Leaving FindLaw: your notice, your site, your domain
FindLaw's agreement hasn't changed since August 2015. It still names West Publishing and sends notices to a Thomson Reuters address, though Thomson Reuters sold FindLaw to Internet Brands in December 2024. We read every version since 2004, FindLaw's FAQ over the years, and the public record since the sale.
When does FindLaw stop billing you?
A FindLaw term runs for the rest of the month you signed, plus the months on your order form. Notice takes effect 90 days after you send it, never before the term ends. Miss the window and service rolls on, month to month, at list price.
- First term
- Month to month
- Notice deadline
- Service ends
Sources: FindLaw Master Services Agreement, revised Aug 19, 2015, §3.1–3.3 and §4.1 (read Oct 29, 2026). A 2011 FindLaw order form filed in federal court in 2018 bills "month-to-month at then-current list prices" after the first term. An estimate, not legal advice: your order form governs.
FindLaw once charged departing firms for their site files
From 2009 until early 2015, FindLaw's agreement sold a departing firm a license to its site's files. The price fell the longer the firm had stayed. Since 2015, work made for your firm is yours once it's paid for.
- After a 1-year term2009 agreement25%
- After 2 years2009 agreement15%
- After 3 years2009 agreement10%
- After 4 years or more2009 agreementFree
- Since 2015Work made for you, once paidNo fee
Sources: FindLaw Master Services Agreement, Rev. 11/2009, §8.3 (archived Jul 17, 2014); revised March 2015 (archived Apr 20, 2015); revised Aug 19, 2015, §2 (read Oct 29, 2026); Client Development Services Agreement, form 10/1/04 (archived Oct 25, 2005). FindLaw order forms signed as late as June 2013 attached the 2009 version.
What FindLaw has put in writing, and when
FindLaw's agreement has kept the same words for 11 years. The pages around it haven't: an FAQ answer about domains, the agreement's own web address, and who answers for FindLaw since the sale.
- 2009 – early 2015
A price to keep your files
The 2009 agreement sold departing firms a license to their site's files: 25% of a year's list price after one year, free after four. The March 2015 revision dropped the fee.
- Aug 2015 – today
The agreement nobody updated
The current agreement still names West Publishing and a thomsonreuters.com address for notices. The address it gives for its own latest version now lands on FindLaw's 404 page.
- Apr 2017 – Jan 2022
"You do not own your site domain"
FindLaw's FAQ said so for almost five years. By March 2022 the line was gone, and the answer now opens with your rights to your site content.
- Dec 2024 – today
Sold, then disowned
Internet Brands bought FindLaw on Dec 2, 2024. Thomson Reuters has since told the BBB that FindLaw is no longer its product. Complaints to Internet Brands and to FindLaw's new BBB file have gone unanswered.
Who keeps what when you leave FindLaw
From FindLaw's 2015 agreement, its FAQ as it reads today, and the older versions where the current one is silent. Ask in writing wherever it says to check.
- 2 come with you
- 6 to check first
- 4 stay behind
| What | When you leave | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Your domain name | Check who it's registered to | The 2015 agreement says nothing about domains. Older versions had FindLaw hold the registration on your behalf and help transfer it on request, at your cost. Ask in writing for your firm to be the registrant.Agreement 2009, 2015 · FAQ 2017–22 |
| A design made for your firm | Yours once paid | The agreement assigns work made specifically for you once every payment is in. Unused concepts stay FindLaw's.Agreement, 2015 §2 |
| Your text and photos | Comes with you | The FAQ says that when your contract ends you have the rights to your site content, and your account manager can send it to you.FAQ, Oct 2026 |
| Pages FindLaw wrote for many firms | Ask which pages are yours | Pages written for your firm are work made for you. Content FindLaw syndicated to many firms was FindLaw's under older versions. Ask which is which.Agreement 2009, 2015 · FAQ |
| Stock photos | Stays behind | Left out of what the agreement assigns. Plan to replace them.Agreement, 2015 §2 |
| Call-tracking numbers | Stays behind | Also left out. List every number on your site, ads, cards and directory listings.Agreement, 2015 §2 |
| Chat | Stays behind | Left out too. If leads come through it, line up a replacement before you give notice.Agreement, 2015 §2 |
| FindLaw's software and hosting | Ends with your service | FindLaw keeps its software, architecture and source code. The 2009 and early-2015 versions said hosting stops when the agreement ends; the current one is silent.Agreement 2009, 2015 |
| Email on your domain | Move it first | FindLaw sets up client mailboxes on outside mail servers. Move them before you move your domain, or mail stops arriving.FindLaw email setup guide |
| Leads and visitor data | Export before you leave | "We own data that we collect from the Services," the agreement says. Download your form leads and reports while you still have access.Agreement, 2015 §11 |
| Directory profiles | Basic listings may stay | Paid placements end with your order. FindLaw says it won't remove material it placed on other sites, and firms have asked the BBB to get old listings taken down.Agreement, 2015 §5.2 · BBB, Jan 2026 |
| Google Business Profile, Analytics, Search Console and Ads | Make your firm the owner | No FindLaw document says who owns them. Make your firm the owner of each before you give notice. |
Sources: FindLaw Master Services Agreement, revised Aug 19, 2015 (read Oct 29, 2026), and Rev. 11/2009 (archived Jul 17, 2014); FindLaw FAQ and email setup guide (read Oct 29, 2026); Internet Brands' BBB file (read Oct 29, 2026). Links at the end of this page.
