Which Seattle Lawyers Does AI Recommend? 2026 Study
Study date: October 27, 2026
Davis Wright Tremaine is the Seattle law firm AI named most, with 22 mentions. Cooley and Wilson Sonsini had 17 each, Carney Badley Spellman had 16 and Perkins Coie had 14. We counted them from 25 questions put to ChatGPT, Perplexity and Google AI Overview on October 27, 2026.
In all, the engines named 41 law firms 241 times. The top 5 took 86 of those mentions (35.7%).
These numbers are what the AI engines returned. They are not Beket AI's opinion or a ranking of quality. AI answers change over time, so read this as a snapshot.
This page is not legal advice, and it is not an endorsement of any law firm.
| Study detail | Value |
|---|---|
| Study date | October 27, 2026 |
| Location setting | Seattle, Washington, United States |
| Language | English |
| Engines | ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Overview (one audit) |
| Questions | 25 selected questions, plus 4 discovery prompts |
| Answers recorded | 69 |
| Law firms named | 41 |
| Mentions | 241 |
Which law firms did AI name most?
Davis Wright Tremaine led on mentions. No firm was named first more than 2 times, and 6 firms reached that.
| Rank | Law firm | Mentions | Share of mentions | Times named first |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Davis Wright Tremaine | 22 | 9.1% | 1 |
| 2 | Cooley | 17 | 7.1% | 1 |
| 2 | Wilson Sonsini | 17 | 7.1% | 1 |
| 4 | Carney Badley Spellman | 16 | 6.6% | 1 |
| 5 | Perkins Coie | 14 | 5.8% | 2 |
| 36 other law firms | 155 | 64.3% | 26 | |
| All 41 law firms | 241 | 100% | 32 |
Source: Beket AI market audit, October 27, 2026. Name variants combined. Tied names share a rank and are listed by times named first.
DWT is the short name of Davis Wright Tremaine, so we counted both spellings together.
Did ChatGPT, Perplexity and Google AI Overview name the same law firms?
No. Each engine had its own list. The name each engine gave most:
- ChatGPT: Wilson Sonsini (16)
- Perplexity: Davis Wright Tremaine (10)
- Google AI Overview: K&L Gates (6)
| ChatGPT | Perplexity | Google AI Overview | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Answers recorded | 29 | 29 | 11 |
| Selected questions answered | 25 of 25 | 25 of 25 | 9 of 25 |
| Discovery prompts answered | 4 | 4 | 2 |
| Sources cited | 148 | 374 | 86 |
| Law firms named | 30 | 27 | 19 |
| Mentions | 132 | 70 | 39 |
Source: Beket AI market audit, October 27, 2026. Answers and sources from the audit's answer log. Names and mentions from the market report's per engine split.
ChatGPT
ChatGPT answered all 25 selected questions and 4 discovery prompts. Its 29 answers cited 148 sources. It named 30 law firms 132 times.
| Rank | Law firm | Mentions on ChatGPT | Times named first |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wilson Sonsini | 16 | 1 |
| 2 | Cooley | 15 | 1 |
| 3 | Carney Badley Spellman | 10 | 0 |
| 3 | Davis Wright Tremaine | 10 | 0 |
| 5 | Perkins Coie | 7 | 1 |
| 25 other law firms | 74 | 9 | |
| All 30 law firms this engine named | 132 | 12 |
Perplexity
Perplexity also answered all 25 questions and 4 discovery prompts. It cited the most sources, 374 across 29 answers. It named 27 law firms 70 times.
| Rank | Law firm | Mentions on Perplexity | Times named first |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Davis Wright Tremaine | 10 | 1 |
| 2 | Orrick | 6 | 1 |
| 3 | Carney Badley Spellman | 5 | 0 |
| 4 | Lasher | 4 | 2 |
| 4 | Dickson Frohlich Phillips Burgess | 4 | 1 |
| 4 | MacDonald Hoague & Bayless | 4 | 1 |
| 4 | Perkins Coie | 4 | 0 |
| 20 other law firms | 33 | 8 | |
| All 27 law firms this engine named | 70 | 14 |
Google AI Overview
The audit recorded an AI Overview for only 11 of its 29 prompts. Those answers named 19 law firms 39 times.
| Rank | Law firm | Mentions on Google AI Overview | Times named first |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | K&L Gates | 6 | 1 |
| 2 | Elise Buie Family Law | 3 | 1 |
| 2 | Hillis Clark Martin & Peterson | 3 | 1 |
| 2 | Perkins Coie | 3 | 1 |
| 2 | Stoel Rives LLP | 3 | 0 |
| 14 other law firms | 21 | 2 | |
| All 19 law firms this engine named | 39 | 6 |
Source: Beket AI market audit, October 27, 2026. Name variants combined. Tied names share a rank.
How did the engines differ?
Seven of the 41 law firms were named by all three engines. Meanwhile 13 came up on only one engine.
Davis Wright Tremaine led the combined count and Perplexity, with 10 mentions there. ChatGPT named it 10 times, but put Wilson Sonsini (16) and Cooley (15) ahead. Perplexity named Cooley twice and did not name Wilson Sonsini.
