Did you know there are over 731,000 lawyers in the U.S.?
In a city as busy and competitive as The Big Apple, creating an informative, user-friendly and trust-building website can help you establish industry authority, keep your clients engaged and drive business growth.
In this post, we discuss 15 web design best practices for NYC law firms and include useful examples to help you attract and retain clients in the competitive legal industry.
15 Law Firm Website Best Practices
Effective web design isn’t just about appearances — it’s about turning casual visitors into clients by building trust, credibility and accessibility from the moment they land on your page.
Below, we’ve compiled 15 law firm web design best practices based on their industry impact, engagement rate and conversion rate potential.
1. Branding And Credibility
75% of visitors determine whether or not a website is credible based on its design.
In a city with endless legal options, every element on your page — from color choices to messaging — can shape how people perceive and interact with your practice.
Your website isn’t just a digital brochure — it’s a reflection of your professionalism and expertise.
In this section, we’ll explore key strategies to enhance your firm’s branding and credibility through effective web design.
1. Create Attorney Bios With Credibility Markers
Attorney bios are personal introductions with insights into the qualifications and experiences of your legal team.
You can include useful information such as educational background, years of experience, practice areas, notable cases, publications and speaking engagements.
This way, you humanize your lawyers and establish their expertise, so users feel more confident in your firm’s legal proficiency and approachability.
You should regularly update your NYC law firm bios with recent accomplishments, case wins or new certifications to reflect ongoing professional growth.
Moreover, you can include professional photos or introductory videos for more interactive, engaging and memorable brand experiences.
For instance, Russo PLLC‘s offices have a dedicated attorney bios page, where users can learn more about each attorney’s background and accomplishments.
2. Add Testimonials And Case Studies
When potential clients visit your website, the first thing they’re looking for is proof that your firm can deliver results.
Visitors often seek assurance that they’re making the right choice and firsthand accounts provide that validation.
In fact, 88% of consumers trust online reviews from strangers as much as they trust personal recommendations from friends or family.
Including client experiences and real-world success stories reflects your Big Apple law firm’s experience and results to humanize what might otherwise seem like a faceless business.
You can effectively incorporate client testimonials and case studies in the following ways:
- Add quantifiable outcomes: Include specific results, exact figures or clear descriptions of successful outcomes to make your case studies more compelling.
- Include diverse case studies: Go beyond generic success stories by providing in-depth analyses of clients across different practice areas to illustrate your firm’s versatility and comprehensive expertise.
- Use detailed storytelling: Encourage clients to share specific challenges they faced and how your New York law firm provided solutions.
For example, Chaffin Luhana LLP includes both video and written testimonials on their website, using storytelling to showcase the successes and struggles of their clients and how they were able to help.
3. Showcase Awards And Accreditations
You can stand out in the competitive law industry in NYC by displaying awards and accreditations from reputable organizations as third-party validation of your experience and expertise.
This law firm UX design choice is more than just a vanity play — clients want to see that the firm they’re considering has earned a stamp of approval from respected organizations before they commit.
To effectively showcase your firm’s awards and accreditations you can:
- Create a dedicated section: Make it easy for clients to find by creating a separate page or section on your website specifically for displaying relevant accolades.
- Include logos and descriptions: Use the official logos of each award or accrediting body and provide a brief description explaining what it represents.
- Highlight specific achievements: Explain what specific achievements or criteria your firm met to earn the award or accreditation to illustrate your firm’s strengths and capabilities.
- Update regularly: Make sure to continuously update this section as you earn new awards or accreditations to demonstrate ongoing success.
Ropes & Gray LLP proudly flaunts its rankings on “The American Lawyer’s A-List” and “Pharma and Health Care Corporate Practice of the Year” certification to showcase its expertise and success in the Big Apple’s legal industry.
4. Use User-Friendly Legal Disclaimers And Terms
Non-lawyers can only recall about 38% of what they’ve read in a legal document, so why would you make it harder for clients to understand and remember your terms and conditions or privacy policy?
When visitors see straightforward, plain‑spoken terms and disclaimers, they feel that the firm respects its clients enough to explain things without drowning them in legalese.
This shapes the way clients see your practice, shows you’re transparent about your processes and creates positive brand associations.
