You Need a Website and Here’s Why

If you have a website: is it effective?

By Beryl Vaughan

Assume Attorneys Use the Internet

Most trial attorneys have been in practice for 20-40 years and use the internet. They will expect to find results there, they will use browsers. They aren’t using the Yellow Pages!

Let’s put on lawyer glasses and see what your potential clients will see. I prefer to start with research with these techniques.

• Tools to scout what attorneys are finding.
• How to take charge of those results.
• The specifics of a website aimed at the medicolegal / expert witness realm.
• Types of website content you can use.
• Website functionality: tools to improve your user’s experience.
• Leveraging the power of data.

Let’s put on lawyer glasses and see what your potential clients will see.

Companion Article: An Expert Witness’ Guide to a Great Website – Details that Count.

Step 1

Audit Yourself

Search your name, with and without suffixes (MD, DO, PsyD, PhD). 

• Is there anything to deter attorneys? What is a positive?
• Is information accurate?
• Are your email and phone # obvious?
• Name-alikes. Does someone else appear who happens to have your name? If so, is that ok?
• Read reviews. If anyone gave you one star, read it. Make sure trolls aren’t posting about you.

Step 2

Audit Your Subject Expertise as Applied to Legal Matters

Do a few searches. Search with terms, like “X expert witness” and fill X with

• Your area of expertise and/or subspecialty
• Geographic area
• Subject matter (“PTSD,” “Depression,” “Emotional Distress,” “pain treatment,” etc.)

Examine Results

• AI Generated results
• Click on tbe links to those results to see what attorneys are seeing.

Ignore

• “Sponsored” (Paid) Ads (Google)
• Educational institutions seeking students
• law firms

Audit the Sites of Your Colleagues

Do the usual suspects have websites? If so, check them out for ideas and learning opportunities–what works, what doesn’t. Look at every page!

Step 3

Image Search

Google your name and click on “Images.” Attorneys want to know how you look and who you are. Some will use the Images search and a recent photo of you in that search which links to your website. That is a good result, if the image shown is a contemporary image of you and not someone else.

If results are not you, click on them and see who else has your name or if the photo of you is old, click to see where it is and pursue having it removed.

No matter what you do, images you place on your website will eventually appear early and even replace older or less desireable images. FYI, visuals on your website will also appear and link to that content you so helpfully wrote.

Cautionary tales:

1. My grandfather is not Isaac Asimov. I searched my grandfather’s name (he was a highly regarded author of non-fiction.) A photo of Isaac Asimov popped up for no reason. Solution: I posted more photos of my grandfather on the Author Facebook Page, Header banners and posts. Isaac still shows up, but far less often.

2. Look me up by name. 1. I don’t speak Welsh like another Beryl Vaughan. 2. I’m not Beryl Vaughan (RIP), star of the 1940 film “Girls Under 21.” Solution: My photo appears throughout my website, on my LinkedIn and business FB page, and other sites where I am mentioned. You now see my photo and art on my site interspersed with “y ferch gyda’m enw.”

3. Images of your younger self. Every time an attorney sees your medical school or residency photo, they might assume you are too young to know enough to be an effective expert witness. This the is the opposite of the goal.

Case Study: When we first started out, I image-searched a client of mine, an established physician. I found only a photo from her early residency. The dated photo of her younger self worked against our message that she was erudite and experienced. Solution: When possible, we asked the source of the photo to take it down. We aggressively posted current photos on every available platform: every page of her website, LinkedIn profile, Directory listings which contain a portrait, and more. Now, when you search for her you will see current photos. A positive side effect is a bump in traffic to her site–the result of Google’s commitment to its image database.

Step 4

Budget and Breaking Down the Dollars

How much does a website cost?

A basic 3-page site designed solely by a volume website business can cost as little as $1,500. I do not see these sites performing well, or even appearing in searches at all if the site is static–no new content, not promoted on other sites, it is not being indexed. It can, however, appear in your email signature block and on a LinkedIn profile, as a direct way for an attorney to quickly see bonafides and get a phone number.

Recapturing the Cost

Return on Investment (ROI) is what matters. If you spend $1,500 and make $0, it was a waste of money.

If you spend $15,000 on a weighty site and get $100,000 worth of cases, it is an excellent use of funds.

There is an in-between site (e.g. 6-7k) that can outperform the “basic” site and half as expensive as the $15k site. To do so, it must be designed with care and well-written content to capture attorney interest.

