Entertainers Find Network Executive-Turned-Lawyer Through FirmSite

Former network executive Barry Oliver Chase is putting his industry experience to use in entertainment law, relying on his West FirmSite ( www.entertainmentlawyermiami.com) as a key business tool. “I’m glad I established the site when I did,” says this Miami-based attorney. “It’s on a growth curve; people are coming to get their information from the site.” They are also turning into clients.

Chase, who began his career as an attorney at a large legal firm representing entertainment giants CBS and Time, Inc. served as a vice president for PBS before opening his own law practice. Today, his clients include network television stars, music companies, models, and musicians. He helps them negotiate endorsement deals and licensing agreements, and provides the full range of legal services for their professional needs.

West's FirmSite is a good match for the people Chase wants to attract. “I’m getting a lot of calls from the Internet,” he says, “because people in entertainment tend to use the Internet disproportionately.” In fact, he reports that the majority of people who call his office visited his FirmSite first.

Speaking their Language

In keeping with an industry where style counts, his FirmSite skillfully uses splash and audio technology. In a splash-page scene featuring the Miami skyline, spotlights blaze from behind office buildings, while music plays in the background. This colorful and attractive page has garnered a lot of compliments. The text on the page — “music,” “television” and “sports,” and “The Law Office of Barry Oliver Chase” -- clearly identify this firm as one that welcomes entertainers.

Most law firm sites have yet to include video clips, but Chase uses this medium to communicate to an audience that relies on video. The site offers two clips from a class on entertainment law that Chase teaches to other attorneys. This feature, dealing with topics such as morals clauses in endorsement deals, demonstrates Chase’s knowledge of entertainment law. It also helps the site visitor connect with him by complementing the written word with sound and images that convey something of his personal style.

Chase, who has represented celebrities from South America, also offers a Spanish-language section that provides information about his education and experience, as well as client testimonials. “Having the Spanish has been a plus,” says this bilingual attorney. “People are pleased when you are willing to speak to them in their language.”

On a Growth Curve

His online West directory listings are a valuable companion to the FirmSite, so much so that Chase has reduced his spending on other forms of marketing. “I have cut back on print, and I don’t feel any hurt from it. I do have an ad in the Yellow Pages, but nothing major.”

When sales representatives from print media call, he replies “I’m not doing that anymore. What I’m doing is the way of the future.” His confidence is rewarded by his experience. “There are definitely people who have been converted into clients,” he says, counting television personalities, a clothing designer, and several recording artists, among others.

The site works so well for Chase because West’s people work so well for him. As he concludes, “The sales representative from West gave me a fair deal, and the people I deal with are extremely good. They actually call me when they say they will. I get results when I call.”

Thanks to an online presence from West, Chase gets results when he goes online as well.

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