post no longer exists on LinkedIn and looks like it was deleted from Thomson Reuters, sometime after my February 2025 Medium Post.
I’ve had discussions with current and former employees at Internet Brands and some of their legal directory properties, as well as folks at Thomson Reuters. Very few people had any insight about what is going on at Thomson Reuters regarding the sale of FindLaw, and some folks agreed that Thomson Reuters CEO Steve Hasker, is less than truthful. Multiple people have noticed that some folks in the legal technology press are loathe to say anything derogatory about Thomson Reuters, and in fact all some reporters do for Thomson Reuters is write puff pieced. Indeed, Thomson Reuters is almost like the Patrick Mahomes of Legal Technology Companies, and some reporters are the NFL Referees.
One of the most glaring facts that should have been reported on from Thomson Reuters latest financials is the fact that the Legal Sector of Thomson Reuters appears to be contracting, independent of any effects of the disposal of FindLaw and the revenue loss.
What can lawyers and consumers expect from Private Equity owning virtually all of the significant lawyer directories in the US and abroad. If what Private Equity has done to healthcare is any example, lawyers can expect “higher prices and shitty service.” Healthcare systems, individual physicians, and ancillary services like air ambulances, have been decimated by PE investments. In April 2022, The New Yorker Magazine did an expose’ on Private Equity in the air ambulance business, it wasn’t pretty.
There are 2 possible trajectories lawyer directories can take to deal with the AI’s capture of all of the air in the room since November 2022.
- Embrace AI 100% and realize that the majority of lawyers in each market will probably be miffed at you.
- Do nothing and get destroyed.
The lawyer directory model will become irrelevant as more and more of the public choose not to do search on Google.
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How will AI Disrupt the Private Equity Stranglehold on Legal Directories?
Edward Bukstel
Chief Executive Officer at Giupedi, Inc. Creating the Next Generation Generative AI Experience for Potential Legal Clients.September 2, 2025
Back in October 2024 Thomson Reuters announced its intention to sell FindLaw to Internet Brands. In December 2024, the sale was finalized and announced in a Press Release. Internet Brands is an owner of significant properties on the internet, with the most well known figurehead being, WebMD. The company owns:
- WebMD: Health information services for consumers and physicians.
- Medscape: Clinical reference and education platform for healthcare professionals.
- PulsePoint: Healthcare advertising technology company.
- StayWell, Krames, Coliquio, Aptus Health: Healthcare communication and patient education.
- FindLaw: Legal information and attorney marketing.
- Avvo: Lawyer ratings and consumer legal Q&A.
- Nolo: Legal forms and DIY law solutions.
- Martindale-Hubbell: Lawyer directory and peer review ratings.
- Martindale-Avvo: Combined marketing solutions for law firms.
- Henry Schein One (HS1): Dental software and marketing solutions (Joint venture).
- Lighthouse 360, Dentally, Jarvis Analytics: Dental marketing and analytics.
- CarsDirect: Online car buying service.
- Corvette Forum: Community for Corvette enthusiasts.
- Loan.com: Auto lending marketplace.
- Fodor's Travel: Travel content and guides.
- FlyerTalk: Frequent flyer and travel rewards community.
- Wikitravel: Collaborative travel guide.
- ApartmentRatings.com, DavesGarden.com, DoItYourself.com, FitDay.com, HealthNews.org, CruiseReviews.com: Lifestyle, home improvement, gardening, health, and travel communities.
- AttorneyLocate.com, AllLaw.com, Jim.fr, Grupo Saned, QxMD, Mercury Health Care, Limeade, The Wellness Network
In 2014 Internet Brands was acquired by KKR Private Equity, and in 2022 the company was re-capitalized at a valuation of $12 Billion with more private equity involvement from Warburg-Pinkus, and Temasek. Temasek alone had a portfolio value of over $297 Billion in 2022. This is not the first time Private Equity has jumped into the acquisition of legal directories. Back in 2021 Abry Partners, acquired the Best Lawyers Directory for nearly $500m.
Thanks for reading Edward’s Substack! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.
I’ve been looking closely at this area since that acquisition and discussed how Legal Directories could potentially impact Legal Marketing with GenAI adoption back in November 2023.
