Author, Jayne Navarre

How can we help you? That was the message preceding a “request for information” form in the Contact Us section of a noteworthy B2B company website I recently visited. Ten days ago I filled out that form and requested specific information or a return phone call regarding a web design project that I am directing for a client. I still haven’t heard from the company.

Sure, I could have picked up the phone, there was a main number listed, but I was already on the website, the form was handy, seemed sincere, and I was trying to save a little time. Additionally, (1) I wanted the information and hoped that the right person to answer my query would call me directly (I wrote a detailed message) and save some steps, and (2) I often wonder about the effectiveness of the info@ email address which many of these Contact Us forms go to so I decided to test it among four prospective design firms. In this first case I got the answer to #2: not very.

Technology is a game changer.

Technology is a game changer, and I’m not referring to shiny new stuff like social media, but rather something as simple as a basic business tool: EMAIL! Why would you relegate one of the most valuable, and essentially free, technology tools to a low interest priority?

There are more than a dozen, if not more, pay-per-lead generation directory sites that lawyers and law firms subscribe to on the web today–paying good money for each lead the site generates. The reason these are becoming more popular is simple, more people go to the web when searching for services and products than ever before, getting leads from this traffic is valuable. But the fact is, you actually have a decent lead generator on your own site too but how many firms are giving it due respect? Frankly, in my mind it begs the question: Why would a high profile company (or law firm) pay top dollar for a fancy and informative website but not have a functional lead generation tool on it?  The simple Contact Us form on your website will do, as long as you manage it properly, right?

DOWNLOAD THE FULL ARTICLE info@yourlawfirm.com or read it here on the VirtualMarketingOfficer.com blog.

Jay Strother’s article, Just Being Social, takes a very comprehensive look at professional responsibility for lawyers and law firm employees, offering great practical advice from a number of lawyers and legal industry professionals.

Download PDF ” Just Being Social”

Jay Strother is the former editor and associate publisher of Legal Management. He is now a Chicago-based independent writer, editor and marketing consultant. Reach him at jstrother@wowway.com.

Just Being Social | Article Excerpt

Regardless of their opinions about the timing and usefulness of the formal ABA Opinion, marketers and administrators agree that websites create a lot of gray ethical boundaries – and firms must be ready to address these issues. “This rule said to me that firms have to take every precaution,” said Navarre, who published the book Social.Lawyers: Transforming Business Development. “There is interaction and immediacy inherent in the web. Firm managers must ensure they are filtering the website through layers of protection.”

Websites themselves may be easier to keep under control. The real issues come from the new technologies. Practitioners are creating their own blogs. They are active on Twitter. They have LinkedIn and Facebook accounts that reflect their employer and profession. These media open up new challenges, ones that Navarre said require you to have really honest lawyers who tell the firm how they are using these tools. “Social media: That’s where the line gets a little fuzzy,” she said.

“When we interact online, are we providing legal advice? When someone reads an article online there is a disclaimer.” But Twitter posts and blogs are independent of the firm’s site. Navarre’s solution is to ensure that lawyers and staff know how to handle requests that come in via these media.

BE SURE TO CATCH JAYNE NAVARRE’S SESSION, “IS THE MEDIUM THE MESSAGE? SOCIAL MEDIA AND MARKETING” (LI34) AT THE ALA ANNUAL CONFERENCE ON MAY 25.

This article was first published by West, a division of Thomson Reuters, in the July 2009 edition of Practice Innovations, Volume 10, Number 3.

Social networking can boost business development efforts. But first you must educate the members of your organization about appropriate usage, professional conduct and ethics, and avoiding legal liability.

Where are we today?

A lot of lawyers are still on the ledge about the “safety” of social networking. For lawyers on the ledge, industry specific, peer-to-peer, membership-only sites such as Martindale Hubbell’s Connected, Legal OnRamp, ABA’s LegallyMinded, or JDSUPRA provide a safe entry point. Networks comprised of attorneys reduce concerns about commercial speech, disclaimers, and unjustified expectations –though other liabilities exist such as copyright, confidentiality, and Reg FD.

Peer-to-peer networking, a virtual bar association meeting, gives those who originate work from lawyer referrals more value than directory listings. Good ones facilitate substantive thought leadership and provide a presence beyond the bio listing.

