Ten Commandments of Legal Marketing Writing

"Law firm marketing? Like highway billboards?"

These days I spend most of my time on training and strategy. Yet I'll always be a writer first. And marketing writing is a lot of fun.

To help you, I've captured ten of my favorite tips here to keep your legal marketing messages pithy and engaging.

I. Frontload key ideas. Readers are impatient. Start with the most important idea and set hooks and rewards to help readers opt in with each new sentence. Otherwise, tl:dr.

II. Write in the active voice. This improves pacing, energy, and word count.

Yes: “[Firm] lawyers won a directed verdict.”

No: “A directed verdict was obtained by [Firm] lawyers.”

III. Use short, declarative sentences. See Commandment 2. There will be times we must abuse this. Otherwise, keep it simple. (Because see Commandment 1.)

IV. Use few words. Originally, I wrote “Use the fewest number of words whenever possible.” Then I revised. Then I revised more.

“Use the fewest words when possible.”

“Use fewer words when possible.”

“Use few words.”

V. Be specific to be memorable. Provide key details, such as dollar amounts, years, specific numbers (rather than rounded), etc. These details stick in readers’ minds.

• “$39 million” is more memorable than “multimillion” or “tens of millions.”

• Namedrop clients when you have permission. “Ford Motor Company” is more memorable than “a major auto manufacturer.” Plus, co-branding. (We are marketing here, after all!)

VI. Avoid distraction. Question: Which of the following is correct? 

• “Law360 calls Mike Williams’ class actions experience ‘legendary.’”

• “Law360 calls Mike Williams’s class actions experience 'legendary.’”

  
  

Answer: It doesn’t matter! Some readers will always get stuck on the possessive construction and miss the brag. Skip the debate, even if it demands more words, to focus readers on the prize:

• “Mike Williams has vast class actions experience. Law360 even called it ‘legendary.’”*

*Honestly, I don't know if Law360 ever said this. But the class actions experience of Mike Williams is . . . legendary!

VII. Help readers opt in. Use frequent paragraph breaks, headings, numbers, bullets, and pull-quotes to reduce cognitive load and entice readers to continue.

VIII. Eschew unnecessary capitalization. Yes, lawyers love capitals. But in no world is the word “lawyer” capitalized in the middle of a sentence, unless it’s in a name.

(And yes, I could have said "reject" to keep it simple. In this case, however, the fancy word means more than the simple word conveys. I feel strongly about this one!)

VIIII. Say what happened, then share why it matters. Sure, tell clients about an award or achievement. Add context to make it matter. Example:

“Chambers USA ranked 5 [Firm] lawyers in Band 1 for Commercial Litigation. The next closest firm has 2 lawyers ranked in Band 1.”

Now you've made an impact.

X. Tone changes from channel to channel. The same marketing content may land very differently on a website, in a proposal, or especially on social media, where critical context may be lacking. Always read for tone with an eye on context—and with audience sensitivities in mind.