You can use the following law firm web design tips to enhance the readability and clarity of your legal disclaimers and terms:
- Use clear headings with separate paragraphs for each key topic
- Avoid lengthy legal terms, dense text or obscure links
- Place disclaimers in prominent and accessible areas
- Personalize the language to match your firm’s identity and voice
- Use visual aids, such as bullet points or numbered lists
Napoli Shkolnik relies on clear and concise on-page content to explain their core values and mission statement to visitors.
5. Create Landing Pages For Each Legal Specialty
Businesses with 10-15 landing pages see a 55% increase in lead generation than those with less than 10.
This means that a generic overview of your services doesn’t highlight your strengths as effectively as individual pages that show depth and focus.
You should follow the latest UX best practices for Empire State law firms to create separate landing pages for each practice area, such as personal injury, real estate law or family law.
This way, you can offer detailed information about each service, enhance search engine visibility and drive more conversions.
For instance, Wilk Auslander LLP uses a drop-down mega menu to showcase quick links to its main services and practice areas so visitors can quickly find the information they need.
2. User Experience And Functionality
Well-executed and brand-specific user experiences can increase conversion rates by up to 400%.
This dramatic boost highlights the importance of following law firm website design tips to enhance user navigation, improve usability and create memorable brand experiences.
In the following sections, we’ll explore the core strategies that transform a basic layout into a site that feels welcoming, accessible and easy to explore.
6. Emphasize Readability
41% of users will stop viewing a website if the on-page content is too long.
New York City’s fast-paced and information-rich society doesn’t have time to sift through dense jargon or run-on sentences when searching for legal services.
Clean and easily digestible on-page content helps build trust and establishes your firm as both competent and client-friendly.
Some of the law firm web design tips to enhance readability include:
- Using clear and legible fonts
- Breaking up long paragraphs with headings and subheadings
- Using contrasting color schemes for text and background
- Including bullet points or numbered lists for easy scanning
- Adding infographics or images to break up text-heavy pages
Take Robins Kaplan LLP as an example — the Big Apple-based law firm uses plenty of white space to highlight key points and uses an easily readable font for its main body text.
7. Choose Impactful Colors And Visuals
Law firms in the City That Never Sleeps can increase brand recognition by a sizable 80% by using a signature color palette.
Your color choices can convey your company’s personality and values, establish visual hierarchy to guide users’ attention and evoke specific emotions in your audience.
Moreover, sticking to a signature color palette across your website, social channels and marketing touchpoints creates a cohesive brand identity and builds client familiarity and long-term loyalty.
As for the visuals, consider including professional headshots of your attorneys, as well as photos of your office space or team in action to give a glimpse into your firm’s culture and showcase your team’s expertise and experience.
For instance, Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP uses a predominantly blue color scheme to convey trust, reliability and professionalism, while sticking to minimalist visuals and clean design to highlight the quality and expertise of its team.
8. Add Sticky Or Fixed CTAs
Sticky or fixed call-to-action (CTA) buttons remain visible as users scroll down your website, which increases chances of conversion by keeping your message in front of users’ eyes at all times.
You can use these micro-interactions to reduce friction and guide users towards taking the desired action, whether it’s scheduling a consultation, downloading a report or subscribing to your newsletter.
Since personalized CTAs generate 202% more conversions than basic ones, you should use clear, specific and action-oriented language that speaks directly to your target audience.
For instance, Greenberg & Stein uses a fixed “Contact Us” button in the upper right corner, so users can quickly schedule a free consultation and get in touch with relevant attorneys.
9. Optimize For Speed And Performance
With 75% of attorneys saying their law firm website is the most effective marketing tool, the Concrete Jungle’s legal market is just as performance-focused and competitive as any other industry.
NYC’s clientele is constantly busy, on-the-go and looking for quick solutions, which means your website has to meet certain performance and speed criteria.
The average website takes 1.3 seconds to load — anything longer than that increases customer frustration, bounce rates and lost revenue.
You can use tools like Google PageSpeed Insights to determine your website’s loading times and pinpoint issues that may be affecting its performance.
Consider optimizing images, compressing code, leveraging browser caching and reducing CSS and JavaScript bloat to improve load times.
With 64.04% of global traffic coming from smartphones, you should prioritize cross-device optimization and responsiveness to cater to the Capital of the World’s always-on-the-move population.
Additionally, consider implementing a Content Delivery Network (CDN) to improve website speed and performance by caching content closer to users’ locations.
10. Update Your Contact Us Page
You can optimize user journeys by creating a conversion-focused “Contact Us” page that offers clear instructions, direct phone numbers and an easy-to-use form to streamline communication.
