I find that many small law firms have reserved a domain name and have set up their email to use that name, but they have no Web page yet. I think that it’s really important to have some kind of Web presence if you are giving out your email address and it ends in something like @Doelawfirm.com.  I imagine the prospective client seeing that domain name and trying to look it up on the Internet. What do they think when nothing is there? When it happens to me, I think that maybe the firm isn’t quite as “together” as I would like my lawyer to be. It shows a lack of completion.

So what is holding so many lawyers back? Fear of high cost, for one thing. Difficulty in finding a Web page designer is another. And then there’s the content factor: what are we going to say? No one wants to have an amateurish Web page. I understand all of these concerns. But I think that having a simple page with the firm’s directory information and practice areas, lawyer’s names and a map is a good thing. No need for a “contact us” button. I think soliciting business on the Internet isn’t something you should do without thinking about it a long time and weighing all the pros and cons.

As for cost, there are loads of unemployed or part-time Web designers advertising reasonably priced Web pages on the Internet. Chances are, one of your friends has a friend who has a college age kid who’s a wiz at designing Web pages. Also, with the advent of blogging, so many free, professional looking, templates are available online. There are also inexpensive editors that you can find online – see my post on Artisteer, for example. I’ve known more than a few lawyers who tackled their own designs. Look at local law firm Web pages and see who took design credit. Contact them and get a price. Google “web design” and your city name to see a list of local companies and to request some quotes.

Coming soon: search engine optimization: does it work and is it worth paying extra?

One of my favorite funny movie lines of all time comes from 1956′s “Invasion of the Body Snatchers“. Our hero is running for his life. His voice-over narration is (deadpan): “I had known fear before, but never fear like that.” The understatement cracks me up every time.

I was somehow reminded of this line when reading the introduction of a new book dealing with bad times in law practices.  Lawyers have seen tough times before, but never quite this tough.  How Good Lawyers Survive Bad Times by Sharon Nelson, Jim Calloway and Ross Kodner has just been released by ABA books. Need a pep talk with a heaping helping of practical advice? This book is a 212-page cookbook for making lemonade out of lemons, figuratively speaking. As anyone who has seen these well-known authors and speakers would expect, the advice is delivered with compassion, common sense and a dose of humor. Most of the advice is geared to those in small firms, those recently laid off, and those struggling to find jobs. There are tips on getting clients to pay, finding a new job on the Internet, alternative billing , and resume writing. The last section of the book is devoted solely to using technology to practice better, cheaper and faster than before.  For lawyers experiencing the worst of what the economy has dealt, this book is a lifeline. Purchase your own copy, or check it out from the Bar lending library.

The theme of the July issue of the ABA LPM’s Webzine, Law Practice Today, is “Suddenly Solo.” If you are a solo or are about to become one, be sure to read this issue. You’ll find a list of 50 resources and links that solos can use to help get their bearings; marketing advice such as Fast Tips for Marketing When Suddenly Solo by Mark Robertson; branding and making a name for yourself and your firm by Jared Correia; Grant Griffiths’ advice on blogging is a solid marketing choice for new solos; and management articles for coping with the economy, such as Twenty Strategies for an Economic Slowdown by Michael J. Anderson. There are also great articles on finance and technology.

When it comes to starting your own firm, how much money do you need? While I don’t think there’s a magic number, or even a magic “rule of thumb,” Erik Mazzone’s feature in Law Practice Today has some practical advice and tips for capitalizing a new practice.