Law Practice Tips

Well designed websites attract clients and keep them returning. Periodically visit other firm websites to assure that your site is competitive. Annually review data to determine whether traffic and retention are adequate.  Use the checklists  below to confirm that your website has essential features and consult the resources for articles, books, and samples of well-designed  websites. Front Page Features Brevity - be concise to speed downloads Menu - include links to other pages of the site Photo - show lawyers and staff   Social - add links to social media pages Tagline - express the firm’s focus or mission  Essential Pages About - awards, focus, history, practice Articles - bibliography or blog Bios - bios for lawyers and staff  Contact - address, phone, etc.  Disclaimers - ethical and privacy notices Press  - news about your firm and its lawyers Portal - client  access to bills, documents, messaging, etc. Articles Adding a Chatbot Alternatives for Hosting Best Practices Creati

Volunteering helps lawyers to stay connected and make new contacts. Volunteers improve their sense of well-being, enhance their reputation, and attract clients to their firms. Start volunteering by visiting the ABA Directory of Volunteer Activities  and the ABA Pro Bono Website . See the articles listed below for volunteering tips and visit law Firm websites for examples of lawyers serving their communities.  Articles Benefiting from Community Service Branding Yourself with Community Service Building Your Community Presence Giving Back to Your Community Helping Associates Do Pro Bono Marketing Power of Community Service Senior Lawyers Serving Pro Bono Supporting Your Community Young Lawyer Involvement Working on Political Campaigns Law Firm Websites Kean Miller (Baton Rouge) William Berenson (Ft. Worth) Kang Haggerty (Philadelphia) Chris Early  (Boston) Breakstone White & Gluck (Boston) John Day (Nashville) Chepenik Trushin (Miami)

To research smarter, start  by reading a law review article or treatise to guide your thinking and help identify issues. Next read cases and legislation to confirm your preliminary findings.  Use a checklist to assure that you cover all relevant issues. Learn more by using the following resources:  Archives -    Internet Archive  of books and articles and JD Supra archive of articles published by large law firms . Articles - Finding Articles , Finding Books ,  Online Research ,  Overcoming Obstacles , Searching Blogs , Secondary Sources ,  Smarter Research , Strategic Researching , Using Treatises Blogs  - Use tools at Google , Justia , and the  ABA  websites to search blog content for relevant articles and authors. Also see the Library of Congress directory of legal blogs by topic. Books -  Free and Low-Cost Research , Guide to Legal Research ,  Internet Guide for Legal Researcher ,  Legal Research in a Nutshell , Legal Researchers Desk Reference ,  Legal Scholar’s Guidebook ,  a

Surveys  show that a significant number of lawyers and their firms are using Twitter.  Lawyers mostly use Twitter for following news, marketing, and establishing reputations. See samples using a  Directory of Legal Twitterers , a  List of Lawyers to Follow , or a  Table of Top Law Feeds .  Learn more by reading articles about the benefits of Twitter , creating an account , ethical issues , getting followers , marketing with social media ,  starting up , and user tips .   Also see O'Reilly's  Twitter Book  and the ABA's   Guide to Legal Ethics and Social Media.

Fact checking is essential because of the exponential growth of news sources and partisan reporting. Remember to be skeptical, compare sources, and don't share articles without verifying. For more fact checking tips, read articles about bias ,  literacy , reliability , scammers ,  spotting fake news , and teaching critical thinking . Try adding a fact checking extension to your web browser. Check out the bias ratings of your news sources at a fact checking website  and view a  diagram of ideology ranking  of news sources.  Consult the ABA's Legal Fact Checker which seeks to help media and individuals find answers to legal issues.

Set aside time in your daily schedule to check developments in law, news, and technology. Keep current on legal news by visiting legal news websites . Stay alert to general news by subscribing to top ranked aggregators , associations ,  blogs , newsletters , newspapers , podcasts ,  twitter feeds , and websites . U se social media posts for quick updates and scholarly journals for deeper learning.  Use  podcasts ,  social media , and webinars while commuting, exercising, or travelling. Consult a bias checker to view a  bias chart . Avoid information overload by curating news sources and limiting media use, and switching off alerts. For more strategies, read articles about  checking facts ,  preemption checking ,  publications for lawyers , and staying current on legal news and  current events .  Also check resources at websites maintained by law libraries at universities of  HK , USF , and  UW .

Legal blogs contain concise articles about developments in law , marketing , management , and technology . Publishers include associations , individuals , law firms , and  research organizations . Subscribe to a blog's RSS Feed or newsletter  to  stay current  with  top blogs .   Research blogs using  t he ABA's Search ,  Justia's Directory , and Lexblog’s Channels . Also see Duke's  Resources , NYU's Tools , the Law Professors Blog Network  and NLRG Archive . Remember  to consider the source and check the author to avoid using inaccurate information .

Bar journal and law review articles save time by providing analysis, explanation, and leads to key primary sources. Visit Harvard Law Library's website for an article about finding articles . And  click here for the ABA's free tool for searching law journals.