Strategic Marketing

Is your firm unknowingly surrendering potential clients to its competitors? Prospects are online everyday researching the legal services they need, but if your pages aren’t appearing for the keywords they query, they’re going to head elsewhere. As a law firm in an increasingly competitive digital space, this isn’t just a problem—it’s a huge missed opportunity that’s costing your firm revenue. It’s also entirely reversible. By taking the time to conduct a keyword gap analysis, you can identify the search terms your competitors rank for, but you don’t. Tap into those keywords, and you can start to outrank your rivals and begin attracting more high-value prospects to your site. I’ve seen firsthand how the information gleaned from a well-thought-out keyword gap analysis can help law firms cut through the digital noise in a crowded online marketplace. If you’re ready to take your SEO strategy to the next level, let’s dive in! Understanding Keyword Research Keywords serve as the bridge between what potential clients search for and the legal services you provide. Effective keyword research goes beyond simply identifying highly searched terms. It requires understanding search intent—the “why” behind every query. When someone searches for “personal injury lawyer,” they have different needs than someone searching for “how to file a personal injury claim.” The first indicates they’re ready to hire legal representation, while the second suggests they’re still in the information-gathering phase. For law firms, this distinction matters tremendously. High-conversion keywords typically include location-specific terms like “divorce attorney in Chicago” or service-specific phrases such as “wrongful termination lawyer.” These targeted searches often represent prospects who are further along in their decision-making process. Long-tail keywords deserve special attention in legal marketing. While “lawyer” might generate massive search volume, “affordable immigration lawyer for green card applications” targets a specific audience with clear intent. These longer, more specific phrases typically face less competition and attract more qualified prospects. In addition, Google’s AI Mode and LLMs are shifting user behavior toward more conversational searches, which often take the form of long-tail queries and detailed questions. What Makes Keyword Gap Analysis Essential In my experience, most legal practices face intense competition online, with established firms dominating many valuable search terms. Keyword gap analysis helps level the playing field by revealing overlooked opportunities and emerging trends in legal searches. Consider this scenario: Your personal injury firm ranks well for “car accident lawyer,” but your competitor consistently appears for “rideshare accident attorney” and “bicycle accident lawyer”—terms you never considered targeting. A keyword gap analysis would identify these opportunities, allowing you to create relevant content and capture leads among potential clients querying those terms. The benefits extend beyond just finding new high-intent search terms. Keyword gap analysis provides insights into your competitors’ content strategies, reveals seasonal trends in legal searches, and helps you understand which topics resonate with your target audience. Regular gap analysis also keeps you ahead of industry changes. As new legal issues emerge or regulations change, search patterns evolve. Firms that monitor these shifts through competitor analysis can quickly adapt their content strategies to capture emerging opportunities. Performing a Keyword Gap Analysis So, what does it take to conduct a thorough keyword gap analysis? Identify Your True Competitors An effective analysis begins with identifying the right competitors to analyze. Focus on law firms that serve similar clients in your focal practice areas. Also review firms operating in your geographic area to assess how they perform locally—for example, through their office location pages and Google Business Profiles. Don’t just consider the biggest firms in your market—sometimes smaller, specialized practices can reveal valuable niche opportunities. Start by searching for your primary practice area keywords in Google. The firms consistently appearing in the top 10 results should be on your analysis list. Pay attention to both organic results and Google Ads, as firms investing in paid search often have sophisticated keyword strategies worth tracking and evaluating. Consider both direct and indirect competitors. A direct competitor might be another family law firm in your city, while an indirect competitor could be a legal information website that ranks for questions your potential clients ask. Identify Potential Competitor Keywords Once you’ve selected competitors, use your chosen analysis tool—Semrush Keyword Gap, Content Gap by Ahrefs, SimilarWeb, etc.—to extract their keyword data. Focus on terms that align with your practice areas and geographic market. A personal injury firm in Texas that only serves clients within the state shouldn’t prioritize keywords specific to New York workers’ compensation law. Look for patterns in your competitors’ keyword strategies. Are they targeting specific types of cases within your practice area that you haven’t considered? Do they rank for informational keywords that could drive top-of-funnel traffic to your firm? Pay special attention to local SEO opportunities. Competitors might rank for neighborhood-specific terms, nearby city names, or location-based legal questions that you could also target. And don’t overlook long-tail variations of your core keywords. Your competitor might rank for “how to choose a divorce lawyer” while you only target “divorce lawyer.” These informational keywords can attract prospects early in their research process. Choose Competitor Keywords to Target Not every keyword your competitors rank for deserves your attention. Prioritize opportunities based on relevance, search volume, competition level, and your firm’s capacity to create quality content. Relevance should be your first filter. A keyword might generate significant traffic for a competitor, but if it doesn’t align with your services or target clients, it won’t benefit your firm. Focus on keywords that match your practice areas and can realistically convert into qualified leads. Evaluate the competitive landscape for each keyword. Tools like Ahrefs and Semrush provide keyword difficulty scores that estimate how challenging it would be to rank for specific terms. As a general rule, newer websites should target keywords with lower difficulty scores, while established firms with strong domain authority can pursue more competitive terms. Consider search intent carefully. Keywords indicating immediate need for legal services (like “hire DUI lawyer”) typically offer higher conversion potential than informational searches (like “what happens at a DUI hearing”). Balance your strategy between capturing immediate demand and building long-term organic growth through educational content. Creating Content Around High-Intent Keywords Discovering keyword opportunities is only the beginning. Success requires creating compelling, authoritative content that addresses the search intent behind each target keyword. For legal content, quality and expertise matter more than quantity. Google’s algorithms increasingly favor content that demonstrates expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness—particularly important for YMYL (Your Money or Your Life) topics like legal services. When creating content for legal keywords, consider the specific needs of searchers. Someone searching for “child custody modification lawyer” likely needs immediate legal assistance, making a well-optimized service page more appropriate than a general blog post. Conversely, “child custody laws in [state]” suggests an informational need better served by comprehensive educational content. Structure your content to address common questions and concerns related to each keyword. Use clear headings, bullet points, and concise paragraphs to make information easily digestible. Include relevant case studies, testimonials, or examples when appropriate, while maintaining client confidentiality. Don’t forget technical SEO elements. Optimize title tags, meta descriptions, and header tags to include your target keywords naturally. Ensure your content loads quickly and provides an excellent user experience across all devices. Measuring Success and Continuous Improvement Keyword gap analysis isn’t a one-time activity. Legal markets evolve, competitors adjust their strategies, and new opportunities emerge regularly. Establish a routine for monitoring your progress and identifying new gaps. Track key metrics including organic traffic growth, keyword ranking improvements, and most importantly, lead generation from organic search. Use tools like Google Analytics and Google Search Console to monitor how your targeted keywords perform over time. Set realistic expectations for results. SEO typically requires several months to show significant impact, particularly in competitive legal markets. Focus on gradual improvements, rather than expecting immediate dramatic changes. Keep monitoring your competitors’ activities. They may be conducting their own gap analysis and identifying opportunities you’ve overlooked. Keeping an eye on the competition helps you stay ahead of trends and maintain your search visibility. Takeaway The digital landscape is always evolving. But by prioritizing a data-driven keyword strategy that prioritizes search intent, your firm can achieve the online visibility critical to achieving its business development goals.

