The Awards, organised by commercial legal web site Findlaw, are designed to recognise excellence in online legal marketing. This year, 38 firms entered their sites, with Sydney-based Makinson & d’Apice Lawyers winning the award for medium-sized firm (5 to 20 partners) and Queensland’s WHD Lawyers taking the title for best small firm (four partners or fewer) site.

Hundreds of volunteer judges from both legal and non-legal backgrounds selected the winners using criteria for content, design and marketing. Final results showed the median score for small firms was 31.57; for medium-sized firms, 33.14; and for large firms, 38.94 — all out of a possible total of 50. The award for best Australian site went to the firm with the largest number of points, regardless of size. Findlaw rated as “very good” the quality of the sites entered in this year’s competition, with an overall median score 33.08.