The criteria

How a law firm structures and organises its content online is a reflection of its focus and purpose. A cluttered 'free for all' that leaves users confused reflects badly, while a carefully considered navigation that prioritises what matters to both external and internal audiences, communicates clarity of thought.

Once you've cracked the information architecture, your focus should switch to the structure and flow of each web page and content modules used.

Content should be structured and curated for a time pressured audience. We reward the firms that employ a landing page mentality across the website.

The best law firms employ smart and fast search engines that serve up accurate, curated and filtered results, that are supported by pictorial prompts.

The worse, deliver an endless list of results, leaving the user to manually find what they are looking for. What does the latter say about a law firm's client service and brand?

Why should a law firm website be a one way experience? We reward firms that go the extra mile and create online interactivity, whether it be in the form of data tools and decision trees that allow interaction.

An online tool, if aligned with the firm's marketing and business strategies, can help promote a practice or industry specialism, and if updated regularly, have 'sticky' content to attract users back to your website.

We place great emphasis on firm's that fully utilise LinkedIn, and use a range of different channels to engage with different target audiences.

It should not be a 'one size fits all' approach. We no longer consider X a serious business channel and therefore it is not scored.

With less than half of law firms attempting to explain who they are, what they do, or why they matter up front on their website home page, there's a huge opportunity for those that do and we reward them accordingly.

When you've reviewed 100 law firm websites and seen similar logos, colour palettes, typography styles, images, and layouts, time and time again, you know there's opportunity abound for those who take a different route.

Not every law firm is the same in terms of their practice area focus, people and culture, therefore neither should their visual identity. 

It's 'people' not 'person' yet most law firms present their people as individuals with little or no content that suggests they have a collective culture and work as teams. It screams 'silo!'

The people landing page is the perfect opportunity for a law firm to deliver content beyond a search functionality. This should include firm-wide facts and figures, the firm's leaders, and cultural content, demonstrating that the firm works as team to solves its clients challenges.

There's no shortage of content across the legal industry, in fact there's too much, with most firms endlessly saying the same thing. Volcanoes of content.

We reward law firms where we see clear governance that delivers thoughtful and curated audience-first content that is aligned to the firm's business strategy. Less is always more.

The firms who take a measured and strategic approach to their social media content are well rewarded. The correct content needs to be served up on the right channel.

We also like to see the leader(s) of the firm active on LinkedIn, strong engagement levels, and social experiences that are enhanced by the firm's visual identity.