In today’s noisy and fast-changing content landscape, attorneys and law firms should strive to become THE DESTINATION for thought leadership in the eyes of their clients and referral sources—not merely A SOURCE of it. The way people find information today is undergoing a rapid transformation. From evolving SEO and social media algorithms to the influence of AI in both search and content creation, the landscape is constantly shifting. Yet, amidst this flux, many established and newer media outlets and content creators aren’t just surviving—they’re flourishing. Why is that? Because they’ve become destinations. Think of the audiences who actively seek out, for example, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Mr. Beast’s YouTube channel, or Joe Rogan’s or Alex Cooper’s podcasts. They know what to expect from the content these organizations and individuals produce, they want more of it, and they go directly to the source for it. They aren’t searching online for content; they’re navigating to a trusted source of information (and entertainment). This is how you and your law firm cut through the noise and stand out with your thought leadership content in the coming years. You follow this lead and strive to be the Joe Rogan or Alex Cooper of your practice area, while your law firm strives to be The New York Times of its practice areas. In other words, you and your firm strive to be THE DESTINATIONS for thought leadership, not just yet another source among many. THE DESTINATION—not just a source—for knowledge, wisdom, and insights that your clients can use regarding the work you and your firm do. Seven Strategies for Becoming THE DESTINATION for Thought Leadership So, how exactly do you and your firm become THE DESTINATIONS for thought leadership in the eyes of your target audiences? Here are seven high-level considerations to guide you as you and your firm build a content program aimed at achieving this goal: 1. Commit to the Idea and Merits of Thought Leadership You and your colleagues will have to embrace the concept that the best way to make a lasting, favorable impression on your target audiences that you are authorities regarding the work you do is to consistently create content that is relevant, valuable, and compelling to them. You and your colleagues should be convinced that thought leadership content creation is a driving force behind how you and they retain and attract clients. 2. Commit to the Idea of Owning a Niche and/or an Industry Resist the urge to create thought leadership content about broad topics related to your practice. Instead, strategically identify and commit to creating content that positions you as owning specific niches or industries. Look for niches where there might be some competition, but there’s no one attorney or firm that’s truly planted their flag as the leading voice consistently producing thought leadership regarding everything clients need to know regarding that niche. When you do so, you and your colleagues will also need to embrace regularly sharing insights not just about legal issues, but also about economic, sociopolitical, and geopolitical trends impacting that niche. If you want to be THE DESTINATION for people who want to stay up to date on the most impactful news regarding a niche or industry, you’ll need to cover more than just court decisions, legislation, or administrative agency actions. 3. Commit to Consistent Content Creation Consistency is key to becoming THE DESTINATION for thought leadership in the eyes of your target audiences. You and your colleagues need to be consistently creating content—not just monthly or bi-weekly, but at least weekly. Ideally, you should aim for multiple content pieces per week, delivered in various forms. 4. Take an Omnichannel Approach On a related note, if you want to become THE DESTINATION for thought leadership for your target audience, you can’t rely on just articles or blog posts. We all consume content differently and we all have our preferred ways for consuming content. To be a true destination, you need to meet your target audiences where they are regarding content consumption. Consider creating thought leadership content in the form of podcasts, videos, social media posts, and email newsletters. And, think about ways you can mix, match, and repurpose that content. For example, email newsletters that cover the same topics as recent articles but in summary form, or blog posts derived from recent podcast episodes. This ensures that your valuable insights reach individuals who prefer various content formats. 5. Consider the Full Spectrum of Content People not only want to consume content in different formats, but even people who prefer the written word often like a variety of offerings. Not every piece of content should be a 2,000-word article. Nor should it be an 800-word blog post. Sometimes, a concise 300-word update on a relevant news item is all that’s needed. On the other end of the spectrum, consider dedicating resources to proprietary research and other “tent pole,” flagship content pieces that no one else can create because they haven’t invested the necessary time and resources into their thought leadership programs, or they don’t have the same knowledge about the underlying subject matter that you and your firm have. 6. Staff Your Content Operation Appropriately If you want to become THE DESTINATION for thought leadership in the eyes of your target audience, your content creation can’t just fall on the shoulders of your attorneys. It takes a team to create a steady enough stream of relevant, valuable, and compelling content that would allow you and your firm to be seen as THE DESTINATION for thought leadership. Consider hiring a content manager who can oversee a firm’s or practice group’s content creation from a bird’s eye view. You’ll also want to consider hiring at least one dedicated writer. You should also consider hiring at least one editor who can handle video editing and audio (i.e., podcast) editing. Someday—or even today—your content operations might need multiple writers and multiple editors. If you want to become THE DESTINATION for thought leadership for your target audiences, you can’t expect one or two attorneys to drive content creation for an entire practice group. Just like one or two attorneys don’t handle all the legal work for a practice group, one or two attorneys shouldn’t be expected to handle all the content creation for one. 7. Seek Feedback From Your Target Audiences You’re going to want ongoing feedback from your clients, referral sources, and other people consuming your content. Strive for a regular dialogue with these people. Understand what they like and what they don’t like. Which content topics do they want you and your colleagues to cover more often? Which topics couldn’t they care less about? Are all the formats you’re producing adequate? Are there new formats your key consumers might want you to produce your content in? Feedback helps you create the kind of content that will actually draw in readers, viewers, and listeners—which will help build your audience and your practice. Thrive in the New Era of Content Despite the dynamic and sometimes chaotic nature of content creation and content discovery today, the stalwarts aren’t merely just doing fine, they’re flourishing. The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Mr. Beast, and Joe Rogan, among many other media outlets and creators, are thriving because they have become destinations for their respective audiences. Take a lesson from them. To survive and thrive in today’s legal marketplace, you and your law firm should strive to become THE DESTINATION for thought leadership for your target audiences. By providing relevant, valuable, and compelling knowledge, wisdom, and insights that boost your and your firm’s authority, you and your firm can become the first places clients and other target audience members go for information about their industry and the areas of law you and your firm practice—and the first choice when they need assistance with legal or business issues arising in their industry and/or within the areas of law you and your firm practice.

