Sales, Mergers & Acquisitions
Download our Start-up GuideMarketing for New Law Firms
Get SRA-compliant web design and marketing to generate enquiries.
Generate clients for your new firm online
To establish yourself and provide services, you will need marketing and SRA-compliant web design for your new law firm.
Intellistart can help you with everything, from purchasing your domain name, setting up your emails to client acquisition.
How to promote a new law firm online?
To establish yourself online and promote your legal services, you will need an SRA-compliant website for your new law firm.
You need to start with picking the domain name, also known as your website address. It is crucial that it makes a good first impression for usability purposes as well as for SEO (search engine optimisation).
Make sure your domain name is:
Easy to spell
Short and memorable
Uses correct domain extension – ‘.com’ and ‘.co.uk’ are best as they are known and trusted,
Doesn’t use numbers and / or hyphens
If you already have an idea what you want to call your new website, you can check the domain price here.
If you are not sure what to call it, you may find our blog discussing how to choose the perfect domain name for your new law firm helpful. Alternatively, give us a call – we will try to help.
Your domain will come together with emails which we can set up for you.
You can also purchase hosting from us – we have a rage of affordable packages which you can see here.
We always advise our clients to wait with having websites designed until they have been approved by the SRA. This is to prevent any losses in case your application was rejected.
Once you have a domain and a functional website in place, you can start advertising your new firm on social media and Google, and do SEO.
Website Expert Tip for New Firms
“Make sure that you get a professional, secure, SRA and GDPR-compliant website that is optimised for web browsers and (at least) your local audience.
Avoid ‘free’ website builders as they end up costing more over time.
If your website is designed poorly, the best case scenario is that your conversions from visitors to paying customers will be low.”
Ewelina Radziewicz is the Chief Operating Officer at Intellistart Marketing. She specialises in professional web design and search engine optimisation to help you connect with your clients online.
Connect with Ewelina Radziewicz / Intellistart®
Promote your new firm online
Web Design for New Law Firms
Once you have picked your perfect domain name, you can start thinking about the design of your website for your new firm.
To make things easier, our team has put together web design packages that can grow with you. You can start with the smallest 3-page SRA-compliant website and as you grow, upgrade your package to a bigger one with more pages.
We will only ask you to pay the difference between the packages.
All of the websites we design come with basic search engine optimisation to give you the best chance to show on Google. You will be the sole owner of the website and we will also set up Google Analytics for you to allow you to keep track of your online progress.
If required, we will provide you with advice how to create content for your new website and the best ways to generate cases.
New Law Firm Site Maintenance
A website should not be designed and then allowed to stale. To have a website that does not get hacked, you need to make sure it is properly maintained.
Therefore, we are offering website maintenance support for which you can pay monthly.
Again, we don’t like retainers, so you can stop the service whenever you want.
Client Testimonial
“Excellent Services on All Fronts
We used Peacock Risk Management and Intellistart’s services in relation to our Law Firm Start Up, as well as provision of Indemnity Insurance and Legal Web Design. All the services we received were excellent on all fronts and the key to this was speedy communication from all members, and in-depth knowledge and expertise, allowing them to guide us through the challenges and concerns of starting a new business.”
Ratika Puri
RPK SOLICITORS LTD
How to market a new law firm online?
Once you have designed a website for your new firm, you can start thinking about marketing it to potential clients.
There are several ways you can do this, including:
Referral Marketing
this involves getting referrals from your old / current clients, friends and family, and other professionals in your field. It’s an effective way to get new cases because referrals are more likely to convert into clients.
Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)
SEO helps improve your website’s visibility on search engines like Google. Given that your website has already been designed with SEO already in mind, SEO involves optimising your new content, keywords, and metadata to improve your rankings in search engine results pages.
Google Business Profile
Google Business Profile is a free listing that helps you appear on Google Maps and in search engine results pages. It’s an excellent tool for local SEO and can help generate new enquiries locally.
Content Marketing
Content marketing involves creating and sharing valuable legal content to attract and retain clients. It can help build your online reputation and establish your expertise in your legal practice area – something very important for new law firms.
Social Media Marketing
Social media platforms like Facebook and LinkedIn can help you reach potential clients and engage with your audience. You can share informative posts, news and updates, and engaging content that can help promote your legal services.
Paid Advertising
Paid advertising, such as Google Ads and social media advertising, can help you reach a wider audience and generate enquiries. You can target specific demographics and geographical locations, and you only pay when someone clicks on your ad.
These are just some of the ways you can market your new law firm online. The key is to create a comprehensive online marketing strategy that incorporates multiple tactics to help you reach your target audience and generate enquiries.
Want to learn about new law firm marketing?
Our Search Engine Optimisation Service for New Law Firms
When you are just starting out, every penny counts.
