Legal Technology Journal

General counsel at 30 top multinational corporations have claimed that a law firm’s website plays a key role in influencing their purchasing decisions.

The claims arise as part of a survey commissioned by Hubbard One, in which 100% of general counsel surveyed said they review a firm’s website when evaluating and purchasing legal services. Ninety percent said that lawyer biographies are the most important section on a law firm’s website.
The results will contradict the view of many lawyers that the firm’s website rarely leads to instructions.

The counsel surveyed were based in the US but responsible for instructing law firms worldwide. According to the survey, they use a law firm’s website to assist with competitive intelligence gathering, industry information, legal research and information from legal and trade publications.

One counsel for a leading PC manufacturer said: “If a firm has not spent time and effort representing itself, what can I expect in terms of attention to detail and quality? Some web sites are hard to navigate; others are simply very light on content, both with respect to attorney profiles and also with respect to substantive articles.”

Hubbard One managing account director John Simpson told Legal Technology Update that general counsel often use law firm articles to research an issue before thinking about outsourcing a matter.

“The more you put content like this in front of a decision maker the better position you’ll be in when they come to outsource,” he said.
The survey was conducted by legal feedback group Wicker Park Group on behalf of Hubbard One.