Last Exit Benchmark Studies: Legal Sector 2012

LEGAL SECTORDIGITAL BENCHMARK©

2012

LEGAL SECTORDIGITAL BENCHMARK©

TABLE OF CONTENTS

2348

1011141618222527

INTRODUCTIONMETHODOLOGYTHE BENCHMARKEXECUTIVE SUMMARYMOBILEUSABILITY: CALLS TO ACTIONUSABILITY: SITE SEARCH ENGINESUSABILITY: LAWYER FINDER TOOLCONTENT MARKETINGRECRUITMENTREPUTATION MANAGEMENTSOCIAL MEDIA

FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT US: [email protected] • +44 (0)20 7407 7666 // [email protected] • 1(646) 347 4340

“The fact thatincreased revenue is not

necessarily resulting in increased pro�ts shows

that law-�rm margins are continuing to be

squeezed. ” Tony Williams

Founder of Jomati, quoted in the FT, July 2012

“The use of social media for marketing of an

organisation's brand is inevitable, but it is not

to be feared. ” Danvers Baillieu & Kathryn Wynn

Social media strategy article, Pinsent Masons LLP

DIGITAL BENCHMARK©INTRODUCTION

P 2

LEGAL SECTOR

LAST EXIT LEGAL SECTOR DIGITAL BENCHMARK

The United Kingdom’s £23bn legal market is undergoing transformation. Law firms are facing

the worst financial crisis in a generation. The period of rapid profit growth in the legal sector

that had lasted since the mid 1980s is widely acknowledged to be over.

In this new era, costs are being scrutinised, there's pricing pressure from clients and ever

increasing competition between firms. Add in the liberalisation of the profession through the

Legal Services Act, and it's no suprise that companies are strategising, looking to growing

markets abroad, and demanding that their existing assets work ever harder.

It's our belief that a law firm website is a key asset. As an important, though perhaps neglected,

tool for marketing, reputation management, recruitment and generating new business, its

performance is increasingly important and deserves thought and attention.

The Last Exit Legal Sector Benchmark

Building on expertise gained contributing to digital industry think tank reports for L2, Last Exit

has conducted a study to benchmark the desktop websites, mobile and social presences of 30 of

the largest UK-based law firms, measured by worldwide revenues. Covering 34 different

touchpoints, the findings of the benchmark are summarised in this document.

For more detailed information and analysis please contact me.

Fred BrownPartner and Managing Director, Last Exit


DIGITAL BENCHMARK©METHODOLOGY

MobileResearch is no longer confined to desktop

computers. CEOs and chief legal officers own

iPads and smartphones. We looked for website

optimisation for mobile phones, and whether

the sites employed responsive design.

Mobile optimised template

Responsive design

Design, technology & marketingMultiple touch-points, delving into

technical excellence, organisation of

information, usability, content

quality, and content marketing.

Search engine excellence

User personalisation

Identification of user types

Recruitment sections

Calls to action

Thought leadership content

Topical communications

Excellence of rich content

Global credibility

Reputation management

Search engine optimisation

Social MediaWe looked for an understanding of LinkedIn,

Twitter and Facebook and the quality of

engagement in those spaces.

Social media and website integration

Share buttons

Scoring systemWe examined the websites of 30 leading UK law firms. Our three

main criteria are Design & technology, Marketing and Social

Media, which were then divided into 34 touch-points. Each

touch-point is given a score between 0-5 (5 being very good).

136+Excellent

135-102Good

101-68Mediocre

<68Weak

LEGAL SECTOR

P 3FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT US: [email protected] • +44 (0)20 7407 7666 // [email protected] • 1(646) 347 4340

DIGITAL BENCHMARK©THE BENCHMARK

RANK COMPANY SCORE DESCRIPTION

Ranks 5 – 13 overleafOverall ranking: 136+ Excellent, 102-135 Good, 68-101 Mediocre, 68– Weak

1= 126 / 170

GoodBLP’s web presence reached high scores in nearly

every category. Well organised and with clear calls to

action. Includes topical, rich, content and an excellent

graduate recruitment section.

1= 126 / 170

GoodA well laid out website. Contains an excellent lawyer

finder tool, great thought leadership content and

clear graduate recruitment sections.

