Robert McKay, the former president of the New York City Bar Association and dean of the New York University Law School, once delivered a quote that accurately summed up the profession.
“Lawyers are seldom loved but often needed.”
ESPN Business and Legal Analyst Andrew Brandt used an analogy that shows up every Sunday during the NFL season: “Kickers are like lawyers; no one appreciates them until they need a good one.”
Both quotes illustrate an issue in the public perception of the legal industry. Does the general public really understand just how important the profession is? The good news is that you can use your legal team’s website to help assuage that perception by providing various information.
The challenge is to provide enough information — and enough different kinds of information — to hit on all the other issues and people surrounding the legal industry. Showcasing everything you do in various ways on your website will shift the scales of perception in your favor.
These are five tried and true ways to illustrate what your legal company can do to improve your B2B or B2C relations.
Blogs
Making legal issues easy to understand for both the public and other customers is what clients pay for when seeking out legal services. There’s even a term – legalese – which illustrates how difficult formal and technical language can be to understand. This is where a blog from a freelance writer comes in.
Blogs allow legal sites to break through the legalese and talk to the public in layman’s terms. Legal writers can take complicated developments in the industry and boil them down using conversational language.
For example, when Atlanta-based rapper Young Thug was arrested on RICO charges in May 2022, the legal blog Above the Law broke down the 88-page indictment in terms that the general public could understand. The blog entry, entitled “I don’t think people understand how silly it is to use song lyrics as evidence,” included Twitter posts, song lyrics and keywords that helped explain precisely what Young Thug was facing with his case.
White papers
While firms might use blogs to speak plainly to the general public, you can use white papers to go much deeper into an issue facing the legal community. White papers are detailed reports that can explain information in a variety of manners. These are also an excellent opportunity to take a deep dive into services and ideas that your firm supports.
Use a freelance legal writer to create white papers that get to the heart of issues by providing background information, breaking up information into lists or bullet points and answering questions in the industry. Detail is critical as everything is produced under one lengthy document.
The Association of Legal Administrators published a white paper in 2021 entitled “Remote Working as an Effective Recruitment and Retention Tool for Law Firms Post COVID-19.”
The report was free of the informal language of a blog but included some other vital elements such as infographics and case studies, two more important pieces of content that freelance legal writers can produce each month.
Infographics
Marrying the detailed information of a white paper with easy-to-understand blog language can result in crisp-looking infographics. When there is a lot of information to share at one time, an infographic might be the best option.
In March 2021, Chief Justice Nathan L. Hecht of the State of Texas Judicial Branch released a litany of information about the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on “The State of the Judiciary.”
Hecht’s infographic contained information about Remote Proceedings, Jury Trials, Bail Reform, Mental Health and Juvenile Justice, and a host of other topics in one visual document.
These types of infographics have been in use for some time in Texas, and legal firms and their content teams can reference Txcourts.gov for a list of archived infographics dating back to 2014 to use as inspiration for content creation.
Case Studies
The legal system is all about setting a precedent. Trials that have been won or lost in the past have shaped the laws of the future. Whenever these trials end, historians start analyzing everything that occurred and from this analysis often comes case studies.
While infographics and blogs can illustrate information in visual and conversational tones, legal sites can serve as educational tools, and they can utilize case studies to educate the public.
The United States Department of Justice hosts a handful of case studies on its website under the Office of Legal Policy. These case studies touch on a variety of topics, including Helping Americans with Disabilities and Helping Veterans and Servicemembers.
Case studies are shorter documents than white papers, but both can serve the purpose of providing more information about complicated legal topics or situations. Law firms and legal support organizations can similarly utilize case studies to promote their successes for potential clients.
Profiles
The final piece of content that your freelance legal writer should publish each month is the most humanizing piece. Profiles allow your client to get to know the team that will be representing them in their cases. In a B2B setting, profiles provide access to understanding the individuals that create the technology or head the teams of creators.
Who are the people behind your firm or business? Humanity goes a long way to selling the legal profession, and the ability to strengthen the bond between you and a client can happen in a multitude of ways.
Fort Wayne-based Rothberg Law Firm has an entire page dedicated to its attorneys. From the Partners to the Associates to the Senior Counsel, Rothberg allows a prospective client to connect with the attorneys on a human level.
Envoy Global, which created an immigration management platform that helps companies manage an international workforce, provides profiles of its leadership team. In addition to poignant information about each member, Envoy Global provides links to LinkedIn pages, allowing clients and prospective clients ease of contact and connection.
Use a Freelance Legal Writer to Customize Your Content
Customizing your content to reach potential clients who are in a pinch and experienced legal professionals will make your company more accessible to the masses.
When you hire a writer for your legal content, you find the expertise to deliver this variety of options on various platforms. If you’re stuck creating an appropriate calendar for your content, work with a blog writer or freelance editor. Using consistency in writing, style and delivery, you’ll attract more attention to your company, and your website will appeal to all types of users.