Not much different from offline networking, online’s distinctive difference is the ability to reach many people with one post. Having no geographic limitations, lawyers online can be in more than one place at a time. Free tools allow users to update status, share links, and other networking goodies across platforms.

Online or offline, networks are only as good as the people who show up. A social network host can provide a class-A tool or venue, but if it isn’t easy to use, if it doesn’t catch on, if the audience is full spectators instead of contributors, it will be just another online directory or dead social network.

Social networks are not about making deep relationships. They do, however, help like-minded people find each other. And, where the potential to do business together exists, relationships typically move off-line and go deeper.

The Five Ps of Social Networking.

If you or a member of your firm is considering a social network, whether industry specific or general interest, there are five P’s to follow:

Policy

At one firm a number of new first-year partners were using facebook as a tool to stay connected.  The firm, led by a senior management team who was unfamiliar with the value of these tools, decided to turn off access to facebook at the firm.  There was an immediate uproar from the 30-something partner crowd.  One tax lawyer in particular, was able to point to three new clients he gained by staying connected to his network on facebook.  The firm determined it needed a policy.

Email and Internet usage policies are not enough. Social networking requires a new set of rules.  A good policy will include guidelines for appropriate business netiquette, professional conduct and ethics, best practices, and avoiding legal liabilities.

Placement

At another firm, a mid-level partner questioned the value of LinkedIn and facebook.  She was urged to sign up and create her own page.  A former in house counsel, she was surprised to see that on LinkedIn, she had a whole network from her law school classmates (many of whom are now in house) who were happy to reconnect with her.  Additionally, she found a group of ex-in house counsel from her former public company currently in new in house positions.  Again, she was able to reconnect quickly with some forgotten contacts and everyone was up to speed on the relationships immediately.

Online networks have offline cousins. LinkedIn is the chamber of commerce or industry group; it’s all business and button down. Facebook is the country club where things get a bit personal –you can share photos of the kids or pets, talk about boats, golf, movies, books, travel, and almost anything. Peer-to-peer networks are the virtual Bar association meeting. Beyond that, there are interest specific discussion boards, forums, Wikis, blogs, and review sites on politics, hobbies, cultural, and community causes.

There is a sense of success in simply connecting with others. However, consistent participation is the key; don’t over extend your self. It’s not smart (or possible) to join every organization in your city. Be selective. Either mirror what’s working off line, or use online for something different.

Persona

Sameness is ineffective. Your profile is a billboard. DON’T regurgitate the formal bio. Avoid marketing gibberish or clichés. This is the time to GET REAL.

For example, a “title” on your LinkedIn page should reveal that you are more than an attorney at XYZ law firm. Why? When posting questions or answers, your name and title feature prominently. Make it count –Jane Doe, Employment Law Attorney, Workplace Counselor and partner at XYZ.

Privacy

Locate the social network’s documentation on security and terms of service. Default settings are generally public. So, upon joining a network, change all settings to PRIVATE and then make them public one at a time. You can always go back and change them. Some networks have layers of settings, so be thorough.

Be cautious with 3rd party applications offered on networks, but not paranoid. Ask others if you are uncertain.

Posting

Once you join a community, surf around and get a feel for the tone, communication styles and content. In order to stand out, stay top of mind, and make posting manageable join discussion groups within a network.

The Q&A format is common on professional sites and helps you establish your knowledge base and expertise. However, you must bring value to the discussion. It’s not a transaction; it’s a conversation. Either start the conversation or move it along.

General interest sites like facebook are more casual. Many posts involve photos, links to books, articles, You Tube videos, and other entertainments. Facebook is trying to shift over to a business format to generate revenues, but the jury is still out.

All networking sites have FAQ’s and/or official blogs; e.g. http://blog.linkedin.com. Visit them for ideas.

Three immediate steps to take today.

First, schedule in house training workshops so members of the firm become informed about the tools and their potential value.  Work with the marketing and business development teams to present the programming and hold it on a regular basis so if people miss one session, they are able to attend another.  Be a resource to help drive revenue.

Second, create a firm policy on the use of these tools.  Be clear about how they are used for business purposes and what should and should not be on lawyers’ profile pages.  Keep it professional is a message that will need to come across loud and clear.

