Website Pre-Project Discovery & RFP for Am Law Top 30 Firm
An Am Law 30 global law firm was preparing to replace its aging website—a major, high‑visibility investment. With comparable website initiatives routinely landing in the high six figures (and sometimes breaking seven), the firm was eager to avoid the costly missteps that often undermine large digital projects.
Leadership also recognized that opportunities to undertake a full website rebuild at this scale are infrequent; getting it right would mean maximizing the long-term value and lifespan of a platform the firm might not revisit for many years.
// THE PROBLEM
The firm faced four foundational challenges as it prepared to initiate a major website transformation:
LACK OF CLARITY
The firm had not yet aligned on its marketing, technology, and business‑process goals, nor on the functional and technical requirements needed to support them. Leadership also wanted a clear understanding of what a best‑practice website initiative should entail — including phases, workflows, and key decision points.LACK OF INTERNAL READINESS
Roles, responsibilities, and time commitments across marketing, IT, and administrative teams were not yet defined. The firm lacked a governance model for decision‑making and had limited visibility into the milestones and organizational demands that would shape the project.VENDORS AND TECHNOLOGY UNCERTAINTY
The firm did not yet understand how different vendor models — open source vs. proprietary, general enterprise vs. industry specific, single vendor vs. split technical and creative vendors — would affect cost, timeline, responsibilities, or risk. They also needed to understand what vendors would require from them to succeed.RISK EXPOSURE
Without expert guidance, the firm risked repeating the mistakes that most commonly derail large website projects — unclear requirements, scope creep, and misaligned vendor expectations — as well as underplanning for post-launch realities like governance, maintenance, and long-term adaptability.
In sum, the firm needed informed guidance to ensure this high-stakes opportunity was fully leveraged.
// THE APPROACH
Rather than rushing into vendor conversations, firm leadership sought expert guidance to properly define the project from the ground up — entering the bidding process with a well-framed ask, a disciplined selection process, and a clear understanding of their own responsibilities once the work began.
DISCOVERY & REQUIREMENTS GATHERING
Stephan conducted a structured series of in-person and virtual discussions with stakeholders across marketing, IT, business development, recruiting, and administrative leadership. These conversations surfaced the firm's goals and definitions of success, a detailed inventory of required and optional features, content management needs and ownership models, workflow improvement opportunities, the potential role of third-party partners, and an honest picture of internal decision-making patterns, staffing realities, and scheduling constraints. The result was a complete and unvarnished picture of the firm's goals, capabilities, and limitations — the raw material for everything that followed.
ANALYSIS
All findings were analyzed, prioritized, and structured into a coherent definition of the project. Must-have versus optional features were clarified, operational risks and cross-department dependencies were identified, major project phases and decision points were mapped, and success metrics were established. Complexity was distilled into a clear framework the firm could use to guide decisions with confidence..
KEY DELIVERABLES
The engagement culminated in formal consulting deliverables designed to guide the firm through vendor engagement and the full project lifecycle.
A Process Design document provided a visual model of the website development process — including major milestones, decision gates, internal responsibilities, and how different vendor models affect the sequence of work.
A Tailored Recommendations report delivered targeted technical, organizational, and cultural insights that highlighted the specific areas requiring attention to ensure the project's success.
A Comprehensive Project Plan defined the full scope and structure of the initiative — articulating goals and success criteria, detailing required and optional feature sets, outlining governance expectations, clarifying firm-side staffing commitments, and providing modeled timelines and budget ranges.
A fully developed RFP translated all project requirements, constraints, and evaluation criteria into a structured, vendor-ready solicitation — forming the foundation for an objective and disciplined selection process.
// THE OUTCOME
The engagement gave the firm something most organizations begin major digital projects without: a complete, shared understanding of what they were actually asking for — and what it would take to deliver it. Stakeholders across departments arrived at the vendor process aligned, informed, and genuinely prepared to participate effectively.
The firm entered one of the most significant digital investments in its history with a well-framed opportunity, a structured decision-making model, and a roadmap built to maximize the value and longevity of the platform — not just for launch day, but for the years that would follow.