I recognized the Crowell site because it matched many of the ads I’ve seen in GC-related magazines. There was a time when I preached that the web site and your advertising should not be the same. Times change. They should be coordinated, and Crowell does a good job here. The home page is sharper and more colorful than many a site. Most of the things that I was highly critical about on the last review have been fixed. How could the subscription page still be blank two years later, though? Good events page. Nice branding. Solid search. Smart archiving. A little short on encouraging communication. The use of “expertise” is a little questionable, though. Ethics issues, you know.
You’ve got to try and get that grayrobinson domain without the dash, from the cyber squatter that has a hold of it. You still need dedicated office pages, but otherwise, the site continues to grow. The balance is still weighted a little more toward overview, but the additional info is there, if you look for it. The practice pages are actually well written. And while the practice pages do not incorporate related news items, the bios do.
The firm might not be as big anymore, but the site continues to show that there is no shortage of people, places and things going on there. A lot of added-touches make the site stronger than it might first appear. Very few firms point out to news items on other sites. Outside of having to monitor the links for accuracy, I’ve never been sure why not. You can see the firm in the news, rather than just through press releases and its own articles. The newsroom promotes story and speaker ideas for visitors. I liked the brochure download options—so I can grab the insert that might be relevant to me. After some experience with Sky Radio, while I appreciate having the audio clip as a web site component, there are more cost-effective ways of doing the same thing today.
As is the case with labor & employment, large “one practice specific” areas like IP have an advantage on the web. There is little need to negotiate space or focus when you do one thing. K&K continues to keep a nice site current. Nothing stands out as unique, but the right messages are put forth, easy to find and utilize.
Looked a lot like the Sidley site. No, the Kirkland site. Hmmmm. Three relatively large Chicago-based firms looking alike. Not the first time. Not the last. The “usual” fare. Solid throughout, but nothing really stands out as terribly good or terribly bad. Up to date and well-maintained.
Outside of the lack of any changing content or highlights on the home page, I found the “Polaroid Photo” collage to be a refreshing change from site after site of clip art from cities and courthouses. I also liked the brief descriptive sentence, and the listing of offices at the top of the page. The slogan is now “Breadth. Depth. Results.” Last time, they were “…at the top of our game.” They’ve still got game, with solid organization and all of the “basics” in place. Outside of a little slowness in surfing, I found everything that I would look for. A few little weaknesses in search result quality and layout.
Thank goodness, the splash page is finally gone. Hallelujah! However, the shade of red on the home page nearly blinded me. If you get out a high-powered magnifying glass, you can see that there are lines of type showing off many of the firm’s deserved accolades. “History” has a nice timeline feature. And once you get past the home page, the site is actually very well organized and user-friendly. The “last visited” and “bookmark” features allow you to maximize your surf time. This is a good example of a site that is better than what you expect from the cover. Fix the home page and you’ve got yourself a top-tier presence. Excellent organization. So much better than the last time around!!
I guess you can call it unique now when you see a large law firm web site with a gavel, scales of justice, and the old handshake. The design might not be the most effective, and the home page is probably one of the weakest parts of the site. I’m STILL annoyed that the attorney directory is just an ABCs. Basically, this is the same site with the same strengths and weaknesses from two years ago. Still much more news and information than meets the eye. They are clearly keeping it up. Yet, areas like attorneys and offices are still sub par. The reality is a little redesign and better-powered databases would probably prove quite useful. It would not take much to increase your online business development presence to the highest level.
I had no familiarity with this firm, so the first trip to the web site was going to be my introduction. It was interesting to see the “international law firm” – with a list of 11 states and Chile (which produce some great, inexpensive red wines). The home page is a map. You can scroll over the state and see the location. It would be great—if it was part of the “locations” or “offices” page. But not here. The design is a little too much. And the coordination of some content made little sense. However, you’d hit a page like “diversity” and see a better job than most firms—in displaying the info and actually being diverse. The headlines at the bottom of each page need to go. Move them to the home page and a news section, but not there. The bios look pretty good. And there is some decent content in PDF articles and a few powerpoints. I did feel a sense of uniqueness. That alone is worth a lot. A few changes here and there would strengthen the presence.
OK, now I know the labor & employment group is doing their share of business development. Now, the rest of you on a very lengthy laundry list of practice areas should think about helping the marketing department out a bit. The specialty groups list is fine, but the practice list needs a little organizational tightening. “Boy, thanks. We did not know that” is probably your response. The home page is nicely structured and does a good job introducing a visitor to the firm.
