Having excellent written communication skills is something most legal professionals are very proud of.  Much of the work a lawyer does involves writing, whether it be briefs, opinions or letters to clients.  So why should a law professional, who is likely to be a skilled author, outsource their own article or blog writing?

Time & Money

The main reason is, of course, the most obvious…time and money.  To write a well-researched, interesting article can take up to four hours to compose.  For a commercial solicitor charging £200-£450 an hour, it does not make sense for them to spend such valuable billing time creating two to three articles/blog posts per week.  An experienced copywriter will change between £30-£80 per hour, which is far less than a solicitors’ rates, and because writing is their profession, they will probably create the content you want in a shorter amount of time.

Creativity

I write regular articles for some of the largest law firms in the UK, and one of the toughest parts of my job is thinking up different, engaging, intelligent topics every single week. Some clients want twice-weekly blog posts created.  Do not under-estimate how hard it is to conjure up ideas for two legal blog posts per week!  I believe this is one of the main reasons many firm’s blog pages start off with a hiss and a roar, only to lie neglected and barren after six months.  A professional copywriter is full of ideas and is immersed in the job of creating new content for their clients. They are able to come up with interesting angles on existing topics and new “never been written about before” articles to interest your visitors.

Quality

If a professional law firm is planning to put an article on its website for all the world (and their competitors) to see, it had better be really good.  Poorly researched, badly written, sloppy posts reflect negatively on a firm’s image, and quite frankly, you are better off not to write anything at all. When you pay a professional writer you are not only paying for their words but also their research, sub-editing and proof-reading abilities. It may seem like an unnecessary expense to hire a professional writer to create and author your articles, but for the sake of efficiency, quality, and money, you may find it is a very worthwhile investment which pays great returns in the form of new client conversions from your website.