Blastoff! In this client website launch report, we are looking at Tilley Law, a criminal defense solo-practice founded by Attorney Peter Tilley in January 2022. We chat about:

• the importance of creating a sophisticated, professional website to establish legitimacy that DIDN’T look like the other stuffy legal websites
• key copy and design considerations, including SEO content and mobile responsivity
• saying goodbye to the live website in April 2023 (but we have video below and images to admire in perpetuity on our website and in this post)

Working with a new small business owner

After nearly a decade working as an attorney in the public sector, Attorney Tilley decided to start his own private practice in January 2022.  Transitioning from primary service provider (in this case, attorney at law) to wearing the multiple hats required of a small business owner can be challenging. Overnight, on top of your primary role, you gain others essential to keeping your new business going and growing: administrative, finance, marketing, etc.

Peter set up an office, purchased business cards, leveraged his network to grow clientele, and connected with Beechwood Consulting Firm to establish the touchstone of his marketing plan—a firm website.

Building a website to establish professional credibility

A website is the welcome mat to your business, and in the thick of the digital age, every small business absolutely, without-a-doubt, needs a website to compete.  A website shows your business exists, expands your physical location, and demonstrates trustworthiness to your customers. It is THE best tool to promote your service or product, and convert visitors to customers by helping them quickly and easily determine that your business is the right fit.

At Beechwood Consulting Firm, we go a step further.  Not only do you need a website to compete, but you need a beautiful, design-centric website to gain competitive advantage.  Research shows that web design can be make it or break it when converting visitors to customers (an entire blog post dedicated to this topic forthcoming). We think of your website as the equivalent of a digital brochure.  It’s a direct reflection of your brand and the service/product you provide.  A basic website isn’t going to cut it; it needs to be epic—like you—to deliver the results you want.

Key Copy + Design Goals for the Tilley Law website

Peter is perhaps one of the raddest, most decent humans you may ever meet.  Around the courthouse, he very uniquely earned a reputation as “the good-guy DA”— a reference to his strong commitment to administer justice fairly rather than simply win cases for personal advantage.  In fact, in 2017, Peter was recognized by Governor Charlie Baker as an Outstanding Prosecutor—I mean, that’s a pretty big fricking deal.

• COPY. First, we conducted SEO word research by profession and locality; but, with such an awesome client, it was a simple task for us to use concise copy to sell the benefits of hiring a bomb dot com prosecutor as a criminal defense attorney.  We also wanted to convey the compassionate, mission-driven approach Peter brings to the practice of law, differentiating him from his stereotypically sleezy counterparts.  We kept written and edited content organic and in Peter’s brand voice.  We also worked to guarantee quick readability and fully search engine optimized website copy by taking advantage of Showit’s built-in heading, subheading, and paragraph structure.
  
• DESIGN. Overall, we wanted the site to feel polished but down to earth; established but also welcoming and friendly.  In lieu of brand photography, we used a few ‘legal’ stock images from Canva paired with images of Peter (kindly repurposed with permission) in a very nice suit from his wedding.  Given Peter’s likely clientele, it was critically important that the site be fully mobile optimized, so that it looked and functioned as beautifully on smaller devises (cell phone, tablet) as it does on a computer screen.  From a designer’s perspective, Showit is the best platform to achieve this.  We ensured that images, clickable buttons, phone numbers, etc., all seamlessly transitioned from large to small screens.  

Enjoy the site live while it lasts!

In the end, Tilleylawfirm.com will be short-lived, expiring April 2023.  We are thrilled however, that the website helped showoff Peter’s career portfolio and he snagged a dream offer elsewhere he couldn’t refuse! Congratulations, Peter!

For more images of the Tilley Law site, please visit our portfolio at www.beechwoodconsultingfirm.com.