The AI Referral

About Dan Toombs

I’ve spent more than 20 years helping law firms grow.

I’m a lawyer, founder and legal-industry entrepreneur. Now I’m studying a question I think will reshape the legal market: how will AI change the way clients find, evaluate and choose lawyers?

Get in touch→Invite Dan to speak
Dan Toombs
Lawyer
Legal practitioner
Director
Practice Proof
Founder
FirmRanker
Founder & owner
Best Solicitors
Founder & owner
Mediations Australia

The work

Two decades inside law-firm growth.

Through Practice Proof, I work exclusively with law firms on strategy, positioning, reputation, marketing, technology, AI and client experience.

Over that time, we’ve helped build firms from the ground up, supported significant periods of expansion, helped practices become leaders in competitive areas of law, and worked alongside some clients for more than a decade.

I’ve published legal work with Thomson Reuters and worked alongside law firms across Australia, North America and the United Kingdom.

01

Built from the ground up

Helping new firms establish their position.

02

Significant expansion

Supporting firms through periods of growth.

03

Leaders in competitive law

Helping practices lead in crowded areas.

04

Decade-long partnerships

Some clients for more than ten years.

The question

“How will AI change the way clients find, evaluate and choose lawyers?”

For years, law-firm growth has been heavily influenced by Google, referrals and reputation. Those things still matter. But the layer between a prospective client and a lawyer is changing.

People are asking ChatGPT and other AI systems questions they once asked Google. These systems synthesise information from across the web and increasingly influence which firms and lawyers people discover and consider.

That raises fascinating questions

  • Why does AI recommend one law firm and not another?
  • What signals does it rely on?
  • How important are reputation, authority, content, reviews, citations and brand?

I’m exploring these through FirmRanker — moving beyond the hype around AEO and GEO to understand what the data actually tells us.

See the research→

An unusual vantage point

Four windows into how people choose lawyers.

Together, these businesses give me an unusual perspective on how law firms grow, how people choose lawyers, how reputation is established — and how technology is changing all three.

Director

Practice Proof

Helps law firms grow — strategy, positioning, reputation, marketing, technology, AI and client experience.

practiceproof.com → Founder

FirmRanker

Measures how law firms are discovered and recommended across AI search and recommendation systems.

firmranker.com →
Founder & owner

Best Solicitors

Independently researches and ranks lawyers and law firms — a perspective on reputation, visibility and how legal expertise is evaluated.

Founder & owner

Mediations Australia

Another window into how people engage with legal services.

Recognition

Recognised for work in law and leadership.

  • National Human Rights Law Award
  • Winston Churchill Fellowship
  • Australian Leadership Award
  • Published legal workThomson Reuters

What’s next

The profession is entering one of its most significant periods of change.

After more than two decades working around law firms, I’ll be researching that change and sharing what we learn through FirmRanker and here on Law By Dan.