Web Development · Law Firms
Law firm website design and development, built to be owned
Custom Next.js websites for law firms: solo practitioners, multi-attorney firms, and AI-powered platforms. Conflict-secure intake, ABA Rule 7.2 compliance, and Clio, MyCase, Filevine, or HubSpot integration. From $2,500.
What does law firm website design cost, and why this stack?
A custom law firm website at Maxx Effect costs $2,500 to $25,000+. Solo and small-firm sites run $3,500 to $6,000 and launch in 2 to 3 weeks. Multi-attorney firms with intake automation run $7,500 to $15,000. Full custom platforms with AI document classification and case-management integration start at $15,000.
Every site ships on Next.js with edge deployment, sub-1.5s mobile load times, 95+ Lighthouse scores, and the ABA Rule 7.2 compliance pattern built in from the first sprint. That stack is not a bet. It is the same architecture behind a production case-management platform we built for a 180-employee immigration firm handling 7,000+ active cases.
This page is the build view: what you get, how we build it, and what it costs. For the market view (why West Michigan firms lose search visibility to Grand Rapids and Chicago competitors, plus the full outcomes from the legal engagement) see our law firm industry page. The stack behind it all is documented on our web design and development page.
Where intake data goes before anyone runs a conflict check
A prospect fills out the public form. It captures case type, jurisdiction, and opposing party name, nothing privileged. The submission lands in a private queue that sits outside your case database.
A paralegal or attorney runs the conflict check first. Only after it clears does the full matter enter your case-management system, whether that is Clio, MyCase, Filevine, or a custom CRM. The prospect never sees this wiring. It is the part that keeps privileged information out of the wrong file.
- Lead Form
- AI Qualifies
- CRM Updated
- Team Notified
- Meeting Booked
How a law firm site gets built, sprint by sprint
Five steps from a blank brief to a compliant, fast, owned website. Nothing here is bolted on at the end.
Keyword map + practice-area architecture
We start by mapping every practice area to its own page and its own target keyword. A firm doing immigration, family, and criminal work gets three landing pages, not one bullet list. This is the URL structure that lets Google rank each practice separately, and it is decided before a single line of design goes in.
Compliance layer built into the page template
ABA Rule 7.2 disclaimers, result and testimonial disclosures, and no-guarantee language are wired into a shared layout so they render on every page automatically. State-bar variants are applied per jurisdiction for firms practicing across state lines. Compliance ships on day one instead of being retrofitted after a bar complaint.
Conflict-secure intake wiring
The intake form is scoped to screening-level fields and routed to a private queue that never touches your active case database. Conflict checks run before privileged information is stored. This is the architecture prospective clients never see and the one that keeps a firm out of trouble.
Integration + schema pass
We connect the site to Clio, MyCase, Filevine, or HubSpot through the platform API, then add LegalService, Person, and LocalBusiness schema so search engines and AI assistants read the firm correctly. Attorney bio pages get JobTitle, knowsAbout, alumniOf, and sameAs so they rank for each attorney's own name.
Performance + launch
Every site ships on Next.js with edge deployment and pre-built static pages: 95+ Lighthouse, sub-1.5-second Largest Contentful Paint, 0.05 CLS. We test on real mobile hardware, hand off the Git repository and hosting project, and stay on for 30 days of post-launch support.
What ABA Rule 7.2 actually requires, and how we build it in
ABA Model Rule 7.2 governs how a firm advertises. It sets the floor. Each state bar layers its own requirements on top, and a few states are strict enough that a generic template site will trip a rule. We treat these as build steps that ship with the site, not disclaimers a client bolts on after a complaint.
Result and testimonial disclosures
Any page that shows a verdict, a settlement figure, or a client quote carries the "past results do not guarantee future outcomes" language your bar requires. We apply it through a shared page layout, so it appears on every qualifying page automatically. It is never a paragraph someone forgot to paste on the new practice-area page.
Attorney-bio language
Specialization and certification claims are worded to your state bar's rules. A Michigan bio and a Florida bio are not the same file. For firms admitted in more than one state, we build jurisdiction-specific variants rather than a lowest-common-denominator paragraph.
The stricter states
Florida, Texas, and New York review lawyer advertising more aggressively than most. Florida's rules reach filing requirements and specific phrasing; Texas restricts certain claims outright. Our compliance pattern already covers Michigan, New York, Florida, Texas, and California, so a firm expanding across state lines does not discover a problem after the site is live.
