ONLINE: report claims that 'interactivity is the coming thing'


National firms, rather than those from the City, have taken the top two places in Intendance's annual Fast 50 law firm website report.



Addleshaw Goddard and Wragge & Co beat City giants such as Clifford Chance, Linklaters and Simmons & Simmons for having the best websites out of the fastest-growing law firms.



Addleshaw Goddard was named overall winner, with runners-up prizes going to Wragge & Co, Wedlake Bell, SJ Berwin and Linklaters for content, usability, design and marketing.



Last year appears to have been a year in which law firms truly started to wake up to online possibilities, according to the report.



'It is evident from the responses that interactivity is the coming thing,' the report said, 'but solicitors' firms favour the more controlled forms of it.' Firms are saying that blogs, for example, present 'problems' with policing.



But other new methods of connecting with online visitors are proving very popular, such as RSS feeds (subscription-based news), podcasting and streaming video.



More than half of the firms surveyed as part of the report said the government's legal services reforms 'will have a major impact on how we interact with our clients online', and none disagreed strongly with the statement. This is a big shift from the 2006 report, when only 19% agreed either strongly or at all.



Law firms have generally moved forward online at 'a blistering pace' over the past year, Intendance said, and 'many have made great strides in improving the content, usability and sophistication of their online offerings'.



But, in terms of design, law firms still generally lag behind. Design, found the report, 'is the weakest aspect of law firms' websites'. 'There is ample scope for an ambitious firm to make a significant splash online with some sharp, fresh design - and it needn't cost the earth.'



Rupert White