A study released by Constellate, a marketing research firm that works exclusively with law firms, found that nearly nine in ten small law firm websites fail to meet Google's benchmark for good mobile speed. The analysis of 80 firm websites across five fast-growing markets shows that most sites take too long to load on mobile devices, which could drive potential clients to competitors.
The study tested firms in McKinney, Texas; Castle Rock, Colorado; Naples, Florida; Carmel, Indiana; and Cary, North Carolina—communities where new residents often search for legal services on their phones. The median mobile PageSpeed score was 60 out of 100, which Google categorizes as "needs improvement." Seventy-one of the 80 sites (89%) scored below 90, the threshold Google considers good. Among those, 52 sites (65%) fell into the 50–89 range, while 19 sites (24%) scored below 50, which Google labels "poor." Only 9 sites (11%) achieved a score of 90 or above.
Load times were similarly problematic. The median site took 7.4 seconds to display its main content, as measured by Largest Contentful Paint (LCP). Google rates a load time over 4 seconds as poor, and 58 of the 80 sites (73%) exceeded that threshold. Castle Rock, Colorado, had the lowest median score at 56, while Carmel, Indiana, led the group with a median of 74, and a quarter of its sites scored 90 or above.
"Most people search for a law firm on their phone, no matter what kind of legal service they are looking for," said Bruce Kreutzer, Partner and VP of Growth at Constellate. "Seven seconds is a long time to wait. They call the next firm. Most small firms never see this happen, because nobody shows them the number."
The findings highlight a critical blind spot for small law firms: while they may invest in marketing, they often lack visibility into their website's real-world performance on mobile devices. With mobile searches dominating local legal queries, slow load times can directly impact a firm's ability to attract new clients. The study suggests that firms that monitor and optimize their mobile speed could gain a competitive edge.
Constellate's research is part of a broader effort to bring data-driven insights to law firm marketing. "We built Constellate on one idea: law firm marketing should run on real data, measured as it happens," said Chris Bardos, President of Constellate. "This is the first in a series. Search is changing fast, especially with AI answers, and the firms that know their numbers will adapt first."
The study used Google PageSpeed Insights (Lighthouse) with mobile settings in September 2026 to test the home pages of 82 law firm websites; two could not be scored and were excluded. Firms were identified through Google search, and individual firms are not named. Constellate builds and manages websites, SEO, and generative engine optimization (GEO) for firms with 1 to 25 attorneys, guided by a data pipeline that tracks site performance in real time. For more information, visit constellate.com.
