My husband and I recently needed to hire an attorney for a minor matter in our town. All my clients are lawyers so I had no shortage of possibilities and referral sources. As a rule, I know their specialties but don’t always know every aspect of their practices. Before proceeding to call any of my clients, I wanted to make sure I didn’t insult them asking for a referral in the specialty we were seeking. Being computer-literate, I performed a number of Internet searches of legal directories.

I started with the obvious sites: the Martindale-Hubbell directory and the West Legal Directory, www.wld.com. To my surprise, none of my local clients were listed. When solely in book form, these directories charged large sums for listings. The books were intended to be used by lawyers to find other lawyers. On the Internet, however, these companies have changed their focus and target their products toward consumers looking to hire a lawyer. In fact, the Martindale site divided into a lawyer resource site, www.martindale.com, and a consumer-oriented site, www.lawyers.com.

After failing to find my local clients on these directories, I searched by practice area. There, too, I was unable to find any of my clients, even under their main specialties. I also checked sites like www.findlaw.com and www.law.com, which is the consolidated American Lawyer Media’s site, combining all its publications. To be thorough, I also searched several directory sites that focus specifically on New Jersey attorneys. Again, I failed to learn about the specialties of my local law-firm clients.

Ultimately, we spoke with several of my clients who I was sure could not represent us due to an obvious conflict of interest and received referrals from them. However, this episode highlighted some interesting things about lawyers and lost opportunities.

Even if you can’t figure out why as a local practitioner you would need a web site, you’re missing free and inexpensive opportunities to promote yourself and your firm. About 50 percent of American homes have computers with Internet access. As the speed of access improves with the wider availability of high-speed cable modems and digital subscriber lines (DSL), the way those people at home use the Internet will change.

While I may not be typical of home-computer users, I have seen a change in how I use the Internet since I switched from a dial-up service through a 56Kb modem and phone line to a cable modem through Comcast. Prior to the cable modem (pre-CM), I checked my e-mail once or twice a day and rarely researched on the World Wide Web. With the nearly instant access of the cable modem (can you tell I love it?), I find myself on the web much more frequently for minor research issues. For instance, I might be on the phone with a client discussing what computer she should buy. Pre-CM, I might have looked on my shelf for a recent catalog from Compaq or Dell. Now, I can talk with my client while reviewing online the most-current options. Without the cable modem, I asked new clients for directions to their office. With the cable modem, it takes a minute to go to www.mapblast.com or www.mapquest.com, type my address and theirs and receive driving directions and a map.

Another big change in my online habits is the ability to download large files in minutes. Downloading a 15-MB patch to Timeslips, Corel WordPerfect or a Microsoft patch used to tie up my modem for upwards of an hour. With the cable modem, the process takes a few minutes. The promise of high-speed Internet access is coming quickly especially in light of the Time Warner-America Online merger. Among the resources Time Warner brings to the marriage is a network of cable modem access in major metropolitan areas around the country.

In managing your law firm, you should be aware of who your clients are and how they find you. If you’re using a case-management program like Time Matters, Amicus Attorney or Abacus Law, add a field to track referral sources. You may be surprised where your clients come from. Additionally, you can use this information to attract more — and better — clients. This, however, is only half the equation. The missing component is the prospective clients you would like to have, but who are unable to find you.

If you have a local, general practice, you’re probably advertising in the phone book and may be involved in civic activities in town to bring positive attention to your firm. You should be doing similar functions on the Internet. For example, there are a large number of white- and yellow-page listings of businesses and individuals. Check to see you are listed and listed correctly. Sites like www.infospace.com, www.switchboard.com, www.anywho.com and www.four11.com let you search people by name, business name or other criteria. Many of these sites have direct links to maps and other information so that someone who locates your firm listing can click for a map with the location of your office. If you can’t locate yourself on these sites or the information is wrong, there is a button to add or change information. There is no charge for being listed on these sites.

If you’re a member of your town’s chamber of commerce, make sure your firm is listed with as much background information as allowed. Many local newspapers also have web sites promoting local businesses. Again, at little or no charge, you may be able to get an online listing for extra exposure to local prospective clients.