Google AI Overview named K&L Gates most, 6 times. ChatGPT named it 6 times, and Perplexity did not name it.
How does Seattle compare with Vancouver?
We asked the same 25 questions, with local place names, in our Vancouver lawyers study on October 23, 2026. Two Seattle questions use US wording: "wrongful termination" in place of "wrongful dismissal", and "defense" in place of "defence". The four suburbs are Kirkland, Bellevue, Kent and Renton.
| Seattle, October 27, 2026 | Vancouver, October 23, 2026 | |
|---|---|---|
| Answers recorded | 69 | 61 |
| Law firms named | 41 | 39 |
| Mentions | 241 | 210 |
| Most named | Davis Wright Tremaine (22) | Fasken (16) |
| Share for the top 5 | 35.7% | 35.2% |
| Named by all three engines | 7 | 1 |
| Named on only one engine | 13 | 11 |
| Google AI Overview answers | 11 of 29 | 3 of 29 |
Source: Beket AI market audits, October 27, 2026 and October 23, 2026. Vancouver figures are from the published Vancouver study.
The spread was close to Vancouver's: the top 5 took 35.7% in Seattle and 35.2% in Vancouver. The engines agreed more in Seattle, with 7 firms named by all three against 1. Google AI Overview also answered more often, 11 times against 3.
Each city had one run, so part of any gap may come from timing rather than place.
How did we run the study?
We ran one Beket AI market audit on October 27, 2026, between 17:39 and 17:50 UTC. Its location was set to Seattle, Washington, and its language to English.
- Questions. The audit had 25 selected questions, the same on all three engines. None named a business.
- Discovery prompts. The audit also added 4 longer prompts of its own, and the counts include their answers.
- Mentions. A mention is a business named in an answer. Share is a business's mentions divided by all 241 mentions.
- Times named first. This counts answers where that business came first.
- Threshold. The audit's report listed 51 names, each with at least 2 mentions. A business named less often may not appear here.
- Name variants. We combined spellings of the same business, taking 48 names down to 41. The merges are listed below.
- Left out. We counted only businesses that offer the service, not directories, listing websites or review sites. The answers also named two lawyer directories and a review site, 29 times in total. Justia alone had 19, mostly on Perplexity. They are not law firms, so we left them out.
| Combined as | Spellings in the data |
|---|---|
| Cooley | Cooley; Cooley LLP |
| Wilson Sonsini | Wilson Sonsini; Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati |
| Davis Wright Tremaine | Davis Wright Tremaine; DWT; Davis Wright Tremaine LLP |
| Perkins Coie | Perkins Coie; Perkins Coie LLP |
| Foster Garvey | Foster Garvey; Foster Garvey PC |
| Hillis Clark Martin & Peterson | Hillis Clark Martin & Peterson; HCMP Law Offices |
Our roundup of nine local AI studies compares our earlier Seattle and Vancouver results. For why one engine is not enough, see why checking one AI engine can mislead you. We did not rate, verify or rank any law firm ourselves.
How far can you trust these numbers?
Treat them as one careful snapshot, not a verdict. Our note on why one AI check is only a snapshot explains why.
- One run on one day. Answers can differ by day, by phrasing and by user.
- Google AI Overview was recorded for only 9 of the 25 selected questions, so most counts come from ChatGPT and Perplexity.
- If one answer used two spellings of the same name, merging could count it twice.
- One or two mentions can change a rank near the top.
- Only three engines were tested. Other AI tools may answer differently.
- A mention says nothing about service, licensing, fees or results.
What questions did we ask?
The 25 selected questions, asked on all three engines:
- wrongful termination lawyers in Seattle
- how much does a lawyer cost in Seattle WA
- who are the best lawyers in Seattle
- wills and estates lawyers in Seattle
- affordable lawyers in Seattle
- highly rated law firms in Seattle with good reviews
- business lawyers for small businesses in Seattle
- how to choose a lawyer in Seattle
- immigration lawyers in Seattle
- best law firms in Seattle
- free legal advice in Seattle WA
- employment lawyers in Seattle
- tenant rights lawyers in Seattle
- Best corporate legal counsel for Seattle tech companies
- criminal defense lawyers in Seattle
- divorce lawyers in Seattle
- car accident lawyers in Seattle
- personal injury lawyers in Seattle
- family lawyers in Seattle
- startup lawyers in Seattle
- real estate lawyers in Seattle
- lawyers in Kirkland WA
- lawyers in Bellevue WA
- lawyers in Kent WA
- lawyers in Renton WA
Discovery prompts the audit added on its own:
- "Who are the top business law firms in Seattle for a growing tech startup?"
- "What are the best law firms in Seattle to handle a commercial real estate lease dispute?"
- "I need to file a complex patent in Washington state. Which intellectual property law firms in Seattle are recommended for this?"
- "How do the leading employment law firms in Seattle compare for defending medium-sized businesses against labor disputes?"
How can a law firm check its own AI answers?
Any business can run its own free check at https://beket.ai. The free Beket AI audit covers 25 prompts across 3 engines. A business can also ask Beket AI for another run of this study.
About the author: Nur Rysbek is the CEO of Beket AI.
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