For junior lawyers especially those in the largest firms, it can be hard to stand out from the crowd and make an impression with the partners and with your clients.
Unlike more experienced colleagues, you will simply not have been around long enough to have formed the professional relationships and got the technical experience to mark you out as a “go to” expert.
Ultimately, however, becoming recognised as a credible and trusted expert is how you will win work, build your client base and progress your career.
Professional credibility
PR can play a crucial role in establishing and enhancing your professional credibility. Writing thought leadership articles, participating in speaking engagements and being quoted in reputable publications can showcase your expertise and build trust with potential clients and peers alike. It can help you make the case for promotion or if you wish to move on to another firm, media coverage in the right publications will impress at interview and when someone takes the trouble to Google you.
No doubt you will be ambitious and ready to work hard to succeed in your chosen field but, this need not necessarily be a hard slog. There are some easy strategies you can adopt, harnessing the power of PR, to propel you and your career to great heights.
Here are some of my top PR tips for junior lawyers:
- Crafting your personal brand in your professional field will not only help attract potential clients but will also assist with enhancing your reputation with partners and others within your firm. For more tips on this see my blog: Why lawyers need to build their own personal brand.
- Don’t mistake self-promotion for PR, there is far more to it than that. Great PR means building relationships within the legal community, be that fellow lawyers, journalists, bloggers, content creators, publishers, other professionals as well as potential clients.
- While being active on social media is a given these days, use it wisely – you don’t want to become known for the wrong reasons. Thoughtfully engaging in social media discussions, commenting on, liking and following posts from those you want to build a professional relationship with, such as journalists working in your sector, can help get you known. Aim to keep expanding your network and increasing your credibility.
- Remember it’s not all about you. If you have causes you are passionate about or a charity you are involved with or if you do pro bono work this can be a great source of indirect PR, you can enhance your reputation while contributing positively to your community – a win-win.
- If you are lucky enough to work in a firm with its own in-house marketing team, invest some time getting to know them and thinking about how you can help each other.
- If your firm doesn’t have a marketing team, then it’s DIY – try approaching some relevant editors yourself with article ideas. For example, if you are a property lawyer contact the EG or Property Week with some themes that are ideally hooked to a live news story or a client trend you have picked up on. Likewise, if you are an employment lawyer target leading HR titles like People Management or Personnel Today. For more tips on this see my blog: Standing out from the crowd: how to get a journalist to open your email
- Be generous with your time and contributions and collaborate with others where you can. For example, could you contribute content to someone else’s blog? For more tips on this see my blog: Guest blogging
Remember…
Becoming known as an expert in your field won’t happen overnight, but showcasing your achievements effectively can speed up the process and effective PR is the key to this.
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Need some help with PR? Feel free to drop me an email to arrange a 30 minute complimentary call or take a look at some of the packages I offer law firms, accountancy practices and other b2b businesses.