Law Firm 4.0 Blog

New Website Case Study: Oklahoma firm Doerner (dsda.com)

Doerner Saunders Daniel & Anderson LLP ("Doerner," which rhymes with burner) is the oldest law firm in Oklahoma - its founding and Oklahoma's statehood happened at about the same time.  It is a fresh-thinking, contemporary firm and it has been from the beginning - working with clients who were shaping the state and region.  When we met Doerner, leaders were ready for a refreshed brand and a web presence that reflected the current work and scope of this firm. Today it is also a Meritas firm.

Content Pilot conducted a focus group with firm leaders to understand their business development goals, firm strategy, style of doing business, culture and clients. Content Pilot had just completed the 2012-2013 AmLaw 100 Websites: Ten Foundational Best Practices research, so the top web industry trends and best practices were applied. Every best practice attribute was considered in the context of Doerner’s goals and budget.

Doerner formed a website committee of partners, associates and key staff, and the team was led by the Executive Director, Lorri Salyards and Jessica Jensen, the HR Manager. The firm has no fulltime, in-house marketing staff.

In addition to an overhaul of features, functionality and design, we worked with Doerner to restructure the practice areas (so they aligned with services that their clients buy) and add industry areas.  According to analytics tracked by Content Pilot, industry pages receive three times more visits than practice pages.  We also wrote descriptions for the industries and most of the practices, including detailed experience and Case Studies for many of them. The corporate description is a good example of one that is richly described - but still scan-able. Many of the others are written for the typical scanning reader, with more bullet points around "Top Areas of Focus." 

The Old Site

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And the New

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This contemporary design features a rotating carousel that includes colorful iconic images paired with a one-word header and a snippet about the practice.  With the overwhelming popularity of rotating carousels today, it was our challenge to feature one in a fresh way - one that accomplished the marketing goals of the firm, and could be easily changed and content managed by Doerner. And most importantly, one that differentiated Doerner from its fine competitors in the region.

The People Section

We rewrote the overviews for all the lawyer and key staff profiles, ensuring they were search engine optimized. Lawyers added experience to their bios (visitors to a law firm website want to know three things: what you've done, for whom you've done it and what you can do for them) and Doerner shot large-scale environmental, magazine-style photos to show more personality and approachability.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Executive Director Lorri Salyards said, "The process an organization goes through to actually realize a new Website is, well, a process.  It takes time, dedication, focus, commitment, and buy-in from the stakeholders in the organization if it is to be successful.  Working with Content Pilot  from the time they were awarded the project through launching, and beyond, has been a delight.  Our project team took time to get to know and understand our law firm and its culture and thankfully pushed us out of our comfort zone a bit, resulting in a product that has moved us from the present into the future.  Our new Website demonstrates not only that are we a law firm that has been in existence since statehood, but we also are here to serve our clients’ needs into the future.  We definitely achieved the outcome we wanted, although I still like orange better than blue.  (Okay, we can lead but can’t control!)"

We are proud to count Doerner Saunders Daniel & Anderson among our clients.

"My lawyers commit little acts of murder everyday." So said a Fortune 100 GC.

It's startling to read that, isn't it? 

I heard this Fortune 100 General Counsel of European operations speak several years ago on a panel about client service and client relationship management. I wrote about it before in this blog, and I've mentioned it many times in speeches.  I'll never forget the eerie power of it.

Today's Above the Law blog posted an article by Mark Herrmann, Chief Counsel - Litigation and Global Chief Compliance Officer for Aon (and former 20-year partner at Jones Day), called "I'll get this to you on Friday."  It's about making client management and relationship promises you can't (or won't or don't) keep.

I sadly admit that I know I've done this. Seldom, but I know it's happened, and I am embarrassed and horrified by the breach of trust that it surely is. To anyone who has been on the receiving end of a missed deadline from me, I am sorry, and I promise - from now on - I will communicate exactly what's going on.

In my blog post about my experience at Davio's in Philadelphia, I define what "little acts of murder" are:

Unmet expectations, missed deadlines, unreturned phone calls, and otherwise a series of relationship disappointments.  

Good people believe they are protected by the goodness of their intentions.  But we aren't, really. I think rationalizing about how we badly behave in any relationship is lazy - it's a breach.  Let's call it what it is.

Herrmann concludes, "You can either constantly prove that you’re trustworthy or you can have the world conclude that you’re not. Which is better, I ask you?  And, given how obvious this is, why did I even have to type these words?"

 

 

What lawyers can learn about messaging from an unlikely source -- Dentistry.

I attended a wedding in Vancouver last weekend and met a successful and seasoned dentist from Abilene named Dr. Christie Leedy.  Being one of those rare people who actually likes going to the dentist, I didn't hesitate to engage her in conversation.

She said one of the most riveting phrases that I've heard in a long time, saying she heard it from a legendary dentist in her area:

        Everyone is one tooth away from ugly.

After a good laugh, I knew I had to write about it. Every person reading this will go, "Whoa." And then look in a mirror.

So - what can lawyers learn from this?  Unearthing and crafting messages that resonate with your buyers of legal services is difficult, which is why literally hundreds of law firms of all sizes sound eerily similar.  Yet - law firm leaders still approve messaging and taglines that sound just like their competitors down the street or across the nation.  Here are the typical scenarios:

1. A competitor firm has a snappy new tagline, so your firm leaders want one, too.  They sit around the executive committee table and hen-scratch contenders on their yellow pads.
2. You are redoing your website and want a "theme" for it. So you look at what other firms have done and borrow their strategy and tagline because what they do is similar to what you do. 
3. You want to put a positioning stake in the ground, but anything that really could be uniquely YOU, feels too bold, too out-there for your lawyers. It feels "too memorable."

The reason the tooth message is so compelling is because it hits each of us between the eyes - we can actually picture ourselves toothless (horrifying!); seeing it drives you to schedule your next dental appointment.

Law firm, practice/industry team and lawyer messaging should compel your reader or listener to act - to move closer to you (phone you, email you, speak to you after you've given a presentation, tweet about you).  If it's passive and unoriginal, they won't act - and that means you have invested a lot of time, energy and money creating something that isn't working.

Don't be afraid to be memorable (in a good way); it's the only way to turn heads away from your competitors to you. 

And that will surely make you smile.