Examine Your Current State
There are mass quantities of information available on the internet pertaining to e-lawyering. It is not my goal to simply add to this overwhelming stream of data. My goal is to dissect this data, refine, clarify, and organize it. With that said, I want you to take a high level approach to beginning your transition to the online delivery of legal services, or e-lawyering. It is crucial that you have a solid plan for fundamental areas of execution. If you do, the specific methods by which you execute certain strategies and tasks will not matter, because you will have a solid foundation.
Compliment, Evolve, or Start New
You probably already have a law practice or possibly an online web presence. One of your most important duties will be to decide whether your new web strategy will compliment, evolve, or be completeley separate from your existing set-up. In the case of an existing web presence, I can almost guarantee that you will need to make significant changes in order to compete in and dominate the emerging market. We will discuss the various strategies for integrating, evolving, or starting the online delivery of legal services from scratch.
Legal and Ethical Concerns
As lawyers and paralegals, you are undoubtedly concerned with the legal and ethical obligations involved with any type of electronic delivery of legal information and services. Fortunately, the ABA and state bars have begun to openly accept lawyers and legal professionals who harness the power of technology to deliver legal services and information more effectively. We will thoroughly examine the legal and ethical climate as it stands today.
Online Presence and Delivery Method
There is no doubt that you will not be able to compete with more advanced firms and companies without a solid online presence. Unfortunately, too many legal sites are brochures created by large conglomerates on an assembly line. If you want to compete in the emerging marketplace, you will need extensive programming and professional design. Your design must always be geared toward marketing an end goal. I have seen far too many of the popular Firm Site® projects created by FindLaw® which are wholly inefficient.
Marketing
There is really no such thing as "legal marketing". Firms who promise to deliver "legal marketing" also tend to be inefficient. The truth is that legal marketing encompasses many facets that you must engage in on a daily basis. You must use the new tools available at your disposal as well as long standing "old school" marketing techniques. As I mentioned earlier, your website design and programming should be a dynamic marketing tool. Not only do you have to focus on attracting potential clients to your site, you must keep them coming back. Rarely will you retain a client on a single visit. Get ready for an exciting look at the many possibilities available for marketing your online legal business.
Summary
What you have read is a very high level overview of what this blog will entail. I will eventually go into detail on the intricacies of everything discussed above. Please subscribe via the RSS link above. In addition, please use the share button below to post anything of interest to your favorite social media site.