When Taylor Swift couldn’t control her own music catalog, she didn’t just complain about the unfairness of it all. She re-recorded everything. Built her own empire. Took back control. Your law firm probably needs the same energy. Here’s the uncomfortable truth: If 90% of your clients come from referrals, you don’t own your reputation. Other people do. You’re building their influence while staying completely dependent on their goodwill. And that’s a business model with an expiration date. The Hidden Cost of Referral Dependency Picture this scenario: Your biggest referral source retires next month. Or gets upset about a case outcome. Or starts sending their overflow to a younger associate they want to mentor. What happens to your pipeline? This isn’t hypothetical. It’s happening to successful attorneys every day. Lawyers who built solid practices on the foundation of “word of mouth marketing” suddenly find themselves scrambling when those mouths stop talking about them. The solution isn’t to abandon referrals because they’re still valuable. The solution is to stop being held hostage by them. It’s Time for Your Firm’s Independence Era Here’s how to build a practice that you actually control, starting today. 1. Create Content That Showcases Your Actual Expertise Stop hiding behind “lawyers don’t self-promote” excuses. You’re not bragging. You’re educating. What this looks like: LinkedIn articles addressing common client questions in your practice area Speaking engagements at industry events where your ideal clients gather Newsletter content that positions you as the go-to expert, not just “another lawyer” C ommunity involvement where you’re visible as a thought leader The goal? When someone needs your type of legal help, your name comes to mind first; not because someone else mentioned you, but because they’ve seen your expertise directly. 2. Build Your Own Client Pipeline Referrals are wonderful. But they’re also unpredictable, uncontrollable, and unreliable for consistent growth. Here’s your diversification strategy: SEO-optimized website content that answers the questions your ideal clients are Googling Google Business Profile that positions you as the local expert (yes, even Big Law partners need these) Direct networking in the communities where your clients actually spend time Past client nurturing through regular check-ins and valuable content sharing 3. Own Your Narrative Before Someone Else Tells It When you rely solely on referrals, other people control your story. They decide how you’re positioned, what you’re known for, and whether you get the opportunity at all. Take back control: Define your niche clearly and communicate it consistently Share client success stories (with permission) that demonstrate your unique approach Position yourself proactively instead of waiting for others to recommend you Build relationships directly with your ideal client base But What If “Marketing Feels Too Salesy for Lawyers”? Let’s get something straight: This isn’t about becoming a marketing machine. It’s about professional sustainability. You’re not selling. You’re solving problems for people who need your help. You’re making it easier for the right clients to find the right expert. You. When you hide your expertise, you’re actually doing a disservice to potential clients who could benefit from your knowledge. The Strategic Advantage of Brand Independence Lawyers who control their own brand and client pipeline have something their referral-dependent colleagues don’t: options. Options to be selective about cases. Options to raise rates. Options to pivot practice areas. Options to weather economic downturns or industry changes. Most importantly, options to build the practice they actually want instead of accepting whatever referrals happen to come their way. Stop Building Someone Else’s Empire The lawyers who thrive in the next decade won’t just be the most competent ones in the room. They’ll be the most known ones. Not because they’re attention-seekers, but because they understood that expertise without visibility is just expensive hobby knowledge. So yes, keep nurturing those referral relationships. But also start building something that belongs entirely to you. Because when you control your own narrative, set your own standards, and build your own platform, everything changes. Your law firm’s independence era is waiting. Time to write your own success story. The Bottom Line People can’t hire experts they can’t find. And they can’t find you if you’re invisible behind someone else’s recommendation. Stop playing small. Start building your own empire. Because in 2025, owning your professional destiny isn’t just smart business. It’s survival.

