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MJS Legal Christchurch

Law firm · Rangiora South East, Christchurch

What your customers see when they look for you, and where that puts you among 216 Christchurch lawyers.

ReportLocal marketing report
Checked12 October 2026
Your marketChristchurch lawyers · 216 businesses
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Executive summaryExclusive Marketbase business report

MJS Legal Christchurch

Law firm · Rangiora South East, Christchurch

Where you stand#160of 216 lawyers
Overall health2.6/10across the eight areas
How AI describes youMarketbase business report

What AI tells people about you

MJS Legal Christchurch is a boutique team of family law barristers based in the Christchurch CBD with a satellite office in Rangiora. Led by barrister Melissa Sandom, the practice specialises in all areas of family law and provides Legal Aid for eligible clients. The firm describes its approach as practical and empathetic, supporting clients through sensitive dispute resolution and care-of-children matters.

MJS Legal Christchurch is a boutique family law practice based in the Christchurch CBD with a satellite office in Rangiora, North Canterbury. The firm is led by barrister Melissa Sandom and is made up of specialist family law barristers who focus on family-related legal matters. The offices include a Christchurch base and a Rangiora appointment-only location.

The practice provides specialist services across family law. Source material notes assistance with care of children arrangements, guardianship disputes, adoption and paternity matters, and involvement with related family-law processes. MJS Legal states it offers practical and expert advice tailored to family disputes and legal proceedings, and it provides Legal Aid to those who qualify for most matters.

Clients can expect an approach described as compassionate and pragmatic when dealing with emotionally charged family issues. The website emphasises practical and empathetic advice aimed at resolving disputes and helping clients move on. For those eligible, Legal Aid is available, which the firm highlights as part of its service offering.

Locally, MJS Legal positions itself as a Christchurch-based boutique firm with specialist family law barristers and a convenience of a Rangiora satellite office. Its combination of focused family law expertise, an emphasis on empathetic client contact and the availability of Legal Aid are presented as key practical features for people seeking family law assistance in Christchurch and North Canterbury.

ChatGPTGeminiGooglePerplexityClaude
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01Google listingMarketbase business report

Your Google listing

MJS Legal Christchurch shows an overall health score of 4.0 out of 10, indicating below average listing performance. The most important findings are that the listing is claimed and has a website link and full address, but the profile lacks visible photos and has an unclear open status. Addressing these will help reassure customers and improve visibility.

Strengths

  • ✓
    Open statusYour listing shows the business as trading, so customers see accurate availability and Google treats the listing as live.
  • ✓
    ClaimedYour listing is claimed, so you control what it says, you can reply to reviews, and edits suggested by the public come to you first.
  • ✓
    NameYour business name is showing on the listing, so a customer searching for you by name finds you, and everything else on the listing hangs off it.

Top three opportunities

  • 1
    Photos on the listingYou have no photos on your listing, or close to none, so a customer scrolling past sees a blank where every other business shows their work.
  • 2
    Description lengthYour description gives a reader less than half the listings here do, so someone reading yours and then a competitor's gets less to go on from you.
  • 3
    Category fitYour categories cover this market better than the middle of the field, so you appear in most of the searches your competitors appear in.
11 checks on your Google listing. You're seeing 6 of them.
7.0Good
9:41
Tiles © Esri
1
MJS Legal Christchurch✓✓
0.0 ★★★★★ (0)
Law firm · Rangiora South East3
DirectionsCall Website
OverviewReviewsPhotosAbout
From the business

Melissa Sandom, Barrister, operates MJS Legal, a team of barristers specialising in all areas of family law. We provide legal aid for those who qualify. Our offices are in the Christchurch CBD and a satellite office (by appointment) in Rangiora, North Canterbury.

2
Google listingChristchurch lawyers · 216 businesses
You are #65 for your Google listing
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Google SearchGoogle MapsBusiness Profile
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02ReviewsMarketbase business report

Your reviews

MJS Legal Christchurch shows a very low Google review health score, with minimal published feedback. The main takeaways are a lack of reviews and no response to any existing ones, which may deter potential clients. Focus should be on encouraging satisfied clients to leave reviews and starting timely responses to all feedback.

Strengths

Your first one is close. Sort an opportunity below and it moves up here.

