Chambliss, Bahner & Stophel
In 2021, this website won international recognition by the Webbys and WP Engine in its “Crafted with Code” awards. Read the Crafted with Code story
Chambliss is a 130+ year-old mid-sized firm with deep roots in Chattanooga and throughout Tennessee. The firm’s clients are regional, national and global. Content Pilot has worked closely with firm management since 2012 when we were hired to design a new positioning strategy and our first website for them. With the launch of that website in 2013 and since then we have fostered and mutually invested in a joyful relationship centered around idea-sharing, creativity, pushing boundaries and making remarkable things happen.
Our goal is always to elevate our clients’ firms and individual lawyers who work there. To best do this, we need a client with an open mind who is willing to explore the numerous possibilities and be courageous enough to pursue uncharted, “not-your-typical-law-firm” territory.
The 2013 website introduced “Jac,” the black lab covering the home page with his soulful eyes, and the new firm strategy, “fiercely loyal®.” Named after the beloved founder of the firm Jac Chambliss, he was an instant sensation and ultimately became the de facto mascot, appearing in airport dioramas, collateral, and advertising.
Planning for our 2020 website began in 2018 with a directive from Chambliss leaders to once again “take them farther than other law firms.” Ultimately, while delivering to visitors a terrific, high-personality experience, the goal is to provide the latest information in a most intuitive way. Features that encourage engagement and longer “dwell-time” are:
- The home-page video of beautiful Jac running in the park
- The long, scrolling home page that features the most relevant news of the day, including, in March 2020 a robust Coronavirus/COVID-19 Center. All news snippets are concise and smart with a “fetch more” link.
- Video is a prominent feature throughout the site, using CP Media Manager. The video bios celebrate both the person and the professional delivering service. Check out the bios of the new managing partner, Mark Cunningham, and a powerful firm leader and former managing partner, Dana Perry: chamblisslaw.com/people/mark-a-cunningham and chamblisslaw.com/people/dana-b-perry
- Every lawyer’s page is a portal or microsite-style “3-dimensional bio.” They: a) Demonstrate expertise, b) Prove relevancy and c) Show humanity. Want to learn more about 3-D Bios? – click here and here. Note how each lawyer attracts more engagement by identifying their team and linking to those colleagues’ bios. And “sidebar” features their interests outside the office.
- Certain service and industry pages also feature videos, plus an up-to-date list of relevant and specific experience. The magazine-style design invites further engagement.
- Borrowing from the popularity and design of Instagram, the Resources section is designed to facilitate easy scanning and scrolling.
We salute the foresight, dedication, creativity, and gumption of our Chambliss team: marketing and business development director Aricia Gallaher and her team of marketing professionals. If you have about 8-hours, we would love to share how much we love working with them.
Chamblisslaw.com is designed to not just tell but show visitors what it’s like to do business with these lawyers. Their clients are loyal to them because they are proven problem-solvers – and because they are incredibly nice humans.
#fiercelyloyal #chamblisslaw #WeLoveJac