Third, don’t forget about staff training. The firm brand and reputation is in the hands of everyone. Don’t overlook the fact that employees list employers in social profiles. Innocent mistakes can be made but are difficult to correct after the fact.

By implementing these ideas and providing these valuable resources at the firm, the Information Resources team will be providing value added to the firm’s business development efforts.

Jayne Navarre is Managing Director of LawGravity, specializing in advanced social media strategy, blogs and Web sites.  She blogs about these topics at virtualmarketingofficer.com.  Join her network @ www.linkedin.com/in/jaynenavarre, Follow her at www.twitter.com/jaynenavarre or contact her at jln@lawgravity.com.

Now that the whole legal industry is in upheaval –swapping $160,000.00 starting salaries for associate apprenticeship programs, implementing alternative billing practices, cutting loose under performing equity partners, and watching BigLaw compete with LittleLaw in global RFPs  –slashed marketing budgets may seem more like a minor irritant than a cause to panic.

Branding and advertising, in the traditional sense, is on the back burner. Staffing, training, investment in marketing technology, competitive research . . . down, down, down. Market expansion? Way down –too risky and expensive.

However, if you are the one who is responsible for pulling it together and boosting that top line revenue in this economy, you should give online media a hard look.

The social Web offers all the things marketers need in a receding economy.

* Scale
* Targeting
* Measurement
* Adaptability
* Low-cost entry

Download a pdf of this article Marketing in a Recession

What do law firms need from the CMO?  The answer is contained in this one simple statement. The CMO is the voice of the client across the law firm. That is the CMO’s job, plain and simple.  Any firm that gets this; gets it.

The role of the CMO only gets complicated when management committees, hiring committees, marketing partners, recruiters, and even the candidates themselves do not understand or exploit this simple fact.

To further complicate matters, despite the written job description in front of them during the interview, these same parties often have different goals, criteria or even personal agendas outlined for the candidate that are not presented.  More often than not, the CMO job description is only worth the price of the piece of paper. And so, the CMO is hired as a one-trick pony to satisfy the highest compensated voice.

In fact, for real CMO success, hiring committees should be looking for the individual who can tune into and represent the voice of the client. They must have the skill and patience to deliver the message to the entire firm at every level.

The cross-departmental CMO.

The challenges of client-centric demands and changes that are taking place today are not limited to the marketing department. Every CMO needs a cross departmental think tank. I’m not talking about a Monday morning staff meeting with the CEO. The voice of the client must be heard in coordination and collaboration with all departments.

Marketers, as activists, must help law firms, cross departmentally, find and meet the unique needs of the diverse client base. The client voice must be prominent in management affairs and service development across the whole law firm. Ultimately, the best CMO represents the voice of the client throughout the organization, and everyone should be listening –from the receptionist to the accountant and the managing partner, from the practice chair, the associate, and their legal assistants.

The two most important questions a firm can ask the candidate during the interview are  “Can you be the voice of our clients across the firm?” “How can we support you in your role as the voice of the client?” Once that little piece of business is settled, you can move on to the details.

New skills required for success.

Today, CEOs and executive committees are pushing hard for growth and more effective marketing efforts (read ROI). Finding a CMO with the full range of necessary skills is not always easy.

Many chief marketers focus on building brands, making marketing communications more effective, finding new markets, and repackaging slow practices. These responsibilities aren’t going away, but new channels are available and they need to be addressed by the marketer and the firm.

There are a number of areas where change is creating new priorities for chief marketers. They are playing a more active role in shaping the firm’s public profile, managing delivery methods that involve technology, and building new capabilities within the marketing department and among individual attorneys. How will the CMO inject the voice of the client in each of these disciplines and across the firm in a holistic manner?

There is a proliferation of touch points, today, like in no other time. Many factors are changing the way clients’ research and engage law firms. Broadly speaking, the low-cost, time-saving, “facts-only” sales approach isn’t going to fly in a time where instant access to relatively trustworthy information is available via the Internet, user generated content, citizen journalism, and instant access to feed back via the Web.

The ability to build the firm brand across an increasing number of media, including user-generated content, is critical. Many of these skills, such as expertise in the business use of social networking and online media require a degree of specialization.

