Slide Deck from NYCLA's March 21, 2014 Bridge-the-Gap CLE Segment "Your Law Firm's Internet Presence" by Andrew Cabasso and JurisPage. Topics include: - Setting Up Your Law Firm's "@yourfirm.com" Email (and why you need to stop using @aol.com and @gmail.com) - Social Media Dos and Don'ts - Creating a Law Firm Website (how to effectively represent your law firm online - Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Overview and Tips - Internet Marketing Tips (setting up and monitoring your PPC campaign) - Attorney Ethics Issues Online (Topics include Blog Ethics, Website Disclaimers, URLs, Judges, Advertising, Review Sites, and Astroturfing)

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Your Law Firm’s Internet Presence CLE
Friday March 21, 2014 An Andrew Cabasso and
JurisPage Joint

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Overview
• Email
• Social Media
• Your Website
• SEO
• Internet Marketing
• Ethics

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Email

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Your Email Address
You want yourname@yourlawfirm.com
4 Steps

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Your Email Address: Step 1
$10/year
Buy a .com domain

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Your Email Address: Step 2
Find an e-mail host provider
Most likely your registrar offers email too (Godaddy, 1&1, Rackspace, etc.
all have inexpensive plans)
$5 / user / month
Google Apps
Freefor up to 5 users
Zoho

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Your Email Address: Step 3
Change your MX records
Go to your domain registrar settings to change the e-mail
records (called “MX records”) following your e-mail host’s
instructions*
*if you get your email from your domain provider, this is not necessary

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Your Email Address: Step 4
Configure your e-mail client
Follow your e-mail host’s instructions (this will
let you access your email via Outlook or your
phone).

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Alternatively…
• Option B: Mail server
– Cost
– Security
– Stability
– Scalability
– IT guy

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Social Media

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Why Engage in Social Media?

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Why Engage in Social Media?
1) SEO: Google’s search algorithm cares about
social media sharing
2) Go where potential clients are
3) Engage other professionals
Either use it or don’t – don’t half-use it

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Which Social Networks?
• Google+
• LinkedIn
• Twitter
• Quora
• Esqspot
Focus on 1 or 2
• Facebook
• Pinterest
• Meetup

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Google+
• Highest SEO ROI
• G+ gets “authorship” for blog posts

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LinkedIn
Have a Company
page that your
current employees
can join, a personal
profile so that
clients can give
testimonials

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Twitter

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Twitter
• Link to blog posts
• Discuss events in your practice area that don’t
warrant a blog post
• Engage other attorneys

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Quora
A Q&A website – use it to
answer relevant questions
in your practice area and
build authority

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Esqspot
In-person networking
/ online community

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Hootsuite

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Hootsuite
• Saves time, posts to every social network
simultaneously
• Scheduled posts

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Websites

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Things You Need to Have a Website
1. Domain: yourfirm.com
2. Hosting: to make your site accessible
3. Website: preferably using a CMS like
Wordpress

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What’s a Website For Anyway?

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What’s a Website For Anyway?
• Getting new leads
• Convincing current leads to become clients
• Establishing authority in your niche among
other attorneys

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What it Should Have
1. Clear indication of the type of law you
practice
2. Contact: Forms and Phone Number
3. Attorney Bios
4. Practice area pages for each type of case
5. Social Proof:
Testimonials/Verdicts/Settlements
6. Professional design / layout

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Make it Mobile-Friendly
?
% web traffic from mobile

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Make it Mobile-Friendly
40%
% web traffic from mobile
Google’s algorithm penalizes non-mobile sites

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Mobile-Friendly Example
Not Mobile-Friendly Mobile-Friendly

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Websites – Mobile Sites
http://boss.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/01/08/making-sure-your-website-is-ready-for-smartphones/

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Getting it Built: DIY
Wordpress, Wix, Godaddy
Pros
• Cheap
• You’ll know how to update your
content
Cons
• Steep learning curve
• Hard to design
• Have to worry about ethics rules
• Bad SEO

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Getting it Built: Professional
Use a Legal-Focused Developer
Ask Them: Be Careful:

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Getting it Built: Professional
Use a Legal-Focused Developer
Ask Them:
• Will it be mobile-friendly?
• Will I be able to update it myself?
• If not, will you update it?
• What CMS will you use?
• Use Wordpress if possible
• Will it be SEO-ready?
• Sitemap, Meta Tags, Content
• How fast will it load
• Under 3 seconds is best
• Can I see an example of your
work?
Be Careful:

