Top Attorney Bio Trends for 2024
By Allison on November 8, 2023 in Attorney Bios Content Inspiration for Websites PaperStreet
Year after year we see that attorney biographies are among the most visited pages on a law firm website. It’s why we design custom biographies for about half of our clients each year.
As we look forward to 2024, we anticipate an exciting evolution in attorney biographies that aligns with the broader shifts in our social and cultural landscape. The people pages on your website have endless potential. They are not merely static accounts of your lawyers’ careers but vibrant narratives that can captivate, engage, and resonate with your audience. Your attorneys are not just legal practitioners; they are the human faces of your firm, each with a unique story, perspective, and expertise to offer.
We appreciate how the industry is shaking things up and reconsidering what’s been normal for so long. PaperStreet is here for all these 2024 law firm biography trends 🙌.
Embracing Gender Identity and Pronouns
In an era marked by increasing awareness and acceptance of diverse gender identities, law firms are taking proactive steps to ensure their team biographies reflect a commitment to diversity and respect for all individuals.
Incorporating gender identity information and preferred pronouns into biographies sends a powerful message of inclusion. It not only fosters a more welcoming and respectful environment for everyone but also demonstrates a firm’s dedication to diversity and equality.
For several years, we have seen this on email signatures. Using the same approach to the top of biographies where the contact information is highlighted, we can expect to see the preferred pronouns. Overall, it’s a minor addition for firms from a technical standpoint but makes big strides toward creating safe and respectful spaces, which we value and support.
Removing Dates Because Age Doesn’t Matter
Traditionally, law firm biographies have included detailed information about lawyers’ educational backgrounds, including the dates of their degrees and institutions attended. In 2024, we’re questioning, “Why do we need the date?”
This shift is primarily about emphasizing expertise and qualifications over age and experience. Including graduation dates unintentionally invites shallow judgments based on a lawyer’s perceived age. One’s age doesn’t inherently determine their capabilities or the value they bring to their clients and profession, so what’s the point?
By eliminating specific dates from education listings, the focus shifts to the qualifications, skills, and expertise that lawyers bring to their practice, irrespective of when they earned their degrees – as it should be. No objections here!
Shorter Narratives
To capture the interest of busy clients and readers, law firms are opting for shorter narratives in their attorney biographies. Instead of lengthy, text-heavy descriptions, these bios present concise and impactful information. The use of design elements here can help maintain the lengthy version of the bio but present a shorter, punchier version upon load.
We respect that long bios with every publication and presentation the lawyer ever completed may hold value, but for readers on the web, less is becoming more and a few sentences of powerful language is proving to be preferred over multiple paragraphs that outline the person’s career.
Showcasing the Human Over the Lawyer
We’re on board with seeing more of the human behind the lawyer! This trend goes beyond the traditional professional profile and delves into the unique qualities that make each lawyer an individual. It’s about creating common points of interest with the reader that make them like you as a person, making the conversion to a client easier and more likely.
These personal details can take various forms, such as a unique photograph that reflects the lawyer’s personality or a list of fun facts about the person. It might be a feature quote that provides insight into their values, a custom headline that captures their essence, or even a word cloud of adjectives that describe them. Anything that highlights what makes them a cool human is fair game.
Breaking Boundaries: Redefining Attorney Profiles in 2024
Many of our clients have consistently expressed that the true strength and distinction of their law firms lie in the remarkable individuals who make up their teams. As we enter into a new year of design, content, and development capabilities, we challenge the legal profession to question why certain aspects of attorney writing haven’t changed and then dare them to be the firm that sets a new standard.