The skills needed to keep up are becoming so specialized that chief marketers may have to operate quite differently in the future. While these new roles will compliment the generalist capabilities of traditional marketing leaders, some law firms may see a need to restructure their marketing and business development teams to address these new key marketing capabilities by adding social media technologists. Smaller firms will likely consider outsourcing online media marketing programs just as CIOs rely on external information technology resources.

Conclusion.

The demand for higher value and service-oriented approaches only make the CMO’s job more complex –and without the support of the CEO, managing partner, and partnership in responding to the client voice, the CMO’s job will continue to become less attractive. A nice paycheck only lasts so long before the lack of support or the willingness to move the ball forward outweighs its reward.

The churn of CMOs in law marketing is a cost most firms could avoid if their expectations, intentions and perspective were in the right place – giving voice to the client. Placing new leadership in marketing roles is expensive. Why not give your CMO the necessary support to be successful? Your clients will thank you.

Download PDF of  what-do-you-really-need-from-your-cmo

Christy Burke* recently wrote an article on advanced online marketing for the Marketing The Law Firm newsletter. In the article she interviewed myself,  David Snead, Ronald Coleman, a trademark and copyright attorney who publishes a blog – Likelihood of Confusion, and Nicole Black, an attorney who maintains five blogs!

Download the PDF -advanced-online-marketing-strategies-for-lawyers-pdf

*Christy Burke is a President of Burke & Company LLC, a New York based public relations and marketing firm. She is a member of the Board of Editors for Marketing The Law Firm newsletter.

What is an Elevator Speech?

An elevator speech is a short introduction. It is the first step in starting a conversation in a business networking setting.

The key is to deliver it like casual small talk in an elevator – although that is not the place you are likely to use it. It is a concise description of who you are, what you do, and what your skill or service does for others. It does not include details, numbers or accomplishments (may include alma mater if relevant to the situation). Your elevator speech is an introduction that demonstrates your professionalism and a bit of personality.

Why have an Elevator Speech?

To:

1. Introduce yourself in memorable way

2. Emphasize the benefits you provide or solutions you offer

3. Get others to ask you questions and engage in two way conversations

4. Set yourself apart from the crowd. Be memorable.

When do you use an Elevator Speech?

It usually comes in handy when you attend an event, a conference, a convention, or some other type of meeting with networking opportunities. It also works at the kids’ school, soccer match or even on an airplane.

One of the first questions people ask is, “And, what do you do?” And you could say, “Oh, I’m a lawyer … or an accountant … or a consultant …” It doesn’t matter because they will often say, “Oh, that’s nice,” and immediately label you in their mind with all of the stereotypes they perceive those occupations to carry with them.

Or, if you are prepared, when people ask you what you do you can simply tell them more yet without too many more words. Elevator speeches should be constructed so that listeners immediately understand how or if you can help them. The best elevator speeches intrigue the listener enough to ask more questions.

On-Going Development

The most important part of your elevator speech is the response you get. Listen to what your listener says and observe how they react. Are they confused or do they smile and engage you in conversation based on it?

Practice makes perfect…or at least easier. Make it such a part of you that if someone woke you up in the middle of the night and asked you what you do, you would smoothly and without hesitation tell them your “elevator speech.” At first, your elevator speech may not seem smooth and natural, but the more you give it, the better it will become.

Audience selection.

You will need to have several versions of your elevator speech. You have probably been at a family cookout and tried to explain that while yes, you are a lawyer, you are not like Jack McCoy from Law and Order. The version can be less detailed or more detailed depending on the audience. For example if you are talking to a group of lawyers it isn’t necessary to define litigation. However, if you are talking to a group of engineers they may not know exactly what it means to be a “litigator.”

Building it.

The elevator speech has a few necessary components:

1. What you do . . . “lawyer” – although it may not be necessary to say the word “lawyer”
2. Firm name…”your firm”
3. For… “type of client”
4. How you help them…”type of law”

Some examples.

So, Joe, what do you do?

“You might say I’m in the dispute business. I’m lawyer in the litigation group at Jones, Jones & Jones. I help business owners, like yourself, work through contract disputes with suppliers and such. While I always try to solve the dispute early on, sometimes a case goes to trial. It’s stressful work, but I love what I do.”

