Guide to Law Directories

Use attorney directories to bring clients to you

By Betsy D. Vanderslice, Freelance

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Choose a law firm directory that is popular within a specific practice area

Most attorneys have a license to practice in just one state, so when they have a case in another state they often rely on local counsel to assist with filing of court documents and other facets of the case. The easiest way for them to find an attorney to assist them is to search the Internet and the available directories for their area of practice.

I recommend: Complete the form on HG.org to advertise your firm worldwide for free. Potential clients can search by city, state or practice area. They also offer more detailed listings for a nominal fee based on the size of your firm. Legal Expert Search also lets you choose to advertise for free or for staggered rates depending on the services you choose. They also let you add a new category if your practice area is not listed.

Focus your attention on law directories that do not charge potential clients to find a lawyer

Just as you are looking for the most bang for your buck, potential clients are not willing to pay for something they can access for free. With so many free law directories to choose from, it makes the most sense to choose to advertise in the ones that do not charge a fee to access.

I recommend: Sidebar.com offers free listings to attorneys and does not charge to find a lawyer. You can perform searches alphabetically or by practice areas and locations. The Law Forum allows potential clients to submit free inquiries to lawyers regarding their specific problem as well as write reviews of law firms. Click on the link to send an e-mail to get more information about advertising in their directory.

Drive more traffic to your website through an attorneys directory

You thought you were ahead of the game when you set up the website for your law firm. Now the trick is to get even more hits to the site to increase your business and possibly increase your revenue by placing advertisements to other legal resources.

I recommend: You can kill two birds with one stone by advertising on a legal directory which allows for links directly to your own firm's website. LawFirmDirectory.org offers free alphabetical listings or you can pay $50 a month to upgrade to a premium listing. Follow the simple steps to add the link to your law firm's website. Set up your free profile at RocketLawyer.com which allows you to link other sites such as MySpace as well as your own website.

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Gone are the days of only advertising in State Bar directories and the Yellow Pages. To keep up with the competition you must now also advertise in lawyer directories to get your name out there.