We understand this which is why our website designs come SEO-ready.
If you decide that organic client acquisition is the way to go for your new law firm, we offer monthly SEO services for law firms with no retainers in place.
This means, if you decide you no longer want SEO or simply want to take a break, you can just let us know and we will stop the service at no additional charge.
If you like to write blogs and sharing your knowledge, we can help you reach and establish your audience.
Can you help me with online advertising?
We always encourage our new law firm clients to advertise their firms online as digital advertising has a wider and faster reach, and is entirely trackable.
Unlike traditional forms of marketing, online marketing allows you to see how many people see your ad ad allows you to make real-time changes to your campaigns.
If you choose to run a Google ad campaign, the platform will tell you exactly how many people have seen your advertisement, whether your conversion rates are good or bad, and what the searchers are after so you can tailor your ads and copy.
If you don’t want to purchase expensive leads from Claims Management Companies, you can try a more affordable alternative – paid online advertising, also known as Pay per Click ‘PPC’.
You can read one of our case studies to find out how our clients benefit from this service.
Customer Relationship Manager ‘CRM’ for New Law Firms
As your marketing efforts start to generate clients, you will need an easy way to manage them.
To help you, we can introduce you to a Customer Relation Management (CRM) software that is completely free of charge.
CRM can help your law firm grow by allowing you to keep track of your prospective clients which leads to closing more business deals.
A CRM will help you with client onboarding and track new enquiries.
If you plan to hire employees, it will help them track the status of new clients so they don’t get contacted multiple times, and you, keep an eye on what your employees are doing as the CRM has an auditing function.
Help from the start
Together with our partners, we can assists you with the following steps of starting your new law firm:
- Seeking Authorisation
- Business Plans
- COLP & COFA Coaching
- Financial Forecasts
- IT support including cloud-based solutions and CRM systems.
- Connections to Professional Indemnity Brokers & Suppliers
- Marketing
- Compliant office procedure manuals
- Supporting policies and procedures
- Lexcel, CQS and WIQS accreditation preparation
- Accreditation maintenance
- Email setup
- Website setup
- Website marketing (Digital Marketing)
- And more.
Time is often limited when you are thinking of setting up, so don’t hesitate to reach out to speak to our consultants. We offer affordable setup and support packages. We understand that the first steps can be quite confusing and complex which is why we are here to take the worry off your hands.
Everything we will do to help you will be agreed upon from the start as you may require help with only certain tasks.
Your questions answered
How long does it take to start up?
The answer to how long it will take to set up a new law firm is uncertain.
The SRA’s authorisation process usually takes around 90 days. However, this depends on which officer you get and their individual workload.
Other factors which usually affect timeframes are notice periods of individuals or teams.
If working from home is possible, then the absence of arranging physical premises can make things happen quicker.
Depending on the speed of response from the SRA, we say it takes 2-3 months from instructing us. Our established dialogue with the SRA means we can move as quickly as you would like.
If everything is in order, the SRA can respond quite quickly to applications (on occasion in a matter of weeks). Over many years, the SRA has become familiar with the new law firm applications that we regularly submit.
Do consider, you may need to do some online training. Especially if you don’t have any management experience or in taking on the COLP or COFA role before.
What is the cost of setting up a new law firm?
The cost will depend on:
- your chosen business structure,
- areas of work you are looking to undertake,
- how you want to do it and
- when you apply.
For example, for a recognised body or sole practice, the setup fee is from £200. For licensed bodies, the setup fee starts from £2000.
Moreover, the total application fee for starting a new law firm depends on factors such as:
- your proposed entity,
- whether you will hold client accounts, and
- when you apply.
Our team will be able to inform you of the exact amount after your initial discussion with Brian. Brian is the Regulatory Compliance Advisor.
Why should I choose you to help me?
In addition to taking on legal cases, there will be a lot of non-legal activities you will need to undertake.
Some areas can be outsourced and everything our network of service provides is at your disposal.
Our support means you can focus on fee earning. While growing your firm as well as other tasks will be looked after.
Depending on how many partners will be involved in your business, there will be a need for clarity around certain roles. Who will take the role of Compliance Officer for Legal Practice (COLP), and Finance and Administration (COFA)?
The COLP should be champions of risk management and compliance within your firm. They will have responsibility for its systems and controls. The COFA is responsible for all things financial.
Who will keep up to date with requirements such as compliance with anti-money laundering laws? And what will be the arrangements for supervision and training?
We can provide support and guidance in these key compliance areas.
We can also help you create a viable business plan. This is vital for developing the new firm for the longer term. It should be based on there being a sustainable and growing market for your services in which you are confident that you can compete in your area of work.
Market your new law firm online
From website creation to online advertising, we can help you promote your new law firm online.
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