Often imitated, never duplicated. When you are at the top of your game, the key is to build upon success and not sit back and congratulate yourself. Faegre.com—the premier law firm web site example of information-first focus—is better than ever, with no signs of slipping. The e-mail alerts improved this year, going to a better HTML format. If you have never visited this site, take an hour and take a lesson. Be careful Faegre, other firms are catching up, and catching on. STILL LOVE…personal site customization, outstanding interactive use.
THIS is what a home page should look like, when you are a diverse, international firm. Yeah MoFo, you just keep getting better! Everything on that front page is useful. No waste of space or useless graphics. Top left—the firm name. Top right—the firm’s tag line. Left-hand navigation, middle “what’s new”, right side “spotlight”. And the unique pieces—the MoFonics, Talk Radio, etc. are there for all to see. There is MoFo.com in Hebrew and Chinese. My only suggestion for 2003 improvement? Make sure the practice/industry sections also provide direct access to relevant events, alerts, pubs, attorneys—beyond the practice description and “what’s new.” Otherwise, pretty darn close to a perfect score.
The “Piper” remains, but every year it seems the names afterwards change. Growing up in Baltimore, it is hard to believe Piper is now one of the powerhouse firms in the nation. And the web presence continues to support the firm’s growth as well. I called MoFo the perfect home page, but this one ranks right up there—outstanding use of the front page. More firms should take note. There is something very pleasing to the eye in the color and design. Little touches—event registration, subscriptions, choice between short and expanded practice descriptions—lots of things that make it top-tier. And it has made the jump from “silver” to “platinum” in the last year.
If you can imagine what it is like to spend hundreds of hours evaluating these sites, you can also understand what a treat it is when you hit one that took the time themselves to develop a site of excellence. Another firm that has always been ahead of the technology and marketing curves. It is great to not only see growth, but that firms like H&H ride the momentum of online success. The new look & feel is better than the old one (that was good too). Outstanding branding, organization, updating, use of design, etc. Not to mention that this is only the main site. The “web gallery” features a number of sister sites that are often superior to many firms’ first and only presence. I even like “The Law Out West” tag.
In case you are wondering, I do look to see which areas were criticized in 2002 and have been fixed or improved in 2003. The firm has eliminated the worthless splash page, upgraded the careers site and maintained the overall excellence of the site’s cleanliness, content and sister sites. The search mechanism is strong. STILL LOVE…the display of pro bono work and accompanying banner ads.
Well, well. Look at the battle in the Twin Cities. RKMC.com is giving Faegre.com a run. The new site is superb. Almost looks like you studied the IMA reviews and Nifty Fifties to structure the best possible online home. Where to begin? Content-driven, audience diverse, interactive, searchable, customization. This is textbook usability excellence. Two quick notes of criticism. The firm owns robinskaplan.com, yet that does not get me to the site. Big mistake. Fix that. The firm lost a few points when IMA used the site contacts lists to e-mail the firm, requesting info on the new site, with no response (We gave it a week). You have to respond to these e-mails in some fashion. That is simply smart business. Otherwise, welcome to the land of platinum-status—top 10 of the 250 largest in the USA.
One of the best of the next-generation “very large firm” web sites. The home page is a nice combination of client tales, a little recent news and a link to the recruiting site. The display and combination of information for each office and practice area is well presented. My biggest gripe was that the download time for many pages was a touch too slow. Some of the clip art was a little stale. However, that is nit-picking. Each key end-user audience should find what they desire. The interactivity and navigation are improved. Some sections were in Spanish, where appropriate. Jones Day manages to satisfy a lot of interests without sacrificing much. This site shows that megafirms can get it done!
Do you know why I hate this firm? They have so much good stuff online that trying to see everything takes up my day. Forget just our brethren in the law firm community; Mayer Brown must have one of the most dedicated online business development programs in the world. Maybe I should solicit MB to do IMA reviews and awards just for their own sites? That would get pretty competitive. It would cost millions and millions of dollars to duplicate these efforts through traditional marketing means. There are mini-sites here that best the entire major sites of similarly-situated law firms. A tip—promote the mini-sites more beyond the home page. You could incorporate the “View All Sites” graphic into the bottom of the general navigation bar.
This is one of the more unique sites among the Top 250. Outside of being annoyed by the splash page, I found myself surfing through for nearly an hour. Like a Faegre, it is hard to provide a thumbnail review, because there is so much to talk about. Deep breath…the practice area sections (including the old cross-sell with “related practices”), news customization capabilities, Industry and World News from NewsEdge, some excellent sister sites promoted at the bottom of the home page. On and on. A keeper.
When Reed Smith’s web developers talk football, it ain’t the Steelers. It is Manchester United. Using a UK outfit for the next-generation of Reed Smith online, maybe going outside the U.S. was what was needed to “think outside the box.” The site is worthy of the firm’s rapid growth. Nothing is more attractive to the current client audience than the ability to customize the site to your liking. And while other site’s offer customization, this is especially strong. Someone interested in being alerted about certain career opportunities can do the “monster thing” and be informed. Other little touches like “download this document” and “add this item to my personal area” make it USEFUL. Weakness? The home page graphics are a little too overwhelming, taking the focus away from the content. And the “Legal News” showed me some good things about their competitors, as well as linking off to a number of sites that required passwords or subscriptions. I’d ditch the legal news and focus on Reed Smith news. This is doubly-true for the daily RS news e-mails. Lots of stuff from the UK and Europe. Little to nothing about the good old US of A.