Ultimately, the question is “what is your budget for marketing and growing your practice?” and “how can we get the best possible value from your investment.” The cost of a website is one driving element.

Retaining a Website Designer? Check References, Nail Down Scope.

If someone quotes you a $3,000 website cost, find out the precise scope of their services, and demand information about that marketing person’s track record. View more than one of their other sites and ask the site owner how they perform. I have worked with web developers all over the world and while all present themselves as experienced and skilled, we waste time if they are not. You aren’t an expert about sloppy coding that looks bad on mobile, SEO that isn’t, awkward css that causes Google to downgrade the site are factors that only the owners who track performance can address–because the site’s success rests on underlying technical foundation. I now work with only one developer after kissing many frogs.

Is the Cost Worth It?

Not many experts have the appetite for a site they interpret as “too expensive.” Return on the investment is, in truth, the only thing that counts.

In 18 years of experience, I believe $7-15,000 is a more reasonable budget for a successful medical, psychologist or non-medical expert witness website. This assumes 4 or 5 articles with engaging illustrations and writing style, and embedded SEO. It is spread out over the months it takes to implement. For example, the first month might be $4,000, the second $5,000 and the third, fourth and fith $2,000.

If your goal is unusually aggressive, for example 400% return on investment, the cost of your site might well involve a greater investment of dollars and time, spent over the course of several years.

The only way to know is by trying. But do not cheap out. It shows. It can even damage your reputation for dynamic mastery of your specialty.

An inexpensive short site does not produce calls; experts have confirmed this to me repeatedly. Robust sites give attorneys a reason to pause and call–also confirmed.

Can I Build it Myself to Save Money and Time?

People try all the time. Generally they then contact me because their DIY efforts aren’t effective.

I write about the most common paid website-builders like Squarespace, Wix and WordPress.com (NOT WordPress.org which is free and has a stellar reputation.) Learn more about DIY sites “Can you build a website yourself? Navigate DIY Options and Dangers

Clinical Site vs. Forensic Site

Don’t Confuse Patients. Don’t Confuse Attorneys.

The focus of a clinical site is to appeal to patients–new and existing. Commonly there are treatment portals, intake forms and appointment tools.

Lawyers don’t use those tools, and they aren’t informative for their purposes.

I’m not a fan of the two-purpose site.

They must work double time to navigate patients to patient care information, and attorneys to forensic material.

Also, patients may become confused or even misinterpret your intentions and services. Words like “litigation” and “testimony,” taken out of context, could lose you patients. Or alarm them needlessly.

Separate the content. It is essential the forensic information and the clinical are distinct and well identified, whether on a dual site or by having two sites. E.g. a tab for forensic information that drops down with the forensic med-legal About page. A separate menu item for the About page vis-a-vis clinical services and patient-care philosophy, etc.

Topics are distinct and different and that has to be clear to your readers.

Forensic Bio vs. Clinical Bio

Another problem with a dual site is that you usually have one bio, perhaps on the first page. It might not be the same for the forensic practice as it would be for patients. Again, the Forensic tab is the place for a legally-relevant bio. The tab, by the way, can say whatever you want: “Med-legal,” “Expert Witness Services” or whatever suits how your clients think of you.

The bio content, also applies to any reference to the website of your day job-if it is not a private practice. For example, a medical school faculty page or hospital staff page. Feel free to include those links on your site to give weight to your claims you in fact do serve as faculty at a medical school, or supervise residents at a given hospital, etc.

For example:

“I teach at X university. Read my bio on the faculty page to learn more.”

“I serve on the Board of Trustees of X Organization. [link].”

“I am on the treater panel for a X Clinics. [link.]”

Your self-crafted website bio is different from a CV or bio on a site outside of your control. Your website is your chance to present information interesting to attorneys. Including your own link on your own website gives you a chance to own the listing and phrase it in a context relevant to expert witness work.

Faculty bios on academic sites, for example, emphasize research and university affiliations in your past.

Forensic expert witness expertise will not appear. Neither will be a focus on relevant areas of law.

Your About page on a dedicated site can serve the forensic practice by emphasizing types of cases for which you are qualified to serve as an expert witness, and your experience as an expert witness or consultant. Forensic training can be emphasized.

An About page you write helps the attorney learn about you more quickly with less hassle:

• Attorneys save time on a call; they can verify on the site whether you’re legit.
• The conversation can skip straight to the meat of the case. (This saves you time too.)

