Law Firm Websites: What Clients Look For Before They Call
What people check on a law firm's website before they call, how to answer it clearly, and the New York advertising rules to review before launch.
People rarely look for a lawyer on a good day. They’ve been in an accident, received a letter, lost a job or started a divorce, and they’re searching on a phone, often late at night. By the time they call, most have already read your website and a few of your competitors’.
This post covers what those visitors look for, and how a small firm or solo practice in New York City can answer it clearly. It isn’t legal or ethics advice, so check the advertising rules below against the source before you publish.
What visitors want to know first
Do you handle my kind of problem? Name your practice areas plainly on the home page, in the words people use. “Car accidents” is clearer than “motor vehicle tort litigation.”
Do you work where I am? Say which courts, boroughs or counties you cover, and where your office is. “Manhattan and Brooklyn” tells a visitor more than “the New York metro area.”
Who will I be working with? Photos and short biographies of the actual lawyers, with bar admissions, education and experience in the practice area. Visitors want to see the person they’d be trusting.
How do I start, and what will it cost? Explain how a first consultation works: whether it’s free, how long it lasts, whether it can happen by phone or video. If you take cases on contingency or charge flat fees for certain matters, say so, within what the rules allow.
How soon will I hear back? Only promise what you can keep. A clear form, a phone that gets answered and posted office hours do more than a bold promise.
Pages a small firm needs
- Home: who you help, where, and how to reach you.
- Practice areas: a page for each main area, explaining common situations and what happens next. Separate pages also help you appear in searches for each type of case.
- Attorneys: a page or section for each lawyer.
- Results or reviews, if you use them, with enough context that no one expects the same outcome in every case.
- Contact: phone, form, office address, hours, and directions from the nearest subway stop.
Our guide to what pages a small business website should have goes into more detail on the core pages.
Write for someone under stress
Use short paragraphs, plain words and clear next steps. Answer the questions people ask on the first call: what to do right after an accident, what deadlines might apply, what to bring to a consultation.
A page that explains a process in everyday language builds more trust than one full of Latin.
Make contacting you easy on a phone
Most people will find you on a phone. Put a tap-to-call number at the top of every page, keep the contact form short, and make sure the site loads fast. Our post on why websites are slow on phones covers the usual causes.
Be careful what the form asks for. Tell visitors not to send confidential details until you’ve confirmed you can take the matter, and say clearly that sending the form doesn’t create an attorney-client relationship.
New York’s advertising rules
New York’s Rules of Professional Conduct (22 NYCRR Part 1200) cover everything a lawyer says about their services, and a firm website counts. The advertising rules were rewritten effective June 1, 2026, so checklists written before then may list requirements, such as an “Attorney Advertising” label on the home page, that the current rules no longer include. Points that affect websites now:
- Nothing false or misleading. Rule 7.1 also covers true statements that mislead because something important is left out.
- Past results and reviews can mislead if they suggest every client will get the same outcome. A note that each case depends on its own facts helps.
- Who’s responsible. The site has to name at least one lawyer or firm responsible for its content, with contact information.
- Specialist claims. You can say you’re certified as a specialist only if an approved organization certified you, and the site names that organization.
- Firm and domain names can’t be false, deceptive or misleading (Rule 7.5).
Rules change and the details matter, so read the current text, or ask the New York State Bar Association’s ethics resources, before launch. We build websites; we don’t give legal advice, and we’ll add whatever statements and disclaimers your rules call for.
What it costs
A small firm’s site usually fits in five to eight pages. With us, a website is $2,000, with a page for every practice area and the words included. Most sites are ready in 1 week once the 25% deposit is paid. We write the words, and you review every page against the rules before it goes live.
If you’re planning a new site for your practice, tell us about it.