Websites for lawyers and law firms in Germany: structure, professional rules and enquiries

Structure: by problems, not by statutes

Clients don't search for "employment law" but for "received notice what now" or "calculate severance". Create a separate page for each practice area and organise it by your clients' typical situations. If you represent both sides, such as employees and employers, separate the content: the two groups search differently and have different questions.

Each practice area page should include:

• ›The typical cases you help with, in the client's language.
• ›Deadlines clients need to know, such as three weeks to file an unfair dismissal claim in Germany.
• ›How working together works: first consultation, documents, costs, legal expenses insurance.
• ›Who in the firm handles the area, with qualifications.

Professional rules: inform, don't sell

Under Section 43b of the Federal Lawyers' Act (BRAO), lawyers may advertise only insofar as it factually informs about their professional activity in form and content and is not aimed at obtaining a mandate in an individual case. Explanatory guides, clear service descriptions and transparent costs fit that. Superlatives, guaranteed outcomes and sensational comparisons do not.

The title "Fachanwalt" (specialist lawyer) may only be used when granted by the bar association (Section 43c BRAO), for at most three areas of law. Treat words like "specialist" or "expert" with care too: they must match actual qualifications.

Legal notice and mandatory information

As a regulated profession, a law firm needs more than name and address in its legal notice (Impressum). Customary and required are:

• ›The statutory professional title "Rechtsanwalt" or "Rechtsanwältin" and the state in which it was granted.
• ›The competent regional bar association with address.
• ›The professional rules (BRAO, BORA, FAO, RVG, CCBE Code of Conduct) and where to access them.
• ›Professional liability insurance details: insurer's name and address and territorial scope (Section 2 DL-InfoV).
• ›For partnerships or limited companies: register, registration number and authorised representatives.

The enquiry: fast, but with a conflict check

A law firm contact form should first ask for the client's name and the opposing party, so you can rule out a conflict of interest before discussing the matter. Don't ask for documents in the first step. Documents belong in an encrypted upload or client portal, not plain email.

State the cost of the first consultation. Without an agreement, the fee for a first consultation with a consumer is capped at €190 plus VAT under Section 34 RVG. A fixed, published price noticeably lowers the barrier to enquire.

A law firm website with practice area pages, mandatory information and an enquiry form starts at €1,800 fixed price with us. You provide the practice area texts or we develop them with you; legal sign-off stays with you.