What firms report about leaving FindLaw
From law-firm threads on Reddit, read October 29, 2026. These are firms' own accounts and we can't verify them; each links to its thread. None we read reported losing a domain.
- Jan 2016
The 90 days, remembered late
A firm recalled needing 90 days' notice and hearing from FindLaw about a month before its term ended, with extra months to pay. Another firm described long negotiations before it could cancel.
- Jan 2024
A site shut off at renewal
A firm that declined to renew after a year said its site was shut down. In the same thread, another firm said invoices kept coming after it gave notice.
- Jul 2024
Hard to move after years
A firm leaving after several years with FindLaw called the move to a new provider very difficult. Another replied that it had the same experience.
- Sep 2025
Website and email in one place
A firm whose website and email both ran through FindLaw worried about unlocking its domain and changing email addresses. Replies walked through changing the registrant and getting a transfer code.
Give notice four months before your term ends
FindLaw's 90 days start when your notice arrives. Send it early, send it to every address on file, and keep proof.
- Four months out
Find your order form
Your term and its end date are on it. FindLaw doesn't publish its terms, so if you can't find yours, ask your Client Manager for a copy in writing.
- The same week
Put your accounts in your firm's name
Make your firm the registrant of your domain and the owner of your Google Business Profile, Analytics, Search Console and Ads.
- 100 days out
Send written notice
Use the notice on this page. Send it to every address the agreement and your order form name, plus your Client Manager and FindLaw billing, by certified mail and email.
- 60 days out
Start the new site
Ask for your site content, and list every page address, phone number and form on the site. The addresses stay; the numbers and forms get replaced.
- The last month
Move email, then the domain
If your mailboxes run through FindLaw, move them first. Then approve the new site and point your domain at it.
- The month after
Check the last bill and your listings
Make sure charges stopped on the date your notice set, and update your phone number on directory profiles.
The notice to send
This one gives notice. Fill in the brackets, send it to every address, and keep proof of delivery.
Subject: Notice of termination, [firm name], FindLaw account [number] To FindLaw Account Management: Under section 3.3 of the FindLaw Master Services Agreement, this is written notice that [firm name] is ending all FindLaw services, effective 90 days from today or at the end of our current Order Term, whichever is later. Please confirm in writing: 1. The date our services end, and the date of our last charge. 2. That [our domain] will be transferred to us, or [name] made its registrant, before that date. 3. That you'll send our site content and the work created for our firm, including design files, before that date. 4. Every tracking phone number used on our site and in our ads. 5. That FindLaw's users will be removed from our Google Business Profile, Analytics, Search Console and Ads accounts once we confirm we own them. Sent to: FL-Notice@thomsonreuters.com; Account Management, 610 Opperman Drive, Eagan, MN 55123; our Client Manager; receivables@billing.findlaw.com. [Your name] [Firm name]
Check your order form first: it governs where it differs from the agreement.
Sources: FindLaw Master Services Agreement, revised Aug 19, 2015, §3.3 and §13; FindLaw FAQ, customer support page and email setup guide (all read Oct 29, 2026).
We turn your site content back into a working site
FindLaw's FAQ says your account manager will send your site content when you leave. We rebuild your site from it, at the addresses it has today, and do the moving for you.
The same site, pixel for pixel
Once it's paid for, the design is yours. We rebuild it page for page, with your own photos in place of FindLaw's stock images.
Rebuilt in our own code
We rebuild from your text, photos, logo and colors. Same pages, same addresses, and a design close to the one you have.
- Same addresses, titles and descriptions on every page
- We switch your domain only after you've approved the new site
- A month of watching your search traffic after launch
- Changes you email us, live within two business days
- Your content exportable anytime, and an HTML copy of every page if you leave, once fees are paid
From $400 a month for up to 25 pages and posts, or $1,000 for up to 250. Billed annually, migration included.
