Should Law Firms Use the Internet?
Advertising is a relatively recent development in the legal profession. Not all firms advertise it is advisable for every law firm to take note of the important resource the internet has become to consumers seeking services. Even among lawyers and firms that chose not to advertise, the importance of the internet as a consumer resource should not be overlooked. An internet presence can give a law firm more credibility. It is a non-intrusive way for a law firm to begin building trust with potential clients. In fact in some ways a law firm without a presence on the internet may be at a disadvantage and some may not even consider them a reputable business if they do not have a website.
A law firm with its own website can accomplish a number of things. Most people conducting a random search for an attorney are not certain of the law regarding their problem, and concerned about cost. Moreover, there exists today a widespread skepticism about attorneys, especially among the uninitiated. A website can ease some of those uncertainties, and thus invite contact from the potential client.
The website can describe the firm’s areas of legal focus. It acts as an educational tool, explaining the basics of selected areas of law and suggesting some initial steps for the potential client. Eventually the client will end up in a lawyer’s office somewhere, so providing some initial online education will give the law firm a benign and positive first impression.
As with other forms of media, defense and personal injury attorneys are the most likely to be found using the web as an advertising service. Most law firms with other sorts of specialties that use hosted websites tend to be a little more subtle, stressing the firm’s longevity or stability, its successes and perhaps providing biographies of the firm’s principal members.
There are at least four national listing services for personal injury attorneys, and others for family law, criminal law and so forth. These listing services and much more can be readily found through all the major search engines.
All law firms are faced with the choice of developing a web page to represent their firm. Often this concept goes against the values of more traditional law firms. However the internet is a fast evolving place where information on almost all businesses can be readily found. Law firms will most certainly follow this trend in a bigger way in the future.
Jerry Cahill
http://www.articlesbase.com/law-articles/should-law-firms-use-the-internet-50278.html
Which will be the next big thing after the internet? Should we start investing in these small firms?
I think it will be robotics. I am thinking of investing in a couple of small robotics start ups. I wonder if this will be the new thing that will take over the internet in a few years.
Anyone with other ideas?
good idea NOT
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cloud computing. Central locking for houses
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Most likely the next "big thing" that represents anything like the investment opportunity the internet provided will be "open source energy", or companies that find a way to generate power at little more cost to them than the initial set-up investment costs. Nuclear power could offer this when some improvements are developed in the maintenance costs…keep your ears & eyes open!
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Robotics is a general evolving term and has been around since Henry Ford created the assembly line. How you could possibly target that is beyond me. Cloud computing is the reality of the future and moving fast. But there are numerous big computer tech companies who will want to be in on it and who knows how that will shake out. The internet is already used to program, operate and monitor robotics but that’s about it. Buy SPY (S&P Depository Receipts on a periodic basis for the next 25 – 30 years. You will be comfortably retired at an early age. Those that chased big ideas will still be working and broke.
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Robotics, maybe. Bioengineering and biotech, definitely.
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The internet bubble was ten years ago…then came the real estate bubble five years ago. Seems like bubbles are blowing and popping more recently than any time in history…you can thank the Fed for that! The next bull run would be in commodities…prices have to soak up all the trillions the Fed has been printing. Invest in agriculture, oil, gold, and silver. Silver for under $20 an ounce is a gift from heaven. Five years from now, you may wish you bought more.
That’s where the major market will be. International central banks are hoarding gold, thats what the big boys are doing. They’ve already revealed it their hand, you just have to play it. Humorously, you should become a farmer!…Invest in agriculture.
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I don’t really think robotics will have nearly the same effect as the internet did. If I had to make a wild guess I would place my chips in the energy sector. We are starting to see more products that can be recharged wirelessly (if that is even a word), and I don’t think its such a far fetched idea to imagine that power en masse will be transmitted wirelessly in the future as well. Powerlines will become obsolete.
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