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Commentary: The Internet Lawyer- Touring D.C. Sites

Posted on: Friday, 21 October 2005, 12:00 CDT

By Patty Brick

I have just moved to Washington, D.C., and for this month's column, I'll review legal websites in the D.C. area. I will also be exploring a place I haven't been in five years - dial-up service!

I'm using a dial-up connection (temporarily - a fish out of water can only live so long) to review these sites. I am guessing this is going to have a huge impact on my reviews. It is important to remember that there are many people still in the dark ages of the Internet and developers still need to think of the little people who have to wait awhile for a website to download.

http://www.internet-law-firm.com/

Considering the puzzle pieces that slowly appear on the home page - We put the pieces together for you - the download wasn't too horrific. A little schmaltzy, perhaps, but the download was bearable

The schmaltziness gets a bit much, though, when the puzzle pieces are used as the navigation bar. In addition, I also clicked on the home button and I was taken to a page not found. That is one of the biggest sins in web designs - not having all the links work.

The site also appears to be done in Front Page - one of the worst web development tools I've ever used. Front Page, a Microsoft product, adds extraneous code to its pages, slowing download time and doesn't meet World Wide Web consortium's industry standards. One would think that Harvey S. Jacobs, who appears on the home page touting his regular appearance on ABC News, would have a more high- end website.

http://occ.dc.gov/

The Office of the Attorney General for Washington D.C. is a quick- loading site and has everything from the DC Guide (something I certainly can use until I get a GPS system for this town!) to a section for kids.

The kids' web link is an animation and takes quite a while to download. However, I'm sure the school teachers of D.C. and parents who want to tear their kids away from the X-Box would appreciate the information. Unfortunately, when trying to go back from the kids' page, it won't allow me to do so, which is frustrating, especially since there is no link on the page to return me to the home page (a big no-no). The site also incorporates a weather report, which isn't really necessary to display on any website unless you happen to be the Weather Channel.

The site includes a Site Map, which I recommend every large site to incorporate on their web site. The navigation is easy and intuitive and the information one might need from the Attorney General is very accessible and useable.

www.lawyers.com/simeoneandmiller/attorneys.jsp

This site is part of lawyers.com - and it being part of a huge website such as this has advantages and disadvantages. The biggest advantage is that the website can be easily found as part of a larger site. It's also cheaper. But who says cheaper is better?

The disadvantage is that the owner has little creative control on how the site looks. For example, the navigation bar is halfway down the page and one isn't able to get a quick glance at the overall site. The other disadvantage is that having a long domain name is difficult for people to remember - and it also doesn't look professional on a business card!

http://www.bcis.com/DC.shtml

I'm confused. At the top of the page, it reads Services Devoted Exclusively to Immigration Law, and immediately underneath the title is a huge title that reads Civil Surgeon Locator. Huh? I don't even know what a Civil Surgeon is, except perhaps that the civil surgeon isn't in the military.

Why would this be advertised on an immigration web site? For the seven years I've been writing this column, I've never seen reference to a Civil Surgeon on an immigration website. When developing a website, remember always to think of your target audience - and if there is something that might be unfamiliar to your target audience, explain why you have that information on the site.

Otherwise, the site is well designed, very well organized, intuitive and easy-to-navigate.

http://www.bakerdaniels.com/

Whenever I see a site that has business in a foreign country, I know they have the money to develop a high-end, professional website. The site incorporates a site search as well as site map, and it downloads quickly.

Additionally, the site incorporates an Intranet, which is an internal website to which only staff has access. It would be great if this we site incorporated an extranet - an internal website available only to clients. However, Baker Daniels has a very savvy website that is professional, clean, and easy-to-navigate.

Source: The Daily Record (Baltimore)

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