I have to admit, the little home page flash show with sounds (the ocean) was quite soothing. It is literally a flashy site that looks good. It would appear that it was designed by a good design shop, but not necessarily one that knows how to dispense professional services info. One hint is the “company” link at the bottom of the page. Law firms rarely refer to themselves as a “company”. And heaven knows, law firms do not run like Fortune 1000 businesses. Some will love this site, for the look. There are a lot of “content” shortcomings, with no search mechanism and no related-content components. Needless to say, the site is a great improvement on the previous version. And the good ole IMA is a northeasterner. What do I know about what is acceptable in the Deep South?
Not a lot has changed here (which is okay), although I believe a new srz.com is on the horizon. This review took place in April 03. Still good use of the web, with some nice visuals, such as videos and other multimedia (see “seminar highlights”). They do not offer up a ton of anything, but a lot of good things about a mix of topics. WILL ALWAYS LOVE…the directions page providing me with subway stops (I prefer paying $2 than sitting in a cab in Midtown)…the alumni section…contact page detail. WILL ALWAYS HATE…one day you will tell me about your associates. No phone? No e-mail address? IMA will not bitchin’ until SRZ publishes full associate biographies!!!!!
Like the firm; hate the home page. I’m also not thrilled to click on home page headlines and await PDFs for content that should just be put on a regular web site page. Not a big fan of the “Doing more. Seeing more. Being More.” Theme. I just thought of those three monkeys (hear no evil…). I don’t know why, exactly. The Public Service Project is impressive. I started laughing when I read an associate bio (the old name, rank and serial number routine) and clicked on “longer version” which added the guy’s school. What credentials! Hey, you headhunters stay off our site and keep your paws off our lawyers! The site map and searching are very useful. But, the highlight of the whole site was the “join us” careers page. Without question, a “nifty fifty” winner. When you are going through sites and on the verge of falling asleep on the keyboard, and you can make me laugh (purposely!), that is a feat.
The search results for the publications were really wacky. I’m not sure exactly what the order is, but whatever it is…not good. I was extremely disappointed by the “headline news”, with the last item coming over FIVE MONTHS AGO. Updating is clearly an issue. Did the firm take a holiday? Did you fire your marketing department to increase per-partner profits? Did the person who updates the web site leave the firm, and take the updating password with him/her? What up with that, dog? For shame. And what makes this slippage so bad is that it is one of the sharpest looking and designed sites I’ve seen. The look and feel of the home page is fantastic. And, get this…the theme and tagline actually seem to work. This coming from the king of the tagline-haters club.
U-P-D-A-T-E. Spell it with me.
If you do not know Ballard, the site provides a nice brochure-like tour through the firm. The site, however, is so graphics-heavy, that at times I was waiting around for the next page. The case studies are good, and have stayed up to date. The “events” page was a little shocking, as it only pertained to three practices on this day. It is good to see that the labor and employment practice (probably the best in Philadelphia among the “biggies”) continues to thrive. The site fails, though, to highlight one of the “always in the news” firms. Recently, I read what I had been thinking…that the firm was losing ground in the City of Brotherly Love. The web presence has improved over each of the last three years, but still has a way to go.
It is rare that a site offers a page entitled “billing” (complete with some great comparison charts), but in this age of corporate legal fee cost-cutting, it is a smart inclusion. And a toll-free number to boot! The site strength is in putting forth a good overview of D&S. The practice pages offer a brief description, with the option of a more detailed version. The home page rotates the office locations. Since there were no events or seminars going on, I could not see what might have been in those places. I would love to see a notation regarding whether a link is to a pdf, word doc or in the case of a nice “doing business in China” link, a power point presentation. There is room for more, but the presence is sharp.
Excellent use of a home page, with a somewhat unique item—featured alumni—as part of the rotating content. On the bios, I was not real big on the M-H Lawyers.com logo and link. It really serves no purpose, except to offer up another resource with other lawyers and law firms to read about. The “practice areas” listing and content are improved. Another site that shows improvement as each year goes by.
It takes a keen eye to notice that the attorneys have generic bios and customized versions for certain practice areas. That is something many firms have been trying to incorporate into bio dbs for some time. The site also makes great use of an automated system that incorporates what you see on the web into marketing materials ala PDF. McKenna has a clean home page, good navigation. I was disappointed to find that the practice areas were a little old school (long, scrolling text), without linking directly to relevant events and publications. The cool alumni map is still there…a nice carryover from the old site.
One of the things that this home page accomplishes, where so many fail, is to offer up a nice, tightly worded description of the firm (it could still use some work, being a little more effective, but at least you tried). So many firms fail to recognize that not everybody knows who you are. I learned it in law school, again in practice, and again in my law marketing career—the only people that know who you are, are those that know who you are (IMA, you are so eloquent!). In this case, I know Snell & Wilmer because of the excellent program that partner Russell Stowers participated in during the ABA Law Practice Management Fall Meeting last year in Tucson. Offering up some time to ABA LPM is never a bad idea for any firm (hint). Site content could still be a little stronger and deeper. The biggest no-no was that the “news headline” was over five weeks old on this date, and the second headline a month older still. Those headlines appear throughout the site, which makes the staleness stand out even more.
As with every large firm, certain practice areas need to supply some fresh stuff to the marketing department. A few key areas featured ancient articles that barely pre-dated the handing down of the Ten Commandments. Overall, the site was better than a year ago, in terms of keeping news and events current. It avoids the cookie-cutter look, with different graphics than at many sites. Especially liked the articles and presentations page.