“I’m with Jones, Jones & Jones’ Intellectual Property practice – I spend most of my time working with engineering companies helping them protect their ideas.”

“I’m with Jones, Jones & Jones’ intellectual property practice – I work with manufacturers and distributors helping them protect their trademarks. I also work with legal and business issues involving international franchises.”

“I’m a corporate attorney over at Jones, Jones & Jones; I help businesses – mostly family owned – on the legal aspects of real estate purchases, contracts, and operational structures.”

“Have you been following the headlines in the Herald News? Insurance companies are over their head in fraudulent claims related to the real estate downturn. Developers are hanging on by their knuckles and I’m the safety net. I’m a litigation partner in the Jones law firm.”

“I’m over at Jones, Jones & Jones, downtown near the new arena. I focus on estate planning – several of my clients also own a business so I have a lot of experience in designing succession plans to transition the business from one generation to the next.”

The Firm’s Elevator Speech

In conversation…

Jones, Jones & Jones is best known for representing public and private companies in bet-the-company deals or disputes. Our Florida practice includes corporate, real property, litigation, labor, and government law. We also have lawyers experienced in specialty areas such as intellectual property, environmental issues, and family law in our offices in NY and Los Angeles.

Jones, Jones & Jones is a business law firm in Florida best known for representing some of the state’s largest companies. Primarily we practice in the areas of corporate contracts, real property, employment, and government law.

In a formal document leading with business services…

Jones, Jones & Jones advises enterprises of all sizes, both for-profit and non-profit, in working through complex issues and obstacles related to corporate governance and compliance, protection of intellectual property, insurance, contract negotiation and drafting, litigation and more. We assist corporate boards and other governing groups in the satisfaction and documentation of their ethical, fiduciary, and oversight obligations including best practices under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.

We advise on structural matters, reorganizations, mergers, acquisitions, and dissolutions, primarily in the State of Florida, for local and multi-jurisdictional entities. Our general corporate experience focuses on the laws and regulations specific to the State of Florida governing non-profit and for profit corporations, limited liability companies, and other entities, but also encompasses the corporate and business laws of Delaware and other jurisdictions including off-shore and international.

We approach issues comprehensively and we are fully equipped to address related areas such as real estate, tax, employee benefits, intellectual property, labor, and government services.

My elevator speech:

I love what I do. I’m a natural born entrepreneur. I love bringing those sensibilities to the business of law. The conversational Web is the new opportunity and it’s my job to help my clients get there. I’m a digital media strategist and a legal marketing specialist. My company is LawGravity.com.

Write your elevator speech here.

Jayne Navarre jln@lawgravity.com 786-208-9108

…keep it simple

Everything a firm does is, in fact, marketing. This is true for the seemingly little things like how tidy you keep your lobby, how you show appreciation to your clients, or how you handle your billing.

We all know that maintaining a notable reputation is the bread and butter of growing your law practice. Will doing the simple things better than anyone else have a huge impact on your reputation? You bet it will. So, how can you be simply better?

Deliver on the basics.

We live in a time where consumers (law firm clients) seem to have unprecedented and unlimited choice.

Truth be told, as a service industry, law firms are not as client-focused as they’d like to think they are. Client surveys often bear that out. Still, their marketing communications hammer away at the importance of this or that unique practice area or one of a kind depth of experience.

So? When it comes to marketing, law firms may be doing a lot of head banging and still be missing a real opportunity. Is it possible that what a client really wants is for their law firm to be the very best at the basics? So good at the basics that they would tell others how great their law firm is at the seemingly little things?

In marketing, law firms often make two assumptions that I believe are wrong.

1. Law firms assume they need to offer something unique to attract business.
2. Law firms assume that the legal market has matured to the point where service is a commodity.

The reality is that a law firm can differentiate themselves by simply being the very best at the basics. Being the best in class on that which is, at the lowest common denominator, expected of all law firms, instead of trying to do something radically unique, presents an opportunity to give you a leg up on the competition.

