BarTalk June 2000
Volume 12, Number 3

Catch the spin

by David J Bilinsky

You might stop the world spinnin’ round
Might even walk on holy ground
I ain’t Superman and I can’t fly
But if you wanna stop me baby - don’t even try
I’m goin’ one way - your way
It’s such a strong way - let’s make it our way

Writer and Vocalist: Bryan Adams

Holding the invoice in your hand, you shake your head. How much was that Web site supposed to cost anyway? And the benefits – where are they? Can we honestly say that we have attracted anyone to the firm other than people who want to sell us stuff? You click onto your site and watch the graphics, colors and images move and swirl. So you ask yourself: What does this have to do with the practice of law?

Many lawyers have not only hung out their shingle on the Information Superhighway, they have tapped into the power of the Web. Many more are thinking of doing so. Don’t have big bucks? Effective sites can range from the very, very expensive to the incredibly inexpensive (ie, free – Go to www.findlaw.com and use the wizard to create a firm Web site. Thousands of lawyers from all over the globe have already done so and many of the Web sites that they have designed are very good. Findlaw sites are indexed by location and area of practice – and is a portal for people seeking lawyers on the Web).

More food for thought – many other people who provide services that are legal in nature have Web sites and are open for business: see www.yourwill.net, where you can prepare your own will online for $35. Or go to www.quicken.com and see what is included in Quicken 2000: “Use Quicken Family Lawyer 2000 to easily prepare over 140 different legal documents such as wills, powers of attorney, and bills of sale. Step-by-step interviews guide you through the process, helping to make sure you’re comprehensively covered.”

This product includes personal financing software, tax software and the legal document software, all for $89.95 or less (USD). Admittedly this is a US product, but how far behind will be a Canadian version? While it is a CD-ROM product, the Web version – or ones like it – will not be far behind.

So you’re saying “that market is not cost-effective, let them chase the small stuff, this is not worth worrying about”. Okay, then see: mycfo.com where they state: “myCFO is harnessing the power of the Internet to help you better manage your wealth. myCFO works with you to design an integrated plan that gives you complete control over your financial picture. Your personal client service director meets with you and your existing advisors to develop objectives for the near and long term. Your director draws on a team of experts in professional services: Income Tax Planning and Compliance, Investment Advisory, Estate and Trust, Accounting and Reporting, Family Office, Philanthropy, and Asset Protection and Insurance. And, if you have a need or preference to continue relationships with your existing advisors, these advisors are welcomed as part of the team to develop a life plan that best meets your wealth needs.”

The competitive battle lines are being drawn – and not necessarily by lawyers. General Call to Arms: How do we market on the Internet, what should we keep in mind in designing a law firm Web site or in viewing one that is already created and How do we get maximum benefit for the money we spend? Here are the suggestions put forward to effectively market yourself and your practice on the Infobahn:

Plan
What will be the purpose of your Web site? There are at least seven groups to whom a Web site can be targeted. These include: Clients, present and future; New Hires; Media; Other Lawyers; People seeking information on the firm; Partners (to enhance their reputation); and of course the General Public.

If you look at a Web site, imagine how each of these parties views the site. Does it provide meaningful information? Does it entice a targeted audience to seek out more? More often than we would like, a law firm Web site is nothing more than an electronic brochure and an expensive one at that.

Analyse
Look at your strategic plan, your business plan and your marketing plan. Does your Web site meet the stated goals for your business? Which audience(s) are you trying to reach? Are you providing information that furthers the needs of your audience and motivates them to contact you? Are the adjectives that you would use to describe you and your practice found on your Web site?

Brand Recognition
Is your domain name (the part after the http://www.) easily guessed without the need for doing a search? To reach your Web page, do you have a first level Web address or a second or third level address? For example, a first level address combined with an easily remembered domain name is: www.lawsonlundel.com. Avoid names that resemble www.internet-service-provider/bc-lawyers/index.ca – it is unlikely that anyone would be able to guess this kind of Web address. Furthermore, it does not incorporate a distinct domain name into the Web address – for example: www.dewy-gottum-nhow.ca.

List
Do a test – do a search using one or more of the common search engines (altavista, google, excite, etc.) – did your site pop up? You must add your Web site to the major search engines (go to the home page for each engine and follow the directions on “Add URL” to their database) to be even on the radar screen. Furthermore, there are “metatags”, hidden code read by search engines, that would draw search engines, and therefore searchers, to your site. For example, you would want the keywords that represent your target audience (city, area(s) of law, services offered, etc) to be placed in the metatag area in your Web site code.

Update
Keep the information on the site current and useful. A Web site is not a static document. The top sites change their information daily, for an example see www.arentfox.com. This will require top-level support and high energy from all participants. Furthermore, some search engines assign a weight to the last date your site was updated, hence a highly updated site would have a better chance of being ranked high on a search.

Focus
Does your site intend to narrow in on your market or does it attempt to be all things to all people? For a tightly focused site, see www.visalaw.com. This site is that of Suskind, Susser, Hass and Devine, an immigration firm that has received more than 14 million hits from 130 countries. Imagine – 14 million hits!

Contact
Does your site display alternate contact methods easily and clearly? E-mail, mail, phone, fax, street address, cell phone – this information should be easily found for people to reach out to you.

Study
Do you know what features or sub-pages have worked for you and which have not? Have your Web host supply sophisticated Web monitoring software as part of your hosting agreement. You will be able to gauge who is visiting what, how long people are staying around and where they move in terms of in, out and around your site.

Market
Does it seem odd to have to market your Web site? It shouldn’t, as there are millions of Web pages and you want people to find yours. List your Web address on letterhead, invoices, advertisements, yellow page listings, newsletters, business cards – everything!

Learn More
Come to the Marketing Your Law Firm Sessions being hosted by The Law Society of BC. Elizabeth Cordeau, and yours truly, will be presenting full day sessions on marketing, including demonstrations of using technology to market your practice at locations all across BC. Contact Katie O’Sullivan, Communications and Public Affairs Assistant, Law Society of BC, telephone 604.443.5768, toll-free in BC 1.800.903.5300 for further information. Cost? Free!

The world is turning, increasingly so, ‘round a cyber-axis. It is going one way– it’s such a strong way – let’s make it ours.

The views expressed herein are strictly those of the author and may not be shared by the author’s employer, the Law Society of BC. David J Bilinsky is the Practice Management Advisor at the Law Society of BC. Email: daveb@lsbc.org

This article originally appeared in the June 2000 issue of BarTalk and is reproduced here with permission of both the author and the Canadian Bar Association, British Columbia Branch.