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Getting it Built: Professional
Use a Legal-Focused Developer
Ask Them:
• Will it be mobile-friendly?
• Will I be able to update it myself?
• If not, will you update it?
• What CMS will you use?
• Use Wordpress if possible
• Will it be SEO-ready?
• Sitemap, Meta Tags, Content
• How fast will it load
• Under 3 seconds is best
• Can I see an example of your
work?
Be Careful:
• Don’t use other peoples’ content
• Templates can be boring
• Make sure your site isn’t available
through both www.yoursite.com
and yoursite.com
• Make sure they’re accessible

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Building a Second Website
• Useful for class actions
• Geared towards a specific client type
• Plaintiff / defendant sites

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Search Engine Optimization

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I Want My Site to Come Up in Google!
On Site
• Page Content
• Meta Tags
• Interlinking
• Posting Frequency
• Page Speed
• Mobile Readiness
Off Site
• Backlinks
– Quality > Quantity
• Social Mentions
• Social Profiles
• Directory Profiles

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Blog, Blog, Blog
• Blogging makes you an authority
• Fresh content tells Google your website is still
relevant
• Differentiate yourself
• Networking and referrals
On Site

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Keys to Good Blogging
• Write for readers, not machines
• Stay current
• Stay consistent
• Be patient!
On Site

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Use Key Language
Optimize keywords
Some Popular Attorney-Related Keyword
Descriptors I’ve Come Across:
Aggressive
Top
Affordable
Cheap
Best
Local
And… yes, unfortunately “attornies”
On Site

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Hurdles to Blogging
• “I’m too busy”
– Outsource
• “What would I write about”
Blog Topic Suggestions:
On Site

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Hurdles to Blogging
• “I’m too busy”
– Outsource
• “What would I write about”
Blog Topic Suggestions:
Newly decided cases
Recently enacted laws
Recent controversies
Information on your practice area for
the non-lawyer / potential client
On Site

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Privacy Policy
No one reads them except
1. The lawyers who write them
2. The developer who copies one and substitutes
his/her company name
3. Search engine robots
On Site

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7 Ways to Increase Backlinks
1. Local Business Directories
2. Social SEO
3. Lawyer Directories
4. Guest Posting
5. Forum Posts / Blog Comments
6. RSS
7. Press Releases
Off Site

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Local Business Directories
• Google Places
• Getlisted.org
Off Site

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Social SEO
• Social media sites (as much as some of us may
hate them) are vehicles for linking your
content for SEO
• LinkedIn
• Twitter
• Facebook
• Quora
Off Site

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Lawyer Directories
• Reach many more visitors of popular
legal websites that get top organic
billing
• Lawyers.com/Lexis/Martindale
• SuperLawyers
• FindLaw
PageRanks for Legal
Directories
FindLaw - 7
SuperLawyers - 7
Avvo - 6
Lexis - 6
Martindale - 7
Lawyers.com - 7
Off Site

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Reputation Management
If you get a bad review somewhere, it’s not the
end of the world. There are PR firms and SEO
firms that specialize in burying bad reviews.
Off Site

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SEO Tools
• Google Analytics
– Monitor website traffic
• Google Webmaster Tools
– Sitemaps, inbound link analysis, keyword analysis
• Google Keyword Tool
– Analyze prospective keywords
• Pingdom Website Speed
• Feedburner
– Create RSS feed for your content / blog
• Keyword Position
– Where does your site show up for a particular keyword?
Tools

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Google Analytics
Tools

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Google Webmaster Tools
Tools

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Pingdom Website Speed
Tools

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FeedBurner
Tools

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Keyword Position Tool
Tools

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Internet Marketing

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Internet Marketing
Advertising in Google, Bing, and Facebook can
get clients to your website (through the front
door). Once they’re there, it’s up to your
website to get them to stay with you.