3 125 / 170

GoodA clean, clearly laid out website that signposts

related content. Contains a rarity; an excellent

predictive search engine.

4 118 / 170

GoodAttractive careers pages, excellent thought

leadership content and multi-lingual facility but an

underwhelming presence on LinkedIn and social

platforms.

LEGAL SECTOR


DIGITAL BENCHMARK©THE BENCHMARK


5

6

7

8

9=

9=

11=

11=

LEGAL SECTOR

Eversheds

Wragge & Co

Pinsent Masons

Squire Sanders LLP(was Hammonds)

Bird & Bird

CMS Cameron McKenna

Simmons & Simmons

Norton Rose

114 / 170

Good

108 / 170

Good

105 / 170

Good

104 / 170

Good

103 / 170

Good

103 / 170

Good

102 / 170

Good

102 / 170

Good

Excellent lawyer finder tool, good cross linking and thought leadership content. Lost points for some poor search engine optimisation.

Excellent trainee recruitment website with animated design and clear calls to action for their newsletters.

A stylish, easy to navigate website, that makes it easy to put a face to the expertise on offer, clear about its intentions. Little use of social media.

Comprehensive lawyer-finder tool and useful Services pages that refer to the firm's "Representative Experience". Limited integration with their social media presences.

Attractive explanation of the firm's history and the site signposts its sections clearly. Let down by a poor search facility.

Good search engine and excellent content demonstrating the firm's expertise. Few calls to action and sections are not always signposted clearly. Design looks a little dated.

Excellent elexica legal resource. Though the sector pages are clearly laid out, they do not encourage exploration as there is little related content offered. Recruitment pages are quite "dry" and text-heavy.

Site is optimised for mobile and features an excellent lawyer finder tool. Though the graduate recruitment website is stylish, the recruitment pages for other parts of the business are slightly dull.

13


Herbert Smith 101 / 170

Mediocre

Attractive recruitment sections, but the search engine returns irrelevant pages, there are few calls to action and social media is not integrated with the main website.


DIGITAL BENCHMARK©THE BENCHMARKLEGAL SECTOR



14

15

16=

16=

16=

19

20

Irwin Mitchell

Withers

Clifford Chance

SJ Berwin

Macfarlanes

Linklaters

Ashurst

101 / 170

Mediocre

100 / 170

Mediocre

98 / 170

Mediocre

98 / 170

Mediocre

98 / 170

Mediocre

97 / 170

Mediocre

95 / 170

Mediocre

Clever search engine that returns results in a grid pattern. Lawyer interviews on their profile pages is a nice touch, but the library of publications appears to be out-of-date.

Excellent publications section that's easy to navigate, and an updated blog. Pages poorly optimised for search engines.

Useful search engine and excellent lawyer-finder tool, but the expertise pages are densely written, and inconsistent in navigation.

Expertise section could be easier to navigate, publications section relies on cumbersome .pdf files. Social media is being used but not integrated with the main website.

Excellent 'Practice Areas' pages, but dry recruitment section and few clear calls to action.

Good graduate recruitment section, but otherwise the website is text-heavy and the search engine did not return relevant pages.

Inaccurate search engine, publications section relies on .pdf files, but does have an excellent graduate recruitment section with high-quality video.

21 Field Fisher Waterhouse 94 / 170

Mediocre

Few calls to action for new business, lacks rich content and information about the firm's corporate culture. Reliance on .pdf files.

22 Nabarro 93 / 170

Mediocre

One of the few websites to identify client types 'Entrepreneurs and SMEs', but also one of the few sites that does not identify business support in its careers section. A very basic lawyer finder tool.


DIGITAL BENCHMARK©THE BENCHMARKLEGAL SECTOR


23

24

25=

25=

27

28

29

Clyde & Co

Taylor Wessing

Slaughter and May

SNR Denton

DAC Beachcroft

Freshfields BruckhausDeringer

Addleshaw Goddard

92 / 170

Mediocre

91 / 170

Mediocre

89 / 170

Mediocre

89 / 170

Mediocre

86 / 170

Mediocre

85 / 170

Mediocre

82 / 170

Mediocre

Inaccurate search engine. Good tab system in the sector pages, but lacking in case studies. Too many .pdf files.