There are many sites such as Martindale-Hubbell and West Group’s that are good vehicles for promoting your firm on the Internet without maintaining a web site. A basic listing on West’s site is available free. If you already have a basic listing, make sure it has current information so prospective clients and lawyers who want to make out-of-state referrals can find you. For various fees, you can have a more in-depth listing or a web site through West using one of their available law firm templates.

To be listed on the Martindale site, an investment of $1,000 or more entitles you to listing on both its online sites, its CD-ROM and in its books. The Martindale products still are among the main tools lawyers use to find other lawyers when they need to refer a case or client.

There are several newer national listings of attorneys and law firms to consider when promoting your firm. If you want to see what a web site might do for your firm’s client-development efforts, establish one at no charge through www.findlaw.com and www.lawinfo.com. According to Janet Greenberg of Professional Net Imaging of West Orange who designs and hosts law firm web pages, lawyers also should be listed nationally on www.attorneyfind.com, www.lawguru.com and www.legalnet.com.

Getting closer to home, virtually every state has entrepreneurs who have set up web directories to help consumers find attorneys by location and practice specialties. In New Jersey, for instance, Greenberg suggests both fee-based and free sites including www.nj.com, www.princetonpacket.com and www.findnj.com. Some of these companies require payment for a listing on their service. These sites are similar to those that help people find restaurants, which pay for the listing. Similarly, these legal directories are supposed to market members to potential clients. Before paying for any listings, do your homework. Contact listed attorneys to see whether it has generated sufficient business to justify the expense. Do searches through such search engines as www.yahoo.com, www.altavista.com, www.infoseek.com and www.lycos.com. See whether the site appears near the top of the list when you search for "New Jersey lawyers" or "attorneys in NJ." If not, remember that other people doing the same search won’t find it either.

If you have certain areas of expertise, seek out sites where you might be listed as an expert. For example, as a technology trainer, I have been tested and approved by vendors of certain legal products as a certified consultant and am listed on their web sites. On a regular basis, I get inquiries from prospective clients either using or thinking of using those products. Another way to promote your practice that can translate into new clients is to become active in substantive law practice e-mail lists. There are hundreds of lists. Some are focused on lawyers practicing in specific areas while others are for users of certain products or in need of certain services.

As a technology consultant, I monitor and often contribute to several legal technology lists. Among them are www.technolawyer.com and www.network2d.com. Technolawyer has many rules for submitting messages but the exchange of information there is quite valuable. Network2d is sponsored by the Computer and Technology Division of the Law Practice Management Section of the American Bar Association. The ABA also hosts lists for its assorted substantive sections.

The best resource for locating legal e-mail lists is www.lib.uchicago.edu/~llou/lawlists/info.html, maintained by Professor Lyonette Louis-Jacques of the University of Chicago. But don’t limit yourself to lists aimed at lawyers. Depending on your practice area, find lists where potential clients gather. Of course, to avoid developing an attorney-client relationship where you didn’t intend one, be sure to warn e-mail recipients on these lists that you’re not giving legal advice.

When considering being listed on practice-related sites, be clever in thinking about where to be listed. Let’s suppose, for example, your firm does a large volume of real estate closings in your town and the surrounding area. Undoubtedly, you have developed close referral relationships with many of the area’s leading real-estate brokers. Take a look at their web sites and see if you can persuade them to include information about your firm for those who might be looking for an attorney to handle their closing. In a similar vein, title companies or local banks that handle your clients’ loans might be willing to include your firm information as an extra service to their customers.

With creative brainstorming, almost any practice area can be a source of potential business. If you handle adoptions, check out sites that give prospective adoptive parents information about how to complete a successful adoption. Again, some of these sites might already have such lists of lawyers or might be willing to establish them. You also may be able to participate in discussion lists with prospective adoptive parents.

If you have your own web site, you should consider swapping links with local sources. Again, in a real estate practice, you might offer to list local Realtors or link your site to theirs in exchange for a link from their site.

While this is by no means an exhaustive review of how to market yourself on the Internet without a web site, you should consider the benefits of having your own web site. You might think your clients don’t use computers and won’t find you electronically. That thinking can be quite short-sighted. While your actual client might not use a computer, their child, a friend or relative might surf the Internet to help them locate the right attorney. Additionally, other lawyers might refer cases to you if they know your specialty and how to find you.