FindLaw runs your ads or SEO too? On Business, from $1,300 a month, an optional marketing consultant runs them, priced into your quote. Nobody can honestly promise rankings or leads, and we don't.
Do I own my FindLaw website?
Partly. FindLaw's 2015 agreement assigns the work made specifically for your firm once every payment is in, but not stock photos, call-tracking numbers, chat or FindLaw's software and code. FindLaw's FAQ says that when your contract ends, you have the rights to your site content. The site itself runs on FindLaw's platform, so it has to be rebuilt somewhere else.
How much notice does FindLaw need?
Ninety days, in writing. Under the 2015 agreement, notice takes effect 90 days after you give it or at the end of your current order term, whichever is later. Without notice, service continues at FindLaw's list prices, which can change at any time.
Where do I send notice now that Internet Brands owns FindLaw?
The 2015 agreement still names Account Management at 610 Opperman Drive, Eagan, Minnesota, and FL-Notice@thomsonreuters.com. Thomson Reuters sold FindLaw in December 2024, so send it there, to any address on your order form, and to your Client Manager and FindLaw billing. Use certified mail and keep proof.
Do I own my domain?
The 2015 agreement doesn't say. Earlier versions had FindLaw keep the registration on your behalf and help transfer it when you asked, at your cost, and FindLaw's FAQ said until early 2022 that you don't own your site domain. Look up the registrant, and ask in writing for it to be your firm.
Does FindLaw charge to release my site files?
Not under the current agreement. From 2009 to early 2015 it sold departing firms a license to their site's files: 25% of a year's list price after a one-year term, down to free after four years. If your order form attaches the 2009 version, read its section 8.3.
How much does FindLaw cost?
FindLaw quotes each firm separately. On Reddit, a solo said FindLaw offered a basic website and directory listing for $400 a month in April 2021, and a 2014 thread itemized $225 a month for a FirmSite package. A firm told the BBB in September 2026 that its subscription ran about $7,000 a month. Its directory Premium Profile is listed from $158 a month.
Will I lose my Google rankings?
Not if every page keeps its address, title and description, and anything that has to move gets a permanent redirect. Rankings can wobble after any move, and nobody can promise them. In the first month, check Search Console for pages not found.
Can I keep my FindLaw directory profile?
Paid placements end with your order, but you can buy a profile on its own. FindLaw listed its Premium Profile from $158 a month on Oct 29, 2026. Ask what yours would cost without the website before you give notice.
Every source, dated
We read each one on the date shown. The archived copies stay put if a page changes.
- FindLaw, “Master Services Agreement, revised Aug 19, 2015.” Read Oct 29, 2026.
The live file is identical, byte for byte, to the copy archived Sep 15, 2019.
- FindLaw, “Master Services Agreement, Rev. 11/2009.” Archived Jul 17, 2014.
Section 8.3 sets the 25%, 15%, 10% and free schedule. The March 2015 revision (archived Apr 20, 2015) drops it.
- FindLaw, “Client Development Services Agreement, form 10/1/04.” Archived Oct 25, 2005.
- FindLaw, “Frequently Asked Questions.” Read Oct 29, 2026.
The archived copy of Jan 26, 2022 is the last with "you do not own your site domain"; the copy of Mar 21, 2022 is the first without it.
- FindLaw, “Customer Support and Email Setup Guides.” Read Oct 29, 2026.
- Thomson Reuters, “Thomson Reuters sells FindLaw business to Internet Brands.” Dec 2, 2024.
- Better Business Bureau, “FindLaw, Internet Brands and Thomson Reuters: complaints.” Read Oct 29, 2026.
FindLaw's El Segundo file opened Sep 1, 2026. Thomson Reuters' replies of May 29, 2026 and Nov 3, 2025 say FindLaw is no longer its product.
- U.S. District Court, W.D. Pa., “No. 2:18-cv-00532, order transferring a law firm's case against FindLaw.” Aug 16, 2018.
The defendants' exhibits include 2011 and 2013 order forms that attach the 2009 agreement.
- Internet Archive, “Wayback Machine copies of FindLaw's agreement and FAQ pages.” Index read Oct 29, 2026.
- Reddit, “Law-firm threads on FindLaw contracts, cancelling and moving.” Read Oct 29, 2026.
Threads from r/LawFirm, r/Lawyertalk and r/SEO, 2014 to 2026, each linked where it's cited. Firms' own accounts, not verified.
- FairCopy, “Pricing.” Oct 29, 2026.