SOME THOUGHTS ON PRODUCING AND MARKETING A LAW FIRM's WEBSITE

The Principle of Interactivity

The internet is not just another medium to advertise a law firm. The internet is quite different as it adds the dimension of interactivity not found in brochures, print ads, the yellow pages , radio spots or television ads. Too many law firms' sites simply utilize their web site as a place to put a very large ad. Law firms do not take into account that prospective clients want and expect, from their experience with other web sites, to interact with the law firm's web site in some way. That interaction could be the start of building a relationship with a client. Forming a relationship is the basic and best way to market anything.

It is not easy for a law firm web site to be interactive, but it is not impossible. There are many small ways a law firm's web site can be interactive yet most sites have nothing or very little interactivity.

The Principle of Volume

The internet is different from other advertising mediums in that it is not restricted at all to the amount of content it can hold. Size does matter. The web site is not confineed to the size of a telephone book ad, a brochure or a thirty- second commercial. Prospective clients want and expect lots and lots of information.

Prospective clients are able to control how much information they wish to read on the web site. They do not have to sit through all of a thirty second radio ad. Do not worry that there is too much content. There cannot be too much. It just has to be organized and presented well so it is easy to navigate. However, I find many law firms' sites are very limited on how much information they provide. Most sites even limit the information of the biographies of the lawyers. Clients want to know as much as possible about a lawyer, as they may be putting their lives in that lawyer's hands. Clients want to know the lawyer's age, the lawyer's experience and if possible, whom the lawyer has represented and what that lawyer has done for his or her clients. Prospective clients want basic information beforehand, what they need to bring to an interview and what is expected of them, and especially what it costs to retain the lawyer. Giving this information on a web site can greatly reduce the client's stress about the initial consultation and it can all be easily put on a web site where there is no real restriction of volume of information.

In an age when lawyers are getting away from the billable hour and are going to block fees, providing such information can actually improve the bottom line because of the time savings of providing general information on the web site and obtaining information from the client by way of online forms on the web site.

The Principle of Service

The web site is not just a method to promote the firm but a place to serve clients. I do not believe the web site is the place for a lawyer to transact business, as some non-legal sites do, but it is a place to add value to your services at minimal cost. Too many law firms' web sites are there only for promotional purposes.

The Principle of Creative Swiping

"Creative Swiping" is management guru Tom Peters' expression for legitimately copying ideas from other firms. To find great ideas for your web site, look at other law firms' sites, especially in other jurisdictions, then copy some ideas. Better yet, look what non-lawyers are doing and adapt those tactics into a legal web site. For most lawyers, except perhaps the big firms, their market is geographically limited so prospective clients will not notice if your web site is similar to a firm in California.

The Worth It Principle

Even web site designers are spreading a myth that legal web sites do not result in new business. That is not my experience nor that of others whom I have talked to. In an article at www.lawmarketing.com entitled "The Ten Dumbest Marketing Mistakes Law Firms Make" by Larry Bodine, #10 was "Believe the myth that your web site doesn't bring in any business". It can. It just has to be done right. That law firm web sites can bring in business if done right seems to be the conclusion of the touchpointmetric survey.

Promotion

The purpose of promotional content is to provide details about the firm so a prospective client is convinced this is the right firm for his or her legal problem and the prospective client can easily make arrangements to contact that firm for an appointment. The web site is no different from a telephone book ad, which gives contact information and tries to impress the client as to why he or she should chose your firm. There is a wide range of promotional material that can be placed on a web site.

Most firms start with some type of mission statement. In my opinion, though some are catchy, these mission statements sound too much as if a professional marketer made them up (which I am sure they did) and therefore they seem insincere. Too many say the same thing - "they are client oriented, affordable and a full service law firm". I suggest that the mission statements are important but try to make them something different, something representative of your firm and even something true. My phrase is "Discover the Pascoe Difference". I admit it is a little cliche-ish, but I do believe I am different and I explain how I am different in an article on my site. If there is a history to the firm, it is usually explained on the web site. It is doubtful that clients really care about that history however. What is important is an overview of what the firm does, especially if the firm has expertise in a particular area of law. You have to let visitors to your web site know right away what you do.

Prospective clients also want to know whom you represent. If you can, and unfortunately, being a divorce lawyer, I cannot, put in (after getting permission which they will gladly do especially if they are a small company) who your corporate clients are. When you do add their name, have a link to their web site so they will also get something out of it. Prospective clients want to know if you have been successful so tell them your success stories. If you can link the story to a newspaper article do so. If you cannot, do your own press release and link that on your web site. The marketing experts are very big on listing your clients and success stories. According to the Larry Bodine article not telling your success stories is another one of the ten dumbest things lawyers do when marketing.