The lawyer finder tool works well, but the contact form uses quaint, unfriendly CAPTCHAs. Poor quality video and a remarkably thin recruitment section.

Lots of accessible publications, but some poorly search optimised pages and lack of social media presence cost S&M points.

Stylish site for trainee recruitment, but few calls to action and little rich content on the main site. Undeveloped LinkedIn presence.

Some poor search engine optimisation. Few calls to action. Sector pages subheadings include 'What our clients say', then doesn't mention clients.

A responsive website containing good CR content, but also featuring a poor search engine, lots of .pdfs and a rather dry graduate recruitment section.

Weak legal recruitment pages. Publications sections displays a lot of old content, has some broken links.

30

Overall ranking: 136+ Excellent, 102-135 Good, 68-101 Mediocre, 68– Weak

Holman Fenwick Willan 78 / 170

Mediocre

Site has been technically optimised for search engines, but then relies on too many .pdf files. Is not using its publications to efficiently market the firm.


In the current financial climate, law firms should ensure that their web presences are engaging, attractive and efficient at converting passing visitors into clients. Yet this admirable aim is complicated by changing best practice as the web grows in complexity. More and more firms are highlighting their creativity and client focus but our research reveals that these claims are undermined by the quality of their websites and digital presences.

The law may be dry to some, but that’s no reason for law firm websites to make their important

information difficult to find and digest. As the web evolves and customer expectations rise, we’ve found

that it’s common for law firm sites that were once “business-like” to now appear staid and unhelpful.

We are unable to grade any of the 30 sites belonging to the UK's top law firms as 'Excellent' overall.

Twelve are 'Good', 18 'Mediocre'. Mercifully, all have escaped being judged 'Weak'.

Why so many mediocre law firm websites?

Our benchmarking research and analysis has examined law firm website design and technology,

marketing and their use of social media. Findings, and recommendations, include...

Despite more and more business people owning smartphones ( just look around at any train carriage

packed with commuters) only five of the 30 websites we’ve ranked have optimised their websites for

mobile.

Visitors to law firm websites are often faced with too much information that is poorly presented. It’s a

confusing experience trying to navigate masses of information that is not clearly signposted.

Some in the legal sector may feel that marketing their services is a little unseemly, but we’d like to see

more clear calls to action on the pages of law firm websites. It’s not “pushy” to use web pages to clearly

highlight relevant experts or content that will assist the visitor.

If the visitor does not become disheartened and clicks off to a competitor, they will often attempt to use

the website’s search engine to find the information they want to locate. Whether they find the

information that they seek depends on which site they’ve landed on. We ranked only five of 30 law firm

search engines as “excellent”.

DIGITAL BENCHMARK©EXECUTIVE SUMMARYLEGAL SECTOR

ARE LAW FIRMSMAKING THE MOST

OF THE WEB?

WEBSITES CAN BE USED TOBUILD AWARENESS, TO ENGAGE AND

CONVERT VISITORS INTO CLIENTS

�


There have been many advances in search engine technology. But of the 30 websites we ranked, only

Allen & Overy are taking advantage of them, using helpful predictive search to assist their visitors.

Those looking for a named lawyer may be more fortunate. We ranked more of the lawyer finder tools are

excellent, as they should be.

Major law are firms are ideally placed to use their expertise and publications to engage clients and reach

new customers via the web and content marketing. All of the 30 law firms dedicate large sections of

their websites to their publications and news, but what is suprising is how difficult it is for users to

engage with this knowledge. Too many publication sections are poorly organised with a reliance on

search engine unfriendly .pdf files.

The widespread use of .pdf files points to a wider issue with legal sector websites; there seems to be

little acknowledgment of the wider web, of the user journeys that lead visitors to a website’s door. For

example, only nine sites display 'share' buttons, allowing visitors to easily tell others on their social

networks about the page they are visiting.

When researching legal services, many clients will turn first to their search engine of choice, probably

Google. But few of the sites we examined have been search engine optimised to a high standard. Only

two ranked as technically excellent in our benchmarking study; Nabarro and Holman Fenwick Willan.

This should be of concern to the legal sector, as it is currently possible for competitors, or even “brand-

hackers” to push certain law firms off the front page of Google.

