Law Firm Internet Marketing Throughout the United States

Rosenthal DUI & Medical Marijuana Law Firm

2012-01-23T16:42:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to the Law Firm of Jeremy Rosenthal. His website has successfully been at the top of search results for over a year now. He has one of the top Criminal law sites in Colorado and as a result of such high placement has been able to help those accused of crimes, both felonies and misdemeanors get the best possible outcome and results.

Marketing Your Law Practice in Tough Economic Times

2010-02-08T21:29:00.000-07:00

These are tough economic times and marketing your law practice is more important now than ever before. Your decision to keep doing the same thing that is not working or not doing anything at all is simply not going to work. You need to embrace the marketing and advertising that is available to you today. And let me tell you, these options are better than ever and can produce results that are superior to the advertising of yesterday. But please keep in mind that the more avenues you can help people find you at the better off your practice will be. But not every firm can do it all, TV, yellow pages, newspaper and of course Internet. I believe very strongly that the Internet has the best bang for your buck. Why? Because you can create a presence that is both effective and has an extremely strong return on your investment.
I talk to a lot of attorneys on a regular basis and one of the common threads amongst attorneys that do not advertise or do very little advertising is they seem to be struggling more than the attorneys that have a solid marketing plan.
There are a lot of good companies out there that can provide you with the right marketing plans. Do your homework though. If you are meeting with a web development firm make sure they can actually provide your firm with an effective online presence. What do I mean by effective? Simple, it will mke money for your practice. A question I get from almost every attorney I meet with is how do I know who to trust or who can d the job. There is actually a simple answer for that as well. Remember, anyone can tell you anything. Anyone can make a promise. Simply ask the Internet Marketing Firm you are speaking with you to provide that they are getting results for their current clients. YOU, as the attorney should type the phrases into Google yourself so you are sure no manipulation is being done (after all you will be spending your hard earned money so it's ok to be sure they are good).

"Tablet" Computers - How Can an Attorney Utilize These New Devices?

2010-02-01T14:36:00.000-07:00

With the introduction of the Applie iPad last week and with companies like HP coming out with similar devices people everywhere are asking how they can justify buying one of these devices and how can they best utilize them?
Well, for attorneys I believe there is a very strong application for such products. Instead of having t carry all your files into court why not bring one of the new tablets with you instead loaded with all the information you need to help you win your case. The only drawback so far is the inability to actually write on such a device.
I do believe that this scenario will start to play itself out over the next several years and will be much more common place than people may be imagining.

Also, with Google Scholar readily available you can look up information ASAP without having to carry your laptop with you everywhere.

Free US Case Law from Google! - US Federal + 50 State Case Law

2010-01-31T20:36:00.000-07:00

Starting November 17, 2009, Google has placed full text legal opinions from the US Federal and State district, appellate and supreme courts using Google Scholar. You can find these opinions by searching for cases (like Planned Parenthood v. Casey), or by topics (like desegregation) or other queries that you are interested in. For example, go to Google Scholar, click on the "Legal opinions and journals" radio button, and try the query separate but equal.

This provides all citizens with a way to learn about the laws that govern us all. You can explore citing and related cases using the Cited by and Related articles linkson search result pages. As you read an opinion, you can follow citations to the opinions to which it refers. You can also see how individual cases have been quoted or discussed in other opinions and in articles from law journals. Browse these by clicking on the "How Cited" link next to the case title.

Advanced Scholar Search screenshot:

Official Google Blog: Finding the laws that govern us

2010-01-31T20:16:00.000-07:00

Official Google Blog: Finding the laws that govern us

Christian Schwaner - Stopped for a DUI Video - Colorado Springs Criminal Law Attorney

2010-01-29T22:22:00.000-07:00

ANSWER YOUR PHONE WHEN IT RINGS!! REPLY TO YOUR EMAIL ASAP!!!

2010-01-27T09:46:00.000-07:00

This is an article by Tim Ash posted January 11, 2010 in regards to how CRITICAL it is to answer your phone ASAP or reeply to an email immediately, not 20 or 30 minutes from when you get it but NOW. Why? Well according to the article by Tim Ash once someone fills out a form and sends it in is probably the most critical point you have with landing that individual as a client.

You have a few choices, call them on the phone or email them back. Tim doesn't think placing a call is the best use of your time, unless you call within five minutes. I agree and disagree. I believe that if you are able to call them, then do so but do it within five minutes. The chances of them also contacting other attorneys is HUGE. Don't miss an opportunity.

If you are not able to call them within a few minutes of getting their message then do the next best thing and send them a personal email. What's that you say? Your phone does not get email??? Are you kidding. You have NO excuse for not getting email on your phone AND being able to respond. Come join us in the year 2010.

So this article by Tim says that delaying your first-dial response time from 5 to just 30 minutes decreases your chances of qualifying the lead by 21 times! WOW!!!!
Even delaying the first-dial from 5 minutes to 10 will cut your lead qualification percentage by a factor of four.
This information comes from a joint study between M.I.T. and InsideSales.com (download the whitepaper)
So if you thought you could take your time contacting potential clients I hope this blog helps you realize that by doing you will be losing clients.

You can always call me to discuss this further. You can find my contact information on my website for legal marketing.

Tips for Hiring a Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Firm

2010-01-26T11:51:00.002-07:00

If you are an attorney looking to get business from the Internet then you need to hire the right SEO firm. You need to make sure they understand what it takes to be successful online.

The following (in Googles words) are what you need to do to hire the RIGHT SEO for your practice:

SEO is an acronym for "search engine optimization" or "search engine optimizer." Deciding to hire an SEO is a big decision that can potentially improve your site and save time, but you can also risk damage to your site and reputation. Make sure to research the potential advantages as well as the damage that an irresponsible SEO can do to your site. Many SEOs and other agencies and consultants provide useful services for website owners, including:

Review of your site content or structure
Technical advice on website development: for example, hosting, redirects, error pages, use of JavaScript
Content development
Management of online business development campaigns
Keyword research
SEO training
Expertise in specific markets and geographies

If you're thinking about hiring an SEO, the earlier the better. A great time to hire is when you're considering a site redesign, or planning to launch a new site. That way, you and your SEO can ensure that your site is designed to be search engine-friendly from the bottom up. However, a good SEO can also help improve an existing site.
Some useful questions to ask an SEO include:

Can you show me examples of your previous work and share some success stories?
Do you follow the Google Webmaster Guidelines?
Do you offer any online marketing services or advice to complement your organic search business?
What kind of results do you expect to see, and in what timeframe? How do you measure your success?
What's your experience in my industry?
What's your experience in my country/city?
What's your experience developing international sites?
What are your most important SEO techniques?
How long have you been in business?
How can I expect to communicate with you? Will you share with me all the changes you make to my site, and provide detailed information about your recommendations and the reasoning behind them?

While SEOs can provide clients with valuable services, some unethical SEOs have given the industry a black eye through their overly aggressive marketing efforts and their attempts to manipulate search engine results in unfair ways. Practices that violate our guidelines may result in a negative adjustment of your site's presence in Google, or even the removal of your site from our index. Here are some things to consider:

Be wary of SEO firms and web consultants or agencies that send you email out of the blue.Amazingly, we get these spam emails too:

"Dear google.com,
I visited your website and noticed that you are not listed in most of the major search engines and directories..."
Reserve the same skepticism for unsolicited email about search engines as you do for "burn fat at night" diet pills or requests to help transfer funds from deposed dictators.
No one can guarantee a #1 ranking on Google.Beware of SEOs that claim to guarantee rankings, allege a "special relationship" with Google, or advertise a "priority submit" to Google. There is no priority submit for Google. In fact, the only way to submit a site to Google directly is through our Add URL page or by submitting aSitemap and you can do this yourself at no cost whatsoever.
Be careful if a company is secretive or won't clearly explain what they intend to do.Ask for explanations if something is unclear. If an SEO creates deceptive or misleading content on your behalf, such as doorway pages or "throwaway" domains, your site could be removed entirely from Google's index. Ultimately, you are responsible for the actions of any companies you hire, so it's best to be sure you know exactly how they intend to "help" you. If an SEO has FTP access to your server, they should be willing to explain all the changes they are making to your site.
You should never have to link to an SEO.Avoid SEOs that talk about the power of "free-for-all" links, link popularity schemes, or submitting your site to thousands of search engines. These are typically useless exercises that don't affect your ranking in the results of the major search engines -- at least, not in a way you would likely consider to be positive.
Choose wisely.While you consider whether to go with an SEO, you may want to do some research on the industry. Google is one way to do that, of course. You might also seek out a few of the cautionary tales that have appeared in the press, including this article on one particularly aggressive SEO: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2002002970_nwbizbriefs12.html. While Google doesn't comment on specific companies, we've encountered firms calling themselves SEOs who follow practices that are clearly beyond the pale of accepted business behavior. Be careful.
Be sure to understand where the money goes.While Google never sells better ranking in our search results, several other search engines combine pay-per-click or pay-for-inclusion results with their regular web search results. Some SEOs will promise to rank you highly in search engines, but place you in the advertising section rather than in the search results. A few SEOs will even change their bid prices in real time to create the illusion that they "control" other search engines and can place themselves in the slot of their choice. This scam doesn't work with Google because our advertising is clearly labeled and separated from our search results, but be sure to ask any SEO you're considering which fees go toward permanent inclusion and which apply toward temporary advertising.
What are the most common abuses a website owner is likely to encounter?
What are some other things to look out for?

owns shadow domains
puts links to their other clients on doorway pages
offers to sell keywords in the address bar
doesn't distinguish between actual search results and ads that appear on search results pages
guarantees ranking, but only on obscure, long keyword phrases you would get anyway
operates with multiple aliases or falsified WHOIS info
gets traffic from "fake" search engines, spyware, or scumware
has had domains removed from Google's index or is not itself listed in Google

Any questions you may have please don't hesitate to call Jon Reiter at 303-947-1737. He can help you in your online marketing decisions.

Jon Clarke - Business Bankruptcy Attorney in Denver

2010-01-26T09:53:00.002-07:00

Andres Guevara - DUI Roadside Stops

2010-01-26T09:44:00.000-07:00

SEO Best Practices: 20 Questions

2010-01-20T16:11:00.001-07:00

I found this article at ClickZ and thought it was a great article on what needs to be done to a website for it to have a chance at success on the Internet. The article was written by P.J. Fusco.

There are all sorts of tried-and-true SEO (define) tactics that can be used to ensure your site is successfully crawled, indexed, and positioned in the major search engines. Though SEO tactics evolve with the technologies used to render Web sites, certain fundamentals remain constant.

How can you tell if your site adheres to current SEO best practices? Let's start with some honest answers to the following questions:

Are the keywords you're targeting relevant to site content? Are targeted keywords popular phrases used in search engine queries?
Do page titles start with your targeted keywords?
Does your site employ H1 header tags for prominent content titles?
Is your permanent body copy contextually sufficient and keyword-rich?
Do text links include targeted keywords that point users to pages within your site?
Do you use CSS (define) image replacement in graphical navigation on the site?
Do graphics used in the site have descriptive, keyword-rich alternative attributes that are useful for visitors?
Does your Web site have a site map with text links?
Do the URLs of your dynamic, database-driven pages look simple and static?
Does your site have a flat directory structure?
Do your site's home page and other key category pages have PageRanks?
Is your site listed in Open Directory?
Do you routinely list your site in other trusted, human-reviewed online directories?
Do all the pages in your Web site have keyword-rich meta descriptions?
Does your site have a custom error page?
Do the site's filenames and directory names include targeted keywords?
Does your site avoid using pop-ups?
Is the exact same content visible to both users and search engine spiders?
Do you avoid free-for-all linking offers?

If you answered "yes" to all or most of the above questions, your Web site embraces some of the most common elements essential to SEO best practices. If you're unsure about some of the answers, consider the following additional information.

There's no point in angling for high rankings on keywords and keyword phrases no one searches for. If you're not certain what keywords your site's well positioned for, start digging through your referrer logs or Web analytics data to determine which search engines send your site considerable traffic for which phrases.

If you can't access your log files and search engine referral data, use a tag cloud generator to get some visual clues as to how the search engines interpret your pages. You might be surprised as to what any particular page in your site is actually optimized for.

Most subscription-based keyword analysis tools offer a free trial period. You can readily compare keyword popularity using tools such as WordTracker, KeywordDiscovery, and Yahoo's Keyword Selector Tool before deciding what phrases could send you considerable search-referred traffic.

Despite the popularity of individual words, it's best to target two- or three-word phrases on a page-by-page basis. Because of the vast number of Web pages indexed by the major search engines, competing for a listing or two on the first or second SERP (define) for a one-word keyword is a losing battle. Trying to make one page optimal for a multitude of unrelated keyword phrases is almost equally fruitless.

It should go without saying, but the keywords you select to target should be relevant to your business and your site's content. Permanent body text should consist of at least two to three sentences on every page, ideally more. Opportunities vary from industry to industry. At the very least, try to build about 250 words into key category pages.

Of course, site structure plays a large role in how well your site's indexed. The search engines have improved their ability to crawl through dynamic URLs, yet static URL structures tend to rank better. Flash and AJAX (define) present additional search engine visibility issues that can't be addressed in this brief column.

If you have an all-Flash site and answered "yes" to visible text links, you may want to reconsider your answer. Use the control-A function in your browser to see what words are really visible on a page, or use Zippy to take a deeper look at what any particular page or site is actually optimized for.

Better rankings come with better linking. Better linking starts within your site. Having a site map is a no-brainer, as are nongraphical site-wide navigation, footers, and related deep links.

Pursuing well-ranked inbound links is an art form and an ongoing endeavor for nearly every Web site. Just make certain you execute on the fundamentals first, which should include submissions to key directories. Once your site is listed in DMOZ, the Yahoo Search Directory, Gimpsy, JoeAnt, and the like, continually grow you inbound links with vertical directories, local listings, business partners, vendors, and so on.

Implementing the 20 most fundamental elements of SEO best practices (or at least most of them) and avoiding the dregs of worst practices should provide you with a straightforward approach to better visibility for your Web site in the major search engines.

Jared Adams - Attorney at Law

2009-11-30T10:00:00.011-07:00

Aggressive Criminal Defense and Dedicated Debt Relief

The Adams Law Firm LLC is a full service law firm with two primary areas of practice: criminal defense and consumer bankruptcy. Whether you have been charged with an offense or are seeking relief from your financial troubles, The Adams Law Firm LLC can provide you with personalized and competent representation to help resolve your situation.
At The Adams Law Firm LLC, attorney Jared Adams leverages a wide breadth of legal knowledge and extensive public speaking and negotiation experience to provide dedicated legal support to clients throughout Colorado. Whether you need assistance with overwhelming debt or have been charged with a crime, attorney Jared Adams' knowledge, passion, and personalized approach will help you find the resolutions you desire.
To schedule a free initial consultation to discuss your bankruptcy or criminal defense needs, contact The Adams Law Firm LLC online or call 720-381-3168 or toll free 888-858-2134 today.
Knowledgeable Representation Tailored to Your Specific Needs

Denver attorney Jared Adams understands that no two legal situations are exactly the same — your criminal charges or financial situation are unique to you. With that in mind, he will work diligently to carefully examine your situation before offering the advice you need to make educated decisions about how to deal with your specific issues.
Moreover, Jared Adams firmly believes that knowledge is power and always strives to provide you with as much information on your options as possible. After all, you will ultimately determine the course of his representation by the decisions you make.
Contact Attorney Jared Adams for the Personal Attention You Deserve

With so much riding on a successful resolution to your legal situation, you need to know that your lawyer will do whatever it takes to help you achieve the best possible result.
To schedule a free consultation to discuss your specific legal needs, contact attorney Jared Adams. Call 720-381-3168 or toll free 888-858-2134 to speak with an attorney today.
We are a debt relief agency. We help people file for bankruptcy relief under the Bankruptcy Code.

Andres Guevara - Denver, Colorado Attorney - Do I Need to Speak with an Attorney?

2009-11-09T08:55:00.000-07:00

You Can’t Rely on the Yellow Pages Alone: Success Strategies for a New Era of Law Firm Marketing

2009-11-09T08:52:00.000-07:00

Years ago there were two ways attorneys and clients found each other — referrals, and the Yellow Pages book that was by everyone’s phone. Times have changed, and while word-of-mouth is still one of the best practice-development tools out there, usage of the print Yellow Pages is declining in many parts of the country. Today, we’re in a new era of law firm marketing and there are many additional marketing channels that law firms can consider to reach new clients.

Why is ad spending on the print Yellow Pages down and expected to decrease another 39 percent over the next five years, according to Borrell Associates(1)? This is partly because for you as an attorney, it’s not an ideal way to promote your law firm anymore. New varieties of Yellow Pages books appear in the mailbox every month it seems due to large books splitting into smaller books or new entrants to your particular market. This makes it increasingly difficult for law firms to determine in which book(s) to advertise. Plus, the format of the books makes it tough to separate your firm from your competition, as the advertisements tend to look similar and offer limited space in which to share your firm’s unique attributes.

More importantly, like other printed information the Yellow Pages have been eclipsed by the Internet, which offers the legal industry much more in terms of information quantity, quality, and creative flexibility. In a 2008 survey about local search user behavior, search engines (e.g., Google) have pulled ahead of print yellow pages as the leading source for local business information.(2)

Consider that today 80% of us have home computers(3), and 55% have high-speed Internet access4. If you need a lawyer, going online allows you to make smart, well-informed decisions. If you are a lawyer, the power of the Internet to reach prospects and provide them with compelling information about your firm can’t be beat. But as Web-savvy attorneys know, it’s not enough to simply launch a Web site. In this new era of law firm marketing, it’s important to think critically about all the ways you connect with consumers — Yellow Pages, the Web, and others — and how you can communicate better, distinguish yourself from competitors, and bottom line, attract and gain new clients. Here are nine law firm marketing keys to success for your firm to consider:

#1: Stay in the book, but be strategic. Keeping your contact information in the print Yellow Pages can still be worthwhile for prospects who are hunting for your phone number, or who just aren’t comfortable using the Internet. This is particularly true for non-metropolitan or rural areas. But is a color ad in every print directory really differentiating your firm — or are you better served with a simple, black-and-white listing in a few select books, and channeling the savings to other diverse marketing tactics? Cast a wide net to catch more fish!

#2: Consider bundling, but as a limited solution. To capitalize on the Internet’s popularity, most Yellow Pages providers now offer print and online directory advertising bundled together. That can be an effective way to expand your reach, but note that an online directory listing is only one piece of an effective Web presence, not a complete strategy. Legal marketing is unique, and your marketing plan should encompass not only directories but also a Web site complete with search-engine optimization and tailored content and design that has the unique needs of legal prospects in mind.

1 Borrell Associates, “Say Goodbye to Yellow Pages, July 2008
2 http://www.marketwire.com/press-release/Tmp-Directional-Marketing-908381.html
3 http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0908456.html
4 Pew Internet & American Life Project, July 2008

#3: Invest time in your site. You have a law practice to run, but even a few hours a month can go a long way in keeping the content on your Web site fresh, relevant and visible. Adding a newsletter, commentary or blog posting on a current legal topics or cases, or even an automated news feed (which many online providers can arrange for you) — all are effective, non-time-intensive ways to avoid becoming just another Web site that collects virtual dust. Why is that important? Updated site content appeals to both of your key Web site audiences: potential clients and leading search engines, such as Google. Search engines factor in the freshness and relevancy of your information to determine search rankings, so frequent updates are important.