All law firm web sites post resumes of their lawyers and it is generally accepted that there is a nice picture along with it. I believe that black and white is still better for portraits. Artsy close ups with ¾ of the face seem to be in now. There was an Ottawa firm that had very professional caricatures of each of their lawyers with their resumes. I am told by that firm that those caricatures are extremely well received by their clients and their web site generates a lot of business. I believe the principle of volume applies to resumes in that you should include as much as possible about the lawyer, not just your age, where you graduated and what you generally practice, but include all your affiliations, what teaching you have done, what writing you have done, what speaking you have done, what articles you have written, your major cases and your major clients. There is a nice resume format by this year's Law Office Computing magazine's small firm award winner whereby the firm has their brief profiles but with a link to a more detailed one if prospective clients wish to look at it. If your firm or lawyers have won any awards, that information should be included on the site or resume.

Some firms, though not very many, have client testimonials. Testimonials are recommended by the experts . But you have to feel comfortable with them and you probably have to ask and help your clients write them as they won't be that forthcoming. I personally do not feel comfortable with testimonials.

It is important that on every page of the web site, you have a link to contact information, such as basic information including cell phone numbers, home phone numbers (though I state on my web site that is for emergencies only and no one does call me at home). I also state when I am in the office and what is the best time to contact me. I suggest a link to Yahoo maps or some other site that can provide driving directions from a client's house to your office. At the Lewis Langevin firm there is a secure e mail system that they say is well received by clients.

In the promotional content of the lawyer's web site, law firms may want to get across the personalities (if they have any). I try to promote that I am friendly and have a sense of humour, which I may mistakenly believe I have. Under my photo it states "In person I am really thinner and have more hair.". I have a picture of me with Ottawa Senator Jason Spezza and a picture of me with the mascot for the Triple A Ottawa Lynx team. On my resources page, I link to the Ottawa Lynx, the Ottawa Senators, my personal trainer, my sister, my friend who makes golf clubs. ( I don't believe my hair stylist has a web site yet). I have received a lot of feedback from clients that they really enjoy my sense of humour and they find it refreshing to find a lawyer who has one. I do not do it primarily do be different, but to set my clients at ease. With the nature of my practice, almost all of my clients have had little contact with lawyers before me and they are nervous about the experience. I attempt to make myself look more like a human being than a lawyer. The experts advise that getting across the firm personality can be good but you have to be careful as some people may be offended by some jokes. As my wife likes to remind me, not everyone appreciates my humour, but I have decided that is their problem and not mine.

Another way to show I am not the stereotypical lawyer and have some interactivity is my legal quiz. I have ten tough legal questions which visitors can submit to me. That enters them in a contest to win Ottawa Senator tickets.

Informational Contact

Not all web sites have informational contact but limit their site to simply promotional material. This is a major mistake as providing free information is a way to promote yourself, screen clients and reduce your own costs. Being published and giving free seminars to prospective clients has always been a major method of lawyer marketing. That is exactly what you are doing when you post an article of interest to your clients on your web site. But it is done at a fraction of the cost and your time compared to public speaking. Your clients expect this information content on your web site as most firms have it and the web itself is all about getting free information. The net is not about going to large ads and brochures.

There are many types of information that can be provided. The most common is basic information about your area of law, either in the form of frequently asked questions (which surveys show is the most commonly used part of a web site), or basic information in short article form. Articles or frequently asked questions can also deal with the legal process in general, your firm's process as well as your firm's costs. It does not and should not deal just with legal issues. I have opted, rather than the FAQ system, to add brief one or two page articles on basic legal issues such as the reasons for having a Will, basic custody, support and equalization principles and the duties of an executor. Then I package it with my resume, my service principles, my fees and client questionnaires. I call these my Family Law Packet, Wills and Powers of Attorney Packet and Administration of Estates Packet. They can be printed out from the web directly or in a PDF format. I also can mail packets to prospective clients. I have received a lot of positive feedback, both from clients and other lawyers about this packet method. People still like to have a hard copy. Organize your site so prospective clients can easily printout what they need. Web sites often contain updates in the law in the form of newsletters, which can also deal with more specific issues rather than general ones. Of course you are emailing your clients with these updates to remind them that you are their lawyer and they should remember you when they need a lawyer or their neighbour needs a lawyer. But too often on the web they are listed as March Newsletter as opposed to what was in the newsletter. I suggest you put them in an article format on the web site. Most web sites will link to articles that lawyers have written and presented at legal conferences. This should be done but only if you are also using the FAQ or basic articles otherwise it looks like your web site is a dumping ground for articles you have already written and you are not putting any effort into real content for your web site. The lawyer articles are generally not of great interest to clients at this stage. I have a separate section for lawyer articles that I have written.

Reasons given by lawyers for not giving any legal information are: It would take too much work; The worry that it must always be updated ; The fact that clients expect a firm to continually add and revise articles. I do not agree with these concerns. The content in the articles or frequently asked questions is the same information a lawyer would provide at a first interview so you know what to say, you are simply putting it in writing. The articles do not always have to be updated. The reasons for having a Will and other general concepts are not continually changing. I know the great literature says it is important continually to have something new on your site so people will come back to your site. But the nature of the law firm web site is that the repeat visitor is not important. You only need to influence them the first time they visit so that they choose you at the time they need a lawyer. Some lawyers shy away from putting on any content as they do not want to give away free information they could charge for. However, some of these lawyers would speak freely to an audience of prospective clients.