Finally, we turn to social media. The arguments are well rehearsed, and we are not going to deride the

legal sector’s often half-hearted attempts at Twittering. Their Facebook pages aimed at graduates

indicate that they can “get” social media when they want to. As younger executives rise through the

ranks, and ROI becomes more obvious, social media is bound to become more important for major law

firms. But for now we point you at LinkedIn, as it’s been adding new features that few law firms are

taking advantage of. It’s worth investigating.

In conclusion, the web offers many opportunities to firms vying to be leading international legal

businesses, but our increasingly connected world also presents challenges. The legal sector is in danger

of appearing out of touch and overly introspective if its web presences do not move with the times.

DIGITAL BENCHMARK©EXECUTIVE SUMMARYLEGAL SECTOR

“A lawyer is aperson who writes a

10,000-word document and calls it a ’brief’.”

Attributed to Franz Kafka

“Users often leave web pages in 10–20 seconds,

but pages with a clear value proposition can

hold people's attention for much longer.”

Jacob Nielson


DIGITAL BENCHMARK©MOBILELEGAL SECTOR

P 10

Website optimised for mobile

NO

YES

Mobile version of website

Hogan Lovells / Holman Fenwick Willan /Slaughter and May / Norton Rose

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer / Hogan Lovells /Holman Fenwick Willan / Slaughter and May / Norton Rose

NO

YES

Responsive web design

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer

NO

YES

5

25

4

26

1

29

OBSERVE BUSINESS PEOPLE COMMUTING BY TRAIN, OR GATHERING

AT A CONFERENCE. THEY’RE CARRYING SMARTPHONES AND TABLETS.

Two fifths of UK adults now own a smartphone, with the same proportion saying that

their phone is the most important device for accessing the internet, reports OFCOM.

For UK businesses, allowing staff to work remotely on mobile devices is a priority,

according to research from the National Computing Centre (NCC). The NCC's 2011

benchmark survey finds that 72% of companies expect to see an increase in the use of

tablets in the next two years, 70% expect to see smartphone use grow too.

But of the 30 top law firm websites we've looked at, only five were optimised for

mobile. Many law firms are missing an opportunity to connect with potential clients.

100%

80%

60%

40%

20%

0%2007 2011 2015

73%

27%

43%48%

57%

73%

52%

Mobile web surfing is estimated to overtake desktop web surfing by 2015

Source: Morgan Stanley Research data


DIGITAL BENCHMARK©USABILITY: CALLS TO ACTIONLEGAL SECTOR

P 11

WE'VE LOOKED AT USER JOURNEYS AND EASE OF NAVIGATION. A website that makes it difficult for a visitor to find what they're looking for, is making it difficult for that site visitor to

become a paying client. Some law firms may feel that "laying out their stall" is a little unseemly, but surely that's no

excuse for not communicating clearly. Few of the websites we examined excelled at signposting their sections or "calls to

action", for new business and newsletters.

Of the 30 websites we analysed, Allen & Overy, Pinsent Masons, Berwin Leighton Paisner and Wragge & Co employed the

best calls to action.

A&O encourage exploration of their website in the footer of their pages.

Allen & Overy Pinsent Masons signpost their newsletters clearly.

Pinsent Masons



P 12

Berwin Leighton Paisner encourage their website visitors to get in touch.

Berwin Leighton Paisner Wragge & Co ask the site visitor to engage on their front page.

Wragge & Co



P 13

Allen & Overy

Pinsent Masons

Berwin Leighton Paisner

Wragge & Co

Eversheds

Linklaters

CMS Cameron McKenna

Taylor Wessing

Herbert Smith

Norton Rose

Bird & Bird

Irwin Mitchell

Cli�ord Chance

Hogan Lovells

Ashurst

Simmons & Simmons

Clyde & Co

Squire Sanders LLP (was Hammonds)

Nabarro

Macfarlanes

DLA Piper International

Slaughter and May

SJ Berwin

DAC Beachcroft

Holman Fenwick Willan

Withers

Fresh�elds Bruckhaus Deringer

Addleshaw Goddard

SNR Denton

Field Fisher Waterhouse

Aggregated scores for calls to action and section signposting, out of 15.

weak excellent


DIGITAL BENCHMARK©USABILITY: SITE SEARCH ENGINESLEGAL SECTOR

P 14

A&O's search engine is the only one in our benchmark study that assists users by offering a predictive search mechanism.

