How to Write Your Practice Area Pages

Your practice area page carries a heavy burden. It explains what kind of law you practice and, when well written and designed, convinces prospective clients to contact you.

The goals of your practice area pages are to attract search engines by using terms prospective clients might use, inform future clients on what you do, and tell readers what to do next—call, email, or sign up for your blog or quarterly newsletter.

Start by selecting one practice area—the one that brings in the most business. Your goal could be to become a leader in part of a practice area. For example, if you’re a criminal lawyer focusing on drunk driving, write about DUIs with all of the subtopics. If you focus on family law, perhaps child custody or adoption is your specialty. The idea is to narrow the topic down to make it easier for searchers to find.

Write in plain English. Consumers and clients don’t speak legalese, they speak English. Write so they can understand you. For example, you may call the money paid from one ex-spouse to the other spousal support, but your clients call it alimony. You could use the word alimony and explain why the law calls it spousal support. While writing, remember what clients ask about a topic and answer those questions. Your goal is to leave the reader with the information they need to make the decision to call you.

There are other techniques to keep the reader on the page:

• Short videos—they can expand on the written content to give readers a quick breakdown on the main points.
• Keep your topic concise and link to more information.
• Include an FAQ page.
• Use white space to rest the eye and make points stand out.
• Add bullet points and relevant images.

You can also include testimonials or taglines that speak to your reader’s concerns. Remember to announce new pages using social media and email blasts. Lastly, be sure each page has your contact information and a call to action advising the reader on how to get help with their legal problem.

Well-written practice area pages can move you up in the search results, and you will probably answer several questions that clients ask before their first visit. You can be the resource that clients read online.

After years practicing law, Roberta Gubbins served as editor of the Ingham County Legal News. Since leaving the paper, she provides writing services to lawyers ghostwriting content for websites, blogs, and articles. She is editor of The Mentor, the SBM Master Lawyers Section newsletter.

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