Internet. Internet. Internet! There's no escape.

You hear about hot Internet stocks on Wall Street, Internet browsers in the mind-numbing Microsoft trial, and, of course, all those Internet providers offering more services for less money.

It should come as no surprise then that experts and surveys indicate the number of lawyers with their own web sites has been increasing rapidly in recent months.

As Fort Lee matrimonial lawyer Charles C. Abut sees it, "A lawyer who doesn't have a web page is like a lawyer who doesn't have a business card. You can practice without a business card, but why would you?"

The evidence of the swing to web sites is clear, say some experts. On the other hand, the value of law firms having their own sites still triggers much debate.

"The people who were die-hard holdouts are now coming around," said Carol Allen, a law firm marketer in Manhattan. "At this point, many firms are up and more are coming."

The motive?

"There are a number of firms, small and large, that have reported that they indeed have gotten business inquiries resulting from web sites," Allen said."There are questions that lead to relationships or, in some cases, the user reads an article or a bulletin on a web site and discovers that that firm does exactly the kind of work they need."

So are the Internet and lawyers a match made in heaven?

Heavens no, say skeptics who suggest that a web page may be marketing overkill because the chances that a small-town practice would garner clients by posting an electronic billboard on a worldwide network are remote at best.

Lawyers, with or without web pages, might want to cut through the web and get right to the bottom line: Can Internet sites -- interactive business cards, if you will -- really attract clients?

The answer New Jersey Lawyer generally received in interviews was yes, but with a big proviso -- only in some cases.

Peter L. Michaelson, who founded an international intellectual property law firm with an office in Red Bank, is a staunch believer in his web page. On the Internet, potential clients from all corners of the world can access information on his firm.

"It allows us to reach an international audience that is far larger, far more geographically diverse than we can reach ourselves," said Michaelson, whose firm also has an office in Ventura, Calif. "It's a very good marketing tool when coupled with more traditional methods like direct mailings and a handshake."

But Englewood general practitioner Michael L. Prigoff said he doesn't harbor outlandish hopes that a web page will lead to more clients.

Though he's planning a page as a resource for clients and other lawyers, he noted, "I don't think people who want a lawyer in Englewood are going on the World Wide Web to find one."

Added Prigoff, a member of the American Bar Association's Committee on Technology, "Would you pick your lawyer off the Internet? Or a doctor or a therapist?"

Evan M. Levow, a partner at a small Cherry Hill firm that concentrates on personal injury and municipal court matters, said clients have chosen him through his web page. His site, he said, leads to several telephone or e-mail inquiries a week, which translate into a few cases a month, some from other states. One case involved a person who couldn't get a driver's license in his new state because it was revoked in New Jersey. Another was a products liability and consumer fraud case filed by a California man who got a bad hairpiece in New Jersey.

There is no trick. "My site is informative," Levow said. "It tells them what I do and how I do it."

Like other lawyers' sites, Levow's includes profiles of staff lawyers and, of course, his e-mail address and telephone number. He said it cost about $ 1,000 to have his web page designed and maintained the first year. It can be cheaper, but more time-consuming, to do it yourself, he said, noting the annual fee is smaller to maintain sites in subsequent years.

In that regard, a buyer-beware mentality may be in order.

Lawyers should be aware of a growing scam in which some web designers call small businesses and offer to build a site for "a free 30-day trial." The Federal Trade Commission said it has received 10,000 complaints in the last 18 months from business owners and professionals who said they were charged for the service even though they hadn't agreed to purchase it or had canceled their order.

Many options

Meanwhile, there are web sites and there are web sites. A site -- which at its most extravagant can include video or audio clips and chat rooms -- can be as effective as a firm wants or is willing to pay for, said Christine S. Filip, whose Manhattan marketing firm creates web sites.

"Smaller firms can appear to have much more size because the web site masks it well," she said. "For large firms, web sites can offer features like password-protected chat rooms and regularly updated news alerts offering the immediacy of a small firm."

The New Jersey Supreme Court's Committee on Attorney Advertising has no specific rule covering web pages, said Israel D. Dubin, secretary and counsel to the committee. "We're taking the approach Rules of Professional Conduct should cover web advertising, just as it covers all other media," he said.

The committee has received only a few complaints related to web sites, he said, mostly regarding language. Phrases prohibited by Rules of Professional Conduct include: "specializing in," "expertise in the area of" or any type of comparative or misleading statements, Dubin said.

"We only received a sprinkling of web site complaints over the last year," he said. "Either people don't read lawyers' web sites or nobody finds the need to file a grievance."

Tasteless

There are veteran attorneys like Raymond S. Londa of Elizabeth who say any advertising -- whether a web site, billboard, phone book or newspaper -- is tasteless.

"I don't do it and nobody has persuaded me or given me a good reason as to why it's appropriate," he said.

It's difficult to determine how many New Jersey lawyers have web pages. In a 1998 survey by the American Bar Association, 75.4 percent of large firms nationwide responding reported they had web sites or were in the process of developing one. Of the small law firms -- 20 or fewer practitioners and solos -- 18.4 percent said they had one or were developing one.

Another good indicator of such activity is the 20 to 30 percent increase in the number of lawyers paying to have their Internet sites listed on Westgroup's web site, a national lawyer directory, called Westlegal directory (www.lawoffice.com), said Gerry Ford, the directory's marketing manager.

For $ 120, lawyers can have a "link" so that Internet users can click directly from the Westlegal directory to their web site. There are many such directories, including, for example, attorneylocate.com.

"The Internet is like when the fax machine came out 20 years ago," Ford said. "People thought that was unique, but wondered why they needed one. Now not having a fax machine is a huge detriment."

Still, there have been studies indicating that Internet use may not be growing as fast as some may believe. A study by New York firm Arbitron Newmedia found that while there are personal computers in 54 percent of the nation's homes, only one of every four adults is using the Internet at home. There's no telling, however, how many people are using the Internet in the office.

Michaelson, the intellectual property lawyer in Red Bank, described his site as a "virtual direct mailer" that invites potential clients to e-mail or call. The site includes biographical information, a list of clients, a description of the firm's work, and soon, a map to the firm's office.

Client communication

Prigoff's site provides information about the firm and biographical data. In time, he hopes to have an area on the site closed to the public where he can communicate directly with clients.

"It's basically a way to reinforce clients and referring attorneys," said Prigoff.

But David S. Machlowitz, associate general counsel at Siemens Corp. who often looks for firms to hire as outside counsel, said, "Most law firm sites are www.wasteofmoney.com."

"I think a lot of firms assume they have to be on the web because their competitors are on the web or they are listening to marketers," said Machlowitz, who prefers law firm newsletters. "If you can have the same information faxed to you after a two-second phone call, why bother going through the whole search engine and downloading process?"

Still, the web site of one of the state's largest law firms, Lowenstein Sandler in Roseland, contains photos, profiles and telephone extensions for its 147 lawyers. One of its major benefits is its use as a recruiting tool, said Michael L. Rodburg, the firm's managing director.

"It's a great way for law students to see current biographies, learn who is from their own law school, read pro bono reports and read articles on substantive areas of law," Rodburg said.

As for attracting clients?

"I wouldn't say we get business because someone was looking at our web site," he said. "But it does give people a good sense of the firm after hearing about us elsewhere."

© Copyright 2002, The Success Group

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