Marketing Can Help Navigate During Times of Uncertainty

The legal industry — Big Law, in particular — is having a moment in the media spotlight. The glare is starting to feel like an interrogation light shining directly into our eyes.
Then there’s the economy. Are we headed for a recession? Trade wars? A market crash?
Clients are nervous. Lawyers are anxious. Firm leadership is skittish. Everyone needs reassurance, but that’s in short supply at the moment.
For lawyers and firms, and their marketing professionals, now is the time to up their go-to-market efforts.
Wait. The world feels like it’s on fire, and I’m suggesting … marketing?
Well, yes. Let me explain.
First, this is not an article about politics or what those firms that have been targeted by the current administration should do in response. While I willingly share my political opinions and my views (as both a lawyer and an American) on the current threat to the legal system and the rule of law with anyone who asks (and even many who don’t), this is not a soapbox, it’s a marketing article.
And marketing is, at its core, how lawyers and firms should navigate the current atmosphere of legal and economic chaos and uncertainty — and how they can help their clients do the same.
There is a reason some of the most overused phrases on law firm websites include “trusted adviser,” “trusted partner” and “trusted expert.” That last one — trusted expert — is both a no-no to claim to be (for a variety of reasons) but exactly what clients want, in good times and, especially, in challenging ones.
Lawyer-client relationships are built on trust. Clients — regardless of whether they are individuals, companies or other types of organizations — need to feel confident that they’ve made the right choice in lawyers and firms to help them with their most significant, often critical problems. They need to trust in a lawyer’s legal knowledge, skills and judgment. They need to believe that their lawyer is looking out for their best interests, aspirations and goals, and that their lawyer will keep them up to date about (and ahead of) risks and opportunities.
In other words, clients need to trust that their lawyers (and firms) have their back and know what’s needed to meet the moment.
Fortunately, lawyers and firms already have a time-tested method for building and keeping this trust.
Thought leadership.
Providing exceptional thought leadership — targeted, relevant and knowledgeable content — proactively, consistently and, perhaps, most importantly, without billing for it, is an essential client service at all times, but especially in times of uncertainty.
In relationships with clients, it can transform the lawyer’s role from mere legal service provider to trusted adviser and partner.
Thought leadership can deepen existing client relationships, protect against client attrition and increase the likelihood that clients will become enthusiastic references and referral sources. Published and distributed to key audiences beyond existing clients, this type of content can also establish lawyers as authorities on key topics and provide visibility with prospective clients who may not have previously known that those lawyers existed.
To be truly effective for both client service and marketing, however, thought leadership needs to be developed strategically and in alignment with business development goals, rather than in a reactive or ad hoc way. Undertaken intentionally, the process of developing thought leadership can even provide client service touchpoints and business development opportunities.
Here are some tips for strategic thought leadership in this crazy time.

Focus on Key Topics

At all times, but especially in times of flux and uncertainty, clients want their lawyers and firms to help them see around corners, and anticipate and proactively deal with issues and challenges. As an expert in your practice or industry, you may see and understand how legal, business and economic developments could impact your clients in ways they might not yet know about. And you want to educate clients on the issues. But to your clients, the difference between a trusted resource and every other law firm that’s putting out “thought leadership” (and they all are) is relevance. Clients want content targeted to how these developments likely to affect them, their operations, their bottom lines or their lives?
Not sure what your clients want or need to know? Start with the questions they are already asking you. While you may be providing advice tailored to specific clients, the questions those clients are asking are a very good indicator of what other clients in the same space, market, industry or situation are likely asking.

Use Thought Leadership As a Client Touchpoint and Business Development Opportunity

Consider holding listening sessions with your key clients on the issues or concerns that are top of mind for them. Schedule a call or an in-person meeting, making it clear in advance that you won’t be billing them for the time. These listening sessions are an excellent client service touchpoint — one that communicates that you value what they have to say and your relationship with them, even when you’re not being paid to do so. Listening sessions also have the potential to uncover opportunities for more or different work for existing clients and to enhance your clients’ awareness of you and your firm.
Remember that these listening sessions can also surface valuable information about what is relevant not only to your clients but also to a broader audience that could include prospects — those who may be actively looking for trusted sources to help them get through difficult times.

Provide Insights, Not Just Information

We live in an age of unlimited information. (No, AI did not write that; I thought of it all on my own.) One of the biggest complaints clients have about law firm content is that it’s all the same. Yes, it’s important that your clients see that you’re on top of the latest developments. But that’s the lowest-priority objective for your thought leadership, and clients want a lot more than that from their lawyers and firms, not to mention their “trusted advisers.” They want insights and perspectives based not only on their lawyers’ legal knowledge and experience, but also on a demonstrated understanding of their clients’ needs, challenges and concerns.
In other words, they don’t want news alerts — they can get those from lots of places, including your competitors. They want actionable guidance.
If you’re not providing that, you’re taking a huge risk with your clients and missing a big opportunity with prospects.
According to the "2024 Edelman LinkedIn B2B Thought Leadership Impact Report," 70% of C-suite executives say that a thought leadership piece has made them question whether their adviser relationship is working for them. More than half report that thought leadership content made them realize other service providers might be smarter, more visionary or better able to understand their challenges than their existing advisers.
And here’s the kicker: Of the original 70% who questioned their existing adviser relationship after seeing a competitor’s content, 25% either significantly reduced or ended that relationship.

Be Timely

“First in the inbox” is not the objective. Beating your law firm competitors in the race to inform clients about a new development is not consistently doable unless you have a whole team of folks at the ready 24/7 to prepare and distribute your content. As a goal, it’s also at odds with providing insights, not just information. If clients’ experience that you consistently provide analysis and guidance rather than just reporting the same old facts, they will be willing to wait for your thought leadership. That’s the very definition of a trusted adviser.
That said, clients are looking for guidance to help them meet the moment — and that moment is currently very changeable. Being timely requires looking beyond the traditional in terms of what thought leadership looks like and finding ways to get usable information out to clients and the broader market as soon as possible. Instead of a 1,500-word alert or blog identifying the development and providing a comprehensive analysis of the issues (which can take several days for lawyers to put together), give clients 400 or 500 words of key takeaways and possible recommended steps to take, without the extensive scene-setting (because that’s just reiterating what your clients already know), and the promise of follow-up as the situation develops.
Timeliness is about providing guidance at or close to the moment when the issue is top of mind for clients. It’s also about recognizing that thought leadership is not “one and done,” especially in today’s chaotic economic and legal environment.

Address the Legal Services Elephant(s) In the Room?

Should firms be addressing directly the current administrations actions toward law firms, the suits and the settlements, and the focus on eradicating diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies? That’s the big question of the current times, for which there is no one-size-fits-all answer. This isn’t typical marketing; this is crisis management. Lawyers and firm leadership, and the marketing professionals who support them, are making hard decisions about what’s best for their firms in an environment where public scrutiny — especially for larger and more well-known firms — is high, and firm-ending reputational, legal and business risks lurk around every corner.
One essential through-line is that clients are looking for guidance they can trust and feel confident in. Thought leadership is a time-tested method of delivering on that.