Law firm website design in Japan – practice-area pages that bring consultations

Three jobs a law firm website has to do

Most people searching for a law firm are worried and on their phone. Good law firm website design in Japan removes their doubts before the first call. A strong site does three things well.

• Get found: when someone searches a problem and a city, such as "divorce lawyer" plus their area, the matching page appears
• Earn trust: the lawyers' background, bar association, office location and approach to cases are clear, with real photos
• Make contact easy: fee guidance, the consultation process and booking options are easy to find, by phone or form

Even clients who come through referrals usually check the website first. Look at your current site against these three jobs to see where a rebuild should focus.

How to build practice-area pages that bring consultations

The biggest difference between law firm sites is whether each practice area has its own page. A list of areas on the home page does not tell a visitor whether their situation is covered. One page per area, with the elements below, works for both search and inquiries.

• Typical problems: concrete examples in the client's own words, such as "my spouse refuses to agree to a divorce"
• What a lawyer can do: negotiation, mediation, litigation – the options and a rough outline of each
• Fee guidance: how consultation fees, retainers and success fees work, with a link to your fee schedule
• Typical timeline: the usual flow and what makes cases longer or shorter
• Area-specific FAQ: answers to questions that come up in first consultations
• Booking: a form that opens with the area preselected, plus your phone number

Covering too many areas spreads each page thin. Choose the three to five areas you most want to grow and build those in depth first. If you also handle corporate work, give businesses a separate entry point so each audience finds its path quickly.

Bar advertising rules: what to watch on your site

Lawyers' websites in Japan fall under the Japan Federation of Bar Associations (JFBA) regulations on lawyers' business advertising and the accompanying guidelines. Checking wording at the copy stage saves rework after launch. The main points:

• Untrue or misleading claims: avoid unsupported phrases like "No. 1 in the area" or case counts that cannot be verified
• Promised outcomes: avoid wording that guarantees results or raises excessive expectations, such as "you will win"
• Comparisons: avoid comparing your firm with other lawyers, for example on price
• "Specialist" labels: the guidelines discourage claiming a specialty, so firms usually write "practice areas" or "focus areas"
• Case examples: publish only with the client's consent, edited so no person or case can be identified
• Dignity: avoid fear-driven or undignified messaging

The rules and guidelines can be revised, so check the latest version from the JFBA or your local bar association. The final call on wording is yours; a good process gives you the reasoning and alternative phrasings alongside each draft so that call is quick.

How a law firm website project runs and what to prepare

For a site with around five practice-area pages, one to two months is a typical timeframe. The steps:

• Direction: which areas to grow, which region you serve, individuals or businesses
• Structure: home, lawyer profiles, practice areas, fees, consultation process, access, FAQ
• Copy and photos: area page copy, photos of lawyers and the office, your fee schedule
• Consultation form: practice area, the other party's name for conflict checks, preferred dates, contact method
• Pre-launch checks: wording against the advertising rules, form delivery, SSL, mobile view

Keep the form to what you need for booking and hear the details in the meeting – shorter forms get more submissions. Form submissions can contain highly confidential information, so decide who receives the notification emails and how they are stored. Have ready: your logo files, profile photos, bar association and registration number, and domain and hosting details.

Getting found: search results and Google Maps

Legal consultations are strongly local, so the goal is to appear both in search results and on Google Maps.

• Area and location: people search "inheritance lawyer" plus a city, so each practice page should mention the areas you serve and how to reach you
• Google Business Profile: keep the name, address, hours, category and photos accurate, and reply to reviews without referring to any case details
• Articles: answer the questions people research before calling, then link to the matching practice page
• Tracking: measure phone taps and form submissions in GA4 to see which practice pages bring consultations

Our guide to website SEO covers the basics in more detail. Rankings are set by search engines, and pages that answer real client questions accurately are the foundation that keeps working over time.

How UNANOBO builds law firm websites: a free demo first

Before you commit, UNANOBO builds a free demo based on your logo, colors and the practice areas you want to grow. You open the home page and practice-area pages on your computer and phone, and decide whether to continue once you like the direction.

The process is simple: free demo, feedback, launch, growth. The founder handles every project personally, so you have one contact from the first demo to SEO and MEO after launch. Everything runs by message, in Japanese or English – easy to review between hearings and client meetings. For other professional offices, see websites for tax accountants and websites for gyoseishoshi.