There's a lot of noise in legal marketing, making it hard to know who you can trust. But several experts have stood the test of time, consistently delivering strategic advice that can take your practice to the next level. These professionals know the legal industry inside and out and can give you practical tips you can start applying in your law practice today.
What makes a legal expert? Sometimes, that's a background as a practicing attorney who used marketing to exploit their law firm's potential. In other cases, it's thought leaders who are highly knowledgeable about various aspects of legal marketing and have the track record and reputation to show for it.
With plenty of inspiring stories out there, as you build out your own strategy and marketing plan, you can find legal marketing experts making an impact in and out of the courtroom. Some of them have maintained a law practice while also building up another portion of their business and legacy, but others have exited the practice of law to focus entirely on their new venture.
There are the top legal marketing experts worth following in 2024.
Chris Dreyer, founder of the legal marketing agency Rankings.io and author of Niching Down, has a wealth of experience in what it takes for legal service providers to build an online presence. Dreyer built his brand, starting with digital marketing services for personal injury lawyers, helping to carve out a niche serving one of the most competitive practice areas in all of law.
A search engine optimization expert who has developed and implemented the content marketing strategy behind some of the most successful law firms in the U.S., he has his finger on the pulse of what works. Today, he hosts the Personal Injury Mastermind podcast, where he talks about what lawyers can do to grow their firms.
While most of his background is in organic search engine marketing through SEO efforts and social media, he's also mastered the pay-to-play game, with years of experience in pay-per-click (PPC) services like Google Ads and Facebook ads as well as pay-per-lead programs like Local Services Ads. His online marketing services and client search engine results have helped many law firms establish a firm foundation and grow quickly.
In addition to the learnings you'll glean from his podcast episodes, you can also spot Chris' thought leadership right here on the Rankings.io blog. If you're looking for actionable advice that works right now, count on his case studies and behind-the-scenes perspective.
You've probably heard of the grandfather of legal advertising since this is a man whose reputation precedes him.
Harlan's been in the legal advertising space for nearly five decades, often at the forefront of what gets results. He was the first attorney to produce and market television ads in the legal community, airing his own commercials starting in 1978. Since then, he's leveraged his knowledge to help over 140 law firms connect with their prospective clients as an advertising and marketing consultant. His background running these marketing campaigns and assisting lawyers to make a solid first impression speaks for itself.
If you're looking to make a splash in television advertising, you're putting a lot of your budget on the line to do so. You want the confidence that comes from knowing you're working with someone who knows what resonates with a TV viewer and how to quickly make a big impression.
Personal injury is one of the most lucrative practice areas for attorneys, but that makes it a very popular market. Ken Hardison is passionate about helping PI lawyers make an impact and grow a sustainable law firm, using his background with his own multi-million dollar law firms that he built and sold.
He then founded PILMMA, the Personal Injury Lawyers Marketing and Management Association, to help other attorneys do the same. Today, PILMMA has members all over the world, and Ken remains a crowd favorite at speaking engagements for his honest insights into what it takes to thrive in modern personal injury law firm management.
PILMMA is a great organization to consider if you want to grow your network of other attorneys and legal marketing experts while investing in your continued learning.
Michael Mogill's company pivots and overall growth are nothing short of impressive. He started Crisp, a video marketing company, and worked with plenty of attorneys in that process. But then he spotted a market opportunity, seeing how many law firms struggled to achieve sustainable growth and profits.
That inspired him to pivot into helping law firm owners who wanted to grow quickly without burning themselves out.
His company now offers one of the leading mastermind conferences for law firms, with A-list speakers coming in to inspire and share. His branding relies on attorneys who are willing to take big risks and do things differently while still serving their clients with a high level of professionalism.
Michael is the author of the Game Changing Attorney and the host of the Game Changing Attorney Podcast.
If you want to see what it takes to make the law interesting to the average person, David Stone, aka Legal Eagle, should inspire you. His breakdowns on YouTube make the law accessible to the average person. He grew his social media following to more than 3 million subscribers and over 500 videos. This is a case study of what's possible with the right social media marketing. He is a solid example of balancing a personal brand with a professional law firm website.
What you can spot with many of the legal marketing experts with a big community on social media is that they're consistently posting content and delivering their own brand over and over again. Many videos later, David's style and approach to making complicated legal cases of interest to the general public works.
His explanation of complex cases and questions asked by subscribers about modern legal issues showcase him as a knowledgeable content creator, especially because all of his material is engaging. Today, he's an adjunct law professor at Georgetown.
Some lawyers and marketers just nail their branding. Keeping it short, sweet, and focused has been a winning strategy for Mike Mandell, also known as #lawbymike. He started as a practicing associate but then moved into the world of sharing content about legal advocacy.
Lawyer marketing doesn't have to be stuffy; Mike is a solid example of that in practice. His content creation is organic and thoughtful, so it doesn't detract from his practice and image there. He still takes on personal injury, criminal defense, and sexual assault cases, with a strong law firm website that presents him as an expert in those legal services. Undoubtedly, his strong content creation supports his new client efforts, too.
His videos empower people to understand better their rights and the legal system they live in, and he does it extremely well. His effortless style makes him seem approachable and qualified at the same time.
Erika started her career as a corporate mergers & acquisitions lawyer, but it was her pivot into a side hustle that helped her grow a substantial community online and become respected as a top personal finance expert. Her funny and practical YouTube and TikTok videos on personal finance resonate with people: she's garnered more than 21 million followers across her social channels. She often talks about how her decision to exit a legal career narrowed her focus on her own finances and her decision to start her business.
One of the things Erika does best is make a solid first impression: you'll notice that the early seconds of her video are always very engaging.
Erika's grit and hustle are inspiring, especially for lawyers who want to communicate authentically on social media.
Speaking of lawyers who just crush it on TikTok, Lawyer Kelly is another one who has grown to a big audience. With a focus on family law, she explains answers to frequently asked questions about child custody, prenups, and divorce. Even though she's tackling tough and personal subjects, she forges an instant connection with her viewers because of her upfront nature and ability to effectively explain the benefits of mediation and collaborative divorce.
She always looks professional and friendly in her videos, and their bite-size nature makes it a perfect opportunity for people to engage with relevant content. Now she has over 380,000 followers.