#4: Own your niche. Online, being all things to all people is a great way to reach no one. Instead, differentiate your firm by zeroing in on what makes you unique — your approach to cases, background in law enforcement, Spanish-language expertise — and communicate it in the same keywords, phrases, and visuals online that you would use to connect with prospects when they’re in your law office. One good option: maintain a practice page on your site devoted exclusively to one of the firm’s key areas of expertise. Focused Web sites are more likely to succeed, and the same applies for the other channels you use to promote your firm.

#5: Make a strong first impression. Consider a potential client who gets three referrals and goes online to check them out. Realistically, you’ve got 5–10 seconds to hold that prospect on your site and potentially convert into a client. A Web site filled with informative content is great, but to keep prospects from clicking away to the competition, you must ensure your site is also well-designed for search engines, and most importantly, is easy to navigate for people with all levels of Web experience and legal knowledge.

#6: Reach prospects in new, high-impact ways. Online video and blogs are examples of fast-emerging law firm marketing tools that consumers love. They’re interactive and personal and they dispel the intimidation factor people feel when considering to hire an attorney. Nearly 60% of consumers, for example, say online video makes them more likely to contact a particular firm(5). To take full advantage of a technology like video, however, it’s key to work with a company that knows the legal industry and how to effectively disseminate your message to search engines and popular third-party Web sites.

#7: Use pay-per-click selectively. With pay-per-click, you select a search term relevant to your practice, then pay for a link ad to appear when prospects type in that term. If they click your link, you get charged a set fee. These links are grouped together on results pages, separate from the free (organic) results.

Pay-per-click can be useful as part of a well-rounded online strategy, particularly if your practice is highly specialized. But only 1 in 7 Web users click paid links,(6) so it’s clear there’s not yet a high level of acceptance. Keeping your site updated, providing strong content and design, and adding compelling information tools like online video and blogs should be your firm’s main focus.

#8: Choose the right online provider. You want an online presence that works, but you don’t want to spend all day working on it. If you’re considering partnering with an online provider, the key questions to ask are: 1) does the company provide local representation, so you can get someone to stop by to help you if you need it?; and 2) do they focus exclusively on the marketing for law firms, so you don’t have to settle for a generic, one-size-fits-all solution?

#9: Expand your network. Write articles for your bar association journal. Create a newsletter, or buy one from a company that will create one for you. Get involved in online communities like LinkedIn or FaceBook. Disseminate your message and firm value in many and varied ways rather than relying exclusively on the Yellow Pages or even a Web site to get your message out to potential clients.

5 FindLaw Consumer Online Study, 2007 6 Jupiter Research; Esquiro “Inside the Mind of the Searcher”
Sometimes, it’s a numbers game, so evaluate how often you’re promoting your firm through creative ways your competitors may not be. There are many options to choose from. Attorneys that use them strategically, and don’t allow their marketing effort to stagnate, have a terrific opportunity to generate leads and earn more well-qualified new clients, ultimately delivering the firm a steady stream of revenue.

J. Patrick Rieder - Criminal Defense Attorney - Colorado Springs, CO

2009-10-12T09:56:00.001-06:00

Congratulations to J. Patrick Rieder on the release of his new website in Coloroad Springs, COlorado. Whether you are looking to take action in a military matter or looking for a legal advocate in a criminal law case, it is important to contact an experienced attorney to provide guidance and look out for your best interests. Call the Law Office of J. Patrick Rieder, LLC at 719-387-7534 or contact them online to schedule a free initial consultation.

Worldwide Representation for Military Law

At their Colorado Springs law office, they have the experience to assist clients with a variety of military law needs. Attorney J. Patrick Rieder brings a unique perspective to the practice having served in the military for 22 years, ten of those years as a JAG officer. Additionally, he served in the military police for 12 years and as a law professor at the Air Force Academy for four years.

Andres Guevara - DUI Roadside Stops

2009-10-12T09:46:00.003-06:00

David Koppa - Attorney at Law - Colorado Springs

2009-10-05T13:50:00.004-06:00

Congratrulations to David Koppa of Colorado Springs, Colorado. Attorney Koppa is a Family Law attorney with the experience and knowledge to help you in your time of need.

Michael Meurer - Greenwood Village, CO Bankruptcy & Estate Planning Attorney

2009-10-05T11:03:00.007-06:00

Congrats to Michael Meurer of Greenwood Village, Colorado in the Denver Metro area. His Bankruptcy website was just released today and we look forward tot he results his site will be able to provide him.

Michael also practices Estate Planning and looks forward to speaking with you about your life planning needs.

Andres Guevara - Sentencing Concerns Video

2009-10-01T16:04:00.001-06:00

John Turner - Bankrutpcy Attorney - Colorado Springs

2009-09-24T10:24:00.004-06:00

Congrats to The Law Office of John Turner on the addition of optimized video to his website. The videos look great and should help in converting more potential clients into actual clients.

Congratulations to Paul Prendergast on his new refresh & Upgrade

2009-09-23T15:31:00.003-06:00

If you are struggling with a family law issue, you face many personal and financial challenges today. But hidden in these struggles is the opportunity to pave the way for a better tomorrow. Prendergast & Associates, P.C., can help Colorado families seek a brighter future by offering excellent legal representation for divorce, domestic violence and other critical legal issues.

Contact us today at 866-213-2643 to speak with an experienced family law attorney. They have law offices conveniently located in Littleton and Parker, Colorado.

Their Experience ...
Attorney Paul A. Prendergast has been practicing law for over 26 years and has a long track record of success winning positive results for his clients. In 1984, just a year after starting his private practice, attorney Prendergast argued his first case before the Colorado Supreme Court. In addition to his legal credentials, Mr. Prendergast holds a degree in finance from the University of Colorado, Boulder, which helps him serve his clients' interests in complex property division cases.

Furthermore, Mr. Prendergast is well-versed in sensitive legal issues involving domestic violence and sexual abuse that often tear families apart. He and his talented team of lawyers will be here to help you realize your legal protections and find the therapeutic and mental health resources you need.

Paul also practices Criminal Law and you can learn more about that practice at http://www.criminaljusticeco.com/

Keys to Effective ROI Measurement

2009-09-23T09:13:00.003-06:00

Value for the money. You expect it when you lease an office, invest in software or hire staff. The money you spend marketing your law firm should be no exception. Is your firm getting good value for its marketing dollar? If not, where are the opportunities for improvement?

Measuring return on investment, or ROI, from your marketing budget can help you gain better answers to those questions.

ROI measurement is an opportunity to review your marketing practices and make smart, informed decisions about the future — which tactics to emphasize, what’s working and what’s not, and whether your message is connecting with prospects or need to be fine-tuned. And you don’t need a marketing degree to do it.

These steps will help you generate ROI information and use it to evaluate and improve your marketing strategy.

1. Measure all marketing programs What strategies — print, broadcast, online and in-person — do you use to connect with prospects and clients? In order to gauge which strategies to leverage and which are falling short, you should define and track each of them.

Start with brochures, Yellow Pages ads, radio spots, web campaigns and other direct marketing expenditures. But don’t forget other programs that may indirectly generate new business and strengthen existing client relationships: sponsorships, client entertainment and professional memberships, for example.

Once you have a handle on all the promotional efforts that generate leads for your firm, you have a good foundation for measuring ROI.

2. Track leads and conversions Firms that market themselves efficiently use documented, common-sense controls to track spending. Hard data goes much further than anecdotes and guesswork in ensuring your money’s well spent.

So once you’ve defined the scope of your marketing effort, put tracking procedures into place for each program — sustainable procedures you can incorporate, long-term, into your practice management. For example, you can:

Assign your receptionist to record telephone inquiries.
Create a new-client information sheet to track word-of-mouth referrals.
Collect business cards from meetings and speaking engagements, then record them and follow up.
Place a client intake form on your web site and make it accessible from every page.

Try to capture the same information from prospects no matter how they reach your firm. Your receptionist, for example, should ask prospects the same questions that appear on your online intake form. By being consistent, you can better compare the quality of leads coming from online, print and other marketing efforts.

Documenting inquiries shows you which client-development programs are successful and makes follow-up easier. It also helps identify any disconnect between leads generated and leads converted into actual client cases.

If “hits” to your web site aren’t translating into new business, for example, look critically at your site. Is your intake form clear and simple? Overall, is your site easy to navigate? Timely follow-up is another key factor. Are you responding promptly to inquiries with both a phone call and an e-mail, if possible?

3. Leverage the web A law firm’s web site can be its most powerful ROI measurement tool. That’s why a growing number of firms prefer to route all client leads through their site.

To make the most of your web site, feature your URL on business cards, ads and in other promotional efforts. Consider purchasing exposure on legal directories and search engines. And ensure that once prospects arrive at your site they can easily find key information, then connect with you to follow up.

One advantage of a web-centric approach is that you can use software programs to analyze site traffic. These programs often are included when you sign up with a web site provider. They can help you determine:

The most popular areas of your site.
Where visitors arrive from — and what sites they visit when they leave.
Keywords and key phrases that drive prospects to your site via search engines.

That’s invaluable information for sharpening your marketing strategy. You might choose to purchase ads on your prospects’ favorite sites, for example. Or edit your promotional materials (print, online and broadcast) to stress high-impact, business-generating keywords.

Whatever decisions you make, with ROI measurement tools you can base them on objective, long-term data. The kind of information that chance conversations with clients, or the occasional one-off report, can’t provide.

4. Measure impact. To accurately measure ROI, take both the tangible and intangible benefits of your marketing efforts into account.

You can crunch the numbers by calculating the dollars earned by an ad or other promotion versus its cost (factoring administrative time and other “hidden” expenses into your total investment):

Amount of $$ Earned - Investment x 100 = ROI (i.e., 400% or 4:1)
Investment

Of course, ROI is not an exact science. Some strategies — volunteer efforts, sponsorships, community outreach — may score low in stark financial terms but still deliver for your firm by generating new leads, or rewarding clients for past business. They build name awareness, strengthen relationships and create goodwill, all of which are important factors in ROI-based decision-making.

5. Evaluate options. With ROI data in hand you can make informed comparisons between your client-development activities. One program may drive a high quantity of leads to your firm while another delivers great quality (a higher rate of conversion or larger, high-value cases). Your journal ads may primarily reach the corporate market while individuals find you online.

That information, plus other factors like how easy the program is to administer, will help you set priorities when you write your next marketing plan.

Be sure, however, that you’re making consistent, “apples-to-apples” comparisons. Choose the same 3-month or 6-month time frame, for example, when you run ROI numbers on print vs. web vs. broadcast and beyond.

6. Modify your marketing The final step is implementing change. Use ROI-generated information to adjust your marketing strategy: to invest more where you’re seeing results and trim back or rethink what isn’t working.

Of course your practice goals change and so will the needs of clients. A marketing program or keyword that draws attention today may go cold six months down the road. ROI measurement — track, evaluate, then modify — is an ongoing process.

That takes commitment, but the payoff is there for your firm. In a more efficient lead-development budget, a better understanding of your client base and a bigger return on your marketing dollar.

Andres Guevara - Upgrade to Custom Design

2009-09-18T09:39:00.002-06:00

Congratulations to Andres Guevara on the upgrade of his website to a Custom Design.

When Andres started his practice out of his house in Highlands Ranch, he had the knowledge and experience to help those in need and with the right presence online we were able to provide him the clientele.

He has not looked back and has seen his practice grow month after month and year after year. He is now getting referrals from those clients that found him on the Internet and know his level of expertise and his ability to get his clients the possible outcome. If you are looking for a great criminal law attorney or family law attorney don't hesitate to call The Law Office of Andres R. Guevara.

You can also learn more about Andres at his website at www.guevaracoloradolaw.com/

Web Marketing Association Awards Announced

2009-09-17T15:08:00.010-06:00

FindLaw's President announced today that FindLaw has been recognized with five WebAwards by the Web Marketing Association for developing legal Web sites. FindLaw has been recognized with 17 WebAwards in the past and now has a total of 22 WebAwards.

The WebAwards is the premier annual Web site award competition that names the best Web sites across 96 industries, setting the standard and encouraging quality in Web site development. Web sites are judged upon seven criteria: design, innovation, content, technology, interactivity, copywriting and ease of use. This year, the WebAwards honored the achievements of the following FindLaw teams:

Best Legal Web Site Award

Law Office of Lisa L. Maki - www.lisamaki.net/

FindLaw Team:
Designer: Clayton Chelmo
Project Manager: Sarah Mickelson
Content Writer: Michael Owen Hill
Attorney Editor: Jeffrey Bodensteiner
Developer: Rani Thao
SEM Consultant: David Fliger

Outstanding Web Site Award

Law Offices of W. Jeff Paradowski - http://www.paradowskilaw.com/
FindLaw Team: Designer: Matt Jewett
Project Manager: Kris Bohrer Content Writer: Michael Klick
Attorney Editor: Jeffrey Bodensteiner
Developer: Phil Knowles SEM Consultant: Lisa Stienkeoway

Legal Standard of Excellence Award

C.E. Borman & Associates - www.ceborman.com/
FindLaw Team:
Designer: Joe Lover
Project Manager: Cheryl Haggerty
Content Writer: Michael Owen Hill
Attorney Editor: Jeffrey Bodensteiner
Developer: Joshua Stephens
Developer: Matt Biersdorf
SEM Consultant: Mark Ness

Swanson Law Firm - www.juliaswansonlaw.com/
FindLaw Team:
Designer: Jordan Linde
Project Manager: Ashley Kockelman
Content Writer: Jason Sarff
Attorney Editor: Greg Bennett
Developer: Matt Meyer
SEM Consultant: Tony Henderson

FindLawDesign.com - www.findlawdesign.com/
FindLaw Team:
Designer: Nathan Weber
Project Manager: Collin Hummel
Content: Collin Hummel

The recognition by the Web Marketing Association differentiates FindLaw as the leader in legal Web site development and reinforces our expertise in legal Internet marketing. Each of the awards signifies our continued commitment to creativity and quality, and showcases the exceptional talent we have at FindLaw.

Converting More "Clicks" Into Qualified Clients

2009-09-17T09:30:00.002-06:00

When your office hours end, your law firm’s Web site stays open for business. Faced with a pressing legal problem, most people today turn to the Internet as a 24-hour-a-day tool for researching issues and looking for representation.

Online inquiries can come in anytime, from anywhere, but can be lost just as quickly. Giving prospects the information they’re looking for, and providing it fast, is critical to your success in closing online leads.

To convert more of your Web "clicks" into qualified clients for your firm, start by addressing the key issues.

Understand online prospects
Fast, perfect and free legal services. Realistically, that’s what most online legal consumers want. By understanding those expectations and managing them effectively, you’ve got a better chance to establish a relationship with prospects then move them forward toward signing an engagement letter.

Particularly in areas like criminal law, family law, personal injury and consumer bankruptcy, prospects often are highly motivated but may have limited experience working with attorneys. Fees are always an issue and so is time: Often the prospect has waited to locate an attorney until the need is acute.

Above all, online prospects may have many questions they need answered: about the law, their case, how to hire an attorney. Once they complete your online intake form or request information from a legal site, you have a window of opportunity (albeit often brief) to address those concerns and demonstrate the level of service and expertise you can provide.

Respond First
Online prospects typically are looking for immediate help with a legal issue. In many cases the attorney who responds first, wins.

And in a world of 2 a.m. Web searches and instantly available information, your response time ideally should be measured in terms of hours, not days.

Follow up quickly on incoming e-mails, inquiries left on your voice-mail and phone calls taken by staff. A return phone call typically is the most effective response. If there’s no answer, leave a message indicating your availability, and a direct phone number or e-mail address where you can be reached 24 hours a day. Mail a brochure or other information about your firm to the prospect the same day that you receive an inquiry.

Whatever lead-tracking system you use (a prospect sheet, management software, a simple manila folder), make updating it and following up a part of your daily work routine.

Finally, check the contact information that you provide on your Web site. Is it complete, up-to-date and easy for site visitors to find? From every page on your Web site?

Make it easy for a prospect confronted with a time-sensitive, stressful or unfamiliar legal need. Providing clear contact information — then following up promptly with a personal response —gives you a big advantage in converting that prospect into a client.

Provide a quality response
Invest at least a few non-billable hours per week in following up personally over the phone with prospects who’ve contacted your firm. They’ll value the attention from an attorney. For you, it’s an opportunity to gauge the client and your interest in the case.

A good rule of thumb, when you’re on the phone with a prospect, is to go slightly beyond the standard FAQ information that you likely provide on your law firm’s Web site. You want to establish your expertise, demonstrate interest and overcome any hesitancies the prospect has about hiring a lawyer — without forming an attorney-client relationship or falling prey to unscrupulous Web surfers "phishing" for free legal advice.

The goal: to set up a free office consultation where you can persuade the prospect in person and better evaluate their needs. By then, having already responded swiftly to the initial request for help, and demonstrated your sensitivity to the prospect’s concerns about cost, you’ll be in a strong position to formalize the relationship.

Screen the prospect
Is the prospect a good fit for representation by your firm? Your initial e-mail and telephone interactions are a good chance to not only sell yourself to the prospect, but also to collect the key information you need about their temperament and their goals and expectations, plus of course the specifics of the case.

Take a close look, for example, at the initial e-mail or intake form response you received. Does the prospect have experience with the legal system? Do their answers provide any clues about their ability to pay? Look for other information — such as complaints about previous attorneys, the prospect’s education level, whether they’re "hands-off" or a micro-manager — that’s useful in performing your due diligence before you commit to the case.

To handle this screening process more efficiently, you can also consider attorney-client matching services. They’re online sites that allow consumers to read descriptions of attorneys in their area based on their topic of interest. Some matching services will pre-qualify leads by collecting key data from the prospect. The attorney then can self-select potential cases that are of interest.

Moving forward
Nearly 73% of American adults (and 91% college-educated Americans) are now are online, according to a Pew Internet & American Life Project. Research shows that the vast majority use the Internet to do research and make purchasing decisions. As each generation becomes more technically savvy, Web-based leads will become an increasingly key part of your new-business development strategy.

By understanding the needs of online prospects and providing a fast, high-quality response to leads you receive, you’ll have a great opportunity to convert more clicks into clients of your firm.

Glenn Hagen - Business Law Attorney - Highlands Ranch, Colorado

2009-09-16T14:01:00.003-06:00

Congratulations to Attorney Glenn Hagen on the publication of his new website at http://www.lawyer4business.com/. Glenn has been a FindLaw client for many years and has tremendous success with his online presence.

Daniel, Thom & Katzman - Colorado Springs Attorneys

2009-09-16T11:15:00.003-06:00

Steve Kaztman of Daniel, Thom & Katzman explains what your rights are if pulled over for suspicion of drinking and driving.

Jonathan Willett - Denver, Colorado

2009-09-14T09:30:00.002-06:00

When your future is jeopardized by criminal charges, divorce or a personal injury, it is important to turn to an experienced lawyer for help navigating the legal system.
Jonathan Willett, Attorney at Law, has more than 20 years of experience protecting his Colorado clients' rights in negotiation and in the courtroom. Having tried more than 60 cases and represented clients in more than 125 appeals, he will help you achieve your legal goals. Call 303-952-0705 or contact Mr. Willett online to schedule a free initial consultation.
Criminal Defense
Most of Mr. Willett's practice is devoted to protecting clients against criminal charges. Criminal convictions come with many consequences. High fines, jail time, restitution, loss of driver's license and civil rights, loss of employment, family problems and other repercussions often come with convictions, so it is important to present a strong defense in court.

