Monday, March 6, 2006
Law Firm Capabilities
Need a way to share information about your law firm's capabilities with prospective clients. Considering building customized internet sites for each client, they will consider themselves special for having had a unique site and content provided to them and be more likely to take a look at your marketing materials. What can be placed on this site.... attorney capabilities, recent successes, upcoming events, clients who might be impressive to your prospective client, a proposal to provide services, firm newsletters .... the possibilities are endless. What is great about a law firm portal is that the content need not be remailed or resent, it can be updated on a prospective client's site as needed and a prospective client can then refer to updated content if/when the need for additional legal representation arises.
Friday, March 3, 2006
Client Visits
Do you ever have client visits scheduled but are not sure what additional services you can offer to them? If so, offering your client a law firm extranet / portal with information of interest to them might be something you want to consider. This offer, especially when coupled with a system demonstration, is one way to really impress your client!!!!
Saturday, February 25, 2006
Sharing Contact Information Lists With Clients
What is the best way to get administrative staff contact information out to clients?
Law firm portals are one method. Most law firm public websites publish attorney contact information but not the information for paralegals, clerks, etc... If a law firm would like specific clients to be directly in touch with individuals who can help them on a specific issue (e.g. billing, technology, litigation support, administration), a law firm portal can be used to publish contact information for these firm employees.
This allows clients to get answers to issues more quickly, and in a manner where the law firm's attorneys need not be troubled with ministerial duties such as providing email address or phone numbers to clients.
Law firm portals are one method. Most law firm public websites publish attorney contact information but not the information for paralegals, clerks, etc... If a law firm would like specific clients to be directly in touch with individuals who can help them on a specific issue (e.g. billing, technology, litigation support, administration), a law firm portal can be used to publish contact information for these firm employees.
This allows clients to get answers to issues more quickly, and in a manner where the law firm's attorneys need not be troubled with ministerial duties such as providing email address or phone numbers to clients.
Wednesday, January 11, 2006
Marketing Portals
Portals continue to be a great way to market your law firm. Putting up a portal for a client as part of a RFP process is one way to help differentiate your law firm from others attempting to get a client's legal business.
Saturday, August 20, 2005
System technology - how important is it?
Law firm portals are not terribly sophisticated systems in terms of today's large and complex applications. Any of a number of technologies are capability of putting out strong, functional portal systems. But, here are a few things to watch out for.
1) Avoid flat file database packages or open source database packages. There are numerous portal systems running on relational database packages (Oracle or SQL Server based) - enough so that one can safely exclude proprietary database packages and open source (mySQL) packages when selecting a technology backbone for their portal. Choices like this align the company deploying a law firm portal with vendors and technologies offering maintenance contacts, security patches, and service level assurances one does not typically receive from open source packages.
2) Avoid systems that require internet browser plugins. Systems that require java to be running on the browser, or any other bolt-on package, will not be well received by your clients. They might not have the required plug-ins, and if they do not, your portal will not work on their machines. Deploy a portal that runs solely on Internet Explorer or Netscape Navigator. Also, be sure your portal package is backward compatible a few browser versions.
3) Ask the portal vendor how difficult it is to add new fields or components to the law firm portal package. If they have done a good job coding their system, it should be easy for them to support your needs going forward. It is not wise for clients to get "locked-in" to certain sets of functionality in today's business world where change is all around of and client needs or requests might dictate that you deploy other types of functionality within your law firm portal.
4) Find a vendor that has chosen to keep the interface relatively simple. Cool FLASH introductions or sophisticated graphics look quite nice, but if you have a client with a relatively slow internet connection or an older PC, these additions might make their user experience poor (and, no one will use a system that takes more than 3-5 seconds to load up). Keeping the interface simple will position you to provide better response time and a more positive user experience (since all of us prefer systems that respond quickly). Law firm portals are business systems, not entertainment vehicles.
1) Avoid flat file database packages or open source database packages. There are numerous portal systems running on relational database packages (Oracle or SQL Server based) - enough so that one can safely exclude proprietary database packages and open source (mySQL) packages when selecting a technology backbone for their portal. Choices like this align the company deploying a law firm portal with vendors and technologies offering maintenance contacts, security patches, and service level assurances one does not typically receive from open source packages.
2) Avoid systems that require internet browser plugins. Systems that require java to be running on the browser, or any other bolt-on package, will not be well received by your clients. They might not have the required plug-ins, and if they do not, your portal will not work on their machines. Deploy a portal that runs solely on Internet Explorer or Netscape Navigator. Also, be sure your portal package is backward compatible a few browser versions.