For many attorneys, marketing carries an unshakable association with desperation. “Good lawyers don’t need to advertise,” goes the thinking. “The work speaks for itself.” This isn’t mere snobbery. It reflects a deeply ingrained professional value system where excellence and dignity reign supreme. Consider that for centuries, lawyers built practices entirely through reputation and referral. The attorney who actively sought clients was viewed with suspicion—if they were truly skilled, wouldn’t clients naturally seek them out? The solution for legal marketers isn’t to dismiss these concerns but to reframe marketing in terms of professional dignity as an extension of professional skill rather than a substitute for it. The issue isn’t marketing itself—it’s what attorneys think marketing means. In many legal minds, “marketing” conjures images of TV commercials asking “Have you been injured?” or aggressive sales tactics. They don’t instinctively connect it with the relationship-building and reputation-management activities they already value. The Weight of History Until 1977, legal advertising was actually prohibited. When the Supreme Court’s Bates v. State Bar of Arizona decision finally permitted attorney advertising, cultural attitudes didn’t magically transform overnight. This historical context explains why many senior partners—particularly those who began practicing before the mid-1980s—view marketing with instinctive suspicion. They were trained in an era when promotional activities could result in disbarment! The Economics of Resistance Let’s also acknowledge the elephant in the room: time spent on marketing is time not spent billing clients. In a profession where success is literally measured in six-minute increments, this creates an immediate economic disincentive. “Every hour I spend on a blog post is an hour I’m not billing at $750,” explained one candid partner. “Unless you can show me how that post generates more than $750 in value, the math doesn’t work.” This isn’t shortsighted—it’s rational economic calculation. The challenge for marketers is demonstrating ROI in terms attorneys value. Make marketing worth attorneys’ time by addressing the “what’s in it for me?” factor directly. Cognitive Style Mismatch Legal training ruthlessly develops analytical precision, risk awareness, and evidence-based thinking. Lawyers are professionally rewarded for identifying problems, mitigating risks, and focusing on details—the exact opposite of marketing’s bias toward positive messaging, emotional appeals, and big-picture vision. This difference in cognitive style creates friction when reviewing marketing materials. What marketers see as compelling storytelling, attorneys often view as factually imprecise. What lawyers consider appropriately cautious language; marketers see as watered-down messaging. Successful firms address this by creating hybrid processes that satisfy both mindsets. One way to do this is by pairing marketing creatives with dedicated attorney editors who ensure accuracy without killing the engaging tone. Ethics and Advertising Marketing in legal services exists within a complex regulatory framework that goes beyond typical truth-in-advertising standards. Bar association rules vary by jurisdiction and can restrict everything from client testimonials to specific language about specialization. But the unwritten ethical concerns often exert even more influence than formal regulations. Many attorneys have a negative visceral reaction to anything that feels “ambulance-chaser adjacent”—even when it’s perfectly compliant with bar rules. Savvy marketers turn this challenge into an advantage by building ethics into their messaging strategy from the ground up. Rather than seeing ethical guidelines as constraints, they position them as differentiators that showcase the firm’s commitment to professionalism. Evidence-Based Decision Making When proposing a new marketing initiative, be prepared for attorneys to approach it like a legal argument: “Show me the precedent.” Lawyers are trained to make decisions based on evidence, precedent, and proven methodologies. The often-intuitive nature of marketing decisions can trigger skepticism. When you suggest a website redesign because “it feels outdated,” expect to be met with raised eyebrows. Successful legal marketers adapt by building evidence-based decision processes. Before proposing changes, they arm themselves with competitive analyses, client feedback data, and industry benchmarks. Status Quo Bias The legal profession has a particular reverence for precedent and established practice. “We’ve always done it this way” isn’t just a reflexive response—it’s a core professional value in a field where stability and predictability are prized. This creates a powerful status quo bias that can hamstring marketing innovation. The key to overcoming this isn’t to fight against precedent but to use it strategically. Smart marketers also recognize the difference between revolutionary and evolutionary change. Small, incremental shifts that build on existing programs typically face less resistance than dramatic pivots, even when the end goal is the same. Practical Strategies for Marketers If, by this point, you feel like you’re fighting an uphill battle, you’re not alone. But that doesn’t mean you should throw in the towel. Here are a few strategies we’ve leveraged to gain traction with our lawyers and clients: Speak Their Language Want to get lawyers on board with your marketing plan? Present it like a legal brief. Structure your proposals with clear “arguments” supported by specific evidence. Begin with a concise executive summary that outlines your recommendation and supporting rationale. Follow with detailed evidence organized by key points. Anticipate objections and address them proactively. Analogies that connect marketing concepts to legal practice are particularly effective. “This content strategy is like building a compelling case—we’re systematically developing the evidence that positions us as the authority in this practice area.” Build Marketing Advocates Every firm has them: lawyers who secretly find marketing interesting but don’t want to be the first to admit it. Identifying these potential advocates is crucial to building internal support. Look for attorneys who: Regularly share industry articles Have previous business experience Show interest in client development Ask questions about marketing metrics Once identified, involve these attorneys in pilot programs where they can experience marketing success firsthand. Their positive experiences create powerful social proof for skeptical colleagues. At one litigation boutique, the marketing director identified a senior associate with untapped business development potential. After coaching him through a successful thought leadership campaign that generated three new client inquiries, she gained not just an advocate but a missionary who actively recruited other attorneys to the marketing program. Redefine Success Metrics Generic marketing metrics rarely resonate with attorneys. Website traffic, social media engagement, and email open rates feel disconnected from business results that matter to lawyers. Develop practice-specific metrics that directly connect marketing activities to business outcomes attorneys value. Instead of reporting blog visits, report how many qualified prospects contacted the firm after reading thought leadership. Instead of social media followers, track relationship development with specific target clients. Visualization is crucial here. Dashboard approaches that clearly show the connection between marketing activities and business results transform abstract concepts into tangible value. When Jenner & Block implemented a dashboard tracking system that connected marketing touchpoints to new matter openings, attorney participation in marketing initiatives increased by 40% within six months. Streamline Approval Processes Nothing kills marketing momentum faster than cumbersome approval processes. When attorneys must review every tweet, blog post, and press release, bottlenecks are inevitable. Smart marketers create governance frameworks that balance control with efficiency. Consider: Template approach: Develop pre-approved templates for common content types Tiered review: Implement different review levels based on content sensitivity Designated reviewers: Train specific attorneys to serve as efficient marketing reviewers Technology solutions: Utilize workflow platforms that streamline review processes Thought Leadership vs. “Selling” The fastest way to secure attorney buy-in is to focus on thought leadership rather than overt promotion. Lawyers who recoil at traditional marketing often eagerly contribute to educational content that showcases their expertise. The key distinction is positioning. “Writing promotional content about our services” triggers resistance. “Educating the market about a complex legal development” aligns perfectly with how attorneys view their professional role. This approach doesn’t just secure attorney participation—it often produces more effective marketing. Educational content that genuinely serves clients’ informational needs typically outperforms promotional material in engagement, sharing, and lead generation. Leverage Partner Strengths Attorneys are trained to analyze complex issues, identify key insights, and present persuasive arguments—skills that align perfectly with effective content creation. The marketer’s role is to harness these strengths while managing the limitations. Successful programs typically involve: Structured interview approaches that efficiently extract attorney insights Professional writing resources that transform rough thoughts into polished content Clear timelines that respect attorneys’ scheduling constraints Attribution systems that appropriately credit contributing attorneys Show, Don’t Tell Nothing convinces attorneys like results. Build credibility by documenting marketing successes and sharing them internally. Effective approaches include: Case studies connecting specific marketing activities to new business Client testimonials that mention marketing touchpoints Competitor examples demonstrating the impact of similar initiatives Before-and-after metrics that clearly illustrate improvement Education-First Approach Many attorneys resist marketing simply because they don’t understand it. Strategic education can transform skeptics into supporters. Consider developing: Marketing workshops customized for legal professionals Lunch-and-learn sessions on specific marketing tactics New associate training that includes business development fundamentals Internal resource libraries that explain marketing concepts in legal terms Building Bridges, Not Barriers The lawyer-marketer divide isn’t inevitable. By understanding the legitimate concerns behind attorneys’ resistance to marketing, savvy professionals can develop approaches that align with legal values while advancing business goals. This isn’t about tricking lawyers into marketing or watering down effective strategies to appease skeptics. It’s about finding the sweet spot where professional dignity, ethical standards, and business development converge. The firms that master this balance gain a powerful competitive advantage: the ability to market effectively in a profession where most still struggle with the very concept. As one managing partner told me after his firm’s marketing transformation: “We didn’t start marketing more—we just started marketing right.” 