The Law Office of Rick Nicoletti - Denver Colorado

2009-09-14T09:27:00.001-06:00

Effective legal representation comes from taking the correct approach to working with opposing counsel and judges. Above all, it means taking the correct approach on behalf of clients, through responsive, timely and zealous advocacy.
Attorney Rick Nicoletti has been divorced; he knows how overwhelming the legal system can be. When Rick works with clients, he offers them the personalized attention and tailored solutions that he would want from an attorney. Loyalty, honesty, hard work and consistency have characterized Rick's life, and they have been the hallmark of his legal practice.

Rick isn't just a one dimensional lawyer who went straight out of college to law school. Rick can relate to all types of people and clients. Rick has been a Model A Ford restoration specialist, a radio disc jockey (KTLK Denver), a TV assignment editor/reporter (KUSA Channel 9 News), a commercial hot air balloon pilot and a trapeze artist.

Tom Miller - Denver, Colorado Criminal Law Attorney

2009-09-13T21:55:00.003-06:00

Congratulations to Tom Miller, Criminal Law attorney in Denver, Colorado on the release of his new website.

If you want a straightforward lawyer who will return your calls, answer your questions and fight for the best possible result under the circumstances, you want a trial lawyer like "Doc" Miller. His combination of experience as an attorney, an investigator, journalist, and as a court certified document examiner gives him the ability to review evidence and help you present the best defense possible. He has worked on high profile cases as a handwriting expert, including the Jon Benet Ramsey case, and has the experience to handle criminal defense matters and an expertise as a handwriting expert that other attorneys do not have.

Ethics Violations to Avoid on Law Firm Web Sites

2009-09-11T22:12:00.003-06:00

From case studies to core practice-area content to e-mail newsletters, law firms have a variety of Internet-based content tools they can use to inform potential clients of who they are and what they do. Other online marketing tactics, however, fall outside of state ethics rules, as well as the ethical guidelines the American Bar Association (ABA) promotes the states to adopt.

As an attorney working to develop client relationships online, it’s your responsibility to educate yourself about these rules and apply them. One good resource is the ABA Web site, which provides links to the rules governing lawyer advertising, solicitation and marketing in all 50 states: www.abanet.org/ad rules

While the ABA’s prohibition against posting "false and misleading" information on a legal Web site is interpreted differently in various states, there are some established guidelines your law firm can refer to make sure that you are operating ethically on your site. Some of the key areas that your firm should address include:

Illegal communications. If the Internet is anything it’s information-rich — and the unauthorized "borrowing" of content is a recurring problem. Utilizing plagiarized materials, stolen testimonials or copyrighted images from other Web sites is not only unethical, but illegal.

Omissions. Statements such as "No Recovery — No Fee" can be misleading if the client is exempt from legal fees only and is still liable for courts costs or administrative fees. Many states require disclaimers when contingent fee arrangements are publicized. Another common omission on legal Web sites is the posting of positive awards and settlements without a prominently displayed disclaimer on all relevant pages of the site stating that results may vary or that the facts and circumstances of each case dictate the results.

Unjustified expectations. The creation of unjustified expectations is an important consideration that is relevant in all states. Some of the key areas of concern are:

Many of the same rules that apply to law firm names also apply to Web site domain names. A firm may not, for example, adopt a domain name that creates undue expectations of success (www.winyourlegalcase.com) or that implies a connection with a government agency or charitable legal services organization.
Some states restrict the use of awards, honors or commendations, as they can create unjustified expectations of success. New Jersey is presently discussing the use of the "Super Lawyers" designation due, in part, to a concern that the designation may create an unjustified expectation that the "Super Lawyer" is better than other lawyers.
The inclusion of "verdicts and settlements" pages or other descriptions of success can be a powerful marketing tool, but may create unjustified expectations without the inclusion of appropriate disclaimers or factual descriptions. Most states regulate the use of this type of information.
Testimonials, endorsements or representative-client lists are also prohibited or banned in certain states because they can create expectations of success merely by reference to who has retained the firm in the past.

Statements about a lawyer’s services. Statements that compare one lawyer’s services with another’s run afoul of the ethics rules in many states, if they cannot be factually substantiated or objectively verified. In some states, self-laudatory are also against the rules. Any comparisons to the services of other lawyers — even implied comparisons, such as a law firm that bills itself as "the most experienced in the state" or "the most qualified" — should be avoided or clearly documented, if possible, on your site.

Claims of specialization. While the rules differ state-by-state, a Web site that positions a firm as "experts" or "specialists" may violate ethics guidelines. In most states it is allowable, however, to state that you "limit your practice to" or "concentrate in" your area of expertise.

Failure to include necessary disclaimers. Many states require special disclaimers that govern contingency fees or legal services in general. It is important that the attorney understand all disclaimers required, as well as any size, position, type and color requirements that may exist in certain states. In some states, failure to include necessary disclaimers results in a per se violation of the rules.

Spamming. Spamming is another key ethics concern online. If your firm uses mass e-mail communication, do not include overt marketing messages in the subject line, and give recipients a prominently displayed "opt-out" option to ensure the e-mail is not misconstrued as spam. Some states also require that advertising for legal services be included in the subject line itself.

The ethics guidelines covering spam and some other aspects of Internet-based legal marketing, such as online recordkeeping requirements, are still being fine-tuned. To stay on top of developments in blogging, pay-per-clicks and other emerging areas, the best strategy is to bookmark the ABA Web page that tracks changes in state advertising laws (www.abanet.org/cpr/professionalism/lawyerAd.html) and refer to it frequently for updates.

Conclusion

Law firms can pay a high price for unethical online marketing in disciplinary measures, fee forfeiture and reduced visibility. If your Operating your Web site within the rules can help you avoid ethics repercussions and make the most of this dynamic marketing tool for your law firm.

How to Benefit from Google’s Enhancements

2009-09-09T21:03:00.002-06:00

Behind the scenes, Internet search engines continually refine how they rank information and provide search results. Recently, however, they’ve rolled out changes that are more dramatic. Search-engines users are noticing the difference and so are law firms that market themselves online.

Google and other popular search engines like Yahoo! and Ask are attempting to give their users both more information and more personalized information — by incorporating maps, video and other useful tools into their search results and by tailoring those results based on data they collect about the user.

The three key factors driving these changes are:

Universal search
Geo-targeting
Personalization

Universal search, which Google introduced in May, is a broader, more comprehensive way to search the Web. A universal search serves up standard Web results alongside video clips, blog entries, images, news results and other categories of information — all pulled from Google’s so-called "vertical search" tools which index information by type (images, maps, blogs) or content (finance, shopping, academia). Those specialized search tools have been available at google.com for years, but now they’re being brought to the forefront.

So a search for "Chicago car accident," for example, might generate local TV video, newspaper coverage of recent events and (if you do personal-injury work in the Windy City) a listing for your law firm, integrated into one result. For Google and other search engines implementing universal search, the goal is to break down the walls that separate different types of Web content and give users a better search experience.

Geo-targeting refers to the increasingly sophisticated way that search engines are tailoring results based on a user’s location, which Google says it can determine nearly 90% of the time. As a result of geo-targeting, two people searching for "Boston defense lawyer" — one from a coffee shop in Massachusetts, the other from a home office in Denver — likely will get very different results.

User-based information (the physical location of the computer, MapQuest defaults) is part of this trend, but geo-targeting is a two-way street. For both legal prospects and law firm Web sites, geographic details now matter more. Referencing local towns and neighborhoods on your site, displaying the firm address prominently, your presence on local directories ... all are becoming more critical as search engines strive to provide relevant, location-specific results.

Personalization means that along with geographic information, search engines are collecting more data about the search behavior and online browsing patterns of users, then using it to shape results. Type in a Google search and your Web history, Gmail account, iGoogle settings and other unique-to-you information all may impact the results delivered to your screen.

Universal search, geo-targeting and personalization are good news for law firms that market themselves effectively online. With access to better, more relevant results, prospects are likely to spend more time online. On the attorney side, law firm Web sites that are grounded in their target market and provide a diverse mix of relevant content — and that are monitored and updated frequently — may see better qualified prospects and convert them at a higher rate.

How can your law firm take advantage of these Google updates? Consider these specific steps:

1) Get your firm on Google Maps. When users search for services online, they’re more likely to include a geographic qualifier than when searching for products. The integration of Google Maps into general search results is an opportunity to make yourself more accessible to those prospects. There’s no charge for adding your firm, though a Gmail account is required — go to google.com, select Maps, then select "Add or edit your business."

2) Think content, not just copy. As search parameters expand, new ways of communicating with your prospects beyond standard Web site text are more likely to find an audience. Video is an example of this. YouTube streams more than 200 million videos daily, and Web video is emerging as an important new tool for online legal marketing.

3) Go local. In today’s search environment, with results tailored to each individual, being #1 is relative. Achieving a top rank is less important than being seen by your target audience. Zero in on your prospects by utilizing keywords, key phrases and geographic terms relevant to your local market — avoiding legal jargon in favor of commonly-used terms. By incorporating targeted, unique content into your site, you’ll define your market and capture more local traffic.

4) Stay relevant. On the Internet a generic, one-size-fits-all approach is less effective than content that sets you apart and speaks to your prospects; Spanish-language information, for example, if you’re in a city with a high concentration of Spanish speakers. Or consider establishing a topical practice center on your site that focuses exclusively on an industry or area of the law that’s big in your market.

5) Incorporate current events. Search engines increasingly are blending news, blog entries, video clips and other timely, event-focused information into results, and that’s an opportunity for your firm. Keep your eye on news that’s relevant to your practice and integrate it into your site. Reference current events and local stories in case results, on your blog and in online articles. The key: make updates frequently.

6) Use local directories and search engines. Get your Web address out through a variety of online resources including local search engines, superpages.com, legal directories and your bar association and chamber of commerce Web sites. That’s important not only for the leads they generate directly, but also because search engines like Google pull from smaller directories and search tools to validate information, compile rankings and provide better local results.

7) Monitor, then modify. Increasingly, there’s no one "right" set of keywords or content strategy for legal Web sites. Results are fluid. They vary by user and location and are influenced by trends. That makes understanding user behavior through the use of analytics more important than ever. Available from Web site developers, analytic programs help you determine how users find your site and how they behave once they arrive. Which keywords drew prospects last month? What are the most (and least) effective pages on your site? Use analytics to ask these questions; use the answers to make upgrades to your site.

Overall, search is becoming more refined and precise, and opening up to encompass new categories of information.

That’s good news for a law firm that knows its target market and is proactive about staying relevant to its prospects, monitoring site performance and delivering a diverse mix of quality content.

How To Improve Your Search Engine Rankings

2009-09-08T21:57:00.002-06:00

No marketing channel can touch the power of the Internet. And no channel is as crowded with competitors or as potentially intimidating to clients. That’s why addressing the issue of visibility — how your web site is linked to other sites, how prospects find you, and how you can improve those connections — should be an important piece of your online strategy.

One smart move to consider is making changes to your site, and to your overall online presence, that boost your rankings with powerful search engines like Google, Yahoo and MSN. That’s called search engine optimization, and it’s not about tricks or shady tactics.

The goal is to make your site more visible and relevant to both search engines and the people who use them to find legal representation. By taking a few basic steps to raise your site’s visibility, you’ve got a great opportunity to generate more leads and up the return on your web investment.

The challenge, of course, is standing out from the crowd. Research shows that most people look at just the first page or two of a search result. So how do search engines compile those lists? Why does Firm A rank highly in a given result, while Firm B struggles in at #273?

It starts with "spiders," software programs that the search engines send out to visit web sites, collect information, then use that information to build a searchable index. When a person types in a query, the search engine sorts through its index for the most relevant, authoritative information related to that request. Search engines frequently adjust the formulas they use to rank sites. They do that to make their rankings more precise and to prevent spam. But you can leave the technical fine-tuning to folks who don’t have a law firm to run. Focus instead on strategies that are proven winners in improving search engine results.

These strategies include:

Ensuring your web site’s content is fresh and easily browsable.
Choosing words and phrases that target your prospects.
Increasing the number of inbound links from other sites that drive leads to yours.
Content A rule of thumb: What attracts and holds the attention of site visitors will also improve search engine rankings. Regularly updated content, for example. A search engine’s spider looks for fresh information to index.
Straightforward, easy to browse design also makes a difference. The same slow-loading, overdone graphics and multimedia bells-and-whistles that drive web users up the wall also drastically decrease the likelihood of your web site being found in a search result.
One of the most important factors in search-engine-optimizing your web site is to intelligently use keywords that promote your marketing objectives, fit your geographic location and practice areas, and match the words that prospects use when they conduct a search.
To use keywords effectively on your site, remember to:
Put yourself in your prospect’s shoes. Prospects won’t necessarily use legal terms of art when conducting a search. Incorporate layman’s terms for your key practice areas.
Include "lawyer" and "attorney" and "law firm."
Cover your geographic area in all its permutations: city, state, even neighborhood if you’re in a big city.

Keep it readable. Keyword stuffing — repeating key words and phrases over and over — makes for a poor user experience and could get your site flagged by search engines. Your goal should be keyword-rich language that’s also natural and easy to read.

Own a niche. While the typical search generates thousands (or even millions) of results, most users click the first few links. So it’s key to target your specific market niche and location. You’re better off, in other words, scoring high in a unique search than chasing the most competitive, generic keywords like "divorce lawyer" or "criminal-defense attorney."

Keywords should also be incorporated into the behind-the-scenes programming of your site. Properly written title tags, meta descriptions and alt tags are a few of the key elements that can help keep you at the top of search engine rankings. Content really is king. So if you work with a web-site provider, make sure they know the legal industry and how to write for it, and understand how search engines evaluate and rank law firm web sites like yours.

Inbound Links Another factor influencing search-engine rankings are inbound links to your web address from other online sites. With inbound links, quality is much more important than quantity. Relevant links from other law firms, legal sites and bar associations should influence your results in search engines. Think of it like a frequently cited legal case. A case is more important if lots of other rulings reference it, particularly if they’re high-profile cases that are directly on topic. In the same way, when authoritative web sites link to your site it raises your credibility. That said, links should only be purchased for the traffic they will generate and not for any potential search engine result lift they might provide.

Ongoing Process Search engine optimization is a straightforward, common-sense process, but it’s important to keep at it — to regularly measure your site traffic and conversion rate, audit the content on your site and adjust it as your marketing goals, and the legal issues facing your clients, change. Then republish your site as necessary.

If you outsource your online marketing, look for a provider who can assist you throughout that process — from traffic analysis to writing and design services to the nuts-and-bolts of site management. That will help ensure that the time, money and creative energy you’ve invested in your web site pay off. Search engine optimization is a terrific opportunity to make smart use of the Internet to generate more leads, and ultimately more cases, for your firm.

Google Basics

2009-09-02T21:06:00.004-06:00

According to Google, there are three key process in delivering search results to an end user. They are:

Crawling: Does Google know about your site. Can Google find your site?
Indexing: Can Google index your site?
Relevancy: Does your site have content that useful and relevant to the useer's search?

---In Google's Words---

Crawling: Crawling is the process by which Googlebot discovers new and updated pages to be added to the Google index.
Google uses a huge set of computers to fetch (or "crawl") billions of pages on the web. The program that does the fetching is called Googlebot (also known as a robot, bot, or spider). Googlebot uses an algorithmic process: computer programs determine which sites to crawl, how often, and how many pages to fetch from each site.
Google's crawl process begins with a list of web page URLs, generated from previous crawl processes, and augmented with Sitemap data provided by webmasters. As Googlebot visits each of these websites it detects links on each page and adds them to its list of pages to crawl. New sites, changes to existing sites, and dead links are noted and used to update the Google index.
Google doesn't accept payment to crawl a site more frequently, and we keep the search side of our business separate from our revenue-generating AdWords service.

Indexing: Googlebot processes each of the pages it crawls in order to compile a massive index of all the words it sees and their location on each page. In addition, we process information included in key content tags and attributes, such as Title tags and ALT attributes. Googlebot can process many, but not all, content types. For example, we cannot process the content of some rich media files or dynamic pages.

Relevancy: When a user enters a query, our machines search the index for matching pages and return the results we believe are the most relevant to the user. Relevancy is determined by over 200 factors, one of which is the PageRank for a given page. PageRank is the measure of the importance of a page based on the incoming links from other pages. In simple terms, each link to a page on your site from another site adds to your site's PageRank. Not all links are equal: Google works hard to improve the user experience by identifying spam links and other practices that negatively impact search results. The best types of links are those that are given based on the quality of your content.
In order for your site to rank well in search results pages, it's important to make sure that Google can crawl and index your site correctly. Our Webmaster Guidelines outline some best practices that can help you avoid common pitfalls and improve your site's ranking.
Google's Related Searches, Spelling Suggestions, and Google Suggest features are designed to help users save time by displaying related terms, common misspellings, and popular queries. Like our google.com search results, the keywords used by these features are automatically generated by our web crawlers and search algorithms. We display these suggestions only when we think they might save the user time. If a site ranks well for a keyword, it's because we've algorithmically determined that its content is more relevant to the user's query.

I hope this is some useful information as to what it takes to get found online. Please don't hesitate to call me with any questions at 303-947-1737 or check out my legal marketing site at www.legalmarketingguy.com.

Antonio Lucero - Representing Denver's Hispanic Community for over 24 Years

2009-09-01T22:53:00.003-06:00

All too often people do not understand the U.S. court system and all the possible consequences they face. Fearing immigration consequences, they do not call a lawyer to learn about their rights. Serving residents of the Hispanic and Spanish-speaking community in Denver, Colorado, for twenty-seven years, the lawyers of Lucero & Associates, P.C. strive to advise their clients on all their legal options.
Free Initial Consultation • Advising the Hispanic Community
To find out more about your case, call us at (303) 455-7699. Sit down with us during a free initial consultation about your family law, criminal law, personal injury, and workers' compensation case. While it is important to understand the consequences of your legal actions, you need an experienced attorney who can advise you about your options.
Affordable and Accessible Legal Representation
Depending on your case, we can work with you to find an affordable solution to your legal troubles. We work on a contingency fee basis when handling a personal injury case. We will not collect anything from you until you receive compensation for your injuries. As a small firm, we offer prompt attention and personalized counsel for each of our clients. You will not have to worry about your case being handled by a less experienced associate.
Schedule a free initial consultation with an attorney of Lucero & Associates, P.C. by calling (303) 455-7699. Fill out the attached form with any questions you have for us about your case. We represent people through the Denver metro area including the cities of Lakewood, Aurora, Northglenn, and Westminster.

Se habla español

EL sistema legal es complicada y dificil para comprender, especialmente si uno no habla bien el idioma. Los abogados de Lucero y Associados, P.C. tiene años de experiencia ayudando la gente Mexicano e hispano en las cortes de Colorado. Podemos explicar bien sus derechos legales, las consequencias de de los procedemientos legal, y los opciones que tiene usted. Podemos atender a usted rapidamente y resolver su caso lo mas pronto possible.
Llama a la oficina de Lucero y Associados, P.C. para una consulta gratis o llenar el fomulario aqui y mandar por e-mail y podemos responder entre 24 horas.
Lucero & Associates, P.C.3030 West 38th AvenueDenver, CO 80211Phone: (303) 455-7699Fax: (303) 458-8249

Rosenthal & Heymann - The Peoples Law Firm

2009-08-31T22:21:00.005-06:00

Rosenthal & Heymann is a Denver based law firm working for those in trouble.

http://www.rosenthal-law.net/

http://www.coloradocriminalcivil.com/

Conversions: From a Phone Call to a Client

2009-08-28T09:22:00.007-06:00

So a potential client has found your website and thought enough of what they read to call you. Your job now is to convert that caller into a client (if they fit your criteria). When the potential client calls you they will be judging you on how you present yourself on the phone, how well you answer their questions and if they feel comfortable with you enough to pay you to represent them in a legal capacity.

