The law firm website that looks serious and brings in cases.

• ✓
  Practice areas as their own pages, in client languageOne subpage per practice area, with a problem-oriented URL such as /employment-law/ or /divorce/. It picks up the problem in plain language, explains the process and demonstrates competence instead of advertising. It is also the SEO foundation against platforms and large firms.
• ✓
  The profile of the person clients put their trust inThe attorney licence, lic. iur. or MLaw, a certified specialist SAV title where it applies, the entry in the cantonal attorney registry, career and areas of focus. A real portrait photo instead of a stock image of Lady Justice. The strongest lever, because people entrust a matter of trust to a person, not to a company.
• ✓
  An initial consultation with a clear process and a note on feesThis is how the initial consultation works, this is what it costs, this is how you reach me. That makes it easier to get in touch, sets the expectation on hourly rates in advance and filters for suitable cases, so not every free question gets through.
• ✓
  About the firm and how it worksDiscretion, confidentiality, independence, personal attention and availability. The how is what sets the boutique firm apart from the anonymous large firm and the platform lawyer.
• ✓
  Fees and cost transparencyA range for the hourly rate, flat fees where possible, a note on legal expenses insurance and legal aid. Factual and compliant with professional conduct rules, this takes the client's biggest worry and the most awkward phone topic off the table.
• ✓
  Location, directions and availabilityAddress, map, public transport links, parking, phone hours and a clickable number. Direct conversion drivers and local SEO signals, because legal advice is a local business.
• ✓
  Articles and guidesThe conduct-compliant way to show competence and to rank for specific questions. A post on untimely dismissal or on cohabitation agreements attracts exactly the right cases without advertising, and it feeds AI search.
• ✓
  Legal notice and privacy, done properlyA complete legal notice and a privacy policy that complies with the revised Swiss Federal Act on Data Protection (revFADP, known in Switzerland as revDSG) in the footer of every page. Doubly important for a law firm, where a mistake here would be a credibility disaster.

• ✕
  An outdated site that does not work on mobile, often eight to twelve years old. It signals being out of touch and puts off exactly the clientele that can pay.
• ✕
  Legal jargon instead of client language: enforcement of claims under the Code of Obligations instead of you have not received your salary. The page thinks from the lawyer's perspective, not the searcher's.
• ✕
  A catch-all offering of legal advice in all areas instead of clear practice areas. No profile, no ranking, no trust in a specific competence.
• ✕
  Fees kept completely quiet with costs on request, without any mention of legal expenses insurance or legal aid. That leaves the client's biggest worry unanswered and filters nothing.
• ✕
  Stock photos of Lady Justice and handshakes instead of a real lawyer profile with a photo. The person clients are supposed to trust stays invisible.
• ✕
  Flashy promises such as the number 1 for divorce, or an unencrypted contact form without a privacy note. The first breaches professional conduct rules under Art. 12 lit. d BGFA, the second is an attorney-client privilege problem.

• I know the line between factual information and impermissible advertising under Art. 12 lit. d BGFA and Art. 25 of the professional conduct rules: no guarantees of success, no superlatives such as best lawyer, no unfounded comparisons with colleagues. Art. 25 expressly allows advertising; it only has to be truthful, keep a factual connection to the professional activity and protect professional secrecy.
• I treat the contact form as a question of attorney-client privilege under Art. 13 BGFA: TLS-encrypted and with a clear note not to send sensitive details unencrypted. My own servers are in the EU, in Germany. If your firm needs a Swiss server location, I put you in touch with a Swiss provider rather than pretending I have one myself.
• Online appointment booking through a Swiss-hosted tool such as Calenso instead of Calendly with its US data transfer, so professional secrecy and the revFADP fit together.
• I know that certified specialist SAV is a verifiable title awarded by the Swiss Bar Association after an examination, and I only state what actually applies.
• Structured data for Attorney and LocalBusiness, including practice areas and location, so you hold your ground in local and AI search against platforms such as jurata.ch.
• Practice area landing pages with problem-oriented URLs instead of a catch-all offering of legal advice in all areas.

Take a solo practice in the Rhine Valley with a good reputation, but online only people who already know its name will find it. This is how I go about it.

1. Starting point

   A ten year old site that does not work on mobile. One catch-all page offering “legal advice in all areas”, no profile, no photo. Anyone in the Rhine Valley searching for “employment lawyer” ends up on jurata.ch and with the large firms, not with this practice.

2. The site

   One subpage per practice area, written in client language (/employment-law/, /tenancy-law/), that picks up the problem instead of advertising. A real profile with a photo, career and registry entry. An initial consultation with a clear process and a note on fees. A TLS-encrypted contact route that respects attorney-client privilege.

3. Visibility: marketing, SEO, local

   A Google Business Profile set up and maintained with consistent contact details, the home advantage in the region. schema.org markup for Attorney and LocalBusiness, so Google and AI search understand the firm as a local address. Two or three articles on specific questions such as “untimely dismissal” or “cohabitation agreement” that attract exactly the right cases without advertising, and get cited in ChatGPT and the like.

4. What changes

   The firm shows up locally for lawyer plus town and for specific legal questions, exactly where the platforms used to take the clicks. Enquiries become a better fit because the practice area and the fee expectations are clear up front. And the site reads like a law firm, not like a sales funnel.