3) Ask the portal vendor how difficult it is to add new fields or components to the law firm portal package. If they have done a good job coding their system, it should be easy for them to support your needs going forward. It is not wise for clients to get "locked-in" to certain sets of functionality in today's business world where change is all around of and client needs or requests might dictate that you deploy other types of functionality within your law firm portal.
4) Find a vendor that has chosen to keep the interface relatively simple. Cool FLASH introductions or sophisticated graphics look quite nice, but if you have a client with a relatively slow internet connection or an older PC, these additions might make their user experience poor (and, no one will use a system that takes more than 3-5 seconds to load up). Keeping the interface simple will position you to provide better response time and a more positive user experience (since all of us prefer systems that respond quickly). Law firm portals are business systems, not entertainment vehicles.
ASP's - What in the world are they?
Most legal extranet and law firm portal systems are provided by ASP's. This stands for "Application Service Provider". What is an ASP? It is a company that provides computer applications that run within their own data center. The clients of the application system connect to it via the internet.
This is quite different from the traditional model where a company or individual purchases software from a software vendor, than installs it on their own personal computer or server.
Why are ASP's sprouting up and what is good about them? They significantly lessen the complexity of putting new application systems up within an organization. Since one does not need to bother with setting up new hardware (servers) or installing software, one can focus on learning to use the software and making sure it possesses the features and functionality required to support a business process. And, obviously, technical support issues are identified and resolved by the ASP (not your company's IT group), typically resolved swiftly since the provision of the software application to clients is their core competency.
ASP's also typically provide subscription based pricing models that provide more of a "pay as you go" model - fewer startup costs replaced by a series of monthly usage payments.
This is quite different from the traditional model where a company or individual purchases software from a software vendor, than installs it on their own personal computer or server.
Why are ASP's sprouting up and what is good about them? They significantly lessen the complexity of putting new application systems up within an organization. Since one does not need to bother with setting up new hardware (servers) or installing software, one can focus on learning to use the software and making sure it possesses the features and functionality required to support a business process. And, obviously, technical support issues are identified and resolved by the ASP (not your company's IT group), typically resolved swiftly since the provision of the software application to clients is their core competency.
ASP's also typically provide subscription based pricing models that provide more of a "pay as you go" model - fewer startup costs replaced by a series of monthly usage payments.
Wednesday, August 17, 2005
Leveraging your law firm website
Yes, you have invested lots of time and effort and money into your law firm website, but nobody looks at it. Why is this?
Well, certainly one issue is that people can not find it. A law firm needs to be sure a site does well with search engines, that they promote their website, that it is properly registered with search engines, that the site is interesting, etc...
But, is not another issue that law firms do not directly the organizations most likely to use their services in the future -- their existing customers -- to their website? It is said that 20% of legal business is prone to being lost every year and that law firms need to find ways to rebuild this work. Perhaps the best possible strategy to get more work is to encourage your existing clients - those who trust you the most -- to use your services in other practice areas.
A great way to do this is with law firm portals. A firm can build a portal site to post information a client wants to or needs to see -- for example invoices, contact lists, trial exhibits, etc... Then, one the same site, a law firm can make available strategic marketing information that will help them get more business from these clients.
What kind of information can be posted? Often, the same information that is posted on a firm's website -- areas of expertise, published works, etc...
The key difference here is that it is likely that an existing client will see this information, since it is likely the client will be on this site. Thus, the marketing information previously developed is viewed by very likely clients of other practice groups, which in turn may indeed help to generate more leads and business for a law firm.
Well, certainly one issue is that people can not find it. A law firm needs to be sure a site does well with search engines, that they promote their website, that it is properly registered with search engines, that the site is interesting, etc...
But, is not another issue that law firms do not directly the organizations most likely to use their services in the future -- their existing customers -- to their website? It is said that 20% of legal business is prone to being lost every year and that law firms need to find ways to rebuild this work. Perhaps the best possible strategy to get more work is to encourage your existing clients - those who trust you the most -- to use your services in other practice areas.
A great way to do this is with law firm portals. A firm can build a portal site to post information a client wants to or needs to see -- for example invoices, contact lists, trial exhibits, etc... Then, one the same site, a law firm can make available strategic marketing information that will help them get more business from these clients.
What kind of information can be posted? Often, the same information that is posted on a firm's website -- areas of expertise, published works, etc...
The key difference here is that it is likely that an existing client will see this information, since it is likely the client will be on this site. Thus, the marketing information previously developed is viewed by very likely clients of other practice groups, which in turn may indeed help to generate more leads and business for a law firm.
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