Lets look at these different areas:

Phone Presentation: When you answer the phone, do you sound like you just woke up or is your voice full of confidence? Do you answer in a professional manner, for example, Hello this is Joe Lawyer, how may I help you today? Or do you simply say hello like you are expecting a call from a friend?
Do you answer their questions: Are you giving direct answers to their questions or does it sound like you are trying to sell them on why they should hire you? People looking for an attorney typically have a life altering event occurring and they need to speak with a true professional that they feel can help guide them through their turbulent times.
Do you make them feel comfortable: You may be the first attorney they have called or the third. Your only job now is to make sure that (again, if they fit the criteria) WANT to hire you as their lawyer. You need to educate them, not sell them on how your experience can take them through the process.

These are just a few areas that everyone that deals with the public needs to understand when it comes to actually signing clients. Without those interpersonal skills you will struggle and not achieve the level of success you might be looking for.

The attorneys that I see as the most successful usually have the best interpersonal skills. There are a number of courses that individuals can take that will help. Dale Carnegie is one that comes to mind and is one that should be strongly considered.

If you are interested in a free evaluation of your phone skills please don't hesitate to call me at 303-947-1737 and we can sit down and figure out how to best market your services once the potential client actually calls you.

Congratulations to McKinney & Associates - New Custom Website Release

2009-08-28T08:25:00.003-06:00

Nathan D. McKinney, the founder of the firm, grew up in a farming community in eastern Colorado. He understands the everyday struggles working people face and the devastating effects that financial hardship can bring. In starting his practice, Nathan was determined to create a law firm that could help honest people deal successfully with seemingly unmanageable issues such as debt, family law disputes and serious accidents.

They help hard-working people in the Colorado Springs area obtain debt relief through Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 bankruptcy filings. They stop foreclosure and help their clients keep their homes. They stop repossession and help people keep their vehicles through redemptions and reaffirmations.

In the area of family law, They guide clients through the divorce process and resolve related problems such as child custody, visitation and child support.

The lawyers obtain compensation, medical care and justice for victims of car accidents, truck accidents, medical malpractice and other acts of negligence.

At McKinney & Associates, P.C., they work hard to achieve results in every case they handle, because they know the difference it can make in their clients' lives.

Free Consultation With an Attorney
For a free initial consultation with McKinney & Associates, P.C., call 866-968-2013 toll free or send us an e-mail.

They are a debt relief agency. They help people file for bankruptcy relief under the Bankruptcy Code.

Moran and Heim Colorado Springs DUI Attorneys

2009-08-25T22:25:00.002-06:00

Janice Greening Workers Compensation Attorney - Denver, Colorado

2009-08-23T20:56:00.005-06:00

Janice M. Greening, LLC, Denver Attorney and Former Nurse

Attorney Janice Greening is a former nurse who understands injury and disability as a caregiver and as a legal advisor. Her compassionate manner, combined with her proven track record as a personal injury and workers' compensation attorney, make her an ideal source of counsel and advocacy for injured workers and other accident victims. Contact their law offices to schedule a free initial consultation.

At the law firm of Janice M. Greening, LLC, they bring the experience gained from more than 2,000 injury and disability cases to bear in cases such as:

Workers’ Compensation: If you were injured at work, you are entitled to workers’ compensation benefits. Their Denver workers’ compensation lawyer has handled workplace injury claims for a wide range of workers including construction and manufacturing workers suffering from burn injuries, asbestos injuries or lung injuries caused by exposure to toxic substances; office and professional workers suffering from repetitive motion injuries, and health care workers.

Personal Injury: The personal injury attorney at Janice M. Greening, LLC protects clients’ rights when they are faced with back and neck injury, bone fractures, burn injuries, brain injury, and other injuries suffered in car accidents, truck accidents, and slip and fall accidents.

Catastrophic Injuries: The more serious the injuries, the more you need to make sure your loved one has adequate medical care and financial resources for home care, prescriptions, and durable medical equipment such as wheelchairs, walkers and other essential items. Their law firm represents accident victims and surviving family members in cases involving brain injury, spinal cord injury, paralysis and electrocution.

Their injury and disability claims law firm represents clients throughout the Denver area, including the cities of Denver, Englewood, Castle Rock, Highlands Ranch, Parker, Littleton, Centennial, Elizabeth, and Aurora; counties of Denver County, Douglas County, Arapahoe County, Jefferson County and Elbert County. They handle subrogation claims when there is more than one source of compensation, helping ensure that injured clients receive all benefits they are entitled to.

E-mail: Contact us through this Web site to discuss your workers' compensation or personal injury claim.

Graphic Crash, UK, Dangers of texting while driving PSA

2009-08-23T20:31:00.003-06:00

I have decided to include this very graphic video of a group of teenagers that crashed while texting & driving. I think it is important to include because we have all seen kids AND adults paying more attention to their phone them to the road. If watching this video helps one person than this blog psoting will have helped.

Top 5 Negative Factors

2009-08-20T22:50:00.004-06:00

Top 5 Negative Factors

I've decided to touch on some negative SEO techniques that can be done and why to reconsider using them. This is not my content. I often refer to SEOMoz to learn more about Search Engine techniques.

Server is Often Inaccessible to Bot: If they can't crawl your new content then others are at an advantage by being crawled first. Plus if a server is down often search engines may not want to send visitors to that site as much.
Content Very Similar or Duplicate of Existing Content in the Index: Can affect visibility and/or indirectly affect ranking by splitting inlink value, depending on the nature of the "duplicate".
External Links to Low Quality/Spam Sites: Linking out to a low quality neighbourhood flags you as a resident of the same neighbourhood.
Duplicate Title/Meta Tags on Many Pages: Having duplicate titles on many pages severely limits the ranking ability of your pages, especially those in the long tail that will not have many inbound links. Those pages compete on internal links and title tag relevance, so its important to have a unique title on each page.
Overuse of Targeted Keywords (Stuffing/Spamming): Whatever method the SEs user to target stuffing, once a certain threshold is breached, the page in question gets flagged and some bad things could happen to your SE presence.

Inbound Links

2009-08-19T23:42:00.003-06:00

There are 100's of components that make up a search engines algorithm which is what they use too determine a web site's rank based on a particular phrase.

I am going to discuss Inbound Links (links from one website to another) and why they are important.

Lets use our Way Back Machine and travel back to a time before Google. Larry Page, one of the founders of Google was looking for a way to organize the Internet. At that time, around 1995, the information was spread throughout the Internet but was very disorganized. Organizations like Yahoo or Excite! had rudimentary ranking criteria but nothing like we have post-Google. So Larry set to work and determined (very correctly) that links from other sites to a particular site was a vote of confidence or a validation of the content contained within that particular site., therefore he ranked those sites higher.

For example, if there are two sites about Abraham Lincoln, one has about 10 links from other sites and the other Lincoln site has 1,000 links, the site with 1,000 links will rank higher.

Linking back in the late 90's and the early of the 21st Century was much simpler. Any link would do. As time went on though, linking got much more sophisticated. It was just about any link anymore. Now what the search engines are looking for in regards to links are links that have high Page Rank value and relevancy. So, for law firms, the links that should be coming in to that site should be related to the Practice Area that the website focuses on.

And that is short explanation of how Inbound Links benefit websites. If you have questions please don't hesitate to call me at 303-947-1737

Insurance & the Importance of Proper Coverage by John Fuller

2009-08-18T11:11:00.003-06:00

This is a blog posting by Attorney John R. Fuller of the Greater Denver Metro Area. Attorney Fuller is an experienced Personal Injury and Trial Attorney. I decided to post his blog on mine as well because I believe that the information he posted is too important to not be found online

Insurance is for YOU!!
Increasingly, Americans are purchasing sophisticated products via the Internet. This trend has resulted in many people purchasing products that they know little about and which ultimately fails to meet their needs. One such example is automobile insurance. The following is designed to help you understand what the various insurance products are and whether you need these products.

LIABILITY: Liability insurance covers losses sustained by the OTHER DRIVER when you cause an accident. Lots of people think when they have $25,000 to $250,000 of "coverage," that they have this much insurance for their family if an accident happens. This is not true. Liability insurance is required in all 50 states. The theory is that you must have coverage for an innocent victim that you negligently injure, but you are free to drive without coverage for yourself.

COMPREHENSIVE: Comprehensive, or "full coverage" is designed primarily to cover your vehicle and other property in the event that YOU or another authorized driver cause an accident. This coverage may also be used when someone else causes an accident and either doesn't have insurance or doesn't have enough insurance. But keep in mind: comprehensive insurance is for PROPERTY only, not injuries.

UM/UIM: Look to the left and right on your drive to work and ask yourself if the person you see looks like they have enough insurance. Call me crazy, but I don't trust the other guy to have enough insurance to cover myself and my family in an accident, and you shouldn't either. Studies have shown that as many as one in six drivers are uninsured. Even if you have great, high limits liability insurance, there may be no coverage for yourself and your family in the event of an accident. The solution is an insurance product called "UM/UIM" which stands for Uninsured or Under-insured Motorist Coverage. As the name implies, this coverage if for claims where the other driver either fails entirely to have insurance, or perhaps has only the state minimum for an accident that requires much more. If the other driver has insurance, that policy will pay first, but after that, you will be dealing directly with your company. Unlike the adversarial relationship you may encounter in dealing with the other driver's company, your insurance company has a duty of good faith when dealing with their own clients.

MEDPAY: Medpay is a small policy that is designed to cover the initial emergency medical expenses incurred in an accident for you or a covered passenger. It is not available for the other vehicle or passengers. While this of course means the other driver cannot make a claim against your Medpay policy, it also means that you must have this coverage on your own policy for yourself and your family. On January 1, 2009, Colorado now makes Medpay mandatory unless the consumer opts out. As mentioned above, when scrolling through the option screens online, be careful you don't opt out of this important coverage.

Insurance is for YOU!! Only you can protect your family when accidents happen, and accidents DO happen. Insurance is a complicated product. No two consumers are exactly the same. Before evaluating products like automobile insurance online, be sure you know exactly what each component covers. When in doubt, consult an old-fashioned agent. Many times, you will come out with a lower payment and better coverage. We also offer customers of our firm free insurance evaluations for life. Just call us and we can discuss your situation.

Tom Tomazin - Medical Malpractice & Motor Vehicle Accident Attorney

2009-08-17T21:06:00.003-06:00

Contact the Denver trial attorneys at the law firm of Thomas J. Tomazin, P.C., Attorneys at Law, to learn how experienced and skilled civil litigators can meet your personal injury needs. There is no charge for an initial consultation, and you pay no attorney's fees until your case settles favorably or results in a jury verdict. The firm also welcomes referrals from counsel in complex or cost-intensive motor vehicle accident or professional negligence claims.
AV-rated* personal injury lawyer Thomas J. Tomazin is a former Assistant Colorado Attorney General with more than 30 years of experience with the investigation and trial of personal injury claims. For more information about each of the firm's lawyers, click below.

The law firm handles all plaintiffs' litigation on a contingent fee basis. You owe no attorney's fees until you receive a settlement, arbitration award or jury verdict. For additional information about the client services you can expect to experience, contact a Colorado personal injury lawyer at Thomas J. Tomazin, P.C., Attorneys at Law, in Greenwood Village.

Jeffrey Sandman - Business Law Attorney - Denver Tech Center

2009-08-16T17:46:00.003-06:00

Jeffrey Sandman has been practicing law in Colorado since 1971. Prior to opening his own practice in 1993, he served as an assistant general counsel in a large corporation, an Assistant Attorney General for the State of Colorado, an associate attorney, and a partner at two Colorado law firms. He has over thirty years of legal experience in representing and advising individuals and business clients in his areas of practice.
In his thirty years as an attorney, he has developed skills as a business counselor and trial attorney. He is also an American Arbitration Association trained arbitrator and mediator, and is certified in commercial law and employment law. His arbitration and mediation experience allows him to present clients with legal alternatives outside of traditional litigation that may be better suited to their needs and goals.
His goal is to provide the best legal advice to his clients, and he refers his clients to accountants, financial planners, tax attorneys, and other professionals in the Denver area if he feels that an issue is outside of his area of expertise. Jeffrey's practice is service-oriented, and he looks to establish and maintain continuing relationships with clients by addressing their business and employment legal needs and by providing personal attention to each client and their case.
If you have any questions, or if you would like to speak with Attorney Sandman regarding your legal issue, please do not hesitate to call his Denver, Colorado office at 303-488-9668. If you prefer, you may fill out the form on the Contact Us page of his website, and a representative from his office will be in touch with you shortly. For the convenience of his clients, in addition to regular office hours, he is available for early morning, evening, and weekend appointments upon request.

Wayne Stewart - Congratulations! New Site Release

2009-08-13T11:20:00.003-06:00

Over 30 Years of Elder Law Experience

When you are working through an area of law that is constantly changing like estate planning, it is important to work with a lawyer who will remain up-to-date with the changes. At Wayne Stewart Elder Law, that is exactly what they do. Wayne Stewart has been chair of the Elder Law Section of the Colorado Bar Association, and he is the managing editor of the Colorado Elder Law Handbook.

With over 30 years of legal experience, Mr. Stewart has a thorough understanding of the law, and he is skilled at explaining the process to clients in terms they can understand. He will work with you to create an estate plan that protects your assets, family, and distribution circumstances. To learn more about Mr. Stewart's professional involvement and history, follow the links below:

Wayne Stewart Esq.

From their office in Denver, Colorado, they represent clients in elder law, Medicaid planning, estate planning and estate administration matters. Contact us online or call 303-872-5229 to schedule your appointment.

Lee Rosenbaum - Colorado Springs Personal Injury Attorney

2009-08-12T23:07:00.002-06:00

Mr. Rosenbaum was born in New York City, New York. Lee attended and graduated from Deerfield High School in Illinois, and furthered his education at Macallister College in St. Paul, Minnesota. He graduated Magna Cum Laude. He is a member of the Omicron Delta Epsilon, the National Honor Society of Economics and Pi Sigma Alpha, the National Political Science Honor Society. Lee received his Juris Doctorate Degree from Tulane University. He is licensed in the state of Colorado and Federal District Court. He has handled cases all around the United States. Lee started his career as a prosecutor in New Orleans Parish, Louisiana under Harry Connick. He moved to Colorado Springs, Colorado in 1983. Mr. Rosenbaum's first position in Colorado was as a Deputy District Attorney for the El Paso County District Attorney's Office. He prosecuted a multitude of criminal cases including numerous First Degree Murder cases for four years. When he left the office, he was an Assistant Chief Prosecutor in charge of all of the County Courts in El Paso County.
Mr. Rosenbaum opened his own practice in 1987. He initially practiced in the areas of criminal law, personal injury and civil litigation. He now limits his practice to personal injury and complex commercial litigation. Mr. Rosenbaum is a member of the Colorado Bar Association Ethics Board. He is a hearings officer for the Colorado Bar Association's Fee Dispute Committee. He volunteers on the District 12 School Board. Lee chaired the Gold Camp Elementary School BAAAC Committee and sat as a member on the Districts DAAAC Committee.

You can learn more about Lee at his website at www.springspersonalinjury.com.

Donna Stewart Law Firm - Congratulations!

2009-08-10T21:32:00.010-06:00

Congratulations to the Law Office of Donna M. Stewart for the opening of her newly formed law group. From the offices in Castle Rock, Colorado, former deputy district attorney Donna M. Stewart represents individuals charged with felonies or misdemeanors. With over 8 years of experience, she understands how the state prepares a case and knows the system, the judges and the prosecuting attorneys. She focuses her criminal law practice on the defense of drunk driving, domestic violence and juvenile delinquency charges. As a qualified family law mediator and a former guardian ad litem, she has unique insight into many of the issues facing juvenile defendants.

Donna's new address and conact information is below.

The Law Office of Donna M. Stewart, LLC
200 South Wilcox St., #533
Castle Rock, CO 80104
Phone: (303) 956-5361
Fax: (303) 814-0161
www.criminallawco.com

Bell & Pollock - Court Secrets, What They Won't Tell You In Court

2009-08-10T15:31:00.004-06:00

Thank you to the Bell & Pollock Law Firm for compiling this list of Court Secrets. You can also link to the web page to learn more about these Court Secrets.

INSURANCE. The fact that a defendant is insured by a car insurance policy or liability insurance policy is not admissible in court. It is not usable in court and you can't even mention it in court, under most circumstances. Therefore, the following scenario exists:

There is an automobile accident.

A person is injured in a car/truck crash or collision.

The injured person attempts to settle for his/her injuries, damages and losses with the insurance company for the at-fault party.

The settlement cannot be reached and the injured person has to file a lawsuit in District Court to recover for his/her damages, injuries and losses.

During the trial, neither the plaintiff's attorney, nor the plaintiff, nor anyone on plaintiff's behalf can mention or bring up the word insurance or the fact that the at-fault party is insured or has insurance.

The overall point is that the jury is never told about insurance, is never told that the at-fault driver has insurance and is never told that there is an insurance company behind the at fault driver.

Jurors now have the opportunity to ask questions in court. They are usually given the opportunity after the attorneys examine each witness. The most usual and prevalent question is about insurance. The questions generally are something like this:
A. "Is there insurance in this case?"B. "Does the defendant have car insurance?"C. "Is there any insurance covering anyone in this case?"D. "What insurance does the defendant have?"

There are very limited circumstances under which insurance can be mentioned.

As Bell & Pollock have stated on their radio show before, when you are a juror involved in a trial, or in trial in some other capacity, you often wonder whether or not there is "insurance" to cover the jury award, to cover the damages and to cover the amounts requested by the injured person, through their attorney. As a general rule, the word "insurance" cannot be mentioned in any capacity, in any way, in any form, during the trial or the Judge will declare a mistrial.

The insurance companies want you to basically believe that if the jury awards any money that the money is going to have to be paid personally by the Defendant. That's not true. Usually they want the jurors to feel sorry for the Defendant or engage in a mental process whereby the juror could not award money against this poor Defendant, like an 85 year old grandpa, or like a very young person. The truth is that insurance is behind most of these cases and it is relatively rare, in a personal injury case, that there is not insurance to cover all damages and losses. Sometimes what happens is that the insurance company will not offer a settlement on a fair and equitable basis. In a lot of instances, the insurance company refuses to even offer to pay the amount of the medical bills that the injured person has incurred. Therefore a trial has to be conducted in order to determine the amount of compensation that's to be awarded by the jury to the injured person. When "insurance" is not mentioned, then the "implied" thought is that the money is going to have to be paid by the Defendant who is being sued. That is not true as the insurance company pays not only for the judgment, not only for all compensatory damages ordered by the jury, but also for the attorney to represent the Defendant, and for any costs incurred in the case. In essence, the Defendant basically pays nothing out of pocket because the Defendant purchased insurance. You're just not told about insurance.

Insurance companies hire, and pay for, Defense Counsel, pay for the judgment rendered by the jury and pay for all costs associated with defending the Defendant. You are not told that the insurance company for the Defendant selects, hires and pays for the attorney representing the Defendant. The Defendant pays nothing in this regard. If a judgment is entered by the Court, on a jury verdict, the insurance company for the Defendant pays the judgment. The Defendant who is being sued pays nothing. If there are any costs involved in the case, like expert witnesses, and so called "independent" medical examination doctors (doctors who testify regularly on behalf of insurance companies) these "costs" are paid for by the insurance company. The Defendant pays for nothing. Insurance companies make all the decisions as to the amount of money that is going to be paid, offered in settlement, or not offered settlement. The insurance company makes the decision as to the selection of the attorneys, makes the decision as to whether the case will be settled or go to trial and the Defendant, who is being sued, who had a car insurance policy, makes no decisions. The Defendant is required to "cooperate" and show up for his/her deposition and in Court.

