Robert Ambrogi Blog
MyCase, the California company that provides web-based practice management software, this week announced a new product offering, website packages for law firms. The offering is unique in that the sites include seamless integration with the MyCase client portal. This means that clients can access the portal directly from the firm’s website to access their case information, pay their bill and communicate with the firm.
Because of the integration with MyCase, only lawyers who subscribe to the practice-management application will be able to purchase a MyCase website. The cost of a site is a one-time set-up fee of $1,500 and then a monthly service fee of $50. The cost includes a professionally designed website and blog, built on a WordPress platform. It also includes hosting and domain transfer or setup, social media integration (links to social media accounts), and basic search-engine optimization.
According to Matt Spiegel, MyCase founder, vice president and general manager, the setup price also includes writing of website content such as lawyer biographies and practice-area descriptions.
The client portals that MyCase already provides will be fully integrated within each site and skinned to match the design of the site. When the client enters the portal, they will see the same design and navigational elements as the website.
The company’s goal is to get a site live within three weeks of the time it is ordered, Spiegel told me.
Not a Marketing Business
Last April, another practice-management company, Rocket Matter, announced an Internet marketing service for law firms that combined a website and blogging platform with marketing consulting services. Five months before that, legal directory company Avvo launched its own suite of legal marketing tools under the umbrella name Avvo Ignite.
While Rocket Matter’s and Avvo’s moves were seen as new directions for the companies, MyCase’s Spiegel says that his company’s move into websites is completely consistent with its overall vision.
“We are not getting into the marketing and SEO business,” Spiegel said. “That is not why we’re doing this.”
Rather, he said, the company has a vision of continuing to build services that complement and enhance the experience of customers who use the MyCase platform.
Many of those customers either did not have websites or did not have good websites, Spiegel said. In addition, customers frequently asked for a way to integrate the client portal within a website.
MyCase decided to simply combine the two requests to give its customers professionally designed websites and to give their clients direct access to their portals.
“Our websites are professionally designed sites,” Spiegel said. “We can do them quickly and affordably, and they have MyCase fully integrated.”