People generally assume that individuals practicing law need to have a few essential things. A website may be one of those items that a lawyer, and indeed anyone operating a business, needs to create so that people can find that lawyer on the internet and review essential information about the attorney. However, a shocking number of lawyers I encounter in my practice do not have websites, and this can seriously hamper their ability to build a practice.
Most law firms with more than a few attorneys have a website — possibly because lawyers generally understand that if they work for a larger operation, they need to establish their online presence to have credibility and attract business. The last time I encountered a law firm of about two dozen lawyers that did not have a website was about eight or nine years ago. It was so unusual that most of the people I knew who encountered this law firm commented on the lack of a website. Most of the law firms that do not have websites are small shops or solo practices, and perhaps these attorneys feel that it is not worth the resources to establish a website.
However, a website is critical to all law firms for a number of reasons. Perhaps most importantly, websites provide contact information and other details about a practice that are helpful for stakeholders to a deal, adversaries, and prospective clients. Sure, there are online directories of lawyers that also include such essential information. However, contact information on many of these directories can be out of date, and lawyers may not have the full ability to control the information that is posted in such directories. The best way for a lawyer to have more control and ownership of the information people access about them is to build their own website.
Moreover, websites are important to developing new business. When a prospective client is evaluating which lawyer to choose for a given portfolio of work, the first thing they likely do is conduct research on the attorney online. If the lawyer cannot be found on their own website, the prospective client needs to cobble information about the lawyer together from other online sources, and this may not be as impactful as the lawyer’s own website. Moreover, internet traffic is a solid way for lawyers to develop business by itself. This usually requires blogging or other activity, but operating a website can be an important and independent way to expand a practice that is impossible to achieve if a lawyer does not have a website.
Some individuals may be nervous about creating a website since they do not know how to begin this process. Thankfully, a number of vendors specialize in helping attorneys launch their websites from start to finish without much work. Even if a lawyer does not have the resources to hire a developer to create a website for them, it is relatively easy for a lawyer to do it themselves. Platforms like Squarespace and WordPress make it very easy for almost anyone to create a website, and even the most technology-challenged lawyer should be able to create a website with these resources. In most instances, it only takes a few hours to create a simple website, and those few hours can go a long way toward developing a practice.
Some members of the legal community might have difficulty creating a website due to their own technology limitations, and I kind of wish there was some pro bono effort to help these folks get online. Websites are such an essential means to convey critical information about a practice and permit prospective clients to evaluate a lawyer’s offerings. More lawyers should create websites so that they do not limit themselves in how they expand their practices.
Jordan Rothman is a partner of The Rothman Law Firm, a full-service New York and New Jersey law firm. He is also the founder of Student Debt Diaries, a website discussing how he paid off his student loans. You can reach Jordan through email at [email protected].
