A New Way of Thinking

A New Way of Thinking
Using technology to market these law firms has proven to be successful for business.
By Rachel Campbell

Aug/Sep '03 Issue

They snake through the walls peaking into and out of rooms, dropping off little nuggets and picking up others, all while going unnoticed and practically unappreciated. Old and new buildings alike are haunted with the presence of these thin, long intruders. Fearing them only causes panic and stress. Embracing them opens the doors to reach and attract potential clients.

Two law firms, Gallagher, Callahan & Gartrell in Concord, N.H., and Belluck & Fox in New York, have chosen the latter option and are successfully finding ways to connect their offices to clients in ways that never would have been possible before the Internet. Using the power of the cables that connect computer users to the outside world, these firms have taken an active step to pursue clients that might never have found them otherwise. It doesn’t matter if the firm has just opened its doors or if it has decades of history behind it, the key to creating a valuable online presence comes down to a few, simple concepts.

If These Walls Could Talk
On Concord’s historic Main Street, a brick building with recessed arches harks back to its colonial beginnings. Over the years, the building housed a number of important individuals and groups, including the 14th U.S. President Franklin Pierce. Today, the historic relic retains its original charm, while carefully masking the hub of technological advances racing through its walls and connecting the law firm of Gallagher, Callahan & Gartrell to potential and existing clients.

Since moving into the building in 1977, the multidisciplinary government and regulatory law firm has been on the forefront of technology, carefully updating the structure while still maintaining its original Adamsesque integrity.

A step inside the main lobby provides the first symbol that this building has been fully integrated into the 21st century. A flat-screen monitor displays the firm’s Web site, which clients can browse through or use to access other sites while waiting for appointments. It’s all part of Gallagher’s commitment to provide its clients with a complete package that fully uses the technology at hand.

“We believe that everything we do has substantial relationship-building value,” said Donald Pfundstein, managing director in charge of business development for the firm. “What we are selling is not simply a result, process or product. We are selling an experience — the total experience of a relationship with us.”

Selling this experience is a multi-step process that relies heavily on technology, particularly the use of the Internet and e-mail. One of the first points of contact Gallagher has with potential clients is its Web site, www.gcglaw.com, which was introduced in 1999 with the help from outside consultant Amy Campbell of Infoworks (www.infoworks1.com).

With input from the firm, Campbell designed a straightforward site using simple HTML. The site is overseen by Campbell, who is managing producer, with help from a part-time technical person who updates and adds new pages to the site. “Our entire approach is using technology smartly,” Campbell said.

Even without flashy elements, the Gallagher Web site makes an effective impact with its ever-expanding amount of content provided by the lawyers and professionals in the office.

“When we started the Web site, we wanted to go beyond a brochure. … By publishing information of value, we were able to differentiate the firm and the attorneys. It worked beyond our expectations. Google has fallen in love with the site because of all the content we have. Google ranks our site very high,” Campbell said.

Pfundstein said he requires each of the more than 30 attorneys and professionals in the firm to consistently provide articles for the Web site. “I am very aggressive in pursuing people. We have about six to seven new pieces a month. Some months we might have 10 articles. Generally, people are really good about it because they like getting their stuff out there,” he said.

Another component of Gallagher’s marketing strategy is an integrated monthly e-newsletter. “The e-newsletter goes out once a month to clients and potential clients who have signed up for it. It summarizes articles written that month and links back to the Web site,” Campbell said. “It’s a one-two punch that works really well.”

Although Campbell wanted to start distributing an e-newsletter when the site first went live in 1999, Pfundstein was more cautious about rushing into such a step. “I was concerned that our product just started generating content, and I was concerned about a false start.”

When the firm did start distributing it, the e-newsletter turned out to be huge success for Gallagher. So huge, in fact, it received first place in the Legal Marketing Association’s “Your Honor Awards” in the Electronic Media category this year. The firm newsletter was judged on creativity, originality, and measurement and quality of executing its strategic objective.

With the help of the press circulating information about the award and print advertising stating, “Still not reading our award-winning newsletter? Why not?” the number of subscribers to Gallagher’s e-newsletter has grown to nearly 3,000.

The newsletter includes new articles produced each month, as well as updates about events, such as seminars the firm puts together. A recent seminar about environmental enforcement issues was announced in the newsletter, which also provided background information. Individuals who attended the session were given a high-tech Microsoft PowerPoint presentation displayed on a 60-inch plasma screen in the conference room.

It’s all part of Pfundstein’s internal directive to Gallagher professionals that it should be “content next to cash,” said Pfundstein. Campbell said she agrees. “Advertising doesn’t go very far on the Internet, but information does,” she said.

Getting a new client in the door is only the beginning of the Gallagher experience. Once a client is working with the firm, the technology available to those within the office reinforces the client/attorney relationship.

“Number one, clients have to feel instantly in touch with the lawyer,” said Mike Ruedig, Gallagher’s managing director in charge of technology. “All contact information is readily available on the computer system. We are very much an e-mail-oriented organization. Using a virtual private network, every individual in the office, on the road or at home, has access to the network. As far as the client is concerned, they have constant access to me.”

Another feature that keeps clients close to their attorneys is an integrated voice mail and e-mail system. Once a voice message comes in, it shows up in the attorney’s e-mail inbox. The office also uses PerfectLaw’s Attorney’s Information Manager system to manage clients, schedules and documents within the firm.