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Keys to Success

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Keys to Success
1. Use landing pages!
2. Track your campaigns carefully
3. Test changes
4. Try different marketing channels
5. Abandon campaigns that aren’t working

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Example Landing Page

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Landing Page Basics
• Eliminate distractions: navigation, social
links, extraneous information
• Align landing page copy with ad copy
• Include social proof
• Have a clear call to action

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Track Your Campaign ROI

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Track Your Campaign ROI
• Review keywords periodically
• Track ad click through rate
• First page vs. top-page cost
• Track conversions
$/Lead $/Client

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Test Changes
• Keywords
• Ad Copy
• Landing Page Copy
• Landing Page Geography
• Geography
• Time of Day

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Try Different Channels
Directories Search Engines Social Networks
Retargeting

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Ethics

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Ethics – Attorney Advertising
• ATTORNEY ADVERTISING 7.1(f)
• “Prior results do not guarantee a similar
outcome” 7.1(e)

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Ethics - Expectations
• Cmt. 12 to 7.1
• Non-comparative characteristics are
permissible statements even though not
factually supported
• “Hard-working” “dedicated” = yes
• “Best” “hardest-working” = no
• “Big $$$” “We win big” = no - expectation

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Ethics - Expectations
• Board of Managers of 60 E. 88th St. v. Adam
Leitman Bailey, PC
– Firm advertising highlighted that it “gets results”
– Judge cut fees from $112,000 to $60,000

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Ethics - Astroturfing
Yelp, Inc. v. McMillan Law Group, Inc.

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Ethics - Astroturfing

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Ethics - Astroturfing
• Rule 7.2
– A lawyer shall not compensate or give anything of
value to a person or organization to recommend
or obtain employment by a client, or as a reward
for having made a recommendation resulting in
employment by a client

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Ethics - Astroturfing
• Rule 7.1
– (a) A lawyer or law firm shall not use or
disseminate or participate in the use or
dissemination of any advertisement that: (1)
contains statements or claims that are
false, deceptive or misleading; or (2) violates a
Rule

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Ethics - Expertise
• “Specialties”
– Yelp
– LinkedIn (not likely an issue anymore)
– NYSBA Opinion 972 (6/26/13)

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Ethics - Blogs
• Concerns about blogging?

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Ethics - Blogs
• Concerns about blogging?
– Advertising ethics issues
– Blogging about clients
– Getting sued
– Defamation

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Ethics - Blogs
• A blog is not an attorney advertisement unless
the “primary purpose” of the blog is for the
retention of the lawyer
• NYSBA Opinion 967 (6/5/13)

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Ethics - Blogs
• “Advertisement”
• “any public or private communication made
by or on behalf of a lawyer or law firm about
that lawyer or law firm’s services, the primary
purpose of which is for the retention of the
lawyer or law firm.”

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Ethics - Blogs
• Hunter v. VA State Bar
• VA criminal defense law firm has blog
posts, where every blog post is about his firm
– Disciplined by state bar b/c no advertising
disclaimer, taking First Am. Position
– VA S.ct. concluded that his blog was atty
advertising

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Ethics – Blogs
• Blogging about clients
• Need written permission if on-going matter
• In re Pershek (2009)
– Pub defender referred to crim clients in blog, tried to
anonymize them but did a bad job
• Anyone could’ve put pieces together to see who she wrote
about
• Non-Confidential info may still be embarrassing
to client
– Don’t get to that level

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Ethics – Blogs and Stock Photos
• Rule 7.1 (c)
• No fictionalization of a law firm w/o disclosure
• Stock photos
16 instances

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Ethics - Advertising
• Rule 7.1(q)
• “A lawyer may accept employment that results
from participation in activities designed to
educate the public to recognize legal
problems, to make intelligent selection of
counsel or to utilize available legal services.”

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Ethics - Advertising
• Rule 7.1(r)
• Without affecting the right to accept
employment, a lawyer may speak publicly or
write for publication on legal topics so long as
the lawyer does not undertake to give
individual advice.

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Ethics - Advertising
• “Recognition of legal problems” (Cmt. 9 to 7.1)
• Lawyers should encourage and participate in
educational and public-relations programs
concerning the legal system, with particular
reference to legal problems that frequently arise.
A lawyer’s participation in an educational
program is ordinarily not considered to be
advertising because its primary purpose is to
educate and inform rather than to attract clients.