Top three opportunities

  • 1
    Review confidenceYour rating and your review count together put you at the bottom of this market - either the rating is low, or there are too few reviews behind it for anyone to trust it.
  • 2
    Star ratingYou have no star rating yet, so a customer scanning results sees an empty space where every other business shows a number.
  • 3
    Response rateNone of your reviews have a reply, which means a customer reading them sees your happiest and your angriest customers with nothing from you in between.
4 checks on your reviews. You're seeing 3 of them.
2.0Room to grow
9:41
MJS Legal Christchurch
OverviewReviewsPhotosAbout
–★★★★★0 reviews
5
4
3
2
12
No reviews yetBe the first to review1
Google reviewsChristchurch lawyers · 216 businesses
You are #174 for your Google reviews
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Google reviewsBusiness Profile
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03Map positionsMarketbase business report

Where you show up on the map

MJS Legal Christchurch shows a below-average health score of 3.4 out of 10 for Google Maps search, with gradual improvement possible. Top findings include steady gains in the Suburb/Borough score and a starting point in aggregate maps queries. The business ranks well for several family and civil law keywords in Rangiora North East, indicating focused local relevance.

Strengths

Your first one is close. Sort an opportunity below and it moves up here.

Top two opportunities

  • 1
    Maps visibility across the city groupYou turn up across fewer of the surrounding suburbs than half the businesses here, so someone two suburbs over searching for your service is shown your competitors and never sees your name.
  • 2
    Maps visibility in your own suburbYou show up in local Maps searches less often than half your suburb, so on a search from nearby you sit below businesses a customer would otherwise treat as equal.
2 checks on your map positions. You're seeing both.
3.3Room to grow
9:41
1234Tiles © Esri
1Seen in 4 searches across Christchurch, top three in none
1
Williams McKenzie4.7 ★ (63) · Law firm
2
Law 4 You4.7 ★ (24) · Law firm
3
Conway Lane Law4.8 ★ (30) · Law firm
4
Your Legal Rangiora4.0 ★ (4) · Law firm
↓
MJS Legal Christchurch2Further down, below the first results
Map positionsChristchurch lawyers · 216 businesses
You are #145 for map positions
See how to fix both →
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Google Maps
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04Listings and socialMarketbase business report

Where customers find you

MJS Legal Christchurch shows above-average health at 6.4 out of 10 for Citations & Social Presence, with strong Facebook and LinkedIn foundations. Key strengths include a very high trust Facebook profile and an up-to-date LinkedIn listing, which support professional visibility and credibility. Primary opportunities focus on establishing active Instagram, TikTok, Neighbourly, Yellow Directory and Yellow Profile presences to broaden local reach.

Strengths

  • ✓
    Having a Facebook page at allWe found your Facebook Profile page, and the trail is strong enough that nobody would question it is yours - it is linked from something you own, or it dominates a search for your name.

Top three opportunities

  • 1
    Instagram ProfileWe could not find an active Instagram Profile profile for your business, so a customer who looks for you there finds nothing.
  • 2
    Tiktok ProfileWe could not find an active TikTok account for your business, so anyone who looks for you there finds nothing.
  • 3
    Yellow ProfileWe could not find an active Yellow Profile listing for your business, which means anyone checking you there finds nothing and moves on to whoever is listed.
16 checks on your listings and social. You're seeing 4 of them.
5.6Room to grow
9:41
Gmjs legal christchurch rangiora south east
AllImagesMapsNews
FacebookMjs-Legal-61573211987527MJS Legal Christchurch | Facebook✓
LinkedInmelissa-sandom-30359242MJS Legal Christchurch | LinkedIn
Find A Lawyer Firmmjs-legal-limitedFound through search, not linked from anything you own
InstagramNo account found1
TiktokNo account found2
YellowNo listing found3
Listings and socialChristchurch lawyers · 216 businesses
You are #96 for listings and social
See how to fix all 3 →
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GoogleFacebookInstagramTikTokLinkedInFind A Lawyer FirmYour website
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05Facebook pageMarketbase business report

Your Facebook page

Strengths

  • ✓
    Where your page link pointsThe link on your page goes to a domain that is yours, so a visitor who came for the photos leaves on your terms and the enquiry lands in your inbox rather than someone else's.
  • ✓
    A phone numberA phone number shows on your page, so the person who found you on Facebook before they found your website can ring straight from it.
  • ✓
    What your page says about youFew intros in this market run as full as yours, and it sits close to the limit that length has stopped being a lever.