Building a Strong Foundation
The 37th floor of a modern, sleek midtown Manhattan skyscraper holds the newly formed firm of Belluck & Fox, which opened its doors last year. Although the firm is still young, technology — particularly the Internet — has given Belluck & Fox a strong foundation on which to build up a large clientele.

From the start, the three-attorney firm, which specializes in environmental toxic injury cases such as asbestos, has focused on reaching potential clients with several Web sites designed to serve its specific needs. “We use almost entirely Internet Web site-based marketing,” said Joseph Belluck, partner in the firm. “We set up several different Web sites. One for the firm and one for specific types of cases and jurisdictions.”

To get the sites up and running, Belluck & Fox sought the help of Consultwebs.com, a Web design and consulting company based in North Carolina, and particularly Dale Tincher, president of the company. The firm performed an extensive search to find the right consulting company, and the choice to go with Consultwebs.com was a combination of factors, said Belluck.

“Number one, he [Tincher] seemed to share a similar philosophy in terms of the use of the Web site as a main marketing device. He seemed to be very good on search engine optimization, which was a big factor. A lot of other Web site consultants were pushing very high-cost products, such as sponsored ads on Yahoo and Google or rental of domain names they owned. Dale was the only person who said we will go out and buy you your own domain name and provide search engine optimization for you.”

“When they first contacted us, they had some special needs. They had several specialty sites that needed to be up and running right away. The main site took a little longer,” said Tincher, who now helps maintain the firm’s site.

The specialized sites were live in about two to three weeks after initially contacting Tincher. The main site (www.belluckfox.com) took about three months to get from start to finish, Belluck said. “A lot of that was spent on compiling information to go on the Web site and on the design. We relied on Dale to come up with the initial design, and my partner and I had a lot of input on what the end design was. It was a very collaborative effort,” he said.

The firm’s main site serves three primary purposes. As a new firm, the partners wanted the Web site to serve as a way to let people know their New York law firm specializes in environmental toxic cases. They also wanted to attract potential clients and provide a wealth of information for visitors. Along with general legal and contact information, the site offers advice on hospitals people can go to for treatment, cancer centers and other content related to the different types of cases the firm specializes in. “Our emphasis has been on putting a lot of content on the Web site,” Belluck said.

According to Tincher, content is one of the most important components of a successful site. “It [the Web site] has to be compelling and provide information that will make people want to stay on the site,” he said.

To keep the site fresh, Belluck and his partner Jordan Fox try to add updates on a weekly basis with new areas of practice, news items, treatment information and other related topics. “Any time we have information and give it to Dale, it’s usually up within 24 hours,” Belluck said. “We find information and sometimes they [Consultwebs.com] also come across items and e-mail it to us and ask us if we would be interested in adding it to the site. It’s a nice thing for us.”

Having specialty sites is another one of Belluck & Fox’s key successes. “They have asbestos and other sophisticated practice topics that justify an individual site and, quite frankly, rank higher in search engine queries because they are more focused,” Tincher said.

One of Tincher’s primary concerns when working on a firm’s site is making sure potential clients can find it. “If you can’t be found in the search engines, Web shoppers can’t consider you. We help people with search engine optimization. For example, when you type in ‘New York asbestos lawyers,’ Belluck & Fox comes up in the top 10,” Tincher said.

Along with multiple Web sites and high rankings on search engines, an evaluation form on the firm’s site gives potential clients a direct link to the attorneys. “We set up a procedure designed so that when a person fills out a form on the site, the information is instantly sent to us. We will then respond within a half-hour or hour,” Belluck said.

The evaluation form requires a client to include basic contact information and answer a few questions such as, “Describe the type of product or accident you are inquiring about,” and “Tell us the injury or illness caused by the product or accident.”

“We have actually been very surprised at the number of responses we get,” Belluck said. “A day doesn’t go by when we don’t get several cases submitted to us — about three to five. … There are a fair number that don’t turn out to be worth pursuing, but the investment we made in the Web site has more than paid off.”

Once clients are working with Belluck & Fox, the firm’s office uses a high-tech communication and computer system running Time Matters that allows the attorneys to stay in close contact with their clients.

Building Your Own Client Base
When considering how to best use the Internet for marketing, the most important aspect is content and a lot of it. This keeps people coming back to the site seeking more information and helps the site show up on search engines.

Having someone in the firm take an active role in the upkeep of the site is also important. “The best advice for other firms is to have a lead partner take responsibility, not a committee. You need a take-charge person to invest the time, make decisions and move on. The partner should be the business development strategist or connected with those folks in the firm. Committees are a disaster,” Pfundstein said.

Using an outside consultant is also advisable. “The biggest mistake people can make is having someone not knowledgeable build the site,” Tincher said. “You can have a neighbor or college student build the site, but if it’s not professional in appearance and functional, no one will stay. The public is becoming Web savvy, plus competitive Web sites are likely to be superior.”

And most importantly, have a vision for the firm and follow it. “Before you go anywhere, you need a vision, a strategic plan that differentiates you from other professional service providers in your markets. Otherwise, in designing a Web site you will wind up with an electronic version of the throw-away brochure,” Pfundstein said.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Rachel Campbell is a freelance writer based in Los Angeles.