1. Ask Nermin
Questions from the No. 22 Community (my lifetime advice community for lawyers)
Question:
Do I really need to re-do my website? I've had this website since 2018, and I see nothing wrong with it. I don't really have the money for a new website right now but everyone keeps telling me I need a new one.
Nermin's Answer:
"Everyone keeps telling you that you need a new website." Everyone? Really, everyone? Your neighbor, your significant other, your favorite barista, the client who just hired you, the potential new client who booked a consult... EVERYONE... all 8 billion humans are telling you that you need a new website?
I know it sounds silly, but really, how many humans in a month or a quarter told you that you needed a new website? Five people? Ten people? It’s definitely not everyone. Perspective is one of your most important skills as a business owner. Keep these comments in perspective.
Now, I went to your website, and it’s not welcoming to potential new clients. Here’s what I mean:
- Your photo is the typical lawyer pose: arms crossed, half-smiling. You need more personable photos that show your personality (think: you with your pet, a photo of you with your family, something that shows the human side of you so people can connect with you. When people feel connected to you, they’re more likely to hire you).
- Your homepage looks like every other law firm’s website. There’s nothing that makes you stand out. Why should someone hire you, and not Nancy from down the street?
- Your website takes too long to load. Google and SEO rankings will penalize a slow-loading website.
Yes, you do need a new website. But note that this doesn’t mean spending $25K on a new one. Based on your practice area, a $5K website is a reasonable investment. If you want to do SEO on top of that, I can send you my favorite SEO companies that typically charge $3K per month and are excellent at what they do.
Decision:
Yes — you need a new website, but you don’t need to overinvest. A clean, fast, $5K website with authentic photos and distinct messaging will do more for your firm than a $25K redesign
Why:
Your current site is blending in when it should be standing out.
- It’s not visually inviting, which affects trust and connection.
- It looks like every other firm, which means you’re competing on price instead of personality.
- It’s slow to load, which hurts SEO and conversions.
Think of your website as your digital welcome. If it’s generic or sluggish, clients subconsciously assume your firm operates the same way.
Do Next:
- Hire a smaller design agency or freelancer specializing in professional service websites. Budget around $5K.
- Schedule new brand photos that show your personality and humanity (pet, family, or candid, approachable moments).
- Clarify your differentiation: What makes you the lawyer clients choose over others? Make that the first message people see.
- Before starting SEO, fix your site speed and conversion flow (homepage → contact form → consult booked).
- Ask for references and timelines before paying anyone. Quality websites can be delivered in 4–6 weeks.
Deadline:
Start researching and shortlisting website designers by the end of this month. Book your brand photos within the next 45 days.
Proof:
When your new website is live, track for 60 days:
- Increased consult requests
- Lower bounce rate
- Faster load time (<3 seconds)
2. The Playbook
Strategy bits + easy action
Are free consults back for 2026? Should you offer free consults?
Unless you're a PI attorney or another contingency-fee attorney, I've said since 2021 that you should not offer free consults.
I'd say at least half of lawyers (and by default, half of you reading this) are still offering free consults.
I see 15-minute consult slots on a lot of law firm websites. I think these work in two scenarios:
1) You have Google PPC or Facebook ads turned on and you’re playing the volume game.
Meaning, you have a high volume of calls coming in and you don't want to spend an hour in a consult or try to sell a paid consult. You’d rather take it from ad → 15-minute consult → sell your services.
The downside to this is that you have to keep feeding the ad machine with your money to get less-than-ideal clients. The clients coming in from this are probably going to convert at 20% or less. And is 15 minutes actually enough time to see if you can help someone? I see at least a 20% error rate here.
2) You have someone in your office whose sole job is to do consults and convert.
This could be an attorney who’s tied to a commission-based compensation structure. They get a base salary and then a percentage of the income from the clients who hire you.
The downside here is significant. The right attorney for this role is a needle in the Pacific Ocean, and if you happen to find someone and then they leave, your entire model falls apart. And again, 15 minutes is probably not enough time to see if you can help someone, and the error rate still applies here.
I'd be willing to bet $100 that for those who do 15-minute consults, you're actually on a call for 30–45 minutes with all the questions you need to ask and all the questions the client wants to ask you.
In reality, you're pretty much doing a full consult, and it would be better for you to charge for the consult.
The other reason I love charging for consults is that it keeps the freeloaders, price shoppers, and generally terrible clients out.
I'll say it again: don't offer free consults. It's net negative.
3. In the Margins
Unfiltered thoughts that are sometimes unhinged.
For the last three-ish months, I've been weighing my food on a scale. Insane? Yes. Has it gotten me results? Absolutely.
By weighing my food, I can make sure I'm getting enough protein and carbs in every single one of my meals. I'm not guessing or eyeing my plate to say, "Yeah, that looks like about 4 ounces of chicken." Instead, I know I have exactly 4.2 ounces of chicken and that gets logged into my meal tracker.
Beyond feeling better and not being overstuffed from meals, I look better today at 40 than I did at 30.
What does weighing my food have to do with your law firm?
How many of you are looking at your growth metrics every week? Every month? Every quarter? I'd venture to guess 1% or fewer of you are.
And yet, if you started doing this one little thing, you'd know for certain if you were going to have your best year ever, before the end of the year.
Here's where you get stuck:
"But Nermin, what do I track?"
Start simple. Almost every law firm should be tracking these metrics every month:
- How much money came in (not billed, but actually received in your bank account)?
- How much money went out (out of your bank account that month)?
- How many consults did you have this month?
- How many new clients signed on this month?
- Where did the new clients who hired you come from (referral, Instagram, SEO, PPC)?
Start there. Track that every single month.
Not every other month. Not every quarter.
Every.
Month.
The firms that track these metrics are the ones that actually grow. The ones that don’t are the ones wishing, hoping, and praying for their $1 million or $2 million year.
4. Penny for your Thoughts
Your turn — weigh in and see how other lawyers think, too.
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Thanks for letting me help you build something better. Now go make it real.
How we can work together:
No. 22 - A lifetime of advice from me. Email me: nermin@wearews.com because we're on a wait list. Price is $7,500 if you join in October, then $8,500 in November, and $9,500 in December.
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Nermin | Wildly Successful by choice, not chance Nermin@wearews.com |