Akerman: RubyLaw-powered website

Akerman, a top U.S. law firm, is considered among the most forward thinking in the industry. As a truly client-driven enterprise, the firm has achieved record growth by collaborating with clients to enhance its service offerings while developing new ways of working together to better navigate change, seize opportunities, and embrace business growth. This client driven approach is reflected in the recent re-design of Akerman’s website, where a modern, user-friendly interface provides easy access to information with a focus on critical business issues across a range of sectors that align with the firm’s core practice strengths.

The firm enlisted RubensteinTech to power the new website with RubyLaw, a leading content management system (CMS). With the technology decision made, RubensteinTech discussed design requirements and proposed several potential design collaborators for the project. Akerman selected Pentagram to manage the firm’s comprehensive rebrand and website redesign.

Taking a highly collaborative approach, Akerman leaned on its technology and design partners to provide insight and strategic recommendations. For RubensteinTech, this also meant developing a comprehensive set of wireframes which defined the website’s data requirements and formed the basis for Pentagram’s designs.

Pentagram developed a tailored, classic look that is equally timeless and modern. Pages feature large images and carefully curated typography, while attorney profiles are focused and minimalistic—distinct in the legal space. This shift allows visitors to concentrate on the firm’s key messages and narratives, rather than dense personnel profiles and wordy prose.

Realizing the vision to represent the firm as advisor and thought leader, the site includes sections of rich media content with pull quotes and images, offering a user experience more like a sophisticated publication than a typical corporate website or blog. To enhance this content rich setting, the site leverages RubyLaw’s Open Graph protocols to support a fully customizable social media experience. Throughout the site, prominent utility navigation icons enable easy, single-click sharing on primary social networks. 

Beyond the standard installation of RubyLaw, Akerman’s digital presence includes a binder feature and the ability to dynamically generate highly-styled PDFs from website content, with additional business development and marketing solutions still under development and staged for launch in 2018.