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Ethics - URLs
• 7.5 (e) – Website URL
• A lawyer or law firm may utilize a domain name
for an internet web site that does not include the
name of the lawyer or law firm provided: (1) all
pages of the web site clearly and conspicuously
include the actual name of the lawyer or law
firm; (2) the lawyer or law firm in no way
attempts to engage in the practice of law using
the domain name; (3) the domain name does
not imply an ability to obtain results in a matter;

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Ethics - URLs
• Winlawyers.com vs. nycriminaldefense.com

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Ethics - URLs
• Cmt. 2 to 7.5
• Can always use your firm name or an abbrev.
• Can use practice area (e.g. realestatelaw.com)
– 1. Must have firm name on every page
– 2. Can’t say “contact realestatelaw.com” unless
firm name is included in the ad
– 3. No implied results
• E.g. no “win-your-case.com”

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Ethics - URLs
• 2003-01: Lawyers’ and Law Firms’ Selection
and Advertising of Internet Domain Names
– The web site bearing the domain name must
clearly and conspicuously identify the actual law
firm name; the domain name must not be
false, deceptive or misleading; the name must not
imply any special expertise or competence, or
suggest a particular result; and, it must not be
used in advertising as a substitute identifier of the
firm.

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Ethics - URLs
• Antonelli-Legal.com
• MEN-Law.com
• HeaneyDisabilityLaw.com
• NYChapter7lawyers.com
• NYInjuryVerdicts.com
• NYInjuryExperts.com

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Ethics – Referral Fees
• Rule 7.2 – referral fees
• Totalbankruptcy.com referral fees case
– 5 attorneys found to violate 7.2 (in CT)

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Ethics – Referral Fees
• Rule 7.2 – referral fees
• Paying “subscription fees” for advertisements
– The line: paying “per referral”
• Subscription services
– Martindale/Lexis, Avvo, Superlawyers, Findlaw, Tot
alattorneys

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Ethics – Outsourcing Marketing
• You can’t outsource ethics to your legal
marketing / SEO team
• Adwords, blog posts, SEO done by a third-
party can’t violate the rules
• If you outsource, make sure they know the
attorney ethics rules, what they can / can’t do

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Ethics – Internet Marketing

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Ethics – Internet Marketing

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Ethics - Retention
• Rule 7.1 (k)
• Retain computer-based advertisements for 1
year
• Retain website redesigns for at least 90 days

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Ethics - Judges
• Don’t tweet during a trial, you’ll regret it
• Friending judges is tricky…
• Don’t blog about a pending case or judge
• Rules 3.5, 8.2, 8.4

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Ethics - Judges
• Don’t write a blog post about a judge
• NY lawyer suspended for 5 years
• Attorney wrote a blog post to campaign for
the attorney’s client who was imprisoned after
being held in contempt by the judge
• The blog named the judge, tried to create a
campaign to pressure the judge to free the
client

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Ethics - Judges
• Rule 8.4 (d)
• A lawyer shall not: . . . engage in conduct that
is prejudicial to the administration of justice

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Ethics - Judges
• Rule 8.5
• (a) A lawyer shall not knowingly make a false
statement of fact concerning the
qualifications, conduct or integrity of a judge
or other adjudicatory officer or of a candidate
for election or appointment to judicial office.

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Ethics - Judges
• Rule 3.5 (a)
• A lawyer shall not:
• (1) seek to or cause another person to
influence a judge, official or employee of a
tribunal by means prohibited by law . . .

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Ethics - Judges
• Rule 3.6
• No extrajudicial statements the lawyer “knows
or reasonably should know” will be publicly
disseminated and can prejudice the matter

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Ethics - Judges
• Rule 8.1
• No false statements concerning the
quality, integrity, or conduct of judges

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Ethics - Judges
• Domville v. State (Fla. Jan. 2012)
• Judge friend requested a prosecutor in the
case

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Ethics - Judges
• Chace v. Loisel (Fla. Jan. 2014)
• Judge friend requested a litigant in an ongoing
case

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Ethics - Judges
• Matter of Terry (N.C. 2009)
• Attorney messaged judge on Facebook
regarding a pending case

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Ethics - Judges
• Florida State Bar v. Conway (Fla. 2008)
• Blog criticizing judge as “unfair witch”
• Public reprimand

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Ethics - Judges
Las Vegas substitute judge sacked

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Ethics - Advertising
• Matter of Dannitte Mays Dickey (S.C. 2012)
• Attorney made false statements on his
website
• Used the word “specialist”
• Public reprimand

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References
• http://jurispage.com/category/ethics/

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Thank You
Andrew Cabasso
Phone: (800) 863-7603
Email: andrew@jurispage.com
Twitter: @andycabasso
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/pub/andrew-cabasso/a/770/614
Blog: jurispage.com/blog
Slides available at slideshare.com/jurispage
Free SEO for Lawyers eBook available at jurispage.com/ebook