Legal Marketing, Pictures

Awkward Photos Make For A Bad Law Firm Website

Another law firm website fail.

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Actual awkward stock photo.

Actual awkward stock photo.

Everyone knows law firm websites are crucial to business development. The attorney bio pages are particularly well trafficked, as clients are interested in the background and experience of their potential advocate. But creating a good law firm website is tricky business, and there are lots of potential pitfalls out there. Consider the reality that it takes all of 50 milliseconds for a viewer to determine what they think of your website, and you understand that the visuals of your website are key to a good first impression.

So, what happened at Jones & Keller?

The main page looks fine enough, professional and modern without being flashy. Then you get to a partner bio, which is dominated by what our tipster called an “inappropriate picture.” Take a look for yourself:

Steve Long

This looks like an outtake from a sexual harassment video.

It seems weirdly out of place, and I don’t know why any of it means I’d hire this guy to be my lawyer. I am sure Steve Long, the poor partner pictured, is a great attorney, and the rest of his firm bio reflects his experience on the job, but the photo makes it look like he’s about to make an indecent proposal.

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Skimming through the rest of the firm’s bios, it seems they are taken with the idea of an “action” shot dominating the page. Why, exactly? To show their attorneys are hardworking? It seems a serious, if boring, portrait would work better to convey that message than awkwardly posed “candids” that belong in a stock-photo database.

The work of lawyering really isn’t suited to creative action shots, so stick to the classics — they’re that way for a reason.

Kathryn Rubino is an editor at Above the Law. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter (@Kathryn1).

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