TRAFFIC TICKET. We get a lot of questions about traffic tickets. Of course, if a person is issued a traffic ticket in an accident involving injury, there are usually two different proceedings. One of the legal proceedings is a process whereby the person has to answer for the ticket itself. They have to plead guilty or not-guilty and if they plead not guilty then the matter is set for trial with the District Attorney. This process has nothing to do with an injury case. In an injury case, when an at-fault party receives a ticket, the at-fault party has to deal with the ticket itself. It is a separate proceeding from the claim for injuries. An injured person can still make their claim for injuries against the insurance company of the at-fault party. During the trial of the injury case (not the traffic ticket case) a traffic ticket is not admissible into evidence and no one can mention it. Therefore, if you are attending a trial for an injured person or if an injured person is making a claim, then the traffic ticket is not mentioned and cannot be received into evidence on a general basis. That is one of the main reasons why you never hear about traffic tickets in injury cases during the trial by the injured person against the at-fault party. Traffic citations and traffic tickets are not admissible into evidence on a general basis. There are certain exceptions to this rule, which will not be discussed here. Generally speaking, however, the traffic ticket is not admissible into evidence.

DRIVING RECORD OF THE NEGLIGENT, AT-FAULT PARTY. The driving record of the negligent, at-fault party who caused injuries in an accident is not usually admissible into evidence at trial. There are some exceptions, but suffice it to say, that if you are a juror serving on an injury case or if you are involved, in any way, in a claim by an injured victim against the at-fault party, the general rule is that the driving record of the negligent, at-fault party does not come into evidence, nor is it ever mentioned.

POLICE REPORT. Most of the police report in a trial by an injured person against the at-fault party is not admissible, nor is it mentioned. The usual argument by the defense and by the insurance company is that the police report is hearsay, not admissible and the police officer did not "observe" the accident, but is merely going off statements by other people, including independent witnesses. Suffice it to say, the police report usually does not make it into evidence and that is the reason that in a case involving an injured victim against the at-fault party, you do not normally hear about, or see, the police report. Sometimes selected portions of the police report can be admitted into evidence. Certainly the police officer can be called to the stand to testify.

SETTLEMENT OFFERS / SETTLEMENT. Parties to litigation can talk about settlement and engage in a settlement mediation or any other forms of settlement discussions and none of it will be admissible at trial. Therefore, taking the case of an injured victim suing the at-fault party, the insurance company protects the at-fault party and makes settlement offers. Those offers are never admissible in court. Therefore, the jury never hears about settlement offers. Sometimes the insurance company of the at-fault party doesn't even offer as much as the medical bills to settle the case. An example would be medical bills in the amount of $22,500.00 and the insurance company's final "take it or leave it" offer is $11,900.00. That doesn't even pay the amount of the medical bills, and in essences, forces the injured victim to file the case, prosecute the litigation and to have a jury trial involving the injured person's injuries, damages, losses, including medical expenses and bills. The insurance company then likes to call the injured victim "greedy" and portray them as a person who is only out to get money, when in truth and fact insurance companies, in some instances, do not even offer enough money to pay the medical bills, much less other damages, injuries or losses. The bottom line is the settlement offer and settlement discussions are not used at trial. You never hear of them.

EVIDENCE OF GOOD CHARACTER. Generally speaking, any evidence indicating that the injured victim is a person of "good character" is not admissible. There are obviously some exceptions to this rule, however, generally speaking, injured victims / plaintiffs cannot introduce into evidence anything about their "good character" or how good of a person they are, since that sort of evidence is generally excluded. As stated, there are some exceptions to this rule, but that's generally why you never hear about the "good character" of the injured victim.

SUBSEQUENT REPAIRS. Any time there are injuries resulting from dangerous conditions on premises, such as a huge hole in the ground which is unmarked and unprotected, such as sidewalks which were unfinished and dropped off several feet, with no warning, such as dangerous conditions in parking lots, like snow or ice, with no adequate protection, one wonders whether the landowner repaired or corrected the dangerous condition after the injury occurred. Why do you never hear about that in court? There is a rule addressing "subsequent repairs." Any time a dangerous condition is later "repaired" or "corrected" that evidence is generally not admissible to prove anything relating to the incident in question. Therefore, the landowner or other responsible person, can correct, fix and/or repair a dangerous condition after someone has been injured and those "subsequent repairs" generally are not admissible in Court.
We want you to understand why rules of evidence, statutory laws and other rules covering certain matters mandate that certain matters cannot be brought up in Court. Probably the main question usually asked by jurors, when they get their turn to ask questions, is: "is there insurance?" or "what about insurance?" or "does the Defendant have insurance?" The Judge will not let these questions be answered since none of them are admissible in trial, and if the word of insurance is brought up by the Plaintiff, most judges will consider a mistrial in the case. As discussed above, there are instances, in other matters, in which significant facts do not come into evidence and are excluded by the Court, based on the law. Hopefully this helps explain to you the various laws pertaining to evidence, admissibility of evidence and other relevant evidentiary matters. In essence, these are Court Secrets and what they don't tell you in Court.

New Criminal Law Website Released - Castle Rock, Colorado

2009-08-05T12:15:00.003-06:00

From offices in Castle Rock, Colorado, former deputy district attorney Donna M. Stewart represents individuals charged with felonies or misdemeanors. With over 8 years of experience, she understands how the state prepares a case and knows the system, the judges and the prosecuting attorneys. She focuses her criminal law practice on the defense of drunk driving, domestic violence and juvenile delinquency charges. As a qualified family law mediator and a former guardian ad litem, she has unique insight into many of the issues facing juvenile defendants.

Well-Written Content is King

2009-08-04T22:52:00.003-06:00

While their are quite a few components that go into a search engine's algorithm, one of those components is content. Why is content so important?

for a number of reasons but lets explore a few of those reasons.

Keywords & Phrases
Engaging readers
The more content you have the more opportunities your are providing the search engines to find your site
Promotes likelihood of other sites linking into your site

Lets explore these different points in greater depth.

Keywords and phrases related to the topic at hand are providing the search engines with the words and phrases they need to find your site and rank it according what an individual is looking for online.

Engaging readers - Content cannot just be written for search engines. After all search engines don't hire companies, people do. The content needs to be written so that it is compelling enough to engage the potential client and draw them in. They need to understand how you can provide a superior service to your competitors. This content also needs to be attractive to the search engines.

Content - The more content you have on your site that is relative to the topic at hand the greater the likelihood your site will get found by the search engines by a random search. Remember, you want your website to show up for as many possible phrases as possible not just 4 or 5 "popular" phrases. Every practice area has thousands of ways to say something.

Linking - The better the content and more relevant this content is the greater chance your site has of becoming a link magnet. Other sites that are relevant to what your site promotes are eager to provide useful links for the people who happen to find their sites. It is all about the users experience on these different sites and the better the experience is for these individuals the more often they will come back.

How can you determine if the content on your site is optimal? Have objective people read through your site. Find out what their first impressions are. Check out your site yourself. Can you easily figure out what you do? is it easy to find information on your site?

If you have any questions please don't hesitate to call me at 303-947-1737 or check out my legal marketing website at www.legalmarketingguy.com.

I Interrupt This Blog to Bring You Shelby

2009-08-03T23:35:00.002-06:00

I wanted to introduce the world to my new baby girl, Shelby Rose Reiter. Shelby was born today, August 3rd 2009 at 7:27 PM. She weighs in at 5 lbs, 15 ounces and is 19 1/2 inches long.

Wills & Adams - Colorado Springs Personal Injury Attorneys

2009-08-02T17:22:00.002-06:00

Wills & Adams, LLP represent honest, hard working individuals who have been injured through the fault or neglect of others. They handle credible, legitimate claims and support our clients through the claims and litigation process.
◊ Click Here for a free consultation ◊
They believe you should carefully consider your choice of law firms and select one that is well equipped to represent you. Wills & Adams, LLP, believes their clients choose wisely when they choose their AV®-rated law firm. Here are some reasons why:

Focus: They handle a select number of cases in order to build personal relationships with their clients and focus intensely on recovering just compensation for their client's injuries.

Experience: Their attorneys have decades of experience handling catastrophic injury and wrongful death cases.

Ethics: They strongly believe in upholding a high standard of professional ethics and follow not only the Colorado Rules of Professional Conduct but also the professional Creed of the American Inns of Court. They arduously pursue their client's interests in an ethical and above board manner.

Compassion: They are committed to working with their clients to help them move forward in their lives and work, and in obtaining just compensation for their injuries. They derive satisfaction from helping clients and their families after they have sustained difficult injuries or the death to a loved one. Partner and attorney Andrew Wills has himself suffered a disabling personal injury, and can counsel clients about leading a full, invigorating life with a disability and obtaining the resources necessary to support independence.

Technology: They use state of the art technology and have access to databanks and software programming to allow us to fully investigate and research claims on behalf of our clients.
For more information about the kind of cases they handle, see their personal injury practice areas. To schedule a free initial consultation, you can contact them online.

Colorado Foreclosure Attorney

2009-08-01T22:08:00.002-06:00

In today's economy a number of homeowners are facing possible foreclosure on their home. Their is help out there from competent attorneys like Kristin Allard Shier.

At the Law Office of Kristen Allard Shier, P.L.L.C., she represent clients in consumer bankruptcy, consumer law - including violations of the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act, and home loan modification. She provides strong, aggressive representation and excellent client service to clients in the Denver Metro area. Contact her for a free initial consultation to discuss your case.
She is committed to providing the clients the aggressive representation and personalized service her clients deserve. She believes legal services should be affordable and she works with her clients to help them manage their legal situation and to limit legal costs.

Jonathan Willett, Attorney at Law - Denver, Colorado

2009-07-31T10:27:00.002-06:00

Jonathan Willett, Attorney at Law, has represented clients in more than 60 trials and more than 125 appeals. He has been admitted to practice before all state and federal courts in Colorado, and in New York state courts, and before the United States Supreme Court. He brings this extensive courtroom experience to work for every client, analyzing the situation and developing a creative, aggressive strategy.
Whether you are facing criminal charges, struggling with a personal injury or ending a marriage, a dedicated Colorado attorney can help you accomplish your goals. Attorney Willett provides the personal attention and zealous representation you need.

Christopher T. Braddock - Denver, Colorado

2009-07-31T10:20:00.003-06:00

Congratulations to Christopher T. Braddock on the release of his newly upgraded & designed custom website.

Since 1994, Attorney Braddock has dedicated his entire career to protecting criminal defense clients in the greater Denver area. From DUI and DMV concerns to sexual assault and violent crimes, he has helped people assert their rights and protect their freedom during encounters with the criminal justice system. It is always his goal to minimize the negative consequences, whether that means gaining a dismissal, negotiating for reduced charges, or fighting for an acquittal.
The state has a lot of power for enforcing criminal statutes. You want to have an experienced lawyer who knows how to fight against that power. Every person has rights, and you want someone on your side to help you protect them.

Gifford Stevens - Denver, Colorado

2009-07-31T09:55:00.003-06:00

A collective thirty-plus years of experience among our attorneys tells one part of the story for our Denver, Colorado, law firm. Our track record includes founding partner Jennifer J. Gifford's distinguished work in employment and insurance law, and John H. Stevens' deep background in commercial litigation including construction defect cases, subrogation, contract disputes and more. Our partners and associates share a mission centered on providing innovative, client-focused solutions and legal services of the highest quality.
Adept, Versatile Negotiators and Proven Trial Lawyers
From providing extensive policy guidance for numerous businesses to filing mechanics' liens for our clients in construction, from litigating major injury and other casualty claims to handling trucking and other transportation-related matters, we know Colorado law and Colorado business. We emphasize diligent case assessment, financially sound solutions and balanced guidance, with negotiating strength backed by extensive courtroom experience.

Leah Bishop Law Firm - Fort Collins, Colorado

2009-07-31T09:26:00.006-06:00

Congratulations to the Law Office of Leah Bishop on her newly released custom designed website.

Leah Bishop is a veteran trial attorney. Prior to forming her own practice, Leah was a Deputy District Attorney for nine years. As a Deputy District Attorney, Leah had the opportunity to litigate numerous cases. As a result, Leah gained an excellent reputation as an exceptional trial lawyer and formidable opponent in the courtroom.
In the criminal realm, Leah has handled thousands of felony cases, including many very serious and high-profile cases. In her years as a Deputy District Attorney, Leah tried many cases to a jury ranging from felonies, including, First Degree Murder, Kidnapping, Sexual Assault, Drug Distribution, to misdemeanors and traffics offenses, including, Third Degree Assault, Theft, and Driving Under the Influence, just to name a few. She was a Deputy District Attorney assigned to the Larimer County Drug Task Force where she learned the intricacies of drug crime cases and case building.
Leah has also taught at the national level as a faculty member of the prestigious National Advocacy Center or the NAC. The NAC was established by President Bill Clinton as a vehicle to train government attorneys to be premier courtroom attorneys. Leah also served the state of Colorado as the sole district attorney representative appointed to the Colorado Sex Offender Management Board which is responsible for the oversight of all treatment that sex offenders receive. In addition, she was involved in high level drug investigations and reviewed the grounds for issuing warrants and wiretaps.
Leah's skills as a courtroom attorney also serve people in the areas of real estate and family law. Leah has represented multiple clients in adoption and termination of parental rights legal proceedings. Leah also has a background in real estate. She understands what is at stake in your real estate ventures.
Leah believes that all people must be zealously and passionately represented, regardless of the legal issues facing them. She is fearless in the courtroom. She will use her skills both in and out of court to represent you effectively and compassionately.

Successful Colorado Springs Law Firm Manitou Development

2009-07-30T13:53:00.003-06:00

The Law Firm of Moran & Heim has achieved a very high level of success and has recently developed a high-end housing community in Manitou Springs, Colorado. These single family homes and townhomes have the highest end finishes one can get. These homes have won a number of historic preservation awards and is now ready for sale. Check out the website at www.444winterstreet.info.
This completely renovated Victorian home retained its covered porch, clawfoot tub, wine cellar, and greenstone fireplace, but added modern touches like gorgeous wood floors, air conditioning, granite countertops, maple cabinets, stainless appliances, and a master suite marble fireplace. Located at the base of Pikes Peak next to tons of trails, this home is sunny and has amazing mountain views. Four off-street parking spaces, too!

Universal Search - What Is It?

2009-07-29T12:40:00.005-06:00

There is a lot of confusion out there as to what makes one website perform very well and another, that looks very similar perform very poorly. I am often asked why this happens. They tell me they spent a lot of money on their site but get no results. The answer is because it's not just how much content your site has or how nice it looks. Google uses a Ranking process called Universal Search. Universal Search is a feature that blends results of different type like web pages, images, video, books, social networking, blogs, etc.

It's not enough to simply have a well-designed website anymore. With search engines like Google looking for as many different "components" as possible a website not only needs on-site optimization (content, anchor text, title tags, keywords, video, etc) but off-site optimization (blogs, video, social networking, inbound links, etc) as well.

If what your are looking for is a dominant position on the search engines you need to incorporate all these different components into your overall web presence. If you are able to do so then you will have an excellent presence online.

Video on Google Local

2009-07-27T15:45:00.007-06:00

You are now able to upload your video to Google Local. Why does this matter? Because you are providing the Internet with that much more to give to those looking for your legal services a chance to find you online. Anything you can do to get a leg up on the competition should be done. Another major advantage at this time is the fact that not very many attorneys have video loaded onto their Google Local accounts. Be ahead of the curve. If you are looking for help please don't hesitate to call me and I will help you accomplish this. You can reach me direclty at 303-947-1737. Attached is an example of video loaded onto Google Local which you can see live here.

Why Content on Websites is So Important

2009-07-26T23:24:00.002-06:00

Content is very important to the success of your website because the Internet is such a word driven medium. The Internet is a way to exchange ideas and provide useful information to those seeking answers. Thus the search engines look very favorably upon websites that are rich in content. The more relevant (to the actual search phrase used) the content is and the more of it that there is the greater likelihood your website will perform well (rank high in the search engines).

The most successful websites are multi-dimensional. They add real content to their websites. Here are eight benefits of adding topically related content to your website:

1. Increasing Content On Your Site - By increasing the content to your site, you are adding more pages that the search engine spiders can index. Increasing the content pages increases the listings you potentially have in search engines. This increases the chances of getting more qualified traffic.

2. It makes your site more search engine friendly- Google and other major search engines take into account the amount of content and its quality. The more informational content you have pitching your product, the higher the search engine ranking. This is because search engines understand that research and information take priority over shopping for most people.

3. Fresh, new content increases traffic - If your information provides fresh, new content and is updated frequently, the search engines pay more attention to the site. This enhances the ranking of the website and drives more traffic.

4. Adding new information brings return traffic - Purely sales oriented content typically does not stimulate return traffic. When you add new and useful content to your site, typically visitors tend to value your site more and return often.

5. Adding useful information makes your site more credible - Sites that offer new information that is accurate and useful are more credible than just pure sales websites. You become established, authoritative and credible. This in turn increases your conversion rate because your customers have fewer doubts when making a purchase.

6. Conversion - The more a potential client client can relate to the information contained within your website the greater chance their is that they will convert into an individual that actually calls you.

7. Good, quality content allows you to differentiate yourself from all the other attorneys out there.

8. Inbound Links - If you are able to produce a website with great content, relevant content and a lot of it, then you are setting your website up to be one that is linked into by other sites that want to promote websites that they feel are the best online.

9. The more relevant content on your site the greater the chance that a potential client will find information related to their particular issue.

Benefits of Blogs for Attorneys

2009-07-25T12:05:00.002-06:00

I have working with my attorneys lately to get them set up with their own blog because I see a quality blog as a huge benefit to any law practice. Here are my top ten reasons why I believe a lawyer should have their own blog:

Helps with Universal Search. Anything you can do to make it easier for search engines to find you online you should do.
Helps establish and build your reputation in your niche area. Potential clients get to know you a bit better and decide if you are the type of lawyer they want to work with.
Very inexpensive way to get information online (usually free)
Attorneys can blog about cases they have worked on which is most likely going to be similar to an issue a potential client has. If that potential client believes you have the experience with a similar case, you will probably get a phone call.
Promote your website on your blog
Appear more authoritative
Reputation Management - You cannot control what other write about you but you CAN control what you write about yourself. The more information you provide online the greater the chance that positive information about you shows up.
Differentiate yourself from all the other attorneys practicing law
Blogging can make you a better attorney. Why? Because you are now writing about your cases and the outcomes and forcing yourself to review these cases on a more regular basis and coming up with ways to improve the next time you are presented with a similar case.
Fresh content on a regular basis. YOu are offering the search engines new information all the time with your blog and that information is easy to crawl by the spiders.

Regular blog content is very important to the success of any blog. This content needs to be informative, accurate, and written in a way that will appeal to your visitors.
With each blog posting, make sure you provide a link into one of your website's pages.

If you have questions about blogging or would like me to helpset one up for you please Jon Reiter at directly at 303-947-1737

Kathy Higby - Family Law Attorney

2009-07-24T22:09:00.002-06:00

Congratulations to The Law Firm of Kathy Higby in Littleton, Colorado. She has been a client for many years and has recently done a refresh of her site.

