IV. WHY CREATE A LAW FIRM WEBSITE?
Having protected the firm name, the next step is to decide whether to develop your own website. Outlined below are some of the reasons for your firm or company to have a website.
A. STRENGTHENING RELATIONS WITH YOUR PRESENT CLIENTS
The 80:20 rule of thumb for law firm revenues says that law firms can expect roughly 80% of next year's revenues to come from present clients and only 20% to come from new clients. Your present clients are much more likely to retain you to do the type of work that you have previously done and consider you for new work. Websites are an excellent way to provide information to your present clients about your additional areas of expertise, and also to provide additional services and resources to your present clients. Websites can also be used to strengthen a relationship with clients (see VIII. Disintermediating and Re-engineering the Legal Process below).
B. VITAL FOR HI-TECH CLIENTS
Firms that deal with hi-tech clients should have a website. Hi-tech firms want to deal with law firms that understand their "technology" and their ways of communicating. Hi-tech companies include not only hardware and software companies, but all companies that use the Internet. For many people, particularly hi-tech clients, the Internet is their first source of information on law firms.
If the client uses the Internet to gather information about law firms, he or she will prefer a law firm that has an Internet site, all other things being equal. Many larger firms have either not put up websites, or have put up sites that are poorly designed and do not show a familiarity with the Internet. Regional and local firms thus have a chance to reach potential clients in a medium that is being ignored or minimized by their larger competitors.
C. IMPORTANT FOR NATIONAL AND MULTI-STATE PRACTICES
Websites are important for firms that have a national or multi-state practice, particularly those firms whose practice is heavily influenced by federal law rather than state specific law. Many potential clients are using websites to qualify firms after receiving recommendations on several firms from business colleagues. These potential clients will review the information on-line before calling the firm. One webmaster has said that they receive an average of ten inquiry emails a week about possible retention of the firm and are retained by one to two new clients a week as a direct result of their website and their other marketing efforts on the Internet. Greg Siskind has said that his immigration firm gets over two- thirds of its business from their website.
D. PROVIDES INTERNATIONAL PRESENCE
For international firms, websites are even more important. Because of the size of the international market, potential foreign clients are less likely to get recommendations from your present clients. These clients can, however, easily find a properly designed and marketed website whenever they are ready to engage counsel. International firms that practice in non- English speaking countries can present their websites in appropriate foreign languages for each country. (See also III.D. concerning registering foreign domain names.)
E. SPECIALIZED PRACTICES
Firms with a unique niche or specialized practice can reach prospective clients anywhere in the world. For firms that have "low density" clients i.e. their clients are spread out all over the country or the world, a website is ideally suited for promoting their practice. For attorneys and firms that are seeking to become nationally or internationally known, there is no faster way to create name recognition than to put up a useful practice specific website and participate in on-line discussion groups. (See VII.C.4. below.)
F. ALWAYS AVAILABLE
When a client or potential client needs information about a firm, the website is ready; 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. If a client is in China and it is the middle of the night at the firm's office in New York, the website is ready to deliver. Firm brochures and newsletters on paper delivered through the postal service (snail mail) may be thrown out the same day received, but if the prospective client remembers the firm name, he can go directly to the firm's website (assuming the firm has a top level domain name) or can enter keywords into a search engine that indexes all web pages.
G. ALWAYS TIMELY
On the Internet, the client seeks out the firm, when the client is interested, so the client wants and needs the information available on the firm's website. The information is therefore always delivered to the client exactly when the client wants it, unlike other methods of communication, which depend on endless repetition in hopes that the client is receptive to the message at the time that one of the multiple messages is delivered.
H. COMPETING WITHOUT ENTRENCHED COMPETITORS
Few law firms had websites in the middle of 1995. Therefore, they were competing against only a small number of firms and, in some specialties and regions, these firms had no on- line completion. At the same time there were substantially fewer people on-line to see these websites. Today, in the fourth quarter of 1996, all of the major practice areas have significant websites; however, areas such as securities law have few quality sites.
Firms with local practices, where most of their clients drive to their offices, have the same opportunity now that national firms had in 1995. The number of local individuals that may access their websites is low, but rapidly growing. Local firms have an excellent opportunity to create a presence and get bookmarked, before the other firms in their area create competing websites. Also local firms can now use the financial advantage of lower overhead and Internet/intranet technology to compete beyond their traditional local market, while undercutting the prices of large traditional national firms.
I. MULTIPLE USES
Websites can also be used for a variety of other matters including on-line seminars and seminar announcements, client research requests, intake forms, surveys, confidential status and billing reports, press releases on high profile cases, and on-line discussions of legal topics. In addition, email and usage statistics can give you immediate feedback on your clients' interests.
J. INTERNAL WEBSITES/INTRANETS
In addition to an external Internet website, firms are using internal websites (intranets) to distribute information within the firm. Intranets can be used to distribute firm policies, billing information, legal forms, email, directories, announcements and templates for submitting or requesting information. Firms are using intranets, because they can be less expensive than other networking software, such as Lotus Notes, and substantially faster than traditional communications methods such as the inter- office memo. Intranets, particularly, if interfaced with the Internet, can significantly cut costs and streamline legal procedures (see VIII. Disintermediating and Re-engineering the Legal Process, below.)
I. INTRODUCTION
II. OVERVIEW
III. THE IMPORTANCE OF TOP LEVEL DOMAIN NAMES FOR LAW FIRMS
IV. WHY CREATE A LAW FIRM WEBSITE
V. DEVELOPING A WEBSITE DESIGN STRATEGY
VIII. DISINTERMEDIATING AND RE-ENGINEERING THE LEGAL PROCESS
IX. A BRIEF REVIEW OF LEGAL ETHICS AND WEBSITES
For information on how Web Counsel can help you develop your own website see our Web Counsel Services page OR send e-mail to mark@webcounsel.com, phone us at (203)-637-4352, FAX us at (203) 698-1052 or mail us at our Greenwich office address - Web Counsel, LLC, 17 Wilmot Lane, Riverside, CT 06878.
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