Tor Ekeland PC

Tor Ekeland PC was one of our first DUMBO connections when we moved to our Greendesk offices in 2011. As a small startup law firm offering “boutique” services in  general practice law (civil and criminal), Tor Ekeland PC opened shop without a finessed logo or website of any kind. Tor reached out to us to recast his logo and build a sleek, CMS-powered website

Branding a boutique law firm.

Work began refining the Tor Ekeland PC logo, which had been conceptualized but needed significant refinement. Setting the logo in a geometric, modern font, we were able to improve upon and anchor the “TE / key” icon and integrate it with the wordmark, creating a distinct combination mark.

With a logo in place, the visual identity work was extended to the website design. For the site, we went with a inverted color scheme, with a dark palette and black background providing a feel of exclusivity and boutique branding. Introducing a complementary palette of bright yellow and teal, contemporary colors add immediate eye-catching appeal. Finally, full-bleed image slideshows showcasing professional photography create an affordable way to introduce polish and complexity.

What does a small law firm’s website need?

In managing the website’s content, information architecture, and functionality, we sought to find a balance between business- and press-minded news updates and more casual, social outreach. To this end, we delineated between a ‘breaking news’ and a blog section, with seperate queries for each. Finally, photo-enhanced overviews of the TE ligitation and transactional services round out the site.

From a backend perspective, the site is easily controlled by Tor and his staff, allowing them a code-free backend interface built with the WordPress CMS. By coupling site updates with his insightful (and amusing) twitter presence, Tor Ekeland PC has made a name for itself in high profile cases such as the recent trial of hacker and internet troublemaker Andrew Auernheimer (“Weev”).

Setting up a Legal Defense Fund

As part of Tor Ekeland PC’s work, they have elected to take on several probono cases. Most notably was the aforementioned trial of Andrew Auernheimer, better known as Weev in the online community. The Weev case was a controversial and provocative trial, garnering public outcry and support for the government’s invoking of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. To this end, we helped Ekeland set up the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act Legal Defense Fund, to highlight the issues in the case and help the public crowdsource the pro bono legal counsel.

The CFAA site was deployed in record time, providing a robust web presence for information about the case and the relevant issues, and an integrated donation system using the WePay technology for instant, actionable support. Further, we employed a contemporary “long scrolling” style, to bundle all information within one page, with easy navigation links smoothly scrolling to the appropriate section. Read more about this emergent web design trend in our blog post, “Is a long-scrolling website right for you?”

We continue our work the Tor Ekeland PC as has retained another upcoming high profile case, again in the internet and IP law arena. Look for a new legal defense fund website, coming very soon!