Ten years into my career, someone asked me a pivotal question that completely reframed how I thought about work and professional development: “Where do you see yourself in five years?” I had no answer. My focus was locked on the daily grind, and I assumed my career progression would simply take care of itself as long as I worked hard, stayed personable, and checked all the boxes expected of a good employee. But that question lingered—a reminder that I was letting my career happen to me rather than taking control and shaping it based on my goals. Now, in my current role and through coaching others, I regularly pose the same question. It illuminates both aspirations and actions: What do you want from your career, and what are you willing to do—or sacrifice—to get there? Caring about your job is one thing. Proactively planning and owning it? That’s a whole different game. With the start of the new year, it’s the perfect time to reflect on your ambitions, set clear goals for the future, and create a plan to achieve them. Here are actionable steps and strategies to help you steer your career and align it with your goals. Key Components of a Career Blueprint To build a career fueled by purpose and intention, incorporate these elements into your planning process: Define Your Long-Term “Why” and Short-Term “How” Before you decide what you want, take a moment and ask yourself why those goals matter. Your long-term “why” will serve as your compass. (It will serve you well to take a step back and think about why you became a lawyer in the first place. What drove you to achieve that goal?) Once your goals are clear, start identifying the measurable “hows” that will get you there. For example: Want a leadership role at your firm or company? Determine the skill set or accomplishments you’ll need to secure that spot. Want to specialize in a specific area of law or segment of the market? Identify industry experts to learn from or conferences to attend. Set Measurable Goals Make sure your career goals can be measured regularly and achievable within your timeframe. Write It Down Document your goals and update your plan at least quarterly. When you write things down, they feel more tangible. Better yet, share your aspirations with someone you trust—mentors, peers, friends, spouse, or colleagues—who can support your progress and hold you accountable. Six Actionable Tips to Take Control of Your Career Here are ideas to incorporate into your plan that will help you become the architect of your professional future. Align Talking Points to Your Aspirations If your goal is leadership within your firm, communicate that intention clearly. Volunteer for roles that provide visibility and showcase your strengths, whether that’s joining committees, helping with mentorship programs, or supporting firm initiatives. Articulating your goals helps others see you in that future role. Build Expertise in Areas That Excite You Position your practice or skills toward a direction you’re passionate about: If you thrive working with manufacturing clients, invest extra time in that industry. Attend trade shows, network with other professionals, and educate yourself about key industry trends and challenges. Seek mentorship from seasoned experts in your area of interest to gain knowledge and actionable advice. Understand Your Numbers Financial benchmarks matter, especially in roles where revenue generation impacts career advancement. Know the metrics tied to promotions—billable hours, client growth, or revenue contributions—and evaluate how achieving them aligns with your goals. Then, clarify what financial success means to you personally. Lead Through Ownership Take ownership of something that matters—whether it’s a committee, a client relationship, or an internal initiative. Demonstrating your ability to lead and execute positions you as a trusted figure within your organization, paving the way for greater responsibilities. Build Relationships and Leverage Your Network Your success is amplified through collaboration. Foster meaningful relationships with peers and industry contacts. Be vocal about your career goals—people are more likely to support you when they understand where you’re headed. And don’t forget, relationships are a two-way street. Be generous with your time and expertise to return the favor. Stay Flexible Career paths are rarely linear. Be open to opportunities that align with your goals, even if they weren’t on your radar initially. For example, transitioning to a different specialization or accepting unexpected cross-functional roles could fast-track you toward your ambitions. The key? Recognize when a pivot aligns with your larger vision and seize it. Additional Considerations Tracking Progress Don’t underestimate the power of regular self-assessments. At least twice a year, ask yourself: Have my goals shifted? If so, why? What progress have I made, and where am I falling short? Are my current actions aligned with where I ultimately want to be? Use these check-ins to adjust your plan as life and circumstances evolve. Leveraging a Mentor or Coach Guidance from someone who knows your field and aspirations can be invaluable. Mentors provide feedback, share insights about navigating challenges, and expand your network, while a coach may help you clarify strategy or build specific skills. Don’t Wait for Someone Else to Plan for You The biggest mistake professionals can make is assuming their careers will naturally progress if they stay the course. The reality? No one will care as much about your trajectory as you. Your firm or company—and even your supportive colleagues—might guide you, but they won’t actively build the career you want. That requires proactive planning. Take the time today to reflect, plan, and write down your aspirations. Want additional support? Lean on your network, connect with a mentor, or inspire someone else by asking, “Where do you see yourself in five years?” Sometimes, helping others find clarity can deepen your own. It’s your career—own it!

