WebCitz started working with this client in 2011
- Client: Federal Defender Services of Wisconsin
- Platform: Other
- Industry: Business & Professional Services, Non Profit / Religious
- Services: Maintenance / Support, Web Development, Web Hosting
The Challenge
FDSW operates across multiple federal districts in Wisconsin, including offices in Milwaukee, Madison, and Green Bay. Their web presence needed to serve several distinct audiences: the general public, their internal legal teams, and the “CJA Panel” (private attorneys appointed by the court). The technical challenges included:
- District-Specific Content: Providing unique, localized information for the Eastern and Western Districts of Wisconsin.
- Resource Portals: Creating secure areas for attorneys to access “Litigation Support” tools, software recommendations (like CaseMap and Trial Director), and legal training resources.
- Stability for a Decade: Ensuring a Joomla site built in 2011 remained secure and functional as web standards evolved over nearly ten years.
The WebCitz Solution
We utilized Joomla’s robust user-management and category systems to create a highly organized legal hub:
- Multi-District Portal Architecture: We engineered a structure that allowed each of their main districts – Milwaukee, Madison, and Green Bay – to have their own “portals.” This ensured that a visitor in Madison could find local staff listings and court information without navigating through Milwaukee’s specific resources.
- Secure Attorney Resources: We helped maintain the sections of the site dedicated to Litigation Support. This included organizing complex links for prisons/jails, federal court rules, and specialized software tools like dtSearch and Trial Director, which are critical for federal defense work.
- Joomla Lifecycle Management: Over the course of nearly a decade, we managed several major version updates and security patches. Joomla requires an expert hand to prevent extension conflicts during updates, and we ensured FDSW never experienced significant downtime or data vulnerability.
- Staff & Investigator Directories: We maintained detailed directories for their team of Federal Defenders, investigators, and paralegals across the state, ensuring that the public and legal peers could always reach the right department.
- Hosting & Technical Stewardship: We provided the secure hosting environment required for a legal firm handling sensitive federal data. Our role was to act as their “invisible IT department,” ensuring the site was fast, backed up, and compliant with modern security needs.
The Result
By partnering with WebCitz for nearly a decade, FDSW was able to maintain a professional, organized, and secure digital face. Our work allowed their legal teams in Milwaukee, Madison, and Green Bay to focus on their mission of “providing the best defense money can’t buy” while we ensured their digital infrastructure never faltered. This project remains a highlight of our longevity and our ability to support mission-critical non-profit organizations.
