33 Bedford Row

Barristers’ Chambers Website Design

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33 Bedford Row is a leading common law set based in Holborn, Central London. The set has expertise in all areas of Civil, Commercial, Criminal, Immigration & Nationality, Insurance, Family and Regulatory work. It consists of over 70 independent specialist advocates, including many distinguished silks.

The Challenge

33 Bedford Row wanted to discuss their existing website which had become outdated and was no longer representative of an International Barristers’ Chambers. The website needed a complete rebuild and redesign, so it could appeal to new clients with a modern outlook.

PilotBean, an East-London based digital agency specialising in website and application development, asked us to come onboard with them. March has worked alongside PilotBean in a design capacity for more than four years, including working on digital projects for other Barrister and Solicitor clients including Mishcon de Reya, Tanfield Chambers and Hardwicke.

PilotBean and March met the lead contacts at 33 Bedford Row, where we discussed the issues with their current website and what a newly-designed site would mean for them.

The Solution

Together, we came up with a plan to develop a new legal website design with a clean and modern look and feel.

PilotBean would lead the development, while March would be in charge of art direction and user interface design.

We agreed on implementing several new features into the new site:

  • Content management: the new site would feature many different types of content
  • Features to manage content specific to chambers, including Barrister profiles and areas of practice
  • Advanced search module: for quickly searching different types of content
  • Profile editor: for Barristers to manage their personal profiles
  • PDF portfolio generation
  • Social network sharing buttons
  • Newsletter registration: integrated with MailChimp
  • Flexible tagging for content categorisation
  • Easy cross-linking between relevant items of content
  • Ease of use on all devices: including mobile and tablet

As part of our art direction remit, we created a photoshoot brief for a third-party photographer. The photographer would take pictures of all 33 Bedford Row’s Barristers and Clerks, using rules that we defined. This would bring consistency to the tone and positioning of each person, making for a great look on the site.

Legal Website Design for 33 Bedford Row

For the home page and other parts of the site, we would use bespoke lifestyle photography. Again, guidelines for these pictures were briefed to the designers.

During the briefing process, we discovered that many users go to the 33 Bedford Row website already knowing the area of expertise they need to access or the Barrister they want to talk to. For this reason, we implemented advanced search functionality into the new site. This feature allows users to quickly start their search and find relevant results directly, without having to leave the page they are on. There is no need for search results pages; users go straight to the content they want. This is augmented by a real-time search and filter tool, developed by PilotBean. It would help users quickly find the information most relevant to them, by quickly sorting content on a listing page. We also developed mega-dropdown menus to make it easier for users to find the content they require.

Legal Website Design for 33 Bedford Row Barristers Website Design Responsive Legal Website Design

The Results

The response from 33 Bedford Row was extremely positive.

The Barrister Search feature has made a significant difference. Each barrister has their own page, with a stunning photo, contact details, biography, history of cases and sectors they specialise in.

It helps put a human face on the Chambers, while Barristers can quickly and easily keep their own profiles up-to-date using the content management system.

Having the website fully mobile-responsive has also made a difference, with more visitors coming to the site from smaller devices.

Finally, the new content management system allows 33 Bedford Row to promote themselves as experts in their industry. The new Insights section contains news and opinions from its Barristers, all easily searchable for the user.

March have been a pleasure to work with from the very outset, whether it be discussing ideas for the brief, wireframes, UI, or visiting the client with us to gain a better understanding and scope of the project. The final work that March deliver is always of an exceptional standard and we're looking forward to working with them again on many more exciting projects.
Dave Woods
Project Manager, Pilotbean
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