WOM

Let the client’s satisfaction be your most powerful marketing communication. This is WOM. Word of Mouth Marketing. When a law firm delivers a great merger deal or a advantageous settlement, it’s not always the case that you can shout about it from the roof tops. Sometimes it’s even confidential. And, if it’s not, after the press exploits it and your result becomes old news, you’re only as good as your last victory. But being best in class on the basics never stops getting noticed and your clients will talk about it.

Get close to your customers, understand what matters most to them and then simply provide it better than the competition. While it is not possible to predict exactly how each interaction with clients or prospects will play it self out, sometimes even little modifications can have a big impact.

Control that which you can control.

Let’s review, for a minute, the basics that you can control, but that often get missed by your competition.

What are the basics? They are those things that all clients expect a law firm to provide, even before they start looking at expertise. Here are the top 10.

1. Bills
2. Phone, fax, mail, and email communications
3. Returned phone calls, well routed phone calls
4. Legal documents
5. Conference space
6. Reception etiquette (not just for receptionists)
7. Case management
8. Timeliness
9. Confidentiality
10. Ethical behavior

Carefully decide what you can and cannot deliver in these ten basic aspects of service. Then frame the issues to be best in class and guard consistency as it were the lifeblood of the firm -because it is!

If you need help getting the basics back to work for your firm, contact us for a consultation. If you would like to add a getting down to basics presentation for a partner retreat, we can do that too.

Contact Jayne Navarre @ 786-208-9108 or jln@lawgravity.com

Generational Development

A law firm that doesn’t realize how highly connected the millennial Generation Y is, thanks to their online networking, is missing a very important asset of the young attorneys who join the firm. In any business or profession, such as law, that depends on networks, referrals, conversations, and relationships to generate revenue, it isn’t a stretch to say that when you hire someone, you hire his or her network. In today’s social online-networking economy this can be a very necessary consideration -for better or worse.

However, it is not enough to judge the worth of one’s network by its size. For any number of reasons, some people are not as public with their networks as others -befriending only people they know well. Yet even without 500+ connections they can have access to a much larger network of friends-of-friends. These are acquaintances all within one or two clicks. It’s also wise to consider quality and depth. Someone can have a large broad network but not know many members very well nor be able to claim close, trusted relationships. It is incumbent on the young attorney to learn how to choose and nurture connections that have the most potential to develop into trusted relationships.

In this reality there is both opportunity and risk. For example; even if the summer associate is not yet an official representative of the firm, they are likely to indicate that they are related to the firm on their Facebook, LinkedIn profile or blog. Official or not – as soon as they self-identify their employer they become a representative. Law firms can choose to train, trust and empower employees to behave online just as they would in the workplace. Or, they can do nothing and trust that the employees will separate what they do online from their law firm, and that they will always behave in a positive manner. There are a number of sample guidelines and policies on social media, social networking and social computing available on the Web that you can access via a search to help you organize your thoughts and intentions. Alternately, a training session on reputation management can be very effective.

LawGravity offers a Social Media Audit Program that helps law firms put permission based policy in place and trains associates in the 5 P’s of social networking –placement, persona, privacy, posting, and professional ethics.

Contact Jayne Navarre at jln@lawgravity.com for more information.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the process by which Web pages are improved to better rank in the results of the most popular search engines.

Attorney biographies, like all other Web pages, need to be optimized so that clients can easily find you (or your unique services) when searching in popular search engines like Google, Yahoo!, Microsoft (LiveSearch/MSN) and Ask. Following these few pointers will help your bio rise to or near the top of search engine results.

Your Name

For search engines, content is king. But remember, the most common search term that clients will be using to find you is YOUR NAME. Make sure your name is prominently featured on the bio, such as in the headings (<h1> or <h2> tag) as well as in the body of your bio. Your name should also be part of the pages title (in the <title> tag). You will know this is done correctly by looking at the very top of your Web browser while on your bio page. Does your name appear on the very top bar, next to the browser logo? If not, your name is not in the title tag.

If you have a photo on your Web bio, both the alt and the title attributes of the image tag should also include your name. Does your name appear as a little pop up when you hold your mouse over your photo? If not, your image does not have a title tag with your name. The alt tag will ensure that you name appears on mobile devices and to sight-impaired visitors using screen readers.