Allen & Overy Another top scoring law firm search engine belongs to Pinsent Masons. It's search engine works well and employs a friendly approach - it displays photos of staff members.

Pinsent Masons We believe that law firms could learn from the higher education sector. Universities are increasingly using advanced search technology to help make sense of their large, information-rich, websites. See City University London's search engine

City University London

LAW FIRMS PRODUCE A LOT OF PUBLICATIONS...Their websites often carry large archives. These archives are necessary, and they offer evidence of expertise.

Unfortunately, the sheer amount of information available can be challenging for clients and potential

customers if the documents are not organised clearly.

A technically excellent internal search engine will help site visitors to cut through the clutter and allow them

find what they're looking for.

We've found that with the exception of Allen & Overy, the top UK law firms are not making the most of

advances in search technology.


DIGITAL BENCHMARK©USABILITY: SITE SEARCH ENGINESLEGAL SECTOR

P 15

Allen & Overy

Irwin Mitchell

Macfarlanes

Nabarro

Pinsent Masons


Cli�ord Chance

CMS Cameron McKenna

DAC Beachcroft


Eversheds

Simmons & Simmons

SJ Berwin

Slaughter and May

SNR Denton


Addleshaw Goddard

Clyde & Co


Herbert Smith

Hogan Lovells

Norton Rose

Taylor Wessing

Withers

Wragge & Co


Linklaters

Ashurst

Bird & Bird


Below is a list of the law firms ranked by search engine excellence, scored out of 5.

weak excellent


DIGITAL BENCHMARK©USABILITY: LAWYER FINDER TOOLLEGAL SECTOR

P 16

The A-Z whole directory listing is one of the more stylish that we have seen. It displays senior staff in a user friendly grid pattern, complete with colour photos.

Berwin Leighton Paisner A clean design, based around a simple but comprehensive list of staff. It displays its list by default, allowing visitors to browse.

Herbert Smith Doesn't display its list of staff by default, but does offer a multitude of options for visitors. It's possible to search by language, courts, school as well as position and name.

Squire Sanders

PEOPLE ARE AT THE HEART OF EVERY LAW FIRM. Lawyer finder tools tend to be central to legal sector websites, reflecting the importance of the human

connection. On this page we want to highlight the best of the tools in use.


DIGITAL BENCHMARK©USABILITY: LAWYER FINDER TOOLLEGAL SECTOR

P 17

Cli�ord Chance



Hogan Lovells

Herbert Smith

Eversheds

Norton Rose

Pinsent Masons



Linklaters

Allen & Overy

Simmons & Simmons

Clyde & Co

Taylor Wessing

SNR Denton

Irwin Mitchell


Wragge & Co

Withers

Macfarlanes


Slaughter and May

Ashurst

CMS Cameron McKenna

Bird & Bird

SJ Berwin

Addleshaw Goddard

DAC Beachcroft

Nabarro

Law firm websites ranked by the excellence of their lawyer finder tools, scored out of 5.

weak excellent


DIGITAL BENCHMARK©CONTENT MARKETINGLEGAL SECTOR

P 18

WHICH FIRMS ARE MAKING THE MOST OF THEIR PUBLICATIONS? Documented expertise, properly presented, can become content marketing - attracting and converting site visitors into clients. In

the 'content excellence' section of our benchmarking report we looked at thought leadership areas, the use of video and

photography, topical communication and how the websites talk about a firm's expertise and employees.

A&O present their expertise in easily readable formats.

Allen & Overy Hogan Lovells use webcasts.

Hogan Lovells



P 19

DLA Piper offer a number of blogs.

DLA Piper International Simmons & Simmons operate a separate site for their publications, elexica.

Simmons & Simmons



P 20

Berwin Leighton Paisner scored highly for their engaging news section and rich content.

Berwin Leighton Paisner BLP's website also excels at explaining what the firm does, complete with slides.




