Tag: law firm websites

8 Best Lawyer Forums Online

Though unorthodox for a traditional profession like the law, remote work is becoming a more realistic option for lawyers all over the country. With the help of tools like legal practice management software and options to practice law in multiple states, lawyers everywhere are tackling the challenges of remote work.

But one obstacle that remains is networking. Remote lawyers need to put extra work into maintaining professional connections and building an online presence, both of which are made easier with online forums designed specifically for legal professionals.

What Is an Online Forum?

An online forum is an internet space dedicated to conversation using questions, answers, responses, and prompts. Typically, online forums are asynchronous — users post a question, then other users respond at their leisure.

Posts in forums are archived and arranged into categories like post date, popularity, and more. Discussions can last for hours, days, months, or possibly years, as long as users continue to contribute.

Why Should Lawyers Use Online Forums?

After the rapid shift to remote work during the COVID-19 pandemic, plenty of industries saw the value of allowing employees to work from home – including law firms. More and more lawyers are working remotely, but that could come at the cost of networking.

Networking doesn’t have to mean interactions that take place over coffee, lunch, cocktails, golf excursions, or big events. In the strictest sense, networking is any meeting between people, whether in a group or one on one, online or in-person, which can be done using online forums.

Online forums dedicated to lawyers and the legal industry are an effective way to facilitate networking opportunities when in-person meetings aren’t an option. Getting involved in online forums help lawyers discuss industry topics with experts and thought leaders, stay current on trends and technology, and learn valuable tips from other lawyers.

Top 8 Online Forums for Lawyers

Curious about online forums? Here are the best options for lawyers and legal professionals to engage with other legal professionals and build a network as a remote attorney:

1. Quora

Quora is a broad forum that covers a variety of topics in question-and-answer formats, including the legal industry. You can easily search for questions or topics that are trending in the legal industry and contribute expert answers to boost your credibility. The more answers you provide, and the more other users engage with you, the closer you can get to becoming a thought leader in the space.

2. Bar Association Forums

Bar association forums are always a benefit to lawyers, remote or otherwise. There are plenty of options to choose from, including local bar associations or forums dedicated to your practice area. Best of all, you’ll be engaging with other knowledgeable legal professionals to connect and network.

3. Social Media Groups

Social media channels like Facebook and LinkedIn have dedicated groups that bring together users based on interests or industries, such as the legal industry. These two platforms are among the best for getting into a private or public group and enhancing your online presence. Keep in mind that you are representing yourself as a lawyer in these groups, so use a professional social media account, not your personal one.

The Thomson Reuters Legal Community is an exclusive option for customers of Thomson Reuters that brings together a virtual community of lawyers to network and engage in group settings. You can connect with lawyers from all different practice areas, both locally and nationally, and gain valuable insights from industry experts.

5. The Lawyerist Community

The Lawyerist is an online community dedicated to small firm lawyers to provide coaching, podcasts, books, guides, and other insights. The company has its own online lawyer forum – The Lawyerist Community – on Facebook to discuss law firm best practices, trends, and ideas.

6. Reddit

Reddit has some of the best online forums for a range of different topics, from broad subjects like sports to niche communities dedicated to obscure literature. There’s also a legal forum, r/LawFirm, that’s an informal community for lawyers to discuss running a law firm and the legal industry as a whole. There’s also a lawyer subreddit that you can join if you’re licensed.

7. Slack

Slack is a top-rated collaboration platform that offers individual channels for groups of users. There are several communities dedicated to the law, including LawyerSmack, which is comprised of private attorneys.

8. Law School Alumni Forums

Some law schools have online forums for alumni to stay connected with faculty and colleagues. While not every school offers an online forum for networking, if yours does, you can build vital industry contacts and further your practice. You’ll also get updates on news, trends, and in-person network events by participating in the forum.

Outlook on Online Forums

Remote and hybrid working models are the “new normal,” even for lawyers. Now that law firms and lawyers have seen the benefits in productivity, work-life balance, and enhanced communication afforded by remote work, there’s no going back.

Still, lawyer networking is essential for lawyers to grow their practice, no matter if it’s online or in-person. Along with joining forums to engage in discussions with other industry professionals, you can enhance your remote work with law practice management software. The right law firm software empowers lawyers to manage their practice from anywhere.

Start Networking Remotely

Networking is a big part of successful client acquisition for lawyers. Though it takes a little more work to keep up with networking as a lawyer working remotely, online lawyer forums can keep you connected to other industry professionals. And because you can engage with lawyers all over the country, you can find even more opportunities online than in person at networking events.

Article By Dan Bowman of PracticePanther

For more business of law legal news, click here to visit the National Law Review.

© Copyright 2023 PracticePanther

3 Tips to Improve Law Firm Websites

legal, business, McDougall Interactive, Danvers, Massachusetts, marketing

The best law firm websites are complete destinations, not pit stops. Many law firms focus more on the design aspect of their websites, rather than looking at the big picture. Google gets several billion searches a day, and it’s hardly because of the design of their website. Users know they can get something from it.