Moran & Heim MDA Fund Raising Drive

2009-07-22T17:16:00.004-06:00

Geoff Heim of Moran & Heim Criminal Defense Firm located in Colorado Spring, Colorado has a goal to raise $2,000 for MDA/Jerry's Kids. He is almost there and just needs a little more to reach his goal. Anything you can donate is appreciated. Click here to donate

Internet Advertising vs. TV Advertising

2009-07-21T08:19:00.004-06:00

With so many ways to advertise these days, Internet, yellow pages, T.V., newspaper, etc it gets difficult to determine what medium is most effective. I believe there is a consensus amongst most attorneys these days that yellow page advertising is going the way of the dinosaur. But what about advertising on the television? Surely, there are far more people watching TV today vs yesterday.

As more television content is shown online, television executives/networks and advertisers are starting to get a better idea of which works better - Internet or TV advertising.

Companies marketing their products and services are distributing as much as 20% of their ad budget to online marketing. With this kind of money being distributed across different channels those spending the money of course want to know how effective Internet advertising is compared to TV advertising.

Lets face it, watching a television ad is not something anyone wants to do. I fact, with the advent of products like TIVO, commercials are becoming a thing of the past. My little boy has never even seen a television ad, which is exactly how I like it. I don't have to be the bad guy and say no you cannot have that toy. Most of the shows I watch now are recorded on my DVR (digital video recorder) and I watch them later so that I Can specifically fast forward through ALL of the commercials.

Now, I realize that not everyone does this but more and more households have a DVR, in fact, as of August 21, 2007, 1 in every 5 households has a DVR which is up from 1 in every 13 households in 2005 according to the Leichtman Research Group. Now that we are in 2009, the numbers are even higher, in fact, as of March 2009, 30.6 percent of households in Nielsen’s National People Meter Panel have a DVR, up significantly from just 12.3 percent in January 2007 with some areas of the country as high as 37%.

Another critical factor with television advertising is the fact that it is very hard to target a specific market. Oh sure, advertisers can place ads at specific times of the day to try and target a certain demographic but that is more of a shotgun effect.

With the Internet, search engines are finding that by learning each user's "personality" they can actually bring up websites and other forms of advertising by what they believe the user will be interested in. This is done by past user online behaviour.

Marketing research companies like IAG Research and ARSgroup have developed different methods to gauge how effective ads are in TV and the Internet.

IAG uses incentive-based Internet polls to see what TV ads viewers remembered, and they place “cookies” on hard drives so they know when panelists are exposed to an online ad. ARSgroup tests how engaging ads are in TV, Internet and movie theaters.

To be clear, these kinds of online measuring tools are still in the very early stages but are getting more mature every day.

NBC conducted it's own online survey of its NBC Rewind viewers and found that its Internet ads elicit higher brand recall than those on TV.

What does all this mean? It means that as an attorney, you should certainly explore many different advertising venues but to ignore the Internet because you are not as familiar with it can be a very costly mistake.

Just a last thought, people love to watch TV, I do. It's just the commercials we don't love. Video's on websites are almost the opposite of TV commercials. Why, because if a potential client is on your website, they WANT to hear what you have to say. They sought you out specifically to get answers and the more senses your site can appeal to the more likely they are to call you.

Lyons Gaddis Kahn & Hall, P.C. New Website

2009-07-20T12:12:00.005-06:00

Congratulations to Lyons Gaddis Kahn & Hall, P.C. on the release of their new website. Their firm concentrates on providing efficient and precise responses to your legal problems and their lawyers are experienced, successful and knowledgeable. They have earned a reputation for excellence by providing innovative, cost effective, and timely legal services to businesses, governments, and individuals throughout Colorado. Because they practice in rapidly-changing areas, many of their attorneys focus on specific areas of the law in order to stay abreast of significant changes and trends. Through specialization, They are able to fully utilize the experience and talents of their attorneys and staff to serve the needs of their clients and the community.
Their team-oriented approach means that the attorneys in the Longmont, Colorado office serve as legal resources for one another, allowing them to provide practical solutions to legal problems by applying the right combination of creativity, innovation, and commitment.

Brian Boney - Family, Criminal & Estate Planning Attorney

2009-07-19T23:03:00.004-06:00

Brian Boney is an attorney I have been working with for many years and he believes in giving back to the public. Brian has been doing Lawline 9 for Channel 9 for about three years now. He tries to make sure to be at all Family law nights, but he also participates in some of the general nights

An Interesting Note: Brian tries to spend Christmas and New Year's Eve in a foreign city each year. It allows him to see how a different culture and society celebrates these holidays. A small example is that in Italy, Santa climbs into your house up a rope ladder, not through the chimney. Fortunately, today's technology allows him to take his office on the road so he can handle emergenices if necessary.

David Foley - Criminal Law Attorney Colorado Springs

2009-07-18T21:09:00.005-06:00

As a Deputy District Attorney for the Fourth Judicial District, David Foley prosecuted hundreds of misdemeanor and felony cases. As a criminal defense lawyer, he applies those insights to the aggressive and dedicated representation of clients accused of criminal offenses. In all, Dave Foley brings 10 years of focused experience in state and federal criminal courts of El Paso County, Teller County and across Colorado. He handles all criminal charges, from traffic violations to the most serious felonies.

If you have been arrested or accused of a crime in Colorado, you are probably frightened, confused, and concerned about your future and that of your family. At the Law Firm of David W. Foley, we take our responsibility as criminal defense attorneys seriously, and are available to help clients 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. We represent individuals along the Eastern Slope and Front Range, including Colorado Springs, Denver, Fort Collins, and Pueblo. Our firm handles felony and misdemeanor cases throughout Colorado state and federal courts in the areas of:

Assault and Battery
Bail and Bond Proceedings
Constitutional Law / Criminal Procedure
Domestic Violence
Drug and Narcotic Offenses
DUI-DWAI Offenses
Juvenile Offenses / Delinquency
Probation / Parole
Sex Offenses
Theft, Grand Larceny, and Burglary
Traffic Violations
Violent Offenses
White Collar Crimes

In addition to our criminal defense practice, we also handle legal disputes involving:

Family Law / Divorce
Personal Injury / Wrongful Death
Motor Vehicle Accidents

Before opening the doors of his own law firm, founder David W. Foley honed his criminal law and litigation skills as a Deputy District Attorney in the Fourth Judicial District. As a Deputy District Attorney, Mr. Foley prosecuted misdemeanor and felony criminal offenses and handled a wide variety of criminal procedure issues. As a former prosecutor, Mr. Foley appreciates the importance of defending the rights of the accused, and uses all available means to ensure that his clients receive high caliber representation and access to justice. His clients come from all walks of life and need a law firm with an experienced, creative criminal defense lawyer who gets the right results. Mr. Foley has earned an outstanding reputation in the Colorado Springs legal community and is known for his efforts to repair an often-unjust criminal justice system. His reputation comes by way of hard work, belief in his clients, and an intimate knowledge of Colorado criminal law and procedure. Prosecutors know Mr. Foley to be an attorney with the ability and experience to defend the toughest criminal case. They know he is a former prosecutor who knows the Colorado criminal justice system inside and out. Do not kid yourself: prosecutors are well aware of defense attorneys that are either afraid or unwilling to try cases. A prosecutor with this knowledge has no incentive to negotiate or present a defendant with a reasonable offer to resolve a case. Prosecutors who know Mr. Foley know that there is a fair chance that his cases may end up in trial. His clients are treated accordingly.

In addition to his criminal law practice, Mr. Foley also applies his litigation skills to family law, divorce, child custody, child support, personal injury, wrongful death, and motor vehicle accidents.

Who's Using the Internet?

2009-07-16T16:22:00.006-06:00

So, exactly who is using the Internet these days. I am going to explore this question over the next several days with different studies based on demographics like income, geography, race as well as a number of other factors.

Today's topic is Online Activities from 2000-20009. As you can see from the chart to the left (please click on chart to see full size view) activity online has gone up tremendously. Even back in 2000 there was still over 50% of the adult American population using the Internet in some capacity. Jump ahead to 2009 and that number increases to over 75%. The question you have to ask yourself as an attorney is; "Am I missing out on any potential clients because I don't have a presence online or at least one that shows when someone is searching for a lawyer like myself?" Can you really afford to not market your services to 75% of the adult population in the US?

Tomorrow's topic, "Who's Online"

Source: Pew Internet & Life Project - http://tiny.cc/XX4GJ

2009-07-16T13:23:00.000-06:00

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Mitigating & Controlling Your Reputation Online

2009-07-16T11:00:00.005-06:00

In this day and age Reputation Management is critical to your success to some degree. With more and more attorneys utilizing free services like Google Local or Yahoo Local they are opening themselves up to public scrutiny, good and bad. While there is not much you can do about the bad reviews (everyone is going to get one) there is something attorneys can do good reviews. Typically people that are happy with your services are not going to spend much if any time letting the world know how good you are. They will if they are not happy with you though. So how do you mitigate your reputation? Make sure that you know if they are happy. If they are ask them to write a review for you while they are in your office (maybe offer a free coffee mug if they do). That way you know who is happy and who is not.

Additionaly, you want to really make sure they are happy with your services. Send them an electronic survey they can fill out on their schedule. You can use a service like Survey Monkey which is very easy for the one taking the survey to fill out. You can have as many or as few questions as you like (make it fewer questions).

You are now on your way to managing the most important aspect of your practice, your reputation. If you have any questions please call Jon Reiter at 303-947-1737 and he will show you a number of ways to manage your overall presence online.

Law Firm Advertising Rules in Colorado

2009-07-15T22:22:00.003-06:00

With all the marketing firms out there offering their services to attorneys I wanted to make sure that lawyers being marketed to by these companies have easy access to the rules that have been set up.

RULE 7.2. ADVERTISING
(a) Subject to the requirements of Rules 7.1 and 7.3, a lawyer may advertise services through written, recorded or electronic communication, including public media.
(b) A lawyer shall not give anything of value to a person for recommending the lawyer’s services except that a lawyer may
(1) pay the reasonable costs of communications permitted by this Rule;
(2) pay the usual charges of a not-for-profit lawyer referral service or legal service organization.
(3) pay for a law practice in accordance with Rule 1.17; and
(4) refer clients to another lawyer or a nonlawyer pursuant to an agreement not otherwise prohibited under these Rules that provides for the other person to refer clients or customers to the lawyer, if
(i) the reciprocal referral agreement is not exclusive, and
(ii) the client is informed of the existence and nature of the agreement.
(c) Any communication made pursuant to this Rule shall include the name and office address of at least one lawyer or law firm responsible for its content.

COMMENT

[1] To assist the public in obtaining legal services, lawyers should be allowed to make known their services not only through reputation but also through organized information campaigns in the form of advertising. Advertising involves an active quest for clients, contrary to the tradition that a lawyer should not seek clientele. However, the public's need to know about legal services can be fulfilled in part through advertising. This need is particularly acute in the case of persons of moderate means who have not made extensive use of legal services. The interest in expanding public information about legal services ought to prevail over considerations of tradition. Nevertheless, advertising by lawyers entails the risk of practices that are misleading or overreaching.

[2] This Rule permits public dissemination of information concerning a lawyer's name or firm name, address and telephone number; the kinds of services the lawyer will undertake; the basis on which the lawyer's fees are determined, including prices for specific services and payment and credit arrangements; a lawyer's foreign language ability; names of references and, with their consent, names of clients regularly represented; and other information that might invite the attention of those seeking legal assistance.

[3] Questions of effectiveness and taste in advertising are matters of speculation and subjective judgment. Some jurisdictions have had extensive prohibitions against television advertising, against advertising going beyond specified facts about a lawyer, or against "undignified" advertising. Television is now one of the most powerful media for getting information to the public, particularly persons of low and moderate income; prohibiting television advertising, therefore, would impede the flow of information about legal services to many sectors of the public. Limiting the information that may be advertised has a similar effect and assumes that the bar can accurately forecast the kind of information that the public would regard as relevant. Similarly, electronic media, such as the Internet, can be an important source of information about legal services, and lawful communication by electronic mail is permitted by this Rule. But see Rule 7.3 (a) for the prohibition against the solicitation of a prospective client through a real-time electronic exchange that is not initiated by the prospective client.

[4] Neither this Rule nor Rule 7.3 prohibits communications authorized by law, such as notice to members of a class in class action litigation.

Paying Others to Recommend a Lawyer

[5] Lawyers are not permitted to pay others for channeling professional work. Paragraph (b)(1), however, allows a lawyer to pay for advertising and communications permitted by this Rule, including the costs of print directory listings, on-line directory listings, newspaper ads, television and radio airtime, domain-name registrations, sponsorship fees, banner ads, and group advertising. A lawyer may compensate employees, agents and vendors who are engaged to provide marketing or client-development services, such as publicists, public-relations personnel, business-development staff and website designers. See Rule 5.3 for the duties of lawyers and law firms with respect to the conduct of nonlawyers who prepare marketing materials for them.

[6] A lawyer may pay the usual charges of a legal service plan or a not-for-profit or qualified lawyer referral service. A legal service plan is a prepaid or group legal service plan or a similar delivery system that assists prospective clients to secure legal representation. A lawyer referral service, on the other hand, is any organization that holds itself out to the public as a lawyer referral service. Such referral services are understood by laypersons to be consumer-oriented organizations that provide unbiased referrals to lawyers with appropriate experience in the subject matter of the representation and afford other client protections, such as complaint procedures or malpractice insurance requirements. Consequently, this Rule only permits a lawyer to pay the usual charges of a not-for-profit or qualified lawyer referral service. A qualified lawyer referral service is one that is approved by an appropriate regulatory authority as affording adequate protections for prospective clients. See, e.g., the American Bar Association’s Model Supreme Court Rules Governing Lawyer Referral Services and Model Lawyer Referral and Information Service Quality Assurance Act (requiring that organizations that are identified as lawyer referral services (i) permit the participation of all lawyers who are licensed and eligible to practice in the jurisdiction and who meet reasonable objective eligibility requirements as may be established by the referral service for the protection of prospective clients; (ii) require each participating lawyer to carry reasonably adequate malpractice insurance; (iii) act reasonably to assess client satisfaction and address client complaints; and (iv) do not refer prospective clients to lawyers who own, operate or are employed by the referral service.)

[7] A lawyer who accepts assignments or referrals from a legal service plan or referrals from a lawyer referral service must act reasonably to assure that the activities of the plan or service are compatible with the lawyer’s professional obligations. See Rule 5.3. Legal service plans and lawyer referral services may communicate with prospective clients, but such communication must be in conformity with these Rules. Thus, advertising must not be false or misleading, as would be the case if the communications of a group advertising program or a group legal services plan would mislead prospective clients to think that it was a lawyer referral service sponsored by a state agency or bar association. Nor could the lawyer allow in-person, telephonic, or real-time contacts that would violate Rule 7.3.

[8] A lawyer also may agree to refer clients to another lawyer or a nonlawyer in return for the undertaking of that person to refer clients or customers to the lawyer. Such reciprocal referral arrangements must not interfere with the lawyer’s professional judgment as to making referrals or as to providing substantive legal services. See Rules 2.1 and 5.4(c). Except as provided in Rule 1.5(e), a lawyer who receives referrals from a lawyer or nonlawyer must not pay anything solely for the referral, but the lawyer does not violate paragraph (b) of this Rule by agreeing to refer clients to the other lawyer or nonlawyer, so long as the reciprocal referral agreement is not exclusive and the client is informed of the referral agreement. Conflicts of interest created by such arrangements are governed by Rule 1.7. Reciprocal referral agreements should not be of indefinite duration and should be reviewed periodically to determine whether they comply with these Rules. This Rule does not restrict referrals or divisions of revenues or net income among lawyers within firms comprised of multiple entities.

Miller & Steiert Charity Efforts

2009-07-15T09:05:00.003-06:00

Steiert Supports Rotary Effort
Bob Steiert is very active in the Denver Tech Rotary Club, which has raised more than $100,000 over the past five years for food and education programs, vaccinations, and clean water. Its annual auction fundraiser, For the Love of Children, was featured in the Your Hub sections of the Denver Post and Rocky Mountain News.

You Can’t Rely on the Yellow Pages Alone: Success Strategies for a New Era of Law Firm Marketing

2009-07-14T22:03:00.002-06:00

Years ago there were two ways attorneys and clients found each other — referrals, and the Yellow Pages book that was by everyone’s phone. Times have changed, and while word-of-mouth is still one of the best practice-development tools out there, usage of the print Yellow Pages is declining in many parts of the country. Today, we’re in a new era of law firm marketing and there are many additional marketing channels that law firms can consider to reach new clients.

Why is ad spending on the print Yellow Pages down and expected to decrease another 39 percent over the next five years, according to Borrell Associates1? This is partly because for you as an attorney, it’s not an ideal way to promote your law firm anymore. New varieties of Yellow Pages books appear in the mailbox every month it seems due to large books splitting into smaller books or new entrants to your particular market. This makes it increasingly difficult for law firms to determine in which book(s) to advertise. Plus, the format of the books makes it tough to separate your firm from your competition, as the advertisements tend to look similar and offer limited space in which to share your firm’s unique attributes.

More importantly, like other printed information the Yellow Pages have been eclipsed by the Internet, which offers the legal industry much more in terms of information quantity, quality, and creative flexibility. In a 2008 survey about local search user behavior, search engines (e.g., Google) have pulled ahead of print yellow pages as the leading source for local business information.2

Consider that today 80% of us have home computers3, and 55% have high-speed Internet access4. If you need a lawyer, going online allows you to make smart, well-informed decisions. If you are a lawyer, the power of the Internet to reach prospects and provide them with compelling information about your firm can’t be beat. But as Web-savvy attorneys know, it’s not enough to simply launch a Web site. In this new era of law firm marketing, it’s important to think critically about all the ways you connect with consumers — Yellow Pages, the Web, and others — and how you can communicate better, distinguish yourself from competitors, and bottom line, attract and gain new clients. Here are nine law firm marketing keys to success for your firm to consider: #1: Stay in the book, but be strategic. Keeping your contact information in the print Yellow Pages can still be worthwhile for prospects who are hunting for your phone number, or who just aren’t comfortable using the Internet. This is particularly true for non-metropolitan or rural areas. But is a color ad in every print directory really differentiating your firm — or are you better served with a simple, black-and-white listing in a few select books, and channeling the savings to other diverse marketing tactics? Cast a wide net to catch more fish!

#2: Consider bundling, but as a limited solution. To capitalize on the Internet’s popularity, most Yellow Pages providers now offer print and online directory advertising bundled together. That can be an effective way to expand your reach, but note that an online directory listing is only one piece of an effective Web presence, not a complete strategy. Legal marketing is unique, and your marketing plan should encompass not only directories but also a Web site complete with search-engine optimization and tailored content and design that has the unique needs of legal prospects in mind.

#3: Invest time in your site. You have a law practice to run, but even a few hours a month can go a long way in keeping the content on your Web site fresh, relevant and visible. Adding a newsletter, commentary or blog posting on a current legal topics or cases, or even an automated news feed (which many online providers can arrange for you) — all are effective, non-time-intensive ways to avoid becoming just another Web site that collects virtual dust. Why is that important? Updated site content appeals to both of your key Web site audiences: potential clients and leading search engines, such as Google. Search engines factor in the freshness and relevancy of your information to determine search rankings, so frequent updates are important.

#4: Own your niche. Online, being all things to all people is a great way to reach no one. Instead, differentiate your firm by zeroing in on what makes you unique — your approach to cases, background in law enforcement, Spanish-language expertise — and communicate it in the same keywords, phrases, and visuals online that you would use to connect with prospects when they’re in your law office. One good option: maintain a practice page on your site devoted exclusively to one of the firm’s key areas of expertise. Focused Web sites are more likely to succeed, and the same applies for the other channels you use to promote your firm.

