--- title: "Brown & Bates vs Willis Legal: Which is more popular in New Zealand?" description: "Is Brown & Bates or Willis Legal more popular in search? Compare estimated monthly branded-search demand and Share of Search inside the Napier law firms set in New Zealand. Branded searches tell you how often people look for a brand by name or related terms. Comparing these searches across competitors helps you see how popular each brand is over time." canonical: "https://gobrandwave.com/demand/nz/compare/brown-and-bates-vs-willis-legal" publisher: "Brandwave" --- # Brown & Bates vs Willis Legal: Which is more popular in New Zealand? Is Brown & Bates or Willis Legal more popular in search? Compare estimated monthly branded-search demand and Share of Search inside the Napier law firms set in New Zealand. Branded searches tell you how often people look for a brand by name or related terms. Comparing these searches across competitors helps you see how popular each brand is over time. ## Key facts - **Compared**: Brown & Bates and Willis Legal - **Competitive set**: Napier law firms - **Market**: New Zealand - **Month measured**: Oct 2026 - **Brown & Bates Share of Search**: 1.6% - **Willis Legal Share of Search**: 31.1% ## Is Brown & Bates or Willis Legal more popular in search? - In October 2026, Willis Legal had more branded searches than Brown & Bates among Napier law firms in New Zealand. Willis Legal had about 380 branded searches, while Brown & Bates had 20. Willis Legal made up 31.1% of all Napier law firm searches we track, and Brown & Bates accounted for 1.6%. - Willis Legal was ahead of Brown & Bates in every measured month of the 12 months ending October 2026. - Across the 12 months ending October 2026, Brown & Bates’ share of searches among Napier law firms in New Zealand moved from 0.77% to 1.6%, and its estimated monthly branded searches moved from 10 to 20. - Across the 12 months ending October 2026, Willis Legal’s share of searches among Napier law firms in New Zealand moved from 40% to 31.1%, and its estimated monthly branded searches moved from 520 to 380. ## Top Napier law firms in ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews In three ChatGPT questions, Brown & Bates and Willis Legal were each mentioned in two out of three: in two of the three ChatGPT answers. Willis Legal was listed before Brown & Bates in every answer that named either. Brands get a higher AI rank if they are mentioned earlier in the answers that list options. | Brand | AI rank | ChatGPT answers that named it | All answers that named it | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Langley Twigg Law | 1st | 3 of 3 | 3 of 3 | | Carlile Dowling | 2nd | 3 of 3 | 3 of 3 | | Sainsbury Logan & Williams | 3rd | 3 of 3 | 3 of 3 | | Willis Legal | 4th | 2 of 3 | 2 of 3 | | Brown & Bates | 5th | 2 of 3 | 2 of 3 | | Legal Matters | 6th | 1 of 3 | 1 of 3 | | Goodwill Law | Not ranked | 0 of 3 | 0 of 3 | ## Every AI answer about Napier law firms - Asked ChatGPT "Which law firm should I hire in Napier, New Zealand?": 1. Langley Twigg Law, 2. Sainsbury Logan & Williams, 3. Carlile Dowling, 4. Willis Legal, 5. Brown & Bates - Asked ChatGPT "What are the best law firms in Napier, New Zealand?": 1. Langley Twigg Law, 2. Carlile Dowling, 3. Sainsbury Logan & Williams, 4. Willis Legal, 5. Legal Matters, 6. Brown & Bates - Asked ChatGPT "What's the best law firm in Napier, New Zealand for legal advice?": 1. Langley Twigg Law, 2. Carlile Dowling, 3. Sainsbury Logan & Williams Not named in any answer: Goodwill Law. Brands are listed in the order each answer named them. The answers were collected in New Zealand on October 21, 2026. ## How did search popularity change for New Zealand Napier law firms in October 2026? - In October 2026, Willis Legal lost share of searches among Napier law firms in New Zealand, from 35.6% to 31.1%. - Estimated monthly branded searches for Brown & Bates in New Zealand rose 100% over 12 measured months, from 10 to 20 in October 2026. ## How has branded search for Brown & Bates and Willis Legal changed in New Zealand over the last 12 months? | Month | Brown & Bates estimated searches | Brown & Bates Share of Search | Brown & Bates rank | Willis Legal estimated searches | Willis Legal Share of Search | Willis Legal rank | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Nov 2025 | 10 | 0.77% | 6 | 520 | 40% | 1 | | Dec 2025 | 10 | 0.94% | 6 | 380 | 35.8% | 1 | | Jan 2026 | 10 | 0.71% | 6 | 470 | 33.6% | 2 | | Feb 2026 | 10 | 0.7% | 6 | 470 | 33.1% | 1 | | Mar 2026 | 10 | 0.61% | 6 | 580 | 35.2% | 1 | | Apr 2026 | 10 | 0.79% | 6 | 420 | 33.3% | 1 | | May 2026 | 10 | 0.74% | 6 | 470 | 34.6% | 2 | | Jun 2026 | 30 | 2.4% | 5 | 420 | 34.1% | 1 | | Jul 2026 | 20 | 1.7% | 6 | 380 | 31.4% | 2 | | Aug 2026 | 20 | 1.6% | 5 | 420 | 34.4% | 1 | | Sep 2026 | 20 | 1.5% | 6 | 470 | 35.6% | 1 | | Oct 2026 | 20 | 1.6% | 6 | 380 | 31.1% | 1 | ## How are Brown & Bates’ and Willis Legal’s branded searches counted? Brandwave collects information about searches that people make online using Brown & Bates’ and Willis Legal’s names. When viewed over time, estimated search volumes for these branded terms can be used to understand whether interest in the brands is growing, holding steady, or fading. - **Brown & Bates**: Measured on the search terms “brown & bates” and “brown and bates”, summed into one figure. - **Willis Legal**: Measured on the search terms “willis legal” and “willis legal napier”, summed into one figure. - [Brown & Bates profile](/demand/nz/brands/brown-and-bates) - [Willis Legal profile](/demand/nz/brands/willis-legal) - [All Napier law firms in New Zealand](/demand/nz/locations/napier/law-firms): The set both shares are measured inside, 7 brands. ## Methodology - [How is the Brand Demand Index measured?](/demand/methodology): Where the figures come from, what they compare, and how they may be reused. ## Frequently asked questions ### Is Brown & Bates or Willis Legal more popular in search? In October 2026, Willis Legal had more branded searches than Brown & Bates among Napier law firms in New Zealand. Willis Legal had about 380 branded searches, while Brown & Bates had 20. Willis Legal made up 31.1% of all Napier law firm searches we track, and Brown & Bates accounted for 1.6%. ## Cite this page Brandwave. "Brown & Bates vs Willis Legal: Which is more popular in New Zealand?". https://gobrandwave.com/demand/nz/compare/brown-and-bates-vs-willis-legal This page is also available as HTML at https://gobrandwave.com/demand/nz/compare/brown-and-bates-vs-willis-legal. Brandwave publishes an index of its Markdown pages at https://gobrandwave.com/llms.txt.