Thought leadership is a better tool for positioning yourself in the eyes of your target audiences than your online bio or your LinkedIn profile and posts. If you’re not regularly producing thought leadership content, you’re missing out on chance after chance to position yourself in real time in the minds of your target audiences the way you want them to see you. No offense, but there’s a good chance that neither your online law firm bio nor your LinkedIn profile is up to date and providing your target audiences with the most up-to-date indications of the kind of work you’re doing. That’s where thought leadership comes in. Each piece of thought leadership you produce provides an opportunity for you to remind your current, past, and prospective clients and referral sources about the kind of work you do. This allows you to position yourself to be the one they call when they (or one of their clients) has an issue regarding the area of law that you practice or the industry that you serve—both of which you would’ve been addressing in your thought leadership by virtue of the topics you would’ve been discussing. In other words, thought leadership provides real-time positioning. It allows your target audiences to get a feel for the kind of work you’re doing right now and how you can help them with the legal or business issues they’re facing right now. Here Are Five Ways Thought Leadership Is a Real-Time Positioning Tool 1. Thought Leadership Positions You Regarding the Areas of Law You Practice If you regularly publish thought leadership about the types of legal work you do—insider trading investigations, compensation packages for executives, tax ramifications of mergers and acquisitions, estate planning issues for high-net worth entrepreneurs, etc.—you’re positioning yourself as an attorney who practices those areas of law. Simultaneously, you’re also positioning yourself as an attorney your clients and referral sources should turn to when they or someone they know has an issue regarding those areas of law. 2. Thought Leadership Positions You Regarding the Industries You Serve As is the case when you’re talking about particular legal issues within the areas of law you practice, when you talk about industry-specific topics, you’re positioning yourself as a go-to attorney regarding legal and business issues that arise within that industry. If you’re regularly discussing executive compensation packages at technology companies in your thought leadership, you’ll be seen as an authority on that subject. If you’re regularly discussing private equity deals in the healthcare industry in your thought leadership, you’ll be seen as an authority on that subject. If you’re regularly discussing real estate issues for companies in the retail industry, you’ll be seen as an authority on that subject. 3. Thought Leadership Positions You as a Problem Solver Regarding Your Clients’ Problems When your thought leadership covers best practices for handling a certain legal or business problem, or it compares and contrasts alternate ways of handling a legal or business problem, it’s communicating to clients and referral sources that you’re an attorney who can solve those problems for clients. They won’t just see you as an attorney who’s generally knowledgeable about the area of law you practice or the industry you serve. They’ll see you as an attorney knowledgeable about how to solve the very problems they’re facing. 4. Thought Leadership Positions You Regarding Your Views of the World That Sync With Your Clients’ Views Thought leadership communicates to clients and referral sources that you have views of the world that are consistent with theirs. For example, if you help clients with their regulatory issues and you often opine in your thought leadership about how governments tend to over-regulate industries, which stifles innovation and is bad for the economy, you’re signaling to past, current, and prospective clients and referral sources that you share their view of the world because, obviously, the corporations that are regulated would prefer that they’re not regulated as heavily as they are. Same thing goes if you are a white-collar criminal defense attorney. If you often opine in your thought leadership about how prosecutors tend to overreach with their criminal charges, or they tend to throw evidence at the wall hoping that it sticks, you’re going to resonate with past, current, and prospective clients and referral sources who feel the same way. Obviously, clients want to hire attorneys who see the world the same way they do. Your thought leadership can position you as an attorney who does. 5. Thought Leadership Positions You as a Human Being, Perhaps With Similar Hobbies and Interests as Your Clients If you want to be seen as a straight-down-the-middle, all-business attorney, you can convey that through your thought leadership. If you want to be seen as a laid-back attorney, you can convey that through your thought leadership. If you have lots of hobbies and interests outside the law, you can drop hints about them in your thought leadership over time and make it clear you enjoy those hobbies and have those interests. The tone and style you use in your thought leadership, and the way you weave in your personal interests or hobbies—or you don’t—communicates to clients and referral sources about who you are as a person. For many clients and referral sources, when two attorneys they’re contemplating sending work to have similar qualifications, credentials, and results, the attorney whom the client or referral source likes most is likely to get the business. Over time, your thought leadership can make the kinds of favorable impressions on your clients and referral sources that help you win those tie-breakers and solidify you as their go-to attorney for the areas of law you practice and the industries you serve. Another Tool in the Collection Thought leadership isn’t just a generic marketing and business development strategy. It’s a Swiss Army Knife. It’s a marketing and business development tool. It’s a recruiting tool. It’s a culture-building tool. It’s an advocacy tool. It’s also a real-time positioning tool that reinforces in the eyes of your target audiences how you want them to perceive you regarding the work you do and how you could help them solve their legal and business problems.