Additionally, law firms in New York can include map integration and directions to their physical location, office hours, links to social media profiles and useful resource sections.
Adding a short message about response times — like “We’ll get back to you within one business day” — sets realistic expectations and improves trust with potential clients.
For example, The Fuchsberg Law Firm’s “Contact Us” page features a disclaimer on confidentiality and user privacy, simple fill-in forms to request a consultation and information on the company’s location and phone number.
11. Integrate Live Chat Support
With live chat having a customer satisfaction rate of 81.1%, this communication channel fares well with consumers across industries due to its convenience and round-the-clock availability.
Most web design best practices for the Big Apple’s law firm’s focus on adding live chat support to allow potential clients to easily ask questions, get information and receive guidance while browsing your services.
Clients can ask about case types, fees or scheduling a consultation and receive a personalized, prompt and efficient response.
This real-time communication fosters long-term relationships, improves user satisfaction and increases conversion rates for lead generation.
The Pecerman Firm integrates live chat support on its homepage so users can quickly get in touch with their team and receive immediate assistance.
3. Content And SEO
83% of businesses agree that content marketing is the most effective demand generation tactic, which can drive organic traffic, increase brand visibility and establish credibility in the NYC legal industry.
For law firms, clear and engaging content goes hand in hand with search optimization, serving as a bridge between professional expertise and potential clients.
12. Run A Blog Section For Thought Leadership
Businesses with dedicated blog sections generate 67% more leads than those without.
Law firms in the Concrete Jungle can establish credibility, drive traffic and increase engagement by regularly publishing insightful, informative and relevant content.
You can showcase your expertise, share industry updates and discuss legal matters that affect the community.
For instance, Sullivan & Cromwell LLP features company and industry updates, as well as articles on legal developments and trends in their blog section.
13. Implement Local SEO Strategies
With 91% of users never scrolling down to the bottom of the first page on Google Search, you should underestimate the importance of local SEO strategies for law firms in the Empire State.
You can ensure your website is SEO-optimized for the NYC market in the following ways:
- Include location-specific keywords in on-page content
- Regularly update your Google Business Profile (GBP)
- Focus on localized content and community involvement
- Create local citations and backlinks from reputable websites
- Encourage positive reviews from satisfied clients on your GBP
14. Add FAQ Sections And Resource Libraries
You can address common client questions and provide valuable information for the Big Apple’s clientele by including FAQ sections and resource libraries on your website.
This way, you can streamline communication with potential clients, speed up the decision-making process and showcase your legal knowledge.
You can also include downloadable resources, such as legal guides and templates, to further establish your expertise and provide added value for your audience.
For instance, Belluck Law has a dedicated FAQ section to highlight its areas of expertise and provide helpful information for potential clients.
15. Prioritize Accessibility Features
Almost 96% of all websites have some accessibility issues, which excludes a significant portion of users with disabilities from accessing the information and services they need.
As one of the most important web design best practices for NYC law firms, accessibility ensures that your website is user-friendly and compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
You can optimize your website’s accessibility features by:
- Adding alt tags to images for screen readers
- Using a high contrast color scheme for those with visual impairments
- Implementing keyboard navigation options
- Providing transcript options for videos and audio content
- Adding user-adjustable font sizes and text-to-speech options
For example, Parker Waichman adds a pop-up accessibility toolbar on the left side of their website, which allows users to adjust font sizes, change color contrasts and access keyboard navigation options.
Digital Silk’s NYC Law Firm Example
NYC-based personal injury and immigration office Spar & Bernstein faced an outdated brand identity, inconsistent messaging and poor user experience that hindered lead generation.
Our team redesigned the law firm’s website for an enhanced user journey, integrating intuitive navigation, optimized on-page content and cross-device responsiveness.
We used data-driven SEO-driven strategies and targeted digital campaigns to boost Spar & Bernstein’s online visibility and client engagement.
Design A Website For Your NYC Law Firm With Digital Silk
The Concrete Jungle’s fast-paced, dynamic and competitive legal scene requires strategic website elements, optimized performance and ongoing content updates to generate more leads.
Digital Silk’s in-house team of web designers and developers, branding and digital strategists and content and marketing specialists work together to create brand-specific, conversion-focused and industry-leading designs for law firms in NYC.
As a professional web design company, our services include:
Do you need help designing a website for your New York City law firm?
Contact our team, call us at (800) 206-9413 or fill in the Request a Quote form below to schedule a consultation.
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