Creating a Theme for Your Web Site

By David Rodnitzky for FindLaw's Modern Practice, February 2003.

"Branding" is a relatively new concept for law firms. Once reserved for highly visible consumer products (beer, candy, clothing, and the like), these days law firms are extending their corporate brand to their Web sites. This branding can be as simple as keeping a consistent logo on your Web site and your stationary, to more complex fusions of color
schemes, catch-phrases, and mission statements.

This month, we look at a few interesting approaches to online branding.

Macey Chern Diab/Legal Helpers
Macey Chern Diab has two distinct practice areas - personal injury and bankruptcy. As a result, half the potential clients visiting their Web site expect to see one sort of site, and the other half expect another. What to do? Macey Chern came up with an interesting solution. By using different color schemes, they've split their homepage in half - one side for personal injury (the "Macey Chern Diab" side, and the other side for bankruptcy (the "Legal Helpers" side). Because each side has its own color scheme and links, they are able to develop two unique brands on one homepage. Very clever!

Reed Smith
If your firm has spent money developing a corporate slogan, you might as well incorporate your catchphrase into your Web site. Reed Smith does a nice job of doing just that. Their slogan is "It's Not Just Business - It's Personal," emphasizing both the firm's business practice area as well as a hand-on approach to clients. Their Web site continues this theme by starting with a home page that encourages you (several times) to personalize your surfing experience. After creating a username, you can book events online, sign-up for newsletters, and set up a personal area of favorite resources. The home page also has some cool "blurring" graphics that add a little razzle-dazzle to the Web design.

Morrison & Foerster
Perhaps the most famous - and controversial - branding success story is that of Morrison & Foerster. You can access their Web site at this address: www.mofo.com. Of course, in vernacular, the term "mofo" does not mean "lawyers for the global economy." Most law firms would shy away from a nickname that has a lewd, alternative meaning. Yet, for Morrison & Foerester, the abbreviated name has been a branding coup. The firm receives 'buzz' in non-lawyer circles, and has a Web address that is not only easy to remember, but unforgettable.