Illinois Lawyer Finder Getting Started Guide – Help Center

Potential clients are searching the internet for a lawyer right now.

Who they contact and ultimately hire depends a great deal on what they can learn about the lawyer online. The vast majority want to know about a lawyer's experience, their credentials, and the types of cases they handle. They also want a clear understanding of the legal process and the approximate cost of their case.

Tell them what they want to know through your profile in Illinois Lawyer Finder.

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Illinois Lawyer Finder is an exciting member benefit from the Illinois State Bar Association that makes it easier than ever to tell potential clients why you are the best fit for their legal needs.

With a streamlined user interface, ease of access right from your member page, and a simple setup, Illinois Lawyer Finder makes it easier than ever to GET FOUND and GET HIRED!

Ensure your profile is viewable by the public

By default, member profiles are not viewable by the public. To review and/or change this setting, sign in to your ISBA Account page or go to the ISBA website and click the Member Login button.

After verifying the accuracy of your address, scroll down to the Online Public Directory Settings area and make the appropriate selection in Public Profile View.

Click Save then click View & Edit Your Directory Profile.

The site's Terms of Use displays the first time you access Illinois Lawyer Finder. After reading and accepting the Terms of Use and specifying basic default values, you will be directed to the site.

Sign in

The public-facing Illinois Lawyer Finder directory is easily accessible right from the Illinois State Bar Association's website. To access the directory, click GET A LAWYER.

Next, click SEARCH FOR A LAWYER ONLINE.

Click Sign In, select Lawyers, and enter your bar credentials.

The site's Terms of Use display the first time you sign in. After reading and accepting the Terms of Use and specifying basic default values, you will be directed to the site.

Add and edit profile information

Once signed in, you may edit the information in your profile by clicking the edit icon next to the appropriate section.

Note: Some information (e.g., name, email, etc.) must be edited from your Illinois State Bar Association member profile. If you attempt to edit this data, you receive the following message and will be redirected back to your bar profile to make the desired changes.

To edit information in your ISBA member profile, go to ISBA.org, and click Member Login. Use the menu in the top right corner to select Account.

Make the desired changes and click the ReliaGuide tab in your web browser to return to your Illinois Lawyer Finder profile.

Show or hide phone, email, and/or address

Members may choose to show or hide their phone, email, and/or address in their profile's public view. To change the view setting for phone or email, click the edit icon next to the appropriate element.

Click the box next to Hide Email, Hide Phone, and/or Hide Address to hide the information from public view. Click OK to save your changes.

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Things your profile should contain

Photos - Prospective clients like to see the person with whom they will be working. Add pictures of your office, pictures of you at meetings, involved in hobbies, or taking part in charitable activities.

Click "+ Upload" in the right corner to add one or more photos to your profile. Once uploaded, click on the photo to make it a profile photo or to remove the photo.

Practice areas- Coupled with location, practice area is the most used search parameter. Include all of your practice areas to ensure the right clients find you. The average member lists 10, so don't be shy!
Note: There is a limit of 5 practice areas with the basic profile. With Profile Plus you may specify an unlimited number of practice areas.

Biography - Your biography (Profile Plus feature - see Basic Profile or Profile Plus — Determine which option is right for you below for more information) takes center stage when it comes to telling potential clients who you are. Tell them what makes you unique and what makes you the best choice to handle their legal needs.

Refer to Profile Content Creation Tips for helpful information and sample profile content (i.e., creating a successful profile, taglines, keywords, practice areas, biographies, and client case examples).

Specify details about your practice

The ABOUT MY PRACTICE section of your profile contains a number of items that are searchable and filterable by prospective clients.

If you would like to make it easy for potential clients to connect with you directly from your profile, ensure you enable the "Allow potential clients to contact me through my Illinois Lawyer Finder listing."

When a potential client clicks the CONTACT button in your Illinois Lawyer Finder profile, they will be prompted to provide their contact information and summary information about their legal issue. Once submitted, the request is sent to you via email, so please be on the lookout for emails originating from the support@reliaguide.com email address. This feature works even if your email address is hidden.

Contact requests are stored in the Contact Request section of your Illinois Lawyer Finder profile for later reference (via the side menu).

For more information on this feature and to view a sample Contact Request email, refer to Manage potential client contact.

Basic Profile or Profile Plus — Determine which option is right for you

With your free Illinois Lawyer Finder profile, basic information about you and your practice is viewable by site visitors.

If you are trying to grow your practice and are interested in attracting new clients, upgrading to Profile Plus for $25/month or $275/year will allow you to round out your profile and improve your chances of getting hired.

It's easy to see from the screenshot below why lawyers whose profiles contain Profile Plus information (e.g., a tagline, biography, unlimited practice areas, etc.) are 10x more likely to be contacted by a potential client than lawyers whose profiles do not provide this information.

The chart below outlines the features available with both options.

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Upgrading your profile

To upgrade to Profile Plus and/or add the Website or Analytics add on (below), click Upgrade from the side menu, click the lock next to any Profile Plus feature (e.g., Biography, Keywords, Languages spoken, etc.) or click Upgrade in the top right corner.

Profile add ons

Build your brand and track your profile's performance with two powerful options: Profile to Website and Analytics. Both are available from the upgrade screen and from the side menu and are explained below.

Profile to Website

Do you need a website, but not the expense or hassle of creating one? You are in luck! Turn your profile into a professional website in minutes right from your Find a Lawyer profile.

Easily create and maintain website content right from your profile
Cost-effective with no setup fees or contracts
No design or technical skills are required
Responsive — works on all devices
Helps you build your brand and increase your online presence

Read about it here: Your website - powered by your profile!

See it in action here.

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Analytics

You work hard. Make sure your Illinois Lawyer Finder profile does too. With Analytics, you will learn:

How your performance stacks up against the top performing Illinois State Bar Association lawyers (all data is anonymized)*
Which practice areas drive traffic to your profile and which profile elements are the most clicked
If your profile is appearing in search results and if it is being viewed by prospective clients*
In which geographic areas your profile is performing better*

* Requires Analytics subscription.

Accessing other profile options

Your can access a number of other profile options from the left side menu. Be sure to periodically check your Dashboard to see how your profile is performing!