Choosing the Right Agency Partner for Your Law Firm

Jennifer Simpson Carr: Welcome to Episode 165 of On Record PR, where we dive deep into the strategies and insights that matter most to law firm leaders. Hi. I’m Jennifer Simpson Carr, Vice President of Strategic Development at Furia Rubel Communications, and today, I’m joining you solo to address one of the top questions we receive from law firm leaders: “How do I choose the right agency partner?” It’s a great question, and one we receive so often that we’ve actually created a checklist to help our prospects evaluate agencies throughout the process. So whether your firm is looking to raise its profile, proactively manage media relations, or navigate a change at the firm, finding the right fit for an agency partner can really make all the difference in your success.

Let’s start with what prompts a law firm can use to start looking for an agency partner. Then, we’ll run through some key characteristics for evaluating an agency partner and some red flags to avoid. First, it often starts with a pivotal moment. Something’s changing at the firm, and it’s really time to identify outside perspective and support. How do we find the right fit for that? So, common triggers that we hear when law firms are contacting us to evaluate our agency is that the firm is experiencing major growth or expansion. Maybe the firm is opening a new office in a new jurisdiction or a new geographic area that they’re unfamiliar with in terms of the market, the media, or marketing in that geographic area, they might be launching a new practice area or industry group. These are all moments that require strong messaging, strong positioning, and strong media outreach in order to position your firm for the greatest chances of success.

Another key thing that we hear from prospective clients is that they’re contacting us because they’ve run into a reputation management issue. It may not be their first one, but it’s the first one for them that may have risen to the level that they really feel more confident moving forward with a strategic communications partner. This could be an actual crisis. It could be an internal incident. It could be a reputational challenge that they didn’t see coming, but they feel that PR expertise is really essential for moving forward in a strong position.

Another key area is inconsistent or ineffective marketing, and that doesn’t mean that the individuals running the marketing are not doing a tremendous job. It’s just that sometimes law firms run into the challenges of deploying scattered, inconsistent, or ad hoc marketing efforts that simply aren’t driving results or moving the needle for the firm. So, they’ll consider agency partners to help bring a strategic focus and perspective and to really help everyone work from the same page and work towards the same goals. Another key area of transition is leadership or firm milestones. Sometimes, these are independent of one another. Sometimes, they overlap. What do I mean by that?

So a leadership transition, maybe your executive committee or managing partner has a certain term limit at your firm. So there’s a transition of some sort of leadership, or maybe it’s an unexpected transition of leaders within your firm or a firm milestone. It could be an upcoming anniversary. These are all really critical times for refreshing your firm’s message, looking at the future of the firm, and how you want to position it. It could be a time to refresh your visuals, if it’s surrounding a milestone, and really just assess your overall communication strategy. And then finally, one thing that we hear often is overwhelmed internal teams. Your in-house team may be operating at a really high level, but now they’re stretched too thin. At some point, maybe the firm right-sized their marketing team, but now that it’s growing, or the firm is considering handling a large-scale initiative, outside resources are necessary to help the firm position itself for the greatest chances of success. So, really, finding an agency partner to serve as an extension of your internal team. Some of these might sound familiar to you because you at one point, were facing one of these changes or challenges, or something might resonate with your current situation, and this episode piqued your interest because you’re considering exploring agency partner options. Either way, we’re going to run through the characteristics for evaluating a good agency fit for your firm, and also some red flags to avoid.

Now let’s talk about the key factors for choosing an agency partner. Why is this such a big decision? Because your agency partner is meant to serve as an extension of your in-house team. What do I mean by that? Whether you have a solo head of marketing or business development or an entire team staffed at your firm, your agency partner is meant to be a collaborative and strategic advisor working seamlessly as an extension of your team with the goal of positioning your team for success. So, it’s really critical to ensure alignment between the two teams before you move forward. Before I joined Furia Rubel five years ago, I led in-house business development and marketing teams and a number of AmLaw 200 firms. I’ve sat on the side of the table where it’s important to evaluate agency partners for fit and then also work with them to develop a relationship going forward. Hopefully this insight will help as you consider agency partners in your future.

So, five critical factors are industry expertise. We all know that law firms operate in a highly nuanced space. The first question you want to ask is, “Does the agency understand the legal industry? Does it understand ethical considerations and how to position attorneys effectively?” These are all great questions to consider if you’re looking for a true agency partner that can step in and hit the ground running. Agencies that have experience with law firm marketing and law firm communications will already be accustomed to how to navigate unique circumstances that are faced by law firms in the legal industry.

Another key factor is strategic alignment. Beyond executing the tactics, your agency should be able to act as a strategic advisor. So, a couple of considerations: as you’re talking to them, do they ask insightful questions about your firm’s goals, practice areas, and differentiators? A key partner should offer solutions that are tailored to your firm’s long-term success and long-term planning, not just quick wins.

A third key factor in the evaluation process is a proven track record. Look or ask for case studies, testimonials, and real-world results. A few questions that you can ask in the process are: has this agency successfully placed attorneys in media outlets? Have they managed crisis situations or led times of change for law firms? Questions like this will help prompt experience-sharing by your agency partners so that you can get a good feel for the types of work they’ve handled and the track record that they have had before your conversations. Reviewing past work is definitely a great way to gauge their potential effectiveness working with your firm.

A fourth consideration is collaboration and communication. I mentioned collaboration earlier. Really great agency relationships feel like a seamless extension of your team. A couple of questions that you can ask about this are: Does the agency communicate clearly? This is also a question that you can assess yourself in the discovery process of working with the agency partners during your evaluations of them. Does your potential agency partner respond promptly? Are they proactively bringing ideas to the table for you? This is all a great way to assess their thought process and how they may view you as a strategic law firm partner.

The fifth alignment is flexibility and scalability. Your firm’s needs will continue to evolve beyond the period of time where you engage an agency partner. So, a question that you can ask yourself and the agency in the evaluation process is: can the agency flex its services to your evolving needs? Do they offer a range of support types, from training to full-scale reputation management? Do they offer one-on-one sessions should a new partner join? Think about the situations that your firm runs into on a daily basis or over the course of a year, the types of issues that come up, and evaluate in this period whether or not you’re considering partners who have the ability to flex and scale to adapt to challenges and opportunities faced by your firm over time.

Now that we have those five key areas under consideration, I want to point you to a full checklist that you can download and view during your search for a strategic agency partner. This will help you assess key questions and considerations and help you hopefully find a great match for you and your firm.

How to Choose the Best Legal Marketing Agency for Your Law Firm

So, let’s run through a few key red flags. These are just things you may want to consider as potential warning signs that an agency partner might not be the right fit for your firm. They’re just things to keep in the back of your mind, like lack of legal industry experience, a one-size-fits-all approach, no clear metrics for success, high staff turnover, and poor responsiveness. If these are things you’re running into during the evaluation process, it may be time for you to think about whether or not that agency could be a long-term right fit for you. Why do I say that? Because choosing an agency isn’t about simply just checking boxes, it’s about finding the right feel and fit for your law firm. This is a significant investment of time, resources, and finances by your firm, so you want to make sure that you feel the approach of the agency partner you are choosing is aligned with the best fit for your firm. A great agency partner at the end does not just execute tasks over time, they become a trusted advisor and are truly invested in the success of your firm.

I want to thank you for tuning in today. If you’ve enjoyed this episode, please consider leaving a review on iTunes and subscribing to the show wherever you listen to podcasts.

Download How to Choose An Agency Partner