How to tell the world you’re the best law firm in town

Law firms have never been the best at telling their story. We’ve worked with firms across the UK for over 15 years so understand the nuances of such complex and intricate organisations and have seen countless examples of firms who hide their light under a bushel.

Freshfield’s Simon Turner, who advises law firms on PR and communications, shares some of his experience, offering five simple yet powerful tips to tell the world you’re the best law firm in town.

1. Your cases can be PR dynamite

There is no better way to showcase your legal expertise than gaining widespread coverage for your successful cases. At Freshfield, we have a team of former regional and national journalists so we know what makes a good story. Whether it’s advising on a corporate transaction, a property deal, helping a worker fight an unfair dismissal case or helping an injury victim, cases can create widespread media interest – regional, sector, national and even international. This content not only helps you promote your firm and expertise, but it can also help boost search rankings with resulting coverage appearing online.

2. Think like a broadcaster

More people are using the internet when making legal decisions. ‘Can I sue for negligence?’ ‘What are my rights?’ ‘Solicitors in Leeds’. They are all terms being fed into Google so having related content on your website will help your brand rank highly and generate relevant leads. Law firms should think like a broadcaster and have a dedicated website content planner that sees quality content written and broadcasted at set times on set days. It will help create the impression of an expert firm and generate leads. It’s great for internal communication too.

3. Don’t bore people on social media

It’s not all about you, you, you – what about me? Put yourself in the end user’s position when determining your social media content plan. They either want something informative, fun or free. If you congest your social media channels with too much firm promotion, people will switch off.

4. What is an associate, fee earning litigator?!

Due to the nature of the law, solicitors have to be extremely exhaustive when writing contracts and legal documents – and this can often filter through to marketing language. Job titles are a great example of lawyers using legal terms in external communication. I often question the use of ‘fee earner’ in job titles. Try and use language that resonates with your audiences – it makes it easier for you to be understood.

5. Get your employer brand right

Have a dedicated strategy to make your firm an attractive employer for future candidates. Every law firm I speak to is on the hunt for good people yet many firms lack an employer marketing plan. Take your website as an example, it should tell a story of why your firm is great to work for. Showcase employee case studies, your benefits package and your CPD structure. Use video, infographics and target employer awards at relevant award ceremonies. If you want to succeed as a legal business, you need great people and investing in a focused employer PR brand can help get the right people on board, while giving confidence to your existing staff.

Freshfield has a specialist team that advises law firms on all aspects of marketing communications from brand development, communications planning, media relations, marketing collateral, social media, website development and video.