Imagine seeing five different exit signs on the highway for the same destination. Confusing, right? Multiple sites for one firm can be similarly misleading for a law firm’s prospective clients. Some firms come to us with several sites for a single practice. They may have been told that this is a way to get more irons in the fire and dominate the SERPs. While there are a few exceptions, the rule is that a multi-site strategy usually does more harm than good for a firm’s visibility. Let’s cover the whole scope: why multiple websites appeal to law firms, how Google treats a single brand with multiple sites and the SEO advantages of a single-site approach. Why Firms Think They Need Multiple Sites Tricking Google with multiple websites? A delightful illusion, unfortunately, that many lawyers cling to in a misguided attempt to dominate the search engine results pages (SERPs). Firms may feel that they could achieve ranking with several URLs for the same keywords, filling the first page of Google with multiple sites that drive traffic back to the main brand. However, the multiple-site approach to SEO for lawyers tends to backfire. SERP cannibalization often leads to multiple pages and multiple sites from the same company competing for the same keywords. This can confuse search engines and dilute page authority. The result is that none of the pages rank well. Plus, managing multiple sites stretches you thin, requiring unique content and SEO strategies for each site which leads to inefficiencies and inconsistency instead of boosting visibility. Google’s View On Multiple Sites “Duplicate content is not only confusing for users, it’s also confusing for search engines. Creating one great site instead of multiple microsites is the best way to encourage organic growth over time.” –Google Google encourages businesses to focus on a single website. This is especially important in light of new algorithm updates that combat spam. Google ranks pages based on the authority of the site. Backlinks are generally good for SEO, but they can also be very spammy. A huge influx of backlinks, especially on new sites, may be viewed as inauthentic or spammy. Quality Matters More Than Quantity Increasingly, Google is looking at other signals beyond backlinks to assess a site’s authority and trustworthiness. Instead of spreading your SEO budget thin across multiple domains, Google is saying it’s more effective to create high-quality content and build genuine relationships with reputable websites. SEO Disadvantages of Multiple Sites Splitting your resources: Each new site requires time and effort to develop content, gain backlinks, and establish domain authority. Bye-bye budget: The financial commitment to succeeding with multiple sites is significant. Most firms are better off investing in a single, optimized platform. Reputation issues: Multiple sites can confuse prospects. When people encounter similar content across different sites, they may question your firm’s legitimacy. Decreased trust means decision fatigue and decreased leads. SEO Advantages of a Single Site Focusing your efforts on one robust website can more effectively communicate your value proposition and engage your audience. Reputation enhancement: By consolidating efforts into one site, you strengthen your firm’s authority and trustworthiness for both search engines and users. Better ROI: A single-site strategy offers better ROI by streamlining your SEO efforts. This approach simplifies management, reduces costs, and allows more investment in high-quality content, user experience, and technical SEO. Clearer data: A single site makes monitoring analytics easier, offering more accurate insights into audience behavior for informed decision-making. Exceptions There are a few situations where multiple sites might be beneficial. Sub-brands: If you’re experimenting with reaching a whole new audience under an entirely different brand, you might try a separate site to avoid confusing your existing clientele. Perhaps you’ve been serving car accident personal injury clients in Chicago but you want to try reaching farm worker injuries in rural Illinois. In this case, the SEO strategies will be very different regardless. (We should note that we don’t usually recommend creating a second brand to reach different audiences; often when firms try to “branch out” with new brands they struggle with authority signals because the brand doesn’t have any history or momentum.) Microsite: If you’re launching a product or promoting an upcoming event, you may want to develop a one-off site. But the SEO investment in microsites should be proportional. Internationalization: If you’re working in multiple countries, you may need dedicated sites tailored to local markets. These sites should offer content and user experiences that resonate with cultural, linguistic, and legal differences (i.e., it goes beyond mere translation). In each of these cases, separate websites can help ensure that your messaging aligns with your intended audience all while ultimately supporting your broader business goals. Of course, multiple domains make a lot of sense if you’re trying to get ahead of common misspellings or name variations or prevent competitors from snapping up related terms. But these domains will usually point to the same single website. Review and Next Steps The right approach to legal SEO should combine tested principles with personalized tactics specifically adapted to your firm, your market, and your growth goals.

Artificial intelligence (AI) has revolutionized content creation, turning what was once a time-consuming task into a smooth, efficient process. With AI tools, marketers can now produce high-quality content faster, allowing them to focus on strategic goals. But how can law firms leverage these advancements to enhance their marketing efforts? In this article, we’ll delve into the top types of AI-generated content, insights from HubSpot’s State of AI survey, and practical tips for integrating AI into your law firm’s content strategy. 1. Top Content Types for Generative AI AI-generated content is becoming increasingly popular among marketers. According to HubSpot’s State of AI survey, 46% of U.S. marketers regularly use AI to create marketing content. The most common content types include: Emails and Newsletters: AI can optimize email timing, generate catchy subject lines, and perform A/B testing to boost engagement. Social Media Posts: AI helps create content ideas and headlines and even optimize posting schedules based on audience behavior. Blog Posts and Long-Form Content: AI tools assist with topic generation, drafting, and personalizing content for specific audiences. Product Descriptions, Landing Pages, and Whitepapers: AI helps create concise, impactful messaging for various marketing channels. 2. AI-Generated Marketing Content in 2024 As AI continues to evolve, its role in marketing will only grow. In 2024, the global market for AI in marketing is projected to reach $2.6 billion, driven by businesses leveraging AI to create personalized, scalable content. Law firms can use AI to produce high-quality content across platforms like social media, blogs, and email marketing. With AI, you can automate repetitive tasks, freeing time for more strategic activities like client relationship management and case strategy. 3. Pros and Cons of AI-Generated Content Marketing Pros: Efficiency and Scalability: AI tools allow you to generate content quickly and efficiently, maintaining a consistent online presence. Personalization: AI analyzes client behavior, enabling more personalized content that resonates with your audience. Cost-Effectiveness: Automating content creation reduces labor costs, allowing your firm to allocate resources more effectively. Data-Driven Insights: AI can analyze vast data sets to uncover trends and optimize content strategies. Cons: Quality and Authenticity Concerns: AI-generated content can sometimes feel generic or disconnected, requiring human review and editing. Ethical and Privacy Issues: AI tools rely on large data sets, which can raise privacy concerns. Ensuring compliance with regulations like GDPR or the CCPA is critical. Dependence on Technology: Over-reliance on AI can stifle creativity, so it’s important to maintain a balance between AI-generated content and human input. 4. AI-Generated Content Marketing Tips Treat AI as a Collaborator: AI should enhance, not replace, your content creation process. Use AI to generate outlines, research, and initial drafts, then personalize the content with your firm’s unique insights and expertise. Automate SEO and Content Distribution: AI tools like HubSpot’s content assistant and SEO platforms can optimize your content for search engines, ensuring your law firm’s content is always relevant and visible. Focus on Dynamic Content Optimization: Leverage AI to monitor real-time data on how different segments of your audience interact with your content. Use Creative AI Prompts: When brainstorming, AI-generated prompts can inspire unique angles or topics that you may not have considered. This keeps your content fresh and engaging. Key Takeaways AI has the potential to transform your law firm’s marketing strategy by streamlining content creation, enhancing personalization, and providing data-driven insights. While AI-generated content offers efficiency and scalability, it’s essential to balance its use with human oversight to ensure quality and authenticity.