Information That Matters to Attorneys

On your About page you can include the logos of schools you have attended, professional organizations to which you belong, and other visual cues that support your qualifications. This is not actually a method used on clinical or academic sites to visually and immediately describe the legitimacy of your education, for example. On forensic sites it is  a common method that respects the attorney’s time by creating a visual shortcut.

Every hospital bio or faculty page emphasizes your education and specializations. Background is buried in words, words, words.

Someone else’s website is not a substitute for your own.  They have a focus and agenda of their own.

Information That is Wrong

A website allows you to respond to negative or mistaken information.

Roughly 80% of the time I find doctors are only represented online by hospital or clinical jobs, some of which may no longer be accurate. E.g., the provided address/phone will land an attorney on a hospital switchboard, lost in the land of “click 1 for… click 2 for…”

Take Control of Your Practice’s Public Reputation

Any site may suggest they are describing you, and small inaccuracies are common.

This can occur because NPI contact and/or taxonomy info is inaccurate, or a prior employer “owns” access to your information via Google Business. Some sites autopopulate a listing for you with information “scraped” from public information.

Your site is one tool to counteract negative or inaccurate results. In at least one place, information will always be accurate and current, because you put it there.

Discrediting an Expert: Anticipate The Attorney’s Due Diligence Research

A decent opposing counsel will look to diminish an expert witness’ testimony, or even have them disqualified before trial starts. It’s standard operating procedure.

They — or a paralegal — will start with a Google search. The internet is low-hanging fruit to find “dirt” and therefore it is a natural go-to. What if they are unhappy to learn you actually are a solid expert witness? A website helps all counsel know there is no dirt or there are more positives than negatives about you.

If counsel finds something negative, it will definitely come up in your first deposition as they try and rattle you. They’ll start by putting you on the defensive. This is law 101.

Yadda Yadda Yadda Effect

If negative or inaccurate information about you exists online and counsel is trying to nail you about it, avoid the “yadda yadda yadda” effect. This is where you must continue to explain that information, clarify mistakes or misrepresentations and generally spend time off topic.

In testimony, the stakes are higher. Explaining a misunderstood internet result is to be avoided in a deposition or on the stand. A website is one workaround.

The Deposition

Opposing counsel asks you: “Doctor, isn’t it true a review on Yelp describes you as a quack?”

What if your answer is a long explanation about how you worked at that clinic for 10 years but then it was sold and now you don’t work there and the bad reviews aren’t about you?

You can proactively correct that information head on if you have a website to do so.

Under fire in that depo, replace “yadda yadda yadda” with “no” and, if appropriate “the information is inaccurate. My website describes my current practice.”

The Narrative

Your website is a forum for you to voice what is important to know about you. If you do not have a website you have no way to “tell the story” of your serious professional acumen.

Don’t Give Them Something To Dismiss You

The absence of knowledge-based content, has an unconscious result: it suggests emptiness of your acumen, which you must then defend on the stand through a jury-numbing list of credentials and testimony defending your credibility–which is truly the job of defense counsel. Let’s not be one-sided: defense counsel wants to communicate to a jury that you have something worth listening to.

Lastly, a defensive posture is unacceptable for a successful medical-legal expert. The tenor of your writing on your website can reassure Plaintiff and Defense attorneys that you are able to communicate findings with confidence and objectivity. You can stick to the topic and stay in your lane.

Your writing is also where you communicate you can be smart and accessible to any listener or demographic of a jury.

Do Your Colleagues Have Sites? If So, What Do They Reveal?

I have reviewed hundreds of sites of your colleagues, and continue to do so daily. Successful sites employ proven techniques with a contemporary design, valuable content and user-friendly behavior.

Frankly, most forensic expert witnesses–especially psychologists and psychiatrists–don’t have a website at all.

A few have terrible sites. Bad sites=less calls=lower forensic income.

Do your own search. If you look for your colleagues, some will be impossible to find online–even by name! It isn’t hard to turn this to your benefit.

Footnotes

1. Here’s why I approach Upwork contractors with care:

I hear from experts they sometimes use Upwork to retain site developers. I have worked with a number of Upwork sourced developers. I have to personally vet them and identify the right skill set with specificity. It’s just not worth the time.

Also, they receive pennies on the dollar and Upwork takes the bulk of their fees. Quality builders work directly with clients, not through Upwork.