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Until Bates v. State Bar in 1977 knocked out Canon 27, the only means a lawyer had to advertise his/her services was a business card.
Many in the profession still tread lightly, purchasing phone books ads, if anything at all.
No matter how you feel on the subject, if you are an attorney or law firm, a web site can enhance your professional image, provide a useful service, and bring clients to your door.
If you feel strongly about the ethics of advertising, creating a web site with information helpful to the general public is providing a great service to your community and the world at large.
It is doubtful that very many viewers would consider the mention of your name and contact information, recognizing that you are the provider of the site, as advertising.
It is.
But then, so is a business card.
If you are less inclined to be concerned about solicitous advertising, the only difference in the site mentioned above is that you might advertise your services more explicitly.
Either way, there is a wealth of information you can provide the public to draw them to your web site and, thus, the services you provide.
Furthermore, you have an opportunity to display biographical information, areas of practice and experience and other information important to a potential client.
With your web site on line, you also open up the possibility of obtaining new clients from online listing services such as FindLaw.com.
This is all standard web stuff - what every law firm does in one way or another.
Not that it won't benefit you, but it is only the basics.
Put yourself in the position of your potential client.
They may have hired an attorney at some time in the past, but it is just as likely that they haven't or, at least, not one in your area of expertise.
Computer users are much more likely to look for you on the Web than in the phone book.
There is a very important reason for this:
They want to check you out.
If they are a business or corporate entity, they want to know about your experience.
If they are an individual with a personal matter, they want to know how they feel about you and your firm.
They want to know if you are going to be attentive to their needs, and concerned for their welfare.
They want to know that you will communicate and interact well with their individual situation.
This is something you cannot express with a phone book or newspaper ad or a 30 or 60 second radio or TV spot.
Good professionals make the client feel valued, if not cherished.
They do this not by saying it, but demonstrating it.
The Web has the ability to express these attributes like no other medium.
Clients and prospects often have little, if any, understanding of what legal counsel actually does.
For the most part, they don't even care.
Their focus is on their needs, information pertaining to those needs, and how you are going to relate to them.
How do you do this? Publish periodicals and post them on your web site.
Offer a sign-up form so that you can inform your visitors of new publications when they come out.
Write informative articles on subjects pertaining to your areas of practice, and place them on your web site in an organized manner, with an available keyword search.
If you need to hire someone to write the articles, do it.
You might find that a law school intern would jump at the chance, and may even be able to save your regular staff some time, researching areas of interest that may be important to you as well.
You can also post surveys on your site, allowing your visitors to express themselves, and offering to send results with an optional sign-up.
You can provide a Frequently Asked Questions page providing information on anything relating to the type of law you practice and its related industry.
The bottom line is this: Show your clients and potential clients that you are informed, up to date, personal, and you care.
Providing informative, helpful content, at no cost to your visitors, will not only project these qualities, but will also bring search engine visitors to your site.
The more relevant content you have, the more keywords you have to boost your search engine hit rate.
Law firms can also benefit from having a site on line by providing the means for your staff to access files remotely, with the security of modern encryption methods.
With a staff member in charge of keeping these files and menu system up to date and well organized, you can provide your staff with an exceptional tool for out-of-office research as well as in the court room.
This can be particularly valuable when you have a team working on the same project.
Web browsers can display HTML, Adobe PDF, Microsoft Office and many other documents with ease.
If your law office is not on line, you need to be.
Let us help you develop a site that will enhance your image and bring clients to your door.
If you are on line, take a good look at your site.
Is it creating a feeling or just displaying information?
Is it demonstrating your attributes, or just talking about them?
If your present site is not creating an atmosphere that is bringing new clients and retaining communication with old ones, talk with us about redesigning your site to work both for you and your clients.
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