Top three opportunities

  • 1
    Recommendations on your pageNo recommendations sit on your page, so a stranger who came to see whether anyone else has used you leaves with only your own posts to go on.
  • 2
    People following your pageFewer people follow your page than most in this market, which means a post reaches people who already know you rather than anyone still deciding.
  • 3
    A page address you choseYour page address is one Facebook generated rather than one you chose - your business name with a long number bolted on, or just the number.
9 checks on your Facebook page. You're seeing 6 of them.
5.8Room to grow
9:41
facebook
people3
32 followers 2
Based in Christchurch and with a satellite office in Rangiora, North Canterbury, our specialist family law barristers provide a compassionate and supportive service to those experiencing the challenge...✓
FollowMessage
🌐 mjslegal.nz✓
☎ +64 3-365 1899✓
PostsAboutPhotosReviews
Facebook pageChristchurch lawyers · 216 businesses
You are #92 for your Facebook page
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Facebook
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06Your websiteMarketbase business report

Your website

MJS Legal Christchurch shows a low overall on-page health score (2.5/10), highlighting weak meta and title tag signals and a missing favicon. Strengths include a concise page that loads quickly, relevant meta description, valid use of HTTPS, and no frames. Focused next steps should address missing meta description, improve title tag length, add a favicon, and ensure text-to-page balance for better crawlability.

Strengths

  • ✓
    Domain HealthYour site answers cleanly over a secure connection, so a customer clicking through from Google lands where they expect with nothing in the way.
  • ✓
    Page file sizeYour home page is light enough to open quickly on a phone with a weak signal, which is where most people meet a local business for the first time.
  • ✓
    Secure content linksThe links on your site point at secure versions of your pages, so nobody is sent through an unnecessary redirect on the way in.

Top three opportunities

  • 1
    Meta descriptionYour pages carry no summary line of your own, so the two lines under your name in search results are whatever Google decides best fits the search.
  • 2
    On-page scoreSeveral checks on your home page fail at once, and a visitor meets all of them in the first few seconds: a slow open, no clear heading, nothing under your name in search that says what you do.
  • 3
    Separate sites linking to youOnly a handful of separate websites link to yours, well behind most of this market.
23 checks on your website. You're seeing 6 of them.
-Room to grow
9:41
⚠mjslegal.nz✓
✓Page file size
✓Secure content links
1Meta description
2On-page score
3Separate sites linking to you
Your websiteChristchurch lawyers · 216 businesses
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Your websiteGoogle Search
marketbase
07Google search and trafficMarketbase business report

How people find you on Google

MJS Legal Christchurch shows an above-average health score for website traffic, indicating solid performance with room to improve paid activity and keyword reach. Key findings include mid-range organic traffic value and strong organic traffic total locally, suggesting continued content and link-building can lift rankings while exploring paid channels.

Strengths

Your first one is close. Sort an opportunity below and it moves up here.

Top three opportunities

  • 1
    What you spend on adsWe can see no paid search activity for your site, which in most local markets is the norm rather than a gap.
  • 2
    Monthly ad visitsYour site receives no visitors from paid search, which for most local businesses in this market is the norm rather than a problem.
  • 3
    What that traffic is worthThe search visitors reaching your site are worth less than half the businesses here, so the people arriving are browsing rather than buying.
6 checks on your search and traffic. You're seeing 3 of them.
6.2Good
9:41
G
AllMapsImagesShopping
21No ads from you on any search
MJS Legal ChristchurchNot in these results
3About 323 visits a month from search, across 47 searches
Google search and trafficChristchurch lawyers · 216 businesses
You are #82 for Google search and traffic
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Google SearchGoogle Maps
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08Opening hoursMarketbase business report

Your hours against demand

MJS Legal Christchurch currently has no published opening-hours data, so alignment with local demand cannot be measured directly. The reported health score is very low (1.1/10). Strong alignment and missed opportunity hours cannot be identified without hours. Practical next steps: publish accurate opening hours on the business profile and review city-level demand trends to focus staffed times on when clients search for family law services.

Strengths

Your first one is close. Sort an opportunity below and it moves up here.

Top opportunity

  • 1
    Hours aligned with demandWe could not measure your hours against local demand, which almost always means your listing shows no opening hours at all.
1 check on your opening hours. You're seeing it.
2.0Room to grow
9:41
MJS Legal Christchurch
OverviewReviewsPhotosAbout
Hours
No opening hours listed1
Opening hoursChristchurch lawyers · 216 businesses
You are #174 for opening hours
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Your listed hoursWhen people search
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The next step

Your top opportunities, in one place.

These are your top 21 opportunities, from the 72 checks we run on every business. Tick any of them to see where it takes you.

01Google listing3 opportunities

02Reviews3 opportunities

03Map positions2 opportunities

04Listings and social3 opportunities

05Facebook page3 opportunities

06Your website3 opportunities

07Google search and traffic3 opportunities

08Opening hours1 opportunity

Where you'd stand#160of 216 Christchurch lawyers
9:41
Christchurch lawyersOverall · 216 businesses
You are #160 overall
Open my free 7 days →
The how for every one of these, and everything else we found, in the order that moves you fastest.
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