What do clients see when they click open a law firm website? According to professional services consultant Ron Pol from TeamFactors.com, traditional assumptions about how clients use websites need to be viewed with some scepticism.

"General Counsel typically look at me quizzically when I ask when they last got something really useful from their law firm's website," says Pol. He says that his research indicates that clients often do not see any significant differentiation from one website to another. "So actually, it seems what firms are really saying with their website is that their law firm is pretty much indistinguishable from their main competitors," he says.

Pol concedes that this may sound provocative, but says that in his experience, even law firm partners themselves often can't pick the difference between their own online brand representation and that of competitors. A method Pol uses to demonstrate this point is to present partners with a list of brand statements drawn from their own website and competitor websites.  "After all," says Pol, "If the firm's brand truly is as unique and clearly defined as they say it is, the owners of that brand should spot it immediately."

A typical list would include statements such as "top tier law firm", "a full service Australian commercial law firm" and "one of the largest full-service law firms" or "a leading international legal practice".  The vast majority of partners are unable to identify which brand statement came from their own website.
 
Pol says that, for all their problems, law firm websites can be tremendously useful - but just not always to the intended audience, or in ways firms might expect.

"Evidence from the firm's own website is a great way to start discussion about how the firm really is seen by the market; as the basis for developing strategies to migrate from the usual client focus to a more powerful client perspective." When that happens, says Pol, it will eventually be reflected in true brand differentiation which will then be illustrated in a new generation of law firm websites.