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Websites built for your trade, in Montreal Your regulator’s rules, Bill 96, Law 25 and the way your customers actually search. All industriesIndustries
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Industries · Professional firms
Prospective clients read your website before they call, and your code of ethics has a say in what it contains. We build a bilingual site that is sober, fast and French first, and that respects both.
The essentials
The context
A downtown firm in an office tower and a notary's office in Ahuntsic aren't after the same clients. Both get the same question, in French or English: “Is this the right person for my file?” The site has to answer it practice area by practice area, not with a slogan.
Quebec's Charter of the French Language requires members of professional orders to provide in French, with no translation fee, any opinion, report or other document they write, to anyone entitled to it who asks. An anglophone client base doesn't change that. Your site can say so plainly.
Source: Office québécois de la langue française ↗The Barreau du Québec offers the public a page for verifying a lawyer's status, and the Ordre des CPA a tool for finding a CPA. A careful client compares what they find there with your Team page. Better if the two match.
Source: Barreau du Québec ↗What usually goes wrong
Firm websites rarely fail by being too bold. They fail on details that annoy a client, or a syndic.
The previous agency added a Google reviews banner to the home page. The Code of Professional Conduct of Lawyers prohibits using, or allowing the use of, an endorsement or statement of gratitude in advertising. The banner won't be the one answering the complaint.
“Leading”, “the best”, “guaranteed results”: claims nobody can prove. The Ordre des CPA puts it simply: could you demonstrate it? Most codes prohibit advertising that is false, misleading or likely to mislead.
The “Describe your situation” form invites people to lay out their divorce or dispute in detail, before any conflict-of-interest check. Then it all goes by unencrypted email to a shared inbox.
A 2019 piece on a rule that has since changed, with no update date, signed by a lawyer who left the firm. To a reader, it's still your opinion today.
The rules that apply
General information, not legal advice, which you know better than we do. Rules differ by order: we start from your order's code of ethics, and you make the call.
The Code of Professional Conduct of Lawyers prohibits using, or allowing the use of, an endorsement or statement of gratitude in advertising (s. 145). Lawyers may advertise fees if they state the nature and scope of the services covered and whether disbursements and taxes are extra (s. 146); a flat fee must also say whether other services might be needed (s. 147).
Official source ↗ (www.legisquebec.gouv.qc.ca)The CPA code of ethics prohibits advertising that is false, misleading, incomplete or likely to mislead (s. 91). An advertised fee states the nature and scope of the services covered, possible additional services and other charges, and stays in effect for at least 90 days (s. 93). Each ad is kept for 36 months (s. 94). For notaries, the code also bans testimonials of support, except awards of excellence and other merits (s. 70).
Official source ↗ (cpaquebec.ca)The title and contact details of the person in charge of personal information must be published on your website, along with your policies in clear, simple terms. A client area or electronic file project requires a privacy impact assessment from the start, as does entrusting personal information to a provider outside Quebec.
Official source ↗ (www.cai.gouv.qc.ca)Members of professional orders must make their services available in French and write their communications to the public in French (Charter, s. 30). Your site needs a complete French version. A standard, non-negotiated service agreement can be a contract of adhesion: if so, the French version has to be provided first.
Official source ↗ (www.oqlf.gouv.qc.ca)General information, not legal advice. Check with the relevant regulator.
What we build
A fast, sober WordPress site your assistant can update, that speaks to clients the way you do in a meeting: clearly, and in their language.
Family law, real estate, wills and protection mandates, small-business tax: for each area, who it's for, how the mandate unfolds and which documents to bring to the first meeting.
Exact title (lawyer, notary, CPA), order, working languages, practice areas, direct contact details. A link to the order's public verification tool where one exists. When someone leaves the firm, their profile leaves the site the same day.
Only what you need to run a conflict check and call the person back: name, parties involved, area, preferred language. No detailed story before the mandate. Encrypted transmission, and a custom client portal if you need one, on quote.
The client picks the area, the language, the office or a video call, and suggests time slots. Where your scheduling tool allows it, we connect it directly, with the Law 25 notices in the right place.
If you post rates, each flat fee shows what's included, disbursements and taxes, possible additional services and how long the price holds. The template is built so nobody can forget a required mention.
Articles in French and English, with the author, their title, the publication date and the last-updated date, plus a general-information notice. They do the search work without making you say anything you wouldn't tell a client.
Found in your neighbourhood
People search “notaire testament Rosemont”, “avocat divorce Laval” or “CPA impôts Saint-Laurent”, and plenty type “lawyer near me” downtown. A complete Google Business Profile, a page per practice area and per office, and identical contact details everywhere do most of the work. Reviews on your own profile are a question for your syndic; on the website, we don't copy them over.
Line Law, notary, CPA firms
Checklist
FAQ
Another question? Write to us in English or French.
info@webdevelopmentmontreal.caBecause the lawyers' code prohibits using an endorsement or statement of gratitude in advertising, and the notaries' code does the same, except for awards of excellence and other merits. For CPAs, the Ordre stresses that every claim must be accurate. We showcase your practice areas, publications and distinctions instead.
Yes, if the required mentions are there. For lawyers: nature and scope of services, disbursements and taxes, other services that might be needed. For CPAs: services covered, additional services, other charges, and a price held for at least 90 days. We build the page so every flat fee displays them.
Yes. Your website is a commercial publication and has to be available in French, and your services have to be available in French. Nothing stops your English from being just as polished: we write both, starting with French, and neither comes out of a translation widget.
Your site gets a fixed-price written quote. A client portal or custom intake system is quoted separately. Local SEO and maintenance with hosting are fixed monthly fees, set out in the same quote.
No, and you probably know that better than we do. We know the rules that affect a website and we apply them, but this isn't legal advice: confirm with your professional order or its syndic. Our studio is in Toronto, in the same time zone, and we work with you by video call.
Useful services
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Your project
Send us your current site and your practice areas. You'll get a fixed-price written quote, French first, with no hidden clauses. You know what a clause is worth.
