How it actually works →
Every claim checked. Every word approved.
AI makes me faster at research. It doesn't get to decide what's true. Here's the nine-step process behind my legal content, from the first SEO snapshot to your attorneys' sign-off.
Why AI and a human editor beat either one alone
AI on its own writes confident copy that is sometimes wrong. In legal content, wrong is expensive: a misstated deadline, a statute from the wrong state, a statistic that measured something else. A human working alone is careful but slow, and can't read every search result and every statute behind every page.
So I split the work. AI handles volume: search-results audits, local data, outlines, first drafts and pulling every claim out of a draft. I handle judgment: the strategy, the rules every draft has to follow and the verdict on every legal claim. Your attorneys get the final word.
The steps below come from a recent engagement with a Virginia personal injury firm. The firm stays anonymous. The process and the numbers are real.
The process
Nine steps from first look to final sign-off
Step 1: SEO Snapshot
Before we talk, I take a short first look at where your firm stands online: how you rank, whether your listings and name, address and phone details match across the web, what's already working and which problems are easy to fix.
You get: A plain-English snapshot you can read in five minutes.
Step 2: "Download My Brain" worksheet
You know things no search tool can tell me. The worksheet captures them: the case types you take and want more of, your markets, what sets you apart and the results you're allowed to mention.
You get: A completed worksheet that becomes the source for everything I write about your firm.
Step 3: Content Master Plan
I grade every existing page and triage every blog post: keep, update, merge or cut. Pages that already rank go on a "Do Not Touch" list. New topics are checked against live Google results, and pages are grouped into clusters under anchor pages so they support each other instead of competing.
You get: A master plan with page grades, a post-by-post triage and a protected-pages list.
Step 4: Research and briefs
For each topic, I review the live search results and capture People Also Ask questions word for word. I never invent a ranking. City pages get local research. A "Firm Facts" file becomes the only allowed source for any claim about your firm.
You get: A research brief per page, plus your Firm Facts file.
Step 5: Outlines
Each outline names the reader and what they're trying to do, the questions the page must answer, the section plan, every legal claim that needs verifying, internal links, FAQs and what the page will deliberately leave out.
You get: An approved outline for every page before drafting starts.
Step 6: Drafting under binding guidelines
Every draft follows a written style guide: calm authority and practical clarity. Generic AI words are banned. Every statistic is attributed and dated. Sources follow a strict order: statutes and court opinions, then agencies, government data, peer-reviewed research, professional bodies and reporting. Another law firm's page is never the authority. Each draft then gets six separate edit passes for legal accuracy, reader usefulness, brand voice, SEO and links, rhythm, and claims and disclaimers.
You get: A full draft that has cleared all six edit passes.
Step 7: Adversarial QA
A separate review pass assumes the draft is wrong and tries to prove it. The swap test replaces the city name: any sentence that still reads true is filler and gets rewritten. I also check for duplication across pages and run mechanical checks on links and banned words.
You get: A QA report and a revised draft.
Step 8: Fact check against official law
I keep an offline library of 1,268 official legal documents: statutes, administrative code, court rules, model jury instructions and court opinions, built with no AI in the loop. Every legal claim is checked against the exact passage. Sources follow a ladder: official primary law, then official reference, then official .gov sources, then secondary sources. With no source, the claim gets cut. The tool finds passages; it never decides. I read each one and mark every claim supported, contradicted or unsupported. Scores cap hard for errors: a wrong-state law or a contradicted claim can't score above 40, because a 95 carrying one miscitation is more dangerous than a 60.
You get: A fact-check score and a verdict on every legal claim.
Step 9: Delivery and attorney approval
Each page ships with a delivery note explaining the strategy and what the page is and isn't trying to win. It also comes with a claim ledger: every legal claim, the verbatim source quote and a pinpoint citation. Your attorneys approve before or right after publishing.
You get: The final page, a delivery note and a claim ledger your attorneys can check in minutes.
