Barristers across the UK are taking advantage of the direct access ruling in July 2004, which allows public engagement without instruction from a solicitor. This opened up the market for legal services offered by barristers, and instantly created the competitive online race for top rankings.
Offering specialist legal representation in various fields of law, barristers are seen as the cream of defence and prosecution services available to the public. The direct access / public access ruling back in 2004 changed the way in which barristers are employed. Their services were previously reserved for those instructed by solicitors, solely when they felt it necessary to appoint an advocate of higher ability or standing.
Now the key to success for a barrister in the UK is like many other sectors for trade; marketing. Every barrister is associated with a barristers chambers, from where they ply their trade and hold membership with similarly skilled legal professionals.
Chambers are occupied by both barristers and QC’s- the latter being the Queens Council, appointed by the crown to defend and prosecute on behalf of the Monarch.
So why SEO for barristers? Well like any self employed person, you are only as good as your next job, and this can certainly be applied to legal services. Imagine a large public company searching on Google for “corruption defence barrister in London“. Being top means a great chance to convert to a contract. The value of these contracts is immensely high compared to the cost of SEO, so in Lehman’s terms, it’s a no brainer.
Common terms include a mixture of generic (law, barrister), offence based (criminal, sports, fraud, murder) and location (London, UK, International). Every barrister is different in terms of key performance and expertise areas.
