Like the “original six” in the
NHL, Visalaw.com was one of the first in the “law firm web
site league”, and the franchise continues to dominate, winning
the Lord Stanley equivalent, an IMA Platinum. In trying to
find something to criticize, I will say that the site did not
have a news update for two full days (firms with a thousand
attorneys sometimes go months). I never meet an immigration
lawyer that does not use Siskind Susser’s site to learn what
is going on. For clients, the home page offers everything from
live chat to an 800-number, a consultation request form
(complete with credit card capabilities), and the world-famous
immigration bulletin (archived and searchable). Now, Greg
Siskind has added a blog to the mix, making it even easier to
add a quick note to the web. The site calls itself the
“immigration law portal”, and it is. The home page is the
Yahoo equivalent for the practice, and dozens of firms
throughout the world have tried to copy them. But, when you
keep moving ahead, it is hard to catch up.
There are a handful of law firms
that clearly raised the stakes for the entire industry in the
creation of a web site. For immigration law, it is
Visalaw.com. For the larger law firm (although they are a
touch below the 250 biggest), it is Miller Nash. They can
smile as dozens of firms have copied much of the design,
functionality and marketing integration right from their home
page and interior. But, behind the scenes, there is continued
use of the web and e-mail in proposals and newsletters. An
attorney at one firm I worked with showed me a Miller Nash
client info update he thought was a great idea. I was like,
“that is Miller Nash”, as if the item could be easily
copycatted. It could not. They’ve upgraded the client service
section, with the live chat feature we all know so well. At
millernash.com/feeds.asp, publications are available as RSS
feeds. Of course, the great personalization tools are still
there for you.
“Welcome to the web site of the
founders of insurance bad faith law” is the greeting. Few
firms manage to capture the essence of the practice and
end-user audience as well as they do at SBD. I love the
publications section, which is not only useful in providing
the options to read, print or download, but is divided into
“consumer” and “attorney”. Super events calendar. Great home
page with soothing design, videos, “my resources”
customization. This site is fantastic.
In doing the small/mid-size firm
reviews this year, the “theme” that kept hitting me was
“copycat”. Yes, it is a form of flattery and all that jazz.
One IMA nomination looked like they Xeroxed the Parker &
Waichman site and just changed the URL. P&W was clever
enough to grab the “your lawyer” domain name, and put in the
work to build a site that captures the consumer visitor. You
can also visit the injurytalk.com bulletin board. For
consumer-oriented practices, this is how you use the web to
your benefit.
Before reviewing this brand new
web site, the most I knew about Pierce Atwood is that I had
played against them in the Maine law firm softball league
while a summer associate at Bernstein Shur in Portland. They
may remember me from that summer of ’90. Remember the guy
complaining about positions or places in the batting order? I
probably also argued about a call or two in the field. Well, I
can not tell you I remember who had the best team, but I can
tell you Pierce Atwood now has the best law firm web site in
the state—hands down. An excellent home page is accompanied by
deep content, with that patented Saturno Design back-end
engine that makes the data
sing.