Many law firm Web sites manage attorney biographies with a database. Commonly, the database generates a number as the URL for each attorney bio page, which corresponds to the location in the database; such as www.yourlawfirm.com/attorney-517.asp. Since page URLs are the first thing a search engine catalogs, the bio page URL is best optimized when it contains the attorney’s name rather than just a number. A sophisticated content management system (CMS) will allow you to assign a unique text URL to each page in your site.

The attorney bio page should look something like this – www.yourfirm.com/attorney-james-brown.htm. Using the dash rather than an underscore between words in the URL tells the search engine that these are separate words. Typically, someone searching for “James Brown attorney” would not enter the search term as “jamesbrownattorney,” “james_brown” or even brownj. Any combination that does not have the dash means the search engine sees the URL as one word. While it is likely that the query would return the same or similar results, it is simply a good idea to use a dash in the URL for better accuracy and a better shot at the top position in the search results.

Your Practice

Your Web bio is not the time for perfect prose. Consistency and repetition of key phrases help search engines understand that the term is highly relevant for your bio page. Are you a municipal bond tax specialist in Delaware? Say it proud! Several times. The same way.

Think of the various search terms people might use when seeking your special expertise. If you are unsure about how clients might be searching for your practice use the tools available on the Web that are provided by many search engines to help you determine the most popular search words and phrases, such as the keyword tool from Google. Of course, some issues are topical so don’t get too nuanced or trendy. That’s what client alerts are for. Remember, in addition to your legal practice, your location might also be important to potential clients looking for expertise in a particular jurisdiction.

Inbound and Outbound Links

Another important determination of relevancy and popularity of a Web page is inbound and outbound links. Inbound links are the links on other pages that point to your bio; outbound links are the links on your bio that take readers to other pages.

A rich source of inbound and outbound links for your bio is the other pages on your firm’s Web site. Wherever possible, if your name appears on the firm’s Web site, make it a link to your bio page. Ensure that all links are absolute, fully qualified and are written the same way. Similarly, link key words in the body text of your bio, such as practice group names (i.e. “climate change” or “environmental compliance”), to those practice group pages.

Search engines also like links out of a site. If you are comfortable linking out, for instance to case law, a client in a case study or involvement in a group or association that is highly relevant to your practice, take that text and link out to the Web site where it can be found. You might want to change your settings so linking out opens a new browser and does not lead the visitor out of your site.
Another good source of outbound links is attorney-authored articles that appear elsewhere on the Web. If your firm places a lot of content outside your Web site that includes attorney names, such as articles, alerts and press releases, make sure they are also optimized and that your name is a live link back to your bio. This includes when your name is in a PDF. Most search engines now scan PDFs as long as the document is not locked.

When you create links, always add the title tag and name the link with key words. Using the words “click here” as the link is less relevant to the search engine. For example, which of these do you think will be better indexed in a search engine?

For James Browns Bio, click here, or James Brown’s Bio

Does anyone enter the search terms “click here?” Imagine how many returns you’d get for those terms!

For the marketing department, they should track important key words for each attorney. This will help them consistently refer to the same or similar key words when adding additional content elsewhere or writing media releases.

Also, do not overlook the power of alumni or philanthropic connections. When possible, link out to your law school or college alumni page. If you are an active donor for a cause or hold a board position in a community or philanthropic organization, include a link to the site. If they have a page that lists member or alumni names or the board of directors is named on their site, request that a link be established to your bio page. A simple e-mail should get that done. Let them know that you have reciprocated with a link out to their Web site as well.

And finally, you may want to consider having the Web site address in your e-mail signature link to your bio rather than the firm’s home page. Ditto for any hard copy announcement, press release or article you publish. Spell it out. www.mylawfirm.com/attorney-james-brown.htm or mylawfirm.com/attorney-james-brown.

As you can tell, optimizing a bio for search engines is a lot of work, but it can be fun too and help you to more clearly describe and focus your practice in simple terms. If you need help, feel free to contact Jayne Navarre at jln@lawgravity.com

About the Authors
Rob Kahn (rkahn@fenwick.com) is the Director of Business Development at Fenwick & West LLP

Jayne Navarre (jln@lawgravity.com) is the Managing Director of Law Gravity

Adam Stock (astock@allenmatkins.com) is the Chief Marketing Officer at Allen Matkins LLP

Copyright 2008 Lawgravity.com