One of the strangest things about the Thomson Reuters sale of FindLaw, Super Lawyers, LawInfo, and Abogado.com, is the fact that Thomson Reuters hasn’t disclosed any information about the transaction. Their financial statements refer to the transaction as a “disposal,” which is kind of interesting given the problems ant FindLaw.
Disposing of FindLaw caused margins to freaking increase. On a business model like a legal directory, that’s absolutely nuts. The fact that FindLaw, Super Lawyers, and other properties are in the hands of a Private Equity directed figurehead like Internet Brands should be concerning for every single attorney that uses the services. Yahoo estimated that FindLaw division annual revenues were $418m. This is a fairly significant transaction for Thomson Reuters that deserves some additional information for shareholders.
In February 2025, I pointed out a crazy inconsistency about Thomson Reuters doing advertising for FindLaw 3 months after the company was sold to Internet Brands. Thomson Reuters literally placed an ad on LinkedIn for the companies nearly 2 million followers.
It should be noted, that although Thomson Reuters has nearly 2 million followers on LinkedIn, the company rarely receives more than 200 reactions to posts. This ad was boosted on February 19, 2025, so it’s possible it could have been a part of the advertising schedule that was overlooked by incompetence, or it was part of the deal with Internet Brands. Either way, the FindLaw post no longer exists on LinkedIn and looks like it was deleted from Thomson Reuters, sometime after my February 2025 Medium Post.
I’ve had discussions with current and former employees at Internet Brands and some of their legal directory properties, as well as folks at Thomson Reuters. Very few people had any insight about what is going on at Thomson Reuters regarding the sale of FindLaw, and some folks agreed that Thomson Reuters CEO Steve Hasker, is less than truthful. Multiple people have noticed that some folks in the legal technology press are loathe to say anything derogatory about Thomson Reuters, and in fact all some reporters do for Thomson Reuters is write puff pieced. Indeed, Thomson Reuters is almost like the Patrick Mahomes of Legal Technology Companies, and some reporters are the NFL Referees.
One of the most glaring facts that should have been reported on from Thomson Reuters latest financials is the fact that the Legal Sector of Thomson Reuters appears to be contracting, independent of any effects of the disposal of FindLaw and the revenue loss.
What can lawyers and consumers expect from Private Equity owning virtually all of the significant lawyer directories in the US and abroad. If what Private Equity has done to healthcare is any example, lawyers can expect “higher prices and shitty service.” Healthcare systems, individual physicians, and ancillary services like air ambulances, have been decimated by PE investments. In April 2022, The New Yorker Magazine did an expose’ on Private Equity in the air ambulance business, it wasn’t pretty.
There are 2 possible trajectories lawyer directories can take to deal with the AI’s capture of all of the air in the room since November 2022.
- Embrace AI 100% and realize that the majority of lawyers in each market will probably be miffed at you.
- Do nothing and get destroyed.
The lawyer directory model will become irrelevant as more and more of the public choose not to do search on Google.
A recent search in September 2025 showed FindLaw at the bottom of the first page in Google, even though it was sponsored. Seriously, if this is the type of service that lawyers are going to receive from Internet Brands ownership, there’s probably going to be a race to the bottom of the lawyer directory market.
The only way that FindLaw’s reported 17k lawyers are going to be satisfied is to have AI First Services for Legal Marketing. Unfortunately, if you’re going to show up in AI Search you’re not going to be able to serve more that 4-5 law firms in a single major metropolitan market. AI Search expects authoritative content and serving up a meaningless list will not cut it as AI Search in ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, and others captures more than 20% of the search market.
The other major threat to lawyer directories is going to be from AI Agents. Unless law directories are completely revamped, there will be declining revenue going forward as all these properties look like super “salesy” versions of lawyer websites with little to no credibility. While lawyers keep getting sold on lawyer directory placements and charges for listings, they will completely lose out on the AI Search engagement that is happening in an authoritative manner right under their noses.
More information about the sale would help any analysis going forward. Considering the Best Lawyers valuation of $500m, why wasn’t FindLaw’s directory business valued at that level, and Super Lawyers as well? Some estimates put the valuation of FindLaw at $600m - $1.6 billion, which is a hell of a range. Some people believe FindLaw was a dumpster fire and was sold to Internet Brands because there were a bunch of other Private Equity connections at Thomson Reuters’, like Blackstone. But that might just be a tin-hat conspiracy theory ….
Edward Bukstel
Giupedi
