AMLAW 100 Web Sites and Legal Industry Blogs: Foundational Best Practices

Law firm Web sites are ten years old, so we finally have enough data to analyze "foundational best practices" for legal industry Web sites. Deborah McMurray Associates and Content Pilot LLC commissioned the first annual best practices analysis of the AMLAW 100 Web sites. Research of broad Web industry best practices relating to usability, communication, information hierarchy, navigation, accessibility, searchability and others provided the launch point for determining how these would translate into the legal industry.

Web sites continue to be one of the single highest marketing expenditures, and the Web site is, for most firms, the most accessible and visible communications tool. Find out whether the top firms are doing the best things and setting the highest industry standards. Whether your law firm has 3,000 lawyers or 100, you will walk away with an understanding of how to ensure that your Web site visitors get what they need.

In the world of communication, Blogs have quickly gone from fringe to mainstream. The legal industry is the fastest growing blog segment, with hundreds more launching each day. Is it too late for your firm/lawyers to get on board? No-because the great "blawgs" will rise to the top and the others will be left behind. Approached sensibly and realistically, a well-done blog is a great equalizer-the largest firms with the largest budgets have no edge over a small firm with a modest amount to invest. Blogs will make your firm's Web site more visible, can be (and should be) an integral part of your PR strategy, and how, done right, will groom marketing superstars from within your firm's attorney ranks.

Topics will include:

• A review of the ten foundational best practices-and the criteria included in each category
  
• Graphs for each of the ten best practices, showing the percentages of AMLAW 100 firms that scored excellent to poor
• A checklist of ways you can improve your firm's Web site.
• Weblogs: overview, definitions
• Blogs as a marketing vehicle
• Why Google loves blogs
• How blogscan drive your Web strategy
  
• Debunking the myths about blogs and PR
  
• Integrating blogs into your firm's content strategy
  
• RSS: what is it, why does it matter?
  
• RSS as market intelligence
  

Moderator:
Elizabeth Lampert
Director, LJN's Web Audio Division
President, Elizabeth Lampert PR

Speakers:

Deborah McMurray
Principal
Deborah McMurray Associates and Content Pilot LLC.

Rick Klau
Vice President
FeedBurner, Inc.