There’s a more effective—and versatile—tool for showcasing your law firm’s successful representations than case studies. Case Studies Are a Flawed Tool Case studies have their place as a marketing and business development tool, but they have notable flaws. First, they’re self-promotional. That’s not a surprise since they’re unabashed marketing and sales tools, nor is there anything inherently wrong with that. The problem is that they’re rarely engaging because they rarely provide value to readers. They exist to tell readers THAT a law firm achieved a result. They don’t exist to show HOW the law firm achieved that result. Second, and on a related note, case studies often have a problem-solution-result structure. As a result, they discuss successful client representations in a straightforward manner, often in a cold, clinical fashion. That’s great if a law firm wants to prioritize efficiency in its marketing and sales content. But this structure forces law firms to take a narrow approach to describing a client success that likely warrants a deeper discussion of the strategies they employed. (More on that in a moment.) Third, case studies naturally focus on a particular client’s legal problem and its solution. Because the solution was based on the facts and circumstances the client found itself in, case studies rarely have wider appeal beyond a limited number of prospective or current clients with the same legal/business problems and the same facts and circumstances as the clients featured in case studies. (That’s not a bad thing when a case study is part of a one-to-one or a one-to-few approach to business development, but it limits the efficacy of a case study when used as part of a one-to-many marketing program.) Finally, case studies’ standard problem-solution-result structure doesn’t allow law firms to get into the details of how they were able to secure the successful resolution of their client’s legal problem (while, of course, being mindful of privilege and confidentiality concerns). The structure is not conducive to law firms talking about the strategy and execution that helped bring that result to life. This is the fatal flaw of case studies. Thought Leadership Articles Are More Effective Tools for Showing Off Client Successes Than Case Studies When a law firm talks about the strategy and execution it employed to secure a favorable legal result for a client, it is conveying to clients and referral sources the knowledge, wisdom, and insights it has regarding that kind of legal/business issue. That knowledge and wisdom, and those insights, can go a long way in putting a law firm “on the map” in terms of clients and referral sources considering them the next time they or their clients have a legal/business issue they will look to an outside law firm for assistance with. Case studies do not allow for such discussions—but thought leadership articles do. That’s why they’re more effective tools for showing off client successes. Case studies are focused on achievements: “Here was the problem. Here’s what we did. We won. Congratulations to us.” All within generally 500 words or less. But with thought leadership articles, law firms can take readers behind the scenes and discuss how they overcame particular challenges and difficulties to secure a great result for their client. When they do that, they’re showing off the knowledge, wisdom, and insights their attorneys have. That’s what resonates with clients and referral sources. They’re seeing more than just the end result: They’re seeing the attorneys’ thought process, their adaptability, their strategy, and their execution. When clients and referral sources understand HOW a law firm was able to secure a great result for a client, they will gain a greater appreciation for how that law firm could help THEM with their legal or business issues and secure a similarly successful result. Thought Leadership Articles Are Also More Versatile Tools Than Case Studies When law firms produce thought leadership articles about a successful representation, they can distribute them just like they would a case study, such as via social media, email, and their website. But there’s one key channel law firms can distribute their thought leadership articles through that they can’t distribute their case studies through: media outlets. They can submit a thought leadership article to a third-party media outlet for publication, which gives them the opportunity to get it in front of people who might not already know the firm, might not be followers of the firm on social media, or receive the firm’s email newsletters. They’re exposing a whole new audience to their successful representation compared to a case study, which will almost always be transmitted through channels requiring a preexisting relationship with, or preexisting knowledge of, the law firm (e.g., website, social media, newsletter). In addition to an article in a third-party publication, a law firm’s thought leadership regarding their successful representations can take multiple forms, such as podcasts, short- or long-form videos, and webinars. Going even further, law firms can approach thought leadership regarding their successful representations from a bunch of different angles. They might start with a “how we did this” format, where their attorneys walk through three, four, or five different challenges they encountered when representing a client and how they overcame those challenges to secure a great result. But then, the attorneys have the opportunity to create derivative content, such as best practices for handling a type of legal issue or matter, or misconceptions when doing so, or red flags regarding some aspect of the legal matter at the center of their case study, or lessons learned from handling that type of legal matter, or even comparing and contrasting various ways to approach that type of legal matter. A Few Words About Privilege and Confidentiality Concerns While reading this post up to this point, you might have thought, “But what about confidentiality and privilege? Won’t they impact how my law firm approaches discussing successful client representations in the form of thought leadership content?” Of course they will, though those concerns will also impact how your law firm drafts its case studies. When creating thought leadership content about how your firm approached a client matter, you and your colleagues will obviously need to not give too much detail about your client, their circumstances, and the ins and outs of their legal or business issue. But you can still communicate the strategies your firm employed and the steps it took to assist the client in a way that does not divulge privileged or confidential information. It’s actually a good thing that you don’t go into deeper detail about what your firm did. By having to zoom out a bit, the thought leadership content will be applicable to more potential clients. Removing details about specific facts and events means more similarly situated clients will think that your law firm could help them with their similar legal or business issues instead of focusing on how your firm helped a client in a specific situation with specific facts and circumstances those similarly situated clients aren’t facing. A Better Approach To Communicating Client Successes Thought leadership content regarding successful representations of clients is a more effective and versatile tool for showcasing those representations than case studies. Their added depth and potential for both multimedia formats and derivative content should elevate them to the tool law firms use most often when discussing successful client representations in a marketing or business development context. Sure, case studies have their place in the legal marketing and business development mix. But they can’t carry the intellectual and persuasive weight that thought leadership content about client successes can.