WisBar, the State Bar's Web site, will have a new look this spring. The redesigned site will improve site navigation and searching, and offer better content organization and new content features, including a law practice management area to help lawyers better manage their practices.
March 2005
State Bar upgrades WisBar, launches redesigned site in early
April
WisBar, the State Bar's Web site, will have a new
look this spring. The redesigned site will improve site navigation and
searching, and offer better content organization and new content
features, including a law practice management area to help lawyers
better manage their practices. During the site's development, State Bar
staff involved nearly 100 members to design a site that meets their
needs.
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The redesigned WisBar, scheduled to go live Tuesday, April 5,
offers mouse-over drop down menus for easy site navigation (Law practice
management resources shown above), quick search for colleagues,
shortcuts to popular site content, and much more.
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"All through the new site's development - from initial field studies,
to site organization, to testing the prototype, to pre-launch usability
testing - the member has been key in our minds," says State Bar
Executive Director George Brown. "Bar staff visited users - lawyers and
legal professionals - in their work places. They observed how they use
the Internet and WisBar, and talked with them about site usability
issues.
"The infrastructure of current WisBar is sorely out of date," says
Brown. "The site has grown to more than 24,000 pages, and more than 10
million pages of material were accessed from the site last year alone.
In addition, the site has outgrown a navigational structure that was put
in place nearly 10 years ago, making it difficult for users to retrieve
the information they are looking for. Nearly 60 percent of State Bar
members visit WisBar at least once a month, with nearly 40 percent
visiting the site daily to several times per month."
Highlights of the site include:
- My State Bar, which allows you to track CLE credits
earned through any provider, change your address or other contact
information online, indicate your areas of interest, view State Bar
products and events related to those interests, and dues and assessment
payment history, and committee, section, or division memberships;
- Easier access to 10 years of free case law and
law practice management resources;
- Improved site search and shortcuts
to quickly access popular site content;
- Quickly locate colleagues with a quick name search
from the home-page; locate court staff through a searchable
directory of court personnel; and upcoming seminar,
events, and business meetings via a searchable calendar of
events;
- Place and self-manage classified ads 24/7;
- Access to members-only designated section
content;
- Printer-friendly formatting and a Tell a
Friend email feature;
- Watch for the development of a library of State Bar-developed
practice forms.
The site is targeted to go live on Tuesday, April 5. Users will
experience intermittent problems accessing WisBar several days in
advance. The State Bar will send an email notification to members
shortly after the site's launch. Watch WisBar for further announcements.
Inside the Bar