#5: Make a strong first impression. Consider a potential client who gets three referrals and goes online to check them out. Realistically, you’ve got 5–10 seconds to hold that prospect on your site and potentially convert into a client. A Web site filled with informative content is great, but to keep prospects from clicking away to the competition, you must ensure your site is also well-designed for search engines, and most importantly, is easy to navigate for people with all levels of Web experience and legal knowledge.

#6: Reach prospects in new, high-impact ways. Online video and blogs are examples of fast-emerging law firm marketing tools that consumers love. They’re interactive and personal and they dispel the intimidation factor people feel when considering to hire an attorney. Nearly 60% of consumers, for example, say online video makes them more likely to contact a particular firm5. To take full advantage of a technology like video, however, it’s key to work with a company that knows the legal industry and how to effectively disseminate your message to search engines and popular third-party Web sites.

#7: Use pay-per-click selectively. With pay-per-click, you select a search term relevant to your practice, then pay for a link ad to appear when prospects type in that term. If they click your link, you get charged a set fee. These links are grouped together on results pages, separate from the free (―organic) results. 5

Pay-per-click can be useful as part of a well-rounded online strategy, particularly if your practice is highly specialized. But only 1 in 7 Web users click paid links, so it’s clear there’s not yet a high level of acceptance. Keeping your site updated, providing strong content and design, and adding compelling information tools like online video and blogs should be your firm’s main focus.

#8: Choose the right online provider. You want an online presence that works, but you don’t want to spend all day working on it. If you’re considering partnering with an online provider, the key questions to ask are: 1) does the company provide local representation, so you can get someone to stop by to help you if you need it?; and 2) do they focus exclusively on the marketing for law firms, so you don’t have to settle for a generic, one-size-fits-all solution?

#9: Expand your network. Write articles for your bar association journal. Create a newsletter, or buy one from a company that will create one for you. Get involved in online communities like LinkedIn or FaceBook. Disseminate your message and firm value in many and varied ways rather than relying exclusively on the Yellow Pages or even a Web site to get your message out to potential clients.

Sometimes, it’s a numbers game, so evaluate how often you’re promoting your firm through creative ways your competitors may not be. There are many options to choose from. Attorneys that use them strategically, and don’t allow their marketing effort to stagnate, have a terrific opportunity to generate leads and earn more well-qualified new clients, ultimately delivering the firm a steady stream of revenue.

1 Borrell Associates, "Say Goodbye to Yellow Pages, July 2008
2 http://www.marketwire.com/press-release/Tmp-Directional-Marketing-908381.html
3 http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0908456.html
4 Pew Internet & American Life Project, July 2008
5 FindLaw Consumer Online Study, 2007 6 Jupiter Research; Esquiro "Inside the Mind of the Searcher"

Bankruptcy Attorneys in the Denver Metro Area

2009-07-13T11:46:00.002-06:00

The George T. Carlson & Associates Bankruptcy Law Firm located in Englewood, Colorado has been practicing now for over 39 years. One of the most respected and knowledgeable Bankruptcy firms in the Denver Metro area. They deal exclusively with Chapter 7 & 13. Because of this experience, they have had tremendous success with helping to keep people in their homes that were about to be foreclosed upon.

An interesting note: George Carlson is a collector of fine art and acquired an extensive knowledge-base of art history.

Referrals - Why Do I Need a Website

2009-07-12T22:58:00.004-06:00

I have spoken with a lot of attorneys over the years and if there is one thing that is consistent it is the fact that a majority of their business comes from referrals. Referrals are a great source of revenue for these lawyers.

I always try to stress that while referrals are great and are necessary for a successful practice, they still need to not only have a presence on the Internet but a presence that can be found by people that do NOT know who they are.

Why? Well, when a potential client gets a referral one of the first things they are going to do is go online and check that referred attorney out. No website can have serious consequences as in that referred client decides to hire someone else. Not good.

The second part of this equation is even if a law practice gets plenty of business from referrals, that law firm can only enhance their practice by supplementing their referral business with some Internet business. An even more important consideration though is the referrals that kind of business can send the attorney's way in the future. Imagine setting yourself up for referrals from business YOU found yourself from someone randomly looking for a lawyer online. Talk about a steady stream of business for the life of your practice, and in good times and in bad economic times (especially in bad economic times).

Craigs List - Free & Effective

2009-07-11T09:18:00.009-06:00

In today's economy you need every advantage you can get. Advertising your services on Craigslist is one way to get your name out there to a fairly large audience.

Keep in mind though, only posting once will not be enough. As each hour goes on during the day, more and more people are psoting their services. It would be a good idea to post your law firm services once a week or even every few days. Make sure you read Craigs List Terms of Service though.

Taking your advertising services up one notch you can use free services like VFlyer which will pretty much help you design and even walk you through the publishing of a nicely designed flyer that will look much more professional than just plain text.

If all this or part of this is more than you care to take on, that's ok. Please don't hesitate to call me and I will be happy to put these together for you and show you how easy it is to do on your own. You can always reach me at 303-947-1737. Good Luck.

Do People Really Go Online to Find An Attorney?

2009-07-10T18:13:00.001-06:00

The simple answer is YES. As the Internet has become more accessible for people, more people are going online to find a lawyer to help them with whatever issue or concern they may have. Why is this? Well, only about 30 percent of this country had computers at home and of those 30% a majority of them had dial up access. Very slow and tedious. Not conducive to "surfing the net". Jump ahead to today. Almost 70% of this country (according to Internet World Stats http://www.internetworldstats.com/stats2.htm#top) has a computer at home (you can buy one now for $100.00) and most of these people not only have access to the Internet, but also have high speed access. Now surfing the "Net" is easy and fun.

It's almost shocking when someone says they only have a dial-up connection to the Internet.So what is happening then? Well, whereas most people looking for an attorney got a name through the yellow pages, or a referral or some other method, most people are first going online to research their situation and then looking for a competent attorney to help them with their situation.

What about referrals? People getting referrals don't need to go online. YES THEY DO! They now go online to research the referral given to them because it is so easy. Why wouldn't they. Think about your own habits.

CTLA Conference Steamboat Springs

2009-07-09T21:37:00.004-06:00

Mark your calendar for the 2009 CTLA Annual Convention, August 6 through Saturday, August 8 at the Sheraton Steamboat Resort and Conference Center in Steamboat Springs.

Lodging Information

The Sheraton Steamboat Resort and Conference Center will be the site of the CTLA Annual Convention. A variety of lodging is available with special rates for attendees. These rates will be in effect from August 4 – 10, 2009. Please indicate that you are attending the CTLA Convention when making reservations. Room rates do not reflect resort fees or sales tax.
The room block at the Sheraton will be held until July 15th. After that date, all unreserved rooms will be sold to the general public. Please make your reservations early.

Sheraton Steamboat Resort & Conference Center (Convention Headquarters)
Call (800) 848-8878 for information or reservations. Hotel rooms are available from $179 to $199 and condos from $249 to $575.

Deposit and Cancellation Policy Deposit and cancellation policies are available from the individual properties.

Early DeparturesNo shows, late arrivals and early check-outs will be billed for the entire room amount.

Check In/Check OutCheck in time is 4 p.m. Check out time is noon.

Additional Condominium Lodging

These condos, off property, will be held until June 29th. One to three bedrooms available. Prices range from $180-$285. Call (866) 568-2074 for information on condominiums at Torian Plum, Bronze Tree, Trappeur’s Crossing and Timberline at Trappeur’s Crossing. (Minimum two night stay). Deposit and cancellation policies may differ. Prices do not reflect resort fees or sales tax. Visit Resort Quest online at http://www.resortqueststeamboat.com/ for more information.

The Ethics of Online Marketing

2009-07-09T16:42:00.002-06:00

As ever-increasing numbers of the legal profession seek to expand their clienteles through Internet-based advertising, the Web site has become the key to a strong Internet presence and marketing plan. While it is important that a legal Web site has the correct mix of legal information, attorney biography and marketing copy, it is even more important that lawyers who seek to enter the online realm understand the ethical guidelines that govern the design and content elements that can (and cannot) be included in their sites.

Much of this regulation is, of course, state-specific. In every state, professional responsibility rules govern the ethical conduct of attorneys. Each state has rules that govern the interactions that the legal profession has with clients, adversaries, courts, potential clients and the public. All states also have rules specific to attorney advertising. Many follow the American Bar Association (ABA) Model Rules of Professional Responsibility (www.abanet.org/cpr/mrpc/mrpc_toc.html) or a variation thereof.

In almost all instances, the ethical standards governing print ads, brochures and radio spots also apply to online marketing activities.

Even more than print, radio, TV and brochures, the Internet has delivered the information marketplace envisioned in Bates v. State Bar of Arizona, the U.S. Supreme Court decision that lifted the ban on attorney advertising. Attorneys can go beyond sound bites to provide substantive information about their law firm, including areas of practice, factual results (provided state-specific disclaimer requirements are met), attorney-authored articles and FAQs. For consumers, meanwhile, the Web makes it much easier to research issues and find legal representation.

It is imperative to understand that it is your responsibility to ensure that your Web site complies with the state ethics guidelines that apply to the online information you are disseminating.

Recent polling shows that more Americans use the Internet to find an attorney than any other source. By familiarizing yourself with online marketing ethics, you can protect your firm from running afoul of the state ethics committee while taking advantage of this dynamic marketing tool.

What Information Is Regulated — and Who Regulates It?
With limited exceptions, most states regulate as "attorney advertising" any communication that is designed to attract clients. This should not be confused with "solicitation." Solicitation is direct communication with a person (not a close friend, former client or relative) known to be in need or thought to be in need of legal services. While the rules and definitions vary by state, solicitation is generally much more restricted than broad legal advertising.
It is important to note that the attorney advertising definition may not apply to all communications made in order to generate business. In some states, ethics rules may only come into play when the message indicates that professional services are available for hire. As a good rule, a communication that both proposes hiring an attorney and discusses non-commercial issues will most likely be regulated.

While the ABA promotes adoption of its Model Rules prohibiting "false and misleading" information, state-by-state differences still exist on the detailed interpretation. Most state rules apply to lawyers whose communications originate within the state or to outside communications targeted at potential clients within the state.

The key point to remember is that in addition to following federal laws governing spam and other online abuses, attorneys who seek to serve clients nationwide or in multiple state jurisdictions should understand and comply with each state’s attorney advertising rules.
The ABA provides three helpful resources for understanding each state’s ethics rules:

Links to the rules governing lawyer advertising, solicitation and marketing in all 50 states: www.abanet.org/adrules
An ethics page that tracks new developments in state advertising laws: www.abanet.org/cpr/professionalism/lawyerAd.html
A 50-state comparison to the ABA Model Rules that describes the content, design and disclaimer requirements unique to each state: www.abanet.org/cpr/professionalism/State_Advertising.pdf

In the day-to-day development of a Web site, one way to address this ethical requirement is to be as specific as possible — in the content your firm posts and in writing title tags and other HTML coding — about where your law firm is licensed to practice and the geography where your site is targeted. Another good idea: adding a disclaimer to the Web site that specifies the states where your firm does business.

Targeting a geo-graphic niche limits your exposure to multiple sets of ethics rules. Any law firm or lawyer that advertises "representation nationwide" on its Web site, on the other hand, needs to consider ethics burdens carefully.

Why It Matters
The cost of unethical online client development can include exposure to discipline, malpractice implications, fee forfeiture — even the expense of changing your brand. If your firm was directed to change its domain name, for example, your Web site would no longer be indexed in search engine rankings. It could take months to re-establish it and rebuild traffic. Even if your law firm is forced to take its Web site down for changes, for example, the lack of an online presence can adversely affect your search engine rankings.

Remember that whether you build and maintain your own Web site, or hire an outside consultant to handle it for you, you are ultimately responsible for compliance with the advertising rules in each state.

The Internet is one of the most powerful tools attorneys have to generate leads and develop client relationships. Its importance will only continue to increase. Knowing and observing the ethical guidelines, including the rules that apply in the states where clients are being sought, is a smart investment in the long-term growth of your client base.

Rosenthal & Heyman - Success Story

2009-07-08T15:58:00.004-06:00

Zapien v. BBQ manufacturer

The client suffered bad burns on his leg when his BBQ became a blow torch and shot flames at his body. Rosenthal & Heymann hired the best experts who discovered a defect in the BBQ. The manufacturer refused to compensate our client fairly because they knew that the manufacturer's headquarters were in China and they gambled that we would not fly to China to depose their corporate executives. They were wrong. We flew to China; got everything we needed, and favorably settled the case within 30 days of returning to America.

Top Ten Reasons Attorneys Need An Optimized Website

2009-07-08T15:41:00.001-06:00

10. People looking for you online better be able to find you
When a potential client has been referred to you they are most likely going to go online and search for information about who you are and how you might be able to help them. If they cannot find you, that business might be lost because while they are having trouble locating you, I can promise that they are finding other attorneys that do the same thing as you. That referral that you EARNED may now be hiring one of your competitors because they had a better web presence.
9. Potential clients can find you even if they don’t know you.
When your potential clients are looking for an attorney like you on the Internet and they cannot find you for whatever reason I can guarantee that that you will not get their business
8. Presents a professional image
Whether we like it or not people do judge books by their covers and in this case your web presence is your book cover. It is ok to have a simple website as long as it is pleasing to the eye and is easy to navigate through and also quickly lets people know what kind of attorney you are and what areas of law you practice.
7. Far better results than yellow page advertising
Advertising in the yellow pages was the way to go a decade ago but as more people look for attorneys online and fewer and fewer people are using the yellow pages you need to start putting your advertising dollars in the medium that is attracting the most potential clients.
The use of the yellow pages is in a freefall decline…the industry is expected to lose 39% of its revenue in the next five years. In fact, 58% of those surveyed, use the Internet to get help with a legal matter.
6. Your practice is now on par (or better) with the largest of law firms
In all the searches I have done for attorneys over the years, I have yet to see a “large” law firm show up in one of my searches. The majority of attorneys that utilize the Internet to highlight their practice are small practices (under 20 attorneys and usually just 1-3 attorneys). What this means for you is you have the ability showcase your talents and abilities without having to compete with firms that are 50-100 times your size.
5. Promotes you and your services
Your website is a very 3 dimensional view of you who are, what you offer and what differentiates you from all the other attorneys you compete with.
4. Your website makes you available to the World 24/7, 365 Days a Year
Unlike your company's office that may be open from 8-5, Monday thru Friday, your company 's website is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. When someone needs a lawyer or information about a lawyer and they know that it is after hours like Saturday night at midnight, you can bet that they are going online to figure out their next step and who can help resolve whatever issue they may have.
3. Beat the competition
Make sure your site is the best one out there (as judged by your level of visibility, website design and content) and you will be able to generate as much business as you desire.
2. Online Forms
Well-written online forms can provide you with a wealth of information about a potential client and if they are the right fit for your practice or someone that is better suited for another attorney you know.
1. Return on Investment
If you believe that having a well-optimized website is just too expensive let me share something with you, it’s not. In fact, by not having a well-optimized site you are losing out on potentially hundred’s of thousands of dollars. Here is the bottom line: You can’t afford NOT to have a site.

Video - Why It's Important To Your Online Presence

2009-07-07T14:50:00.007-06:00

Why is video important to your web presence? Because your videos are going to accomplish a number of things that the written word just will not do no matter how good your website is. Some of these things are:

1. It's Visual - People looking for an attorney like you can now see you and hear you and get a feeling for how you might represent them. A professionally produced video can have an immediate and very positive affect for your firm.

2. It's "Sticky" - What I mean by that is websites with video tend to keep those potential clients on your site longer. The more time they spend on your site the less time they are spending on some other attorney's site. And the more likely they are to call you.

3. It's Available 24/7 - Your website videos featuring you are going to always be available. Potential clients can always get a sense of you are and how you can help them just by going to your website and watching your video.

4. It's a HUGE Differentiator - At this time there are attorneys online that have video but not that many. Right now you are setting a trend that is only going to get better for those with video

These are just some examples of why having video on your website is so important. Why not do something that sets you apart from a majority of the other attorneys you are currently competing with

Google Local - How To

2009-07-06T14:56:00.005-06:00

I believe this is an important free service offereed by Google and one htat I encourage the attorneys I work with to take advantage. If you are not sure how to go about adding your business to Google Local please call me and I will be happy to sit down with you and enter your practice into this valuable service.

Here is the link to the site; http://maps.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=107528.

I have also cut and pasted the information below on my Blog

In Googles Words.........

"Local Business Center Guidelines

Google Maps aims to provide value for users and business owners alike. We've implemented a number of guidelines that align with these intentions. To protect users, businesses, and the integrity of our search results, we reserve the right to terminate Local Business Center access or broader Google access to individuals or businesses violating these guidelines.
These points cover the general guidelines for creating business listings through the Local Business Center, but are not an exhaustive list of policies. Some actions not specifically prohibited here may still be cause for removal from Maps. If you have any question about whether or not a tactic is deceptive, we recommend you stand on the side of caution. You may also request clarification by posting in our Maps Help Forum.Quality Guidelines:
Only enter listings for businesses that you own or are explicitly authorized to represent.
Represent your business exactly as it appears in the offline world. The name on Google Maps should match the business name, as should the address, phone number and website.
Do not attempt to manipulate search results by adding extraneous keywords into the title field, and do not include phone numbers or URLs in the title along with your proper business name.
Create only one listing for each physical location of your business. Do not create more than one listing for each business location, either in a single account or multiple accounts. Service area businesses, for example, should not create a listing for every town they service. Likewise, law firms or doctors should not create multiple listings to cover all of their specialties.
When entering categories, use only those that directly describe your business. Do not submit related categories that do not define your business. For example, a taxi company might properly categorize itself as "Airport Transportation", but it would be inaccurate to also use the category "Airport". Also, please use each category field to enter a single category. Do not list multiple categories or keywords in one field.

Provide information that best identifies your individual locations and provides users with the most direct path to your business. For example, you should provide individual location phone numbers in place of central phone lines and the precise address for the business in place of broad city names or cross-streets.

Provide the one URL that belongs to your business both in terms of the landing page and the displayed URL. Pages that redirect to another domain, or act as "click through" sites may lead to penalization.

Use the description and custom attribute fields to include additional information about your listing. This type of content should never appear in your business's title, address or category fields.

If you believe that another business is abusing Google's quality guidelines, we encourage you to report the listing. Your reports help us to improve the overall Google Maps experience for everyone.

If you find that your listings were removed from Google Maps or you're unable to access your Local Business Center account, please file a reconsideration request. All requests are reviewed, and the decision of Google in this regard shall be final and binding. Please note that we won't necessarily respond to each individual request."

Bell & Pollock - Personal Injury Firm

2009-07-05T18:26:00.000-06:00

Bell & Pollock has been serving the personal injury and civil litigation needs of Colorado residents since we opened our doors in 1984. In fact, managing partners Gary Bell and Bradley Pollock have been successfully working together on litigation matters in Colorado courts for nearly 30 years. We have successfully tried cases in nearly every area of personal injury and wrongful death litigation. No other insurance claims litigation firm in Denver can offer that kind of longevity in the community, or the aggressive reputation that comes with it.