From my research I find that some, but not a majority of law firm sites, have resource pages whereby there are links to other sites. A reason given against having links is that you want people to stay on your site and including good links can move clients away. I think a valuable service to clients is to have a list of links to sites that would be of interest to them and are not in direct competition with your services but supplement them. I personally have not made a major effort yet with resources but have linked to two really good family law lawyer web sites in Toronto who have great resources pages. They are not in direct competition with me so why not take advantage of the work they did. They appreciate it and as discussed later, links to them it helps their Google search engine ranking. The Lewis Langevin firm which entitles its resource type page "Link &Tools" receives a great deal of positive feedback from clients because of the numerous links. I plan on finding more local web sites of interest that can benefit my clients.

With respect to format, some law firms have their information in audio form or even video form. That looks impressive but takes a lot of space and you cannot get very much into an audio/video tape compared to an article. I do not believe they are necessary or a good idea.

Service Content

Informational articles can be of service to your clients as they may get further information on the issues of their case or on another type of case altogether. Almost always a matrimonial client will say to me at then end of an interview , even before I raise the issue, that they need a Will. I simply refer them to my Will Packet on my web site. Or old clients will phone saying they are getting married again so I refer them first to my article about marriage contracts before they see me. A resource page with links of interest can be of great service to your clients.

There are other methods of serving your active clients. I receive a lot of positive feedback about my client questionnaires that gather basic information about the client's case. My clients can fill them out on my web site and submit them directly by e mail to me, or they can print them and bring them to their appointment. Therefore beforehand, they know what basic information I require and they have time to fill it out at their leisure at home. I also have a client preference questionnaire which I ask clients to fill out. There is a reduction in time spent at the first consultation as preliminary information is all written out beforehand. Clients want to know the hourly rate and other cost information. The web site is an easy place to tell clients about fees. This can screen clients so the lawyer or the lawyer's staff do not waste time on the telephone with people who do not want to pay our more than reasonable fees.

There are a number of other small ways the web site and the internet can be of service to your clients and be interactive. The email facility of legal accounting packages can be used to allow clients to know the status of their retainer. I have seen a web site that has a system to make an appointment on the internet. For some clients that may be easier than telephoning. My client surveys after the file is complete can be submitted through my web site.

My Will clients receive a binder that contains copies of their Wills, articles and information they need to complete such as burial instructions, their assets, people to notify, location of documents and what to do with personal items. From my web site, clients can print these forms if they need new ones. Forms that might be beneficial to clients can be put on your site so they are easily picked up. Most sites, but surprisingly not all, have a guest book. A guest book is a good way of keeping in touch with people who have shown interest in the firm.

There are many things that can be done on a lawyer web site to serve clients at little cost. That extra service can differentiate your firm and will make your clients happier, both of which will lead to more business.

DESIGN

One area in which law firms have done a good job is the design and navigability of their web sites. Law firms made mistakes like everyone else at the early days of the web but they now seem to have hired very professional web site designers and the look of most lawyer web sites is impressive. The sites have generally followed the rule of being three layers with left hand drop down menus. Larger sites have their own search engines to easily find an article of interest on the site. Some firms and I myself used PDF files for some articles as it makes it easier for clients to printout the articles they require. Law firm web sites do not now seem to go overboard on the graphics as they are not necessary and can slow down the use of the site. Not everyone has high speed internet access.

The big issue in design is who should design and build the site. My experience is that, especially for small firms, students and part-timers charge very little and can do a very good job. The major web design companies seem to charge high fees. Since content is the key, it probably is not necessary to spend the money on a fancy design. A law firm can economize by providing all of the information to the designer and by deciding the general lay out of the site so all the web designer does is build the site.

I believe it is still a myth that an expensive looking web site is needed for a law firm. This has been perpetuated by the web designers and consultants. I was very disappointed in the results of Law Office Computing's fifth annual best web site contest (not just because my site was not chosen), but because the criteria seemed to be more design-oriented and the winner of the small firm contest admittedly had no content. I believe the mistake occurred because the judges were lawyers, not people actually using the site. Perhaps they should have measured how effective the site was in obtaining clients and found out what the clients thought of the web site. Prospective clients are looking for content, not design. Years ago when I was thinking of adding more graphics to my site, a local computer magazine editor stated to me "You are a law firm. If they want graphics, they will visit the Louvre.".

A design issue is the naming of the site. In the Reis' book, there is lengthy discussion about how to chose a web site name as the authors stress the importance of a good web site name. The authors are very much against generic names like www.bestlawyer.com and they compare the purchases for some generic names like the $7,500,000 for www.business.com worse than tulip mania that occurred in Holland. The authors suggest if you have a common internet name, sell it now before the mania ends. I unknowingly took their advice a few years ago when I sold my web site name www.knowyourrights.com to a Minnesota law firm. Unfortunately, I did not receive $7.5 million but I was quite happy with the $10,000 ($U.S) they paid me. The Reis' are very big on using a proper name, especially your own proper name, which hopefully will be short, simple, unique, speakable, among other criteria. They suggest that you do not use initials. You can, as I do have a secondary simpler URL. For $25 a year I also have www.difference.ca which I often use on the phone to explain the easiest way to get to my site.