P 21


Allen & Overy


Simmons & Simmons

Eversheds

Norton Rose

Withers

Hogan Lovells

Herbert Smith

CMS Cameron McKenna

Pinsent Masons

Wragge & Co

Cli�ord Chance

Ashurst

Slaughter and May

Irwin Mitchell



Macfarlanes

Linklaters

Bird & Bird

Clyde & Co

SNR Denton

Taylor Wessing

SJ Berwin

DAC Beachcroft


Nabarro


Addleshaw Goddard

List of law firms websites, ranked by their content excellence. Aggregated scores, out of 25.

weak excellent


DIGITAL BENCHMARK©RECRUITMENTLEGAL SECTOR

P 22

TRAINEE, LAWYER & BUSINESS SUPPORT...We've examined how law firms use their web presences for recruitment. Most emphasis is placed, by the legal sector, upon trainee

recruitment. Many law firms operate separate graduate recruitment websites, designed specifically for students. Competition is fierce.

A&O operate a stylish website for trainees.

Allen & Overy A stylish lawyer recruitment section from Hogan Lovells.

Hogan Lovells



P 23

Ashurst use video with high production values to enhance their trainee website.

Ashurst Berwin Leighton Paisner host an engaging game for potential employees on their graduate site.




P 24

Allen & Overy

Ashurst


Cli�ord Chance


Hogan Lovells

Irwin Mitchell

Linklaters

Norton Rose

Pinsent Masons

Withers

Wragge & Co

Clyde & Co

CMS Cameron McKenna

Eversheds


Herbert Smith

Macfarlanes

Nabarro

Simmons & Simmons

SJ Berwin

Slaughter and May

SNR Denton

Addleshaw Goddard

Bird & Bird



DAC Beachcroft


Taylor Wessing

Law firm websites ranked by the excellenceof their lawyer recruitment sections

Law firm websites ranked by the excellenceof their trainee recruitment web presences

Hogan Lovells

Allen & Overy


Cli�ord Chance

Herbert Smith

Slaughter and May


Withers

Ashurst

Bird & Bird

Clyde & Co

CMS Cameron McKenna

DAC Beachcroft


Eversheds



Irwin Mitchell

Linklaters

Macfarlanes

Pinsent Masons

Simmons & Simmons

SJ Berwin

Addleshaw Goddard


Norton Rose

SNR Denton

Taylor Wessing

Wragge & Co

Nabarro

weak excellentweak excellent


DIGITAL BENCHMARK©REPUTATION MANAGEMENTLEGAL SECTOR

P 25

Search engines are a popular research tool for potential clients, job applicants and the media. Google

calls it the Zero Moment of Truth, “that moment when you grab your laptop or mobile device and start

learning more about a product or service.” We looked at how UK law firms are managing how they are

portrayed on Google. Are they appearing on page one?

We searched for key terms, partners and five key clients/cases per firm, then examined whether their

website pages were search engine optimised.

If we focus on which law firms appear on page one of Google when we search for five of their key clients,

we find that 19 firms are found on page one. Which is a positive result.

However if we dig a little deeper into how many of the law firm websites are technically optimised for

SEO we find that only two firms reach the maximum score.

Or in other words, only two sites have been deliberately designed with SEO in mind. Which leaves many

UK law firms vulnerable to being pushed off Google's first page by canny competitors.

WHICH LAWFIRMS EXCEL AT

SEARCH ENGINEOPTIMISATION?

THE FRONT PAGE OF GOOGLEIS VALUABLE REAL ESTATE


DIGITAL BENCHMARK©REPUTATION MANAGEMENTLEGAL SECTOR

P 26

weak excellent

Addleshaw Goddard

Ashurst


CMS Cameron McKenna

DAC Beachcroft



Hogan Lovells

Irwin Mitchell

Linklaters

Nabarro

Pinsent Masons

Simmons & Simmons

SJ Berwin

Slaughter and May

SNR Denton


Taylor Wessing

Wragge & Co

Allen & Overy

Bird & Bird

Eversheds

Herbert Smith

Macfarlanes

Norton Rose

Cli�ord Chance

Clyde & Co



Withers

weak excellent

Which firms score highest at technical SEO excellence?Which law firms excel at getting found on page oneof Google, via searches for their work with key clients?


