Jim Calloway's Law Practice Tips post last week, Suggested New Year's Resolution: Set up a Law Firm Web Site Now! lists why all law firms, large or small, must have a website, even if it's a basic one. I recommend that everyone read his post. Not only does he give some great reasons for having a site, but his post also contains a list of things he thinks should be included in every website.
I hear lots of lawyers say they don't need a website because their clients don't search for them on the web. That is becoming less and less true as time goes on and more and more people rely on the internet.
As Calloway mentions in his post, many people, once they get your name or information, will check on the web to see whether you've got a site, and to get some more information about you, or get more 'familiar' with you, before they actually call. If that potential client has gotten more than one name and you're the only one without any information on the web, you may lose that business.
But even if most of your clients don't find you initially on the web, there are great reasons to have a web presence. Many people have substituted the internet for other ways of looking up information and even if they've already hired you, they may go looking for your email address, your phone number or other contact information on the web before they'll look anywhere else. Having great content there when the client visits can only increase your credibility and enahance your relationship with the client.
If your clients aren't web users themselves, the people who refer them to you, including other lawyers, counselors, or professionals with whom that potential client comes into contact, probably are. And having a presence on the web can bring you other contacts or publicity you might not even contemplate now. Here are two great examples: Jonathan Stein, noted here before for his blog, The Practice , has another blog, California Personal Injury and Insurance Blog, which was listed in The Washington Post's "Who's Blogging This Article?" You can see what it looks like, here. Carolyn Elefant of My Shingle recently was awarded a 'lifetime in blog years achievement award' in the Blawg Review Awards 2005. (Blawg Review provides information about law blogs.) Congrats to both Jonathan and Carolyn.
Neither Jonathan nor Carolyn were aware they were going to be mentioned. But sharing information on the web got them noticed, and the best way to get clients is to stand out from the crowd. And since both Jonathan and Carolyn are solos, it just goes to show that it isn't the size of your firm that matters - it's the content.
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