Old-Fashioned 4th of July Celebration

2009-07-04T18:32:00.004-06:00

My wife Traci and I and our little boy went to an old-fashioned 4th of July celebration today and we had a great time. It was at a Park outside of Denver called 4 Mile Historic Park. The celebration was set in the time of the Civil War and had everything from soldiers from that era to Abe Lincoln. They had re-enactments of the battles but the best part (for me) was when an orchestra played The Battle Hymn of the Republic while "Abe Lincoln" read the Gettysburg Address. All-in-all we had a great time there this afternoon and look forward to the fireworks display tonight to celebrate our country's Independence.

The 4th of July - Independence for America!

2009-07-04T00:03:00.007-06:00

July 4th, 1776 was the day the Declaration of Independence was approved (it was actually signed on July 2nd, 1776, although there is also debate about this. I was not there so I am not sure), declaring to the world that the 13 states were united as one and became the United States of America.

I believe that America is such a strong country because we have gotten the best and brightest from around the world. America offers opportunity that other countries do not allow and these opportunities are what bring the best and the brightest to America's shores on a daily basis.

The line:

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."

is what makes this country great and I for one am proud to be an American.

What does this have to with the legal community? A lot. Lawyers get a lot of grief for the work they do but I know that when someone is in trouble they call a lawyer. When someone needs to make sure their family is provided for in times of trouble they call a lawyer. When justice needs to be served lawyers are there presenting there arguments as to what the best course of justice is. Innocent until proven guilty is so critical to this country. Many countries don't care of guilt or innocence, they just care about the agenda which serves their own needs. Well, in America, Justice is the agenda and it serves no man.

I enjoy working with attorneys which is funny because my political views are very different from many of the attorneys I am proud to call my client. But one area we always agree on is the fact that when the lone person is fighting against a system that far larger than they are and has more resources than they ever will, the one thing standing between them and injustice is an attorney that makes the strongest, most powerful government in the history of mankind equal to that one lone person.

AVVO - What Attorneys Need to Know

2009-07-03T23:44:00.004-06:00

AVVO rates and profiles every attorney. Every attorney should go to AVVO (http://www.avvo.vom/) and make sure they manager their profile.

I believe very strongly that every attorney needs to manage their reputation on the Internet. When you have a client that you know is very happy with the services you have provided please tell me them about sites like AVVO where they can go and rate your services. There are a lot of things that can be said anonymously which makes it too easy for negative comments. Get those positive comments out there so that people researching you specifically can learn about the real you and how you have been able to help people in the same situation as they are in.

Are People Really Looking for Attorneys Online?

2009-07-03T16:26:00.005-06:00

The simple answer is YES. As the Internet has become more accessible for people, more people are going online to find a lawyer to help them with whatever issue or concern they may have. Why is this? Well, back in the 90's only about 30 percent of this country had computers at home and of those 30% a majority of them had dial-up access. Very slow and tedious. Not conducive to "surfing the net". Jump ahead to today. Almost 70% of this country (according to Internet World Stats http://www.internetworldstats.com/stats2.htm#top) has a computer at home (you can buy a used one now for $100.00) and most of these people not only have access to the Internet, but also have high speed access. Now surfing the "Net" is easy and fun.

It's almost shocking when someone says they only have a dial-up connection to the Internet. So what is happening then? Well, whereas most people looking for an attorney got a name through the yellow pages, or a referral or some other method, most people are first going online to research their situation and then looking for a competent attorney to help them with their issue. What about referrals? People getting referrals don't need to go online. YES THEY DO! They now go online to research the referral given to them because it is so easy. Why wouldn't they. And if they cannot find anything of what they consider value in regards to you or your practice they will probably continue to surf looking for another Lawyer for their needs. Think about your own habits.

Jon B. Clarke - Business Bankruptcy Attorney

2009-07-02T16:02:00.004-06:00

The right attorney in times of trouble is key. Jon B. Clarke is one of the top Business Bankruptcy attorneys in Colorado and would be happy to speak with you about any issues or concerns you may have.

You can learn more about Jon at http://www.jonbclarke.com/

Getting the Right Website & SEO Firm For Your Practice

2009-07-01T15:06:00.005-06:00

I met with a law firm that just spent 10K on a website that unfortunately could have been done for 5 dollars per month (keep in mind, all that was provided to this firm was the hosting and a very simple template, nothing else). I hate coming across situations like this because I know they were taken advantage of but they simply did not know enough to make the right decisions.

There were over 100 pages of content on this site, ALL of it written by the firm. There were over 400 inbound links that had zero relevancy and zero page rank and a majority were either internal links or links from some photo site.

This website also had zero optimization done to it by this “SEO” Firm.

The person who is now in charge knows they got ripped off but cannot do anything about it at this time.

The older partners do not believe in the Internet, the younger partners know the power of the Internet and wanted a real presence online that would bring in business from clients that do not get referred to them.

Because of this rather large disconnect, they kept spending money here and money there. So what was originally about a $6,000 cost ballooned into $10,000. 6K was far too much for what they got and this money was spent because besides the template that was supplied and the hosting, NOTHING else has been done by this website company. The actual cost is not relevant though if the ROI is solid month after month. If you spend $3,000 per month but realize $25,000 in returns then you are making a great investment.

I am going to provide a very simple test for anyone contemplating a website for their business. Go online to Google (They get between 60-65% of all searches) and type in a random phrase like, “dui attorney denver” and see which websites show up on the first page. See who built those sites. But do this for a dozen or so random phrases so you can get a good idea of who to call. If the web design firm you are working with cannot show results like this then walk away.

Stephen Swift - Colorado Springs Bankruptcy Attorney

2009-07-01T08:25:00.007-06:00

Congratulations to Stephen Swift (http://www.swiftlaw.net/). His new Bankruptcy website is online now and in less than one month his site is now on Page One of Google for most Bankrutpcy searches.

Compete Against the Attorneys Who Spend More

2009-06-30T16:59:00.002-06:00

There are always going to be lawyers and law firms that will spend more money on advertising than everyone else. They will also typically get a lot of business as a result of that kind of advertising spend.

So what can an attorney that does not have the budget or the desire to spend their money in the same fashion do to compete with the big spenders? FOCUS! Instead of trying to compete with them, simply focus your marketing and advertising on specific areas.

For example, if you are a Personal Injury attorney, maybe focus your website on Motorcycle Accidents. Optimize (make visible to search engines) your site for that specific topic.

Now that does not mean you neglect all the other practice areas within your law practice. No. You should write about those areas as well BUT focus on one topic so that you maximize your optimization on that area. You would be surprised at the results you will be able to achieve.

As your website brings you more and more business and you can now afford to spend more money to achieve greater results and then compete against those that are putting bigger dollars into their marketing budgets.

If you have questions please don't hesitate to call me at 303-947-1737.

How Long Will it Take My Website to Start Showing Up in Searches?

2009-06-30T09:33:00.001-06:00

If there is one question I get asked most often it's "When will my website start working?" Unfortunately there is no standard answer. There are many different factors to when a site shows up. Search engines use mathematical formulas called algorithms to determine rank or where your website will show up, whether it's on the first page of Google (http://www.google.com/) or the 100th page. Here is what Google has to say about ranking:

"When your site is ready:

Have other relevant sites link to yours.
Submit it to Google at http://www.google.com/addurl.html.
Submit a Sitemap as part of our Google Webmaster Tools. Google uses your Sitemap to learn about the structure of your site and to increase our coverage of your webpages.
Make sure all the sites that should know about your pages are aware your site is online.
Submit your site to relevant directories such as the Open Directory Project and Yahoo!, as well as to other industry-specific expert sites.
Design and content guidelines
Make a site with a clear hierarchy and text links. Every page should be reachable from at least one static text link.
Offer a site map to your users with links that point to the important parts of your site. If the site map is larger than 100 or so links, you may want to break the site map into separate pages.
Create a useful, information-rich site, and write pages that clearly and accurately describe your content.
Think about the words users would type to find your pages, and make sure that your site actually includes those words within it.
Try to use text instead of images to display important names, content, or links. The Google crawler doesn't recognize text contained in images.
Make sure that your TITLE tags and ALT attributes are descriptive and accurate.
Check for broken links and correct HTML.
If you decide to use dynamic pages (i.e., the URL contains a "?" character), be aware that not every search engine spider crawls dynamic pages as well as static pages. It helps to keep the parameters short and the number of them few.
Keep the links on a given page to a reasonable number (fewer than 100). "

FindLaw (http://www.findlaw.com/) follows these guidelines. To expand upon a few of the more important points

Inbound Linking - The more relevant the inbound link, meaning sites relevant to your area of practice, the more "respect" you will get from the search engines.
Content - The more content you have that is relevant to your area of practice the better the site will do.
Design is also critical because if you have a site that is not easy to navigate or is not appealing to the eye, the more people will click on the back button. There are hundreds of components that search engines use to rank but these are a few.

Another important area to consider is length of time your site has been online. Once a site gets published online is when the search engines start to index them or start the ranking process. With over 25 BILLION websites in the world and more added every day this can take time. It's not unusual for a site to take upwards of 9 months to start to be effective. There are no magic wands and anyone offering one should be viewed very carefully.

Top 10 Ways to Improve Your Web Presence

2009-06-29T22:10:00.000-06:00

10. Is your FindLaw firm and attorney profile up to date and informative? Your profile is an excellent opportunity for you to inform potential clients of who you are and what you can do. We highly recommend that you include narrative text and a picture of yourself. The narrative text can include your background, mission/vision, experience, and things that differentiate you from your competitors. An informative FindLaw profile can also have a strong presence in Search Engine results. Check out your profile today by going to www.FindLaw.com or click here for more information.

9. When was the last time you reviewed and updated the content on your FirmSite? Search Engines constantly crawl the internet for fresh information. Consider updating your Publications or add a Testimonials page. This is a great opportunity to establish your firm as a legal expert and improve search engine results. Other options include an In the Community page, Representative Client’s page or a Case Summaries page.

8. Have you submitted your FirmSite to any online directories or purchased online advertisements? Be sure to submit your FirmSite to various reputable online directories like Google Local, Yahoo Local, and more to build in-bound links to your FirmSite. Click here for more information. If you have purchased online advertisements, be sure they link to the appropriate pages on your FirmSite. For example, if you have a Personal Injury TopSpot on FindLaw.com, link it to the Personal Injury page on your FirmSite. This guides prospects directly to the information they seek and improves the presence of this page within the Search Engine results.

7. Do you have a page on your FirmSite without any content? Maybe you have a Spanish page without Spanish content or a Testimonial page without testimonials because you have not had time to update. It is critical to incorporate keyword rich content with about 250 words per page on your FirmSite. Search Engines can penalize your FirmSite for having empty pages, please consider removing them. You can always add them back once you have some relevant, keyword rich content.

6. Does your FirmSite have a Site Map? A Site Map can make it easier for Search Engines to crawl and index your FirmSite in an effort to improve your Search Engine results.

5. Did you know that there are FREE methods for promoting your FirmSite? Be sure to add your web address to your letterhead, business cards, email signature, as well as mention your FirmSite on your business’ voicemail.

4. Who? What? Where? With the amount of information available online, you only have a few seconds to grab the attention of a potential client. It is imperative that your FirmSite clearly states your firm’s name, phone number, office location, and your services in a visible area.

3. Do you have any pictures of your staff, office or practice area specific pictures on your FirmSite? Statistics show that a potential client is more likely to contact the firm that includes pictures of the attorneys and staff than the firm that doesn’t. Pictures are a great way to add a personal touch as well as visually convey what you do and who you are to potential clients.

2. Your firm is located in Denver, CO. How does a potential client located in Englewood, CO find you online? Be sure to include a geography block at the bottom of each page of your FirmSite. A geography block consists of cities and counties that you would like to attract clients from.

1. When was the last time you discussed your web presence with your FindLaw Account Manageror local FindLaw Sales Consultant? Today is a great day to contact us and find out what we can do to enhance your web presence in the areas of visibility, content, and design. Call 303-947-1737

51 Ways to Market Your Practice

2009-06-29T11:09:00.010-06:00

I came across these marketing tips written by Terry Berger of Westminster, MD. I find it of particular interest since we are in tougher economic times and attorneys absolutely NEED to be marketing themselves EVERY chance they get.

Here they are:

1. Join your local chamber of commerce. It's great for networking and community credibility.

2. Get a unique business card and hand it out freely. You never know (and neither do they)when someone will need a lawyer. Also, make sure you ALWAYS have your cards on you no matter what you are doing, even walking the dog.

3. Give a client or other non-lawyer contact at least 2 business cards - one to keep and one to give away.

4. Give every employee his or her own business cards along with name, title, email address and website address. (What? No website...Are you kidding? In this day and age. You are losing way to much business. See point 51).

5. Offer to write an article for your local paper on a topic such as why everyone should have a will or questions to ask a contractor. Make sure the byline includes the name of your firm AND your website address and if possible, your email and direct line.

6. Add a signature block to your outgoing email that includes your name, the name of your firm, website address, email, full mailing address and phone number.

7. Try to get a local reporter to use you as a local expert. Send an e-mail offering commentary on a court case. Learn to translate legalese into English and reporters will love you.

8. Join e-mail discussion lists at the local and state bar level, as well as the ABA's Solosez group. (You don't need to be an ABA member to join Solosez).

9. Apply to teach at a local community college, community center or similar venue. This could be a for-credit course or a one day course on your area of legal expertise.

10. Make sure everyone in your office building knows who you are, that you are a lawyer and what type of law you practice.

11. Send holiday cards to everyone you meet and keep the list growing. Also, send them early. If your clients get cards on December 23rd, they may throw them away December 26th. If they get them early, the cards may sit out on the mantel for weeks.

12. Send personalized calendars each new year. Many websites will add your information to standard calendars at a low price. Try the long, thin calendars that are designed to stick to the top or bottom of a computer monitor.

13. Send birthday and anniversary cards to colleagues and clients. A simple calendar system and box of generic cards makes this task easy.

14. Ask your clients to refer others to you. At the conclusion of the client's case, when they express gratitude , hand them some cards and tell them you hope they'll send their friends your way.

15. Offer to speak to community groups or at senior centers on topics such as wills, fraud avoidance and similar issues

16. Register with your local bar association speakers bureau. If your bar doesn't have one, offer to help start one.

17. Make sure everyone at your church or synagogue knows that you are an attorneys and has your business card.

18. Advertise in school and church newsletters and local marketer newspapers. This sort of advertising is usually cost-efficient and such publications are surprisingly well-read by their target audiences.

19. Post your business card on the bulletin board at your barber shop, beauty salon, grocery store, community center and house of worship.

20. Send a copy of recent case or legal news clip to another professional, attaching your card and a note such as, "I thought this might be of interest." Make a commitment to send at least 2 a week.

21. Send a congratulatory note to other local business people in the news.

22. Donate last year's West Law books to your local library with a bookplate bearing your name, firm name and URL.

23. Donate magazines to your local jail, nursing home or school and hand over your business card when you drop them off.

24. Volunteer to speak at your local high school about law related topics. Not only might the students become clients, but their teachers and parents just might too.

25. Actively participate in community affairs

26. Give business cards to waiter staff at your favorite restaurant and other service people you see on a regular basis. Ask them to offer the cards to other customers who seem to need a lawyer.

27. Have lunch or dinner frequently with attorneys who practice in other areas and be sure you have plenty of each other's cards for referrals.

28. Cross-sell. When you complete work for clients, remind them that you handle other matters as well. Make sure they know that you would like the opportunity to serve them - or their friends, relatives, etc.

29. Ask your clients to allow you to be their first contact for any legal issue they may encounter. Let them know that if you cannot handle the matter, you know someone who can.

30. Get to know your clients business. If appropriate, visit your client's business. Showing interest reminds clients that their success is your success.

31. Tell clients what services you provide. Provide clients with all the necessary information about the firm so they can be better referral sources.

32. Send out press releases. Small local newspapers are especially interested.

33. Remind clients of obligations, such as lease renewal dates, business name registration and other important dates

34. Send congratulations to clients for any life event, such as the birth of a child or a graduation.

35. Come up with new ideas for clients or their businesses. Even if the ideas are not acted on, it shows clients that you are thinking of them and you are creative.

36. Every Monday morning (or Sunday night) write down five marketing activities that you will accomplish during the week.

37. Make certain everyone in your firm and your family knows what kind of law you practice and what type of clients you are seeking.

38. Write down a 15 second description of your practice and commit it to memory. This is called an Elevator Pitch. Use it whenever someone asks you what you do.

39. List five to ten people or businesses you would like to have as clients. Devise a plan to get their attention

40. List your ten best clients or your 10 newest clients. Ask each why they cam to your firm. This will allow you to determine which marketing efforts are best.

41. Never participate in an activity just to get business. Have a genuine interest in that activity.

42. Network, Network, Network. Remember, this is a never-ending process. It takes a long time to develop and benefit from contacts.

43. Never apologize for the size of your firm. Make sure that your clients know why it is such a benefit for them to work with you.

44. If there is more than one attorney in your firm, learn to cross-sell services to other clients.

45. Seek out free listings in directories - print and online

46. Write an e-mail newsletter about your practice area and send it to other lawyers. Archive the newsletter online.

47. Join the local trial lawyers association, even if you don't do much trail work. It's a good place to network and get name recognition from other lawyers.

48. Give out laminated "What to do after an accident" or "What to do if you are arrested" with your firms information.

49. Give out durable key chains or pens. Items that people use frequently.

50. Give vinyl or nylon briefcases to clients on their first visit. This will encourage clients to keep important papers for their case in one place and to bring everything to each office visit. Add a pen, key chain, pad of paper and some business cards in each case.

And

51. Make sure you have a well-designed, well-written and well-optimized website. With more people finding attorneys on the Internet than from anywhere else you are missing huge amounts of potential business by not ensuring that people can find you on the worlds most utilized search tool.

Yellow Page vs Internet Advertising

2009-06-26T15:17:00.000-06:00

There are a lot of questions out there regarding this issue and I am going to offer my opinion based upon the information I have gathered over these last few years.Lets go back to the year 2000. Most American households still did not have a computer, maybe 30% and of that 30% I would venture to say that a majority of those did not have high speed Internet access. I know I did not. I was still using dial up and believe me it was SLOW!!!! I still remember trying to download a preview for the first X-Men movie. After HOURS of trying, it never did dowload. My friend Craig Fisher did have high speed and I remember it only took him a few minutes.Why do I tell this touching story? Because back in the "old days" using the Internet for all those searches was too tedious. The yellow pages was much more efficient at that time. Something else to keep in mind that is VERY important; searching for information online was not as easy 10 years ago as it was today and 20 years ago it was impossible so the yellow pages was really the only place to go if you needed to find information.Lets skip ahead to today, 2008. I would say most American households have computers at home and of those that do, a majority have high speed access AND using Search Engines like Google, Yahoo or MSN.Why is this important? Because now people feel comfortable using the Internet to find whatever information they are looking for. In fact, it is far easier to use the Internet instead of the yellow pages. More and more people go online to find what they need today and that trend will continue to grow. Now, I work exclusively with Attorneys, and I have asked every lawyer I have ever met with how their yellow page advertising is working these days and 100% of the time I am told that they have seen a steady decline in the amount of business they are getting from their yellow page advertising.Another factor to consider for those wanting to advertise in the yellow pages is which book? Yellow Book, Qwest Dex, Verizon Super Pages, all the small towns in a metro region??? Is it a waste of money to advertise in the yellow pages? I don't know. I do think the more places you can have people find you the better but at what point does the return on investment become harder and harder to achieve. And yellow page advertising is not getting cheaper, just the opposite. I will say this, if you are not spending a minimum of your advertising dollars on the Internet then you are missing out a huge demographic that has turned out to be a very strong consumer base.If you have any more questions on what it takes to have a truly effective presence online please go to my website.

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