Nabarro


Clyde & Co

Eversheds


Hogan Lovells

Irwin Mitchell

Norton Rose

SJ Berwin

Slaughter and May


Wragge & Co

Allen & Overy

Ashurst

Cli�ord Chance

CMS Cameron McKenna

DAC Beachcroft


Herbert Smith

Macfarlanes

Pinsent Masons

Simmons & Simmons

SNR Denton

Taylor Wessing


Linklaters

Withers

Addleshaw Goddard

Bird & Bird


“Nearly half of survey respondents [US law �rms]

said that blogging and social networking initiatives had

helped produce leads for new matters or clients, and about

40 percent said that such e�orts had actually helped

them land new work.” ALM Legal Intelligence

Many major law firms are still not convinced of the merits of social media.

Of the 30 law firms we looked at, all but two operated Twitter accounts, 15 of the 30 maintained

Facebook pages and all have a LinkedIn page by default. But outside of graduate recruitment,

many of the law firm social media efforts look a little half-hearted, often just broadcasting a feed

of news stories. They’re present but often only in name. Only nine of the 30 law firm websites

link out to their social media pages. It’s almost as if they are reluctant to acknowledge their

existence.

New business is central to this debate. There’s still a lack of compelling evidence that social

media directly leads to new business for large law firms. The corporate legal sector knows who

their clients are already, and are experts at engaging them socially, just not through social

media. As younger executives rise through the ranks, the web's social networks are sure to

become more important.

For now, we’re favouring LinkedIn for the legal sector, over Twitter and Facebook. Recent research

reveals, for example, that LinkedIn is the one social network that Fortune 500 CEOs do engage

with. According to research by CEO.com, 25.9% of Fortune 500 CEOs use LinkedIn compared to

just 3.8% using Twitter.

We believe that the growing potential of LinkedIn is being overlooked by many major law firms.

LinkedIn is keen to facilitate connections between business people. As of the end of the second

quarter, professionals are signing up to join LinkedIn at approximately two new members per

second.

To help companies engage with potential clients and other professionals, LinkedIn has been

rolling out new interactive features that many law firms are not taking advantage of.

DLA Piper International is the owner of the most popular LinkedIn page in our benchmarking

report, and they use some of these more advanced features. They post status updates about

their expertise and news, they use extra pages and tabs, and are now followed by 11,488

professionals, thousands ahead of their nearest LinkedIn rival, Allen & Overy.

DIGITAL BENCHMARK©SOCIAL MEDIALEGAL SECTOR


DIGITAL BENCHMARK©SOCIAL MEDIALEGAL SECTOR

P 28

LINKS TO SOCIAL MEDIA SITE

DISPLAY OF ‘SHARE’ BUTTONS

FACEBOOK PRESENCE

TWITTER PRESENCE

LINKEDIN PRESENCE



Cli�ord Chance

Allen & Overy

Simm

ons & Simm

ons

Norton Rose

Linklaters

Hogan Lovells

Herbert Smith

Bird & Bird

Pinsent Masons

Ashurst

Eversheds

Squire Sanders LLP (was Ham

monds)

Clyde & Co

SNR Denton


CMS Cam

eron McKenna

Irwin M

itchell

Nabarro

SJ Berwin

Slaughter and May

Addleshaw Goddard

Taylor Wessing

Macfarlanes


DAC Beachcroft

Withers

Holman Fenw

ick Willan

Wragge & Co

12.000

FOLLOWERS

9.600

7.200

4.800

2.400

0

WHICH LAW FIRM HAS THE MOST FOLLOWERS ON LINKEDIN? WHICH FIRMS ARE ACTIVELY USING WHICH SOCIAL MEDIA CHANNELS? WHICH LAW FIRMS ARE LINKING TO THEIR SOCIAL MEDIA PAGES?


London office

1st Floor, Building 1/2

The Leathermarket

Weston Street

London SE1 3ET

t +44 (0)20 7407 7666

f +44 (0)20 7378 6431

[email protected]

New York office

200 Varick St. #802

New York, NY 10014

t +1 646 307 4340

f +1 425 952 9597

[email protected]

QUESTIONS? COMMENTS?

How to reach us:

Last Exit is a digital agency with offices in New York and London. We exist to provide

unparalleled value to our clients through a rigorous, client-tailored planning process

and world class creative.

To discuss your digital challenges and initiatives, give us a call or email us using the

contact details below.

Last Exit Benchmark Studies: Legal Sector 2012

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Transcript of Last Exit Benchmark Studies: Legal Sector 2012