The five state bars this compliance pattern already covers
Three of them, New York, Texas, and Florida, review lawyer advertising more aggressively than most. A firm admitted in more than one state gets jurisdiction-specific variants, not one lowest-common-denominator paragraph.
Michigan
A Michigan bio and a Florida bio are not the same file.
Covered
California
Covered by the same compliance pattern that ships with the site.
Covered
New York
Reviews lawyer advertising more aggressively than most.
CoveredStricter review
Texas
Restricts certain claims outright.
CoveredStricter review
Florida
Rules reach filing requirements and specific phrasing.
CoveredStricter review
ABA Model Rule 7.2Governs how a firm advertises. It sets the floor. Each state bar layers its own requirements on top.
Custom build vs a Scorpion or FindLaw template
The legal template mills rent you a site on their platform. Here is the side-by-side on the things that cost you money later.
| Factor | Scorpion / FindLawTemplate rental | What we buildCustom buildOur stack |
|---|---|---|
| Who owns the code + domain | Scorpion / FindLaw keeps the platform | Your firm owns everything outright |
| Ongoing cost | $300–$2,500/mo platform rental, indefinitely | One-time build, optional retainer from $199/mo |
| Practice-area pages | Shared template across hundreds of firms | Custom page + schema per practice area |
| Intake + conflict check | Generic form into a shared inbox | Screening-only form, private queue, pre-storage conflict check |
| Case-management integration | Rarely, and only inside their ecosystem | Clio, MyCase, Filevine, or HubSpot via API |
| Mobile page load | 3–7 seconds on a shared platform | Under 1.5 seconds, 95+ Lighthouse |
| Leave anytime | Site goes dark when you stop paying | Take the repo and hosting with you |
The takeaway
No build cost up front, but the rent runs indefinitely and the site is never yours.
Costs more up front. Everything in this column belongs to your firm.
Custom build
Our stack
Who owns the code + domain
Your firm owns everything outright
Ongoing cost
One-time build, optional retainer from $199/mo
Practice-area pages
Custom page + schema per practice area
Intake + conflict check
Screening-only form, private queue, pre-storage conflict check
Case-management integration
Clio, MyCase, Filevine, or HubSpot via API
Mobile page load
Under 1.5 seconds, 95+ Lighthouse
Leave anytime
Take the repo and hosting with you
Costs more up front. Everything in this column belongs to your firm.
One page per practice, each ranking on its own
Google ranks practice-area pages separately. A single "Practice Areas" page with a bullet list forfeits every one of those rankings. Here is how we scope them for local SEO.
/practice-areas/immigration-lawyer-muskegon
Own H1, family-based and employment-based visa sub-sections, Spanish-language variant with hreflang, and LegalService schema scoped to immigration. Targets 'immigration lawyer Muskegon' and 'immigration attorney West Michigan'.
/practice-areas/divorce-attorney-muskegon
Divorce, custody, and support broken into scannable sections, a plain-language process timeline, and schema that signals family-law expertise. Targets 'divorce attorney Muskegon' and 'family law Grand Haven'.
/practice-areas/criminal-defense-muskegon
OWI, felony, and misdemeanor sub-pages with fast-response intake, because criminal prospects search at 2am on a phone. Sub-1.5s load matters most here. Targets 'criminal defense attorney Muskegon'.
How the site talks to Clio, MyCase, Filevine, and HubSpot
The integration question decides how much manual re-keying your staff does every week, so we scope it before the build starts. The rule is the same across every platform: your case-management system stays the source of truth, and the website is a controlled front door into it.
In every case the integration code belongs to your firm. It lives in the repository you own. If you switch case-management platforms in two years, the site does not have to be rebuilt from scratch. We rewrite the connector and leave the rest standing.
Clio
We use the Clio API and Clio Grow for intake. A cleared intake creates a matter with the right practice-area and responsible-attorney fields already populated, so a paralegal is not copying an email into Clio by hand. Custom fields on the form map to custom fields on the matter.
MyCase and Filevine
Both expose an API for lead and contact creation. We push the pre-screened intake in and, where the plan calls for it, pull case-status back out for a client-facing dashboard so clients stop calling to ask what stage their matter is in.
HubSpot
For firms that run marketing and intake through HubSpot, the form creates a contact and a deal, fires the right workflow, and attributes the lead to the practice-area page it came from. That last part is what tells you which page is actually generating signed clients.
Law firm website design, market view
Why West Michigan firms lose to Grand Rapids and Chicago competitors, the outcomes from the legal engagement, and the six things every firm site must get right.
