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  • March 01, 2005

    Inside the Bar 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.

    Inside the Bar
    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.

    WisBar   2 graphic

    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.

    "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    "The infrastructure of current WisBar is sorely out of date," says Brown.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.


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