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The about page of an attorney’s or law firm’s website is often the second-most visited page on a website after the home page. Both solo practitioners and law firms need to take care with how they write their about pages. Ideally, your about page should draw potential clients in from the start and make them want to read more. There are some key considerations that you should keep in mind when you are creating your about page for your website.

Template selection

The about page will be using the sidebar-right sub page template we discussed in the last chapter. This page is purely content driven without much imagery so we use the sidebar-right template to add some variation to the page.

Writing the content

Pick the right length

Some attorneys make the mistake of thinking that they need to put a lot of words on their about pages while others fail to provide enough information. When you are thinking about the length of your about page, you should also think about the structure and how you will draw people in to read more without overwhelming them with a wall of text. A good about page for a law firm website will be about four to five short paragraphs that consist of about three to four sentences apiece. Try to limit the text to a maximum of 400 to 500 words.

Choose the right voice

Some attorneys write their about pages in the first person. However, it is better to write an about page in second- or third-person so that it doesn’t sound as if the focus is solely on the attorney. When you write your about page, think about how a client might view you and your firm. If your page is full of “I” statements, it might turn off some people or seem unprofessional.

Think about what your site visitors might want to know

Before you begin writing, take some time to think about what the visitors to your website might want to know about you when they click through the home page to your about page. People who are considering your firm for legal representation will likely want to know what some of your differentiating factors are so that they know why they should choose your firm instead of another. Examples of differentiating factors might include things like the length of experience your firm has in your practice area, whether your firm meets with potential clients after hours by appointment, whether you have bilingual staff and any awards or recognition that you or the firm has received.

Potential clients may also want to know your educational background and about any clerkships that you might have completed. If you have published articles or have given presentations about issues in your legal area, they can help to show that you have a breadth of knowledge about your practice areas. Finally, your memberships in different professional organizations can help to show that you work to stay current on changes in the law so that you can continually work to improve your practice.

The first paragraph

An about page is like other types of writing in that how it begins is important. Your first paragraph must be written in such a manner that it makes people want to read more about you and your firm. If you have substantial experience, you will want to highlight that in your first paragraph. If your firm is relatively young, you can talk about the experience that the attorneys have in aggregate.

For example, if you are a solo practitioner with 20 years of experience working in personal injury law, you might start by saying something like:

“Joe Attorney has advocated for the rights of injured victims in the Houston area for the past two decades.” You might then include a short statement of your practice areas and emphasize your dedication to your clients. To continue the personal injury attorney example, you could state something such as “Mr. Attorney focuses his practice exclusively in the area of personal injury law, including motor vehicle accidents, trucking accidents, bicycle accidents, and more. He is compassionate and holds a strong belief that people who have been injured because of the reckless or negligent conduct of others deserve to be compensated for their losses.”

A law firm that has seven attorneys who each have five years of experience might talk about the experience of the firm in the practice area instead of emphasizing that each attorney has five years of experience. For example, you might state something such as:

“Joe Attorney has advocated for the rights of injured victims in the Houston area for the past two decades.” You might then include a short statement of your practice areas and emphasize your dedication to your clients. To continue the personal injury attorney example, you could state something such as “Mr. Attorney focuses his practice exclusively in the area of personal injury law, including motor vehicle accidents, trucking accidents, bicycle accidents, and more. He is compassionate and holds a strong belief that people who have been injured because of the reckless or negligent conduct of others deserve to be compensated for their losses.”

A law firm that has seven attorneys who each have five years of experience might talk about the experience of the firm in the practice area instead of emphasizing that each attorney has five years of experience. For example, you might state something such as:

“The attorneys at the Law Firm of Smith and Jones have a combined experience of 35 years fighting for the rights of people who have been injured through no fault of their own.”

The key is to remember that clients want attorneys who are experienced, so emphasizing the experience that you have can help to make clients want to read more.

The second and third paragraphs

In the second and third paragraphs, you are going to want to highlight the factors that make you different from other attorneys or firms in your area. If you attended an Ivy League law school or another top-tier law school, you might want to list that in the second paragraph. If your law school is not well known, it is okay to leave this information for the concluding paragraph. Talking about your track record as an attorney is good information to include in these paragraphs. If you are a litigator, you might state that you have represented hundreds of clients and have successfully negotiated settlements or won verdicts for a certain percentage of them.

Other information that you might want to discuss in these paragraphs can include awards that you or other attorneys in your firm have earned. For example, if you are a member of the Million Dollar Advocate’s Forum, it is fine to mention that along with an explanation that membership in the organization is limited to attorneys who have reached settlements or have won verdicts in the amount of $1 million or more.

Informing your potential clients about how you work closely with the clients from start to finish is important. People want to know that they will be kept up-to-date about the status of their cases and that someone will return their calls within a specific amount of time.

An example of how Joe Attorney from the previous example might write the second and third paragraphs if he attended Harvard law school might be as follows:

“Mr. Attorney completed his Bachelor of Science in Mathematics at Columbia University. He then commenced his legal studies at the Harvard Law School where he served on the Harvard Law Review. Mr. Attorney graduated Order of the Coif with his Juris Doctor in 1998.

Following law school, Mr. Attorney gained experience working as a law clerk for the Honorable Mr. Justice at the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York. He then went into private practice. Since that time, he has recovered more than $100 million for his clients. Mr. Attorney is a member of the Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum, which is an exclusive organization that limits its membership to attorneys who have recovered settlements or verdicts for their clients that exceed eight figures.”

If Mr. Attorney in this example did not attend a prestigious law firm, he could instead leave out the education information in paragraph two and move the third paragraph up. In that instance, the third paragraph might look something like the following:

“Mr. Attorney has a well-deserved reputation as a dedicated representative for his clients. He works closely together with every client from the start of their cases to their finish. Mr. Attorney believes that good communication is essential, and he returns calls promptly and makes certain to keep his clients informed about the status of their cases.”

Writing the final paragraph

The final paragraph is a great place to talk about your memberships in professional organizations and any community service work that you or your firm performs. You might also include information about your location and your hours. If you have bilingual staff, mention the languages options that are available. You can conclude your about page with a call to action with your phone number that encourages readers to contact you.

An example for Mr. Attorney might be the following:

“Focused on improving his practice, Mr. Attorney is an active member in multiple professional organizations, including the National Trial Lawyers, the New York City Bar Association, and the American Association for Justice. His memberships allow him to network with other attorneys so that he can keep current with the latest litigation techniques and changes in the law. Mr. Attorney is also dedicated to giving back and volunteers with Habitat for Humanity, which has allowed him to help disadvantaged families to build homes of their own.”

Writing a compelling about page can help you to turn your website’s visitors into clients. It is important for you to take the time to make certain that it is well-written and emphasizes what makes you and your firm stand out. It might make sense for you to get help with writing your about page.

The Ultimate Law Firm Website Blueprint: A step-by-step guide to creating the perfect law firm website

In case you missed previous posts, here they are:

Part One: Intro
Part Two: How to create a sitemap for a law firm website
Part Three: The complete guide to planning and designing a law firm website homepage
Part Four: The Ultimate Law Firm Website Blueprint: The Sub pages
Part Five: How to write the about page for a law firm website
Part Six: How to design a practice areas landing page for a law firm website

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