In order to have a well-rounded law firm marketing strategy, it is important to look beyond the surface of your website, and into the psychology of why people buy, as well as the ways they are interacting with your website based on data.

These 3 game changing tips will help you make your law firm website the best it can be.

1. Thought leadership at the center of your legal marketing strategy

It is said that people hire attorneys as much as they hire law firms, and that they deeply value thought leadership. I interviewed Prof. David Wilkins of Harvard Law School and he had this to say about leading with content and ideas.

 “So I think that thought leadership is very important and I think it’s increasingly important and this is something I think is true at all levels, wherever a lawyer is practicing. That’s because clients understand that the world is becoming increasingly complex and that they are looking for lawyers who can demonstrate an understanding of that complexity and also an ability to help them to navigate that complexity. So I do think things like writing or lecturing or speaking or blogging, all of these things can be very important in establishing a lawyer or a law firm for that matter as a thought leader.”

2. Add a blog and tie it to attorney business development

Adding a blog to your site is easy to do and will provide you with many benefits, as well as deepen the time people spend on your website. Back in 2012, Kevin O’Keefe of Lexblog had this to say about lawyers who are not blogging.

“Clients and potential clients look to blogs for information that shapes hiring decisions, according to multiple industry surveys; clearly, firms with blogs are the norm, rather than the exception. Blogging is quickly becoming an expected part of any firm’s marketing arsenal. Those who do not use blogs are behind, it is that simple.”

The good news is that a blog will not only help your website by positioning you as a thought leader, but it will also help your search engine optimization, give you something to share on social media, lure people into linking to your site, and give you content to share with prospects.

In an interview I did with business development coach Stuart Hirsch, on Blogging In Business Development For Law Firms, he confirmed that he believes in this strategy.

“If there’s something that a lawyer has written that has value to another person, passing that on is really valuable and blogs are such an easy way to provide that value.”

The general consensus from our interviews on the subject is that sharing helpful content whether it be blogs, client alerts, newsletters or LinkedIn updates, can be a great way to build relationships.

3. Conversion rate optimization

If you get a hundred visitors to your website, and one of them requests a free consultation or takes an action, then you have a 1% conversion rate. Setting up conversion tracking with goal conversions is the first step that many law firms completely miss, even if they have Google analytics installed.

Improving your conversion rate is essential now that search engine optimization is more complicated than ever. Social media sites are pushing paid social to compete with Google’s revenues, and paid search clicks can cost as much as $600 per visit.

I won’t go into great detail in this short post, but it is important for law firms to be aware of the amazing technology that is available to improve website leads and sales. The following are a few website marketing tools to check out:

Google Analytics: For tracking and improving visitor activity

ClickTale: Customer experience analysis

HubSpot: Comprehensive Internet marketing tool with attribution tracking

Usertesting.com: Video reviews of your website for $49 each

Feedbackarmy.com: Ask half a dozen questions to 10 people for $40

Unbouce.com: Landing page software with built-in A/B testing

It’s hard to improve your website without these kinds of tools, and people who know how to use them.

A few important things to consider adding to your website, if you want to increase conversions:

  • A clear value proposition of why you are different/better than other law firms
  • A better design and user experience
  • An exceptional mobile version of your site or ideally, a fully responsive design
  • Customer testimonials
  • Awards and affiliations
  • A top of the funnel call to action such, as an e-book for people that are not ready to hire you yet
  • Live Chat
  • Photos and videos to highlight attorneys and their thought leader content

Legal marketer Jonathan Fitzgerald told me recently on a podcast, how he likes to increase the credibility of his site through video and other means as well. Here’s what he had to say:

“We at Greenberg have started to post 30 second videos of attorneys on their profile pages just so that those that are visiting the page can not only see the attorney’s credentials, and the various awards, and speaking opportunities, and articles that have been published by that attorney, but they can also then click on the video and get a sense for the attorneys chemistry. What are they going to be like to work with day in and day out? Is there an emotional connection between the prospective client and the attorney?

Cognitive science tells us that most decisions are made first emotionally, and then they’re backed up second by reason. Obviously all of the credentials, the non‑static credentials, on an attorney’s website profile can give that second element that credentialing element, but the first element either has to be done in person or through video. We have found that video has been very helpful in creating that first touch point with a prospective client.”

Making your website more personal with content, podcasting, and video, as well as the other trust factors that I mentioned, can turn a lifeless site into an exciting destination.

New and improved law firm marketing

If your law firm website design is even a couple of years old and/or doesn’t provide a good mobile experience, then you might want to consider a redesign, and use the strategies and tactics above to improve it.

If your website is relatively new but doesn’t use these strategies, then with some relatively quick fixes, you can be off and running to your firms best year ever.

ARTICLE BY

John McDougall
OF
McDougall Interactive