Open industry page7,000-case immigration CRM
9s to 1.2s page loads. 18min to 90s document handling. 4hr to 30s intake routing. 200,000+ documents indexed for semantic search.
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Solo Practitioner
Professional law firm website
Timeline: 2–3 weeks
Ideal for: Solo + 2-3 attorney firms
- 5–8 pages: practice areas, attorney bio, contact, FAQ
- ABA Rule 7.2-compliant disclaimers + advertising language
- Secure intake form with reCAPTCHA + spam filtering
- Practice-area landing pages with LegalService schema
- Google Business Profile setup + LocalBusiness schema
- Sub-1.5s mobile page load (95+ Lighthouse)
Multi-Attorney Firm
Full firm site with intake automation
Timeline: 4–6 weeks
Ideal for: 5–25 attorney firms
- Everything in Solo Practitioner
- Per-attorney bio pages with Person + JobTitle schema
- Conflict-of-interest pre-screening on intake forms
- Practice-area routing: leads auto-assigned by case type
- HubSpot, Clio, MyCase, or Filevine integration
- Multilingual support (Spanish, common immigration languages)
- Article schema on every blog post for AI-citation eligibility
Custom Platform
Website + AI intake + case-management
Timeline: 8–16+ weeks
Ideal for: Larger firms (25+ attorneys)
- Full custom site + AI-powered intake conversation
- Document upload with AI document classification
- Conflict check against existing case database
- Integration with Clio, MyCase, Filevine, or a custom CRM
- Semantic case-history search (attorney + paralegal facing)
- Built on the same stack as our production immigration CRM
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does law firm website design cost?
Three price points at Maxx Effect. Solo and small-firm sites run $3,500 to $6,000. Multi-attorney sites with intake automation and Clio or HubSpot integration run $7,500 to $15,000. Full custom platforms with AI document classification and case-management integration start at $15,000. Size your firm against those before you email anyone.
How long does a law firm website take to build?
A solo-firm site launches in 2 to 3 weeks. A multi-attorney site with intake automation runs 4 to 6 weeks. A custom platform with AI intake and case-management integration runs 8 to 16 weeks depending on how many systems it talks to. We work in two-week sprints with a demo at the end of each one, so you see the site take shape rather than waiting for a single reveal.
How do you build ABA Rule 7.2 compliance into the site?
Compliance is a build step, not an afterthought. Result and testimonial disclaimers are applied through a shared page layout so they appear on every page automatically, never copy-pasted. Attorney-bio language is written to meet your state bar's advertising rules. Jurisdiction-specific disclaimer variants ship for firms practicing across state lines. Our pattern covers the state-bar advertising rules in Michigan, New York, Florida, Texas, and California, including the stricter Florida and Texas requirements.
How does the conflict-secure intake architecture work?
Public intake forms collect screening-level information only: case type, jurisdiction, opposing party name, and a conflict-check question. The form submits to a private queue that is separate from your active case database. An attorney or paralegal runs the conflict check before any of the prospect's full details are stored. That separation is the same intake architecture we shipped for a 180-employee immigration firm, and it scales down to a two-attorney office.
Can you build per-practice-area landing pages?
Yes, and you should have them. A firm that does immigration, family, and criminal defense needs three distinct landing pages, each with its own URL, its own H1, and LegalService schema carrying the correct serviceType. Google ranks practice-area pages separately, so a prospect searching 'immigration lawyer Muskegon' lands on the immigration page, not a homepage that buries the practice in a dropdown.
Can you integrate with Clio, MyCase, Filevine, or HubSpot?
Yes. We have shipped Clio, MyCase, Filevine, and HubSpot integrations. Your case-management system stays the source of truth. The website passes pre-screened intake into it through the platform's API, and can pull case-status updates back for a client-facing dashboard. Your firm owns the integration code. Nothing is locked to our hosting or our platform.
How is this different from a Scorpion or FindLaw template site?
Scorpion, FindLaw, and the other legal template mills rent you a site on their platform. You pay a monthly fee, the code and often the domain stay with them, and your practice-area pages share a template with hundreds of other firms. We build a custom site you own outright. You keep the code, the domain, the hosting account, and the content. There is no monthly platform rental and no proprietary lock-in. If you leave us, the entire codebase leaves with you.
Do I own the website and the code?
Yes. Your firm owns the code, the domain, the content, and the hosting account. No proprietary platform fee. No monthly platform rental. We hand off the Git repository and the hosting project with documentation, so you are never dependent on us to make a change.
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