The Greatest American Lawyer

The Star in the Address Bar

Domain names and trademarks are properties that share a common bond in a successfully marketed product. Once your marketing department, or whomever, selects a trademark to be registered, you should immediately move to grab onto the corresponding Domain Name. Availability of key phrases or words should even be a factor in selecting the trademark itself, because that mark is often the only thing that the consumer has when they log on to find your product.

But what happens when that trademark is unregistered, but the URL is already in use by a third party in good faith? Does it hold enough value to merit purchase? Is spending thousands of dollars for the rights to a few words in the address bar really worth it?

While your first instinct may suggest otherwise, it is important to realize the significance of the title that reads in your visitors' address bars when considering purchasing the registration. For your customers, the easiest way to find your product is with the internet, and unless it is easy to match a product with a website, you lose that advantage.

The truth is that everyday domain name titles often see higher traffic than unique or custom ones - and if you are hoping to take advantage of internet traffic, you should have a URL to help that happen. This is because it is easy for your customers to find and remember your site's familiar name in the mess that is the internet.

When it comes to making the decision to purchase the rights to a domain name, you can, in a way, consider it much like you would a decision to purchase a star endorsement. Yes, the endorsement will turn the heads of your customers, and it will make it easier to identify your product - but such attention will come at a cost. Star endorsements get very pricey - just like the price-tag of a popular domain name.

So what do Michael Jordan and Techlawyer.com have in common? It all comes down to their ability to be recognized and remembered. And if you want to tap into that advantage, oftentimes you will have to pay a price.

The “Haves” and the “Have-Nots”

Ed over at Blawg Review turned me on to this link by Dennis Kennedy over at the between lawyers blog. Dennis has identified several legal technology trends for lawyers, law firms, and law departments to look for in 2007. One of his trends is as follows:

"By the end of 2007, we will be talking about a clear and growing digital divide between technology-forward and technology-backward lawyers and firms and a subtle restructuring of the practice of law."