Who does what
What AI does
- Audits live search results
- Pulls local data for city pages
- Drafts outlines and first drafts
- Runs the adversarial QA pass
- Extracts every claim for fact-checking
What I do
- Set the strategy and the content plan
- Write and enforce the style guide
- Read every cited passage
- Make every fact-check verdict
- Edit every draft and give final approval
What your attorneys do
- Share what only the firm knows
- Review the claim ledger
- Give final sign-off before or right after publishing
The proof
Three pages, before and after the fact check
On the Virginia personal injury project, three rewritten pages went through the fact check. Each one started below the publish line. After corrections, each one scored 98.
| Page | First draft | Published |
|---|---|---|
| Distracted driving accidents | 50 | 98 |
| Pedestrian accidents | 50 | 98 |
| Rideshare accidents | 40 | 98 |
What the fact check caught
- A statistic that counted drivers, when the page used it to describe crashes
- A hit-and-run scenario filed under the wrong insurance coverage
- A misstated motorcycle helmet law
On the same project: 22 pages graded, 180 blog posts triaged, 25 practice areas covered, and eight state-law guides carrying 87 legal claims, every one tied to a verbatim official source.
Guardrails
Rules every draft has to pass
No source, no claim
If I can't tie a legal claim to an official source, it comes out of the draft. A confident sentence with nothing behind it is a liability.
Another firm's page is never the authority
Legal claims rest on statutes, court opinions, agencies and government data. Other law firms' websites can be wrong, and I don't repeat their mistakes.
Every statistic attributed and dated
Numbers carry a named source and a year, so readers and your attorneys can see where they came from and how current they are.
Firm claims come only from the Firm Facts file
Nothing about your firm, your results or your people appears unless you've confirmed it in writing.
No invented rankings or search data
People Also Ask questions are captured word for word from live results, and I never report a ranking I haven't seen.
Bar rules on every draft
I review your state's bar advertising guidelines, and ABA marketing guidelines inform every page, so the content stays compliant as well as accurate.
Questions
Questions about AI and accuracy
Is this just ChatGPT?
No. AI tools handle the research-heavy parts: search audits, data pulls, outlines, first drafts and claim extraction. The strategy, the style guide, every fact-check verdict and the final edit are mine. Every legal claim is checked against an official source by a human before you see it.
Who checks the legal accuracy?
I do, claim by claim. I read the exact passage behind every legal claim and mark it supported, contradicted or unsupported, and anything I can't support gets cut. Then your attorneys review the claim ledger and give final sign-off. They hold the law license, so their review is the last check.
Will Google penalize AI-assisted content?
Google's published guidance says it rewards helpful, people-first content, however it's produced. What it targets is content made at scale mainly to manipulate rankings with little value for readers. My process is built around the first: original research, verified legal claims, local detail and a human editor responsible for every page.
Can I see the sources behind a page?
Yes. Every page ships with a claim ledger listing each legal claim, the verbatim source quote and a pinpoint citation. Your attorneys can check any claim in seconds.
What happens when a claim can't be verified?
It gets cut, or rewritten into something the sources do support. I'd rather publish a shorter page that's right than a longer one with a claim nobody can stand behind.
Clients
What clients say
Mike · ZD Law "We've made some great jumps in our organic traffic over the last few months, which is in no small part thanks to your support. Thank you!"
Jeremy O. · Director of Content Strategy "Brandon was a freelance writer for our team for several years. He was a fantastic contributor, always reliable, taking on extra assignments, meeting deadlines, and submitting quality work."
Fred B. · Effir Media "It was a pleasure working with Your Legal Content Writer. They brought a lot of value to the project and gave really sound advice from an SEO perspective."
Lauren · IntelliShift "Brandon is so great at transforming a website's content! He's super easy to work with and delivers high-quality work so quickly! Highly recommend!"
Your turn →
Want content you can stand behind?
Tell me about your firm and the pages you need. I'll reply personally within one business day with how I'd approach them and a custom quote. No obligation.