Solicitors should focus on content that reaches the right audience, demonstrates expertise and has a realistic prospect of generating instructions
Many law firms feel pressure to comment whenever there is a new judgment, legislative announcement or legal story in the media.
Sometimes that is worthwhile. More often it is not.
Solicitors should not treat every legal development as an opportunity to produce content. They should first consider whether the subject is relevant to their target market, whether it is likely to be read by anyone of consequence and whether it has any realistic prospect of supporting an instruction.
Law firms are not news organisations. Their content should serve a different purpose.
Law firms cannot compete with the media on speed
Media organisations are structured to identify, produce and distribute news quickly. They have journalists, editors, publishing systems and established approval processes designed to get stories out while they are still current. Most law firms do not.
A piece of commentary may need to pass through a solicitor, a department head, a marketing team and one or more partners before it is published. By that point, the story may already have been covered extensively elsewhere.
This is particularly important online, where interest in a news story can peak and disappear within a very short period. Commentary published several days later may be accurate and well written but still arrive after the audience has moved on.
Solicitors do not usually have the same reach
Publishing content does not mean it will be seen. Established media outlets have large audiences, email lists, social media followings and visibility through news aggregators and search engines. Most law firms do not have comparable distribution networks.
A solicitor may spend several hours preparing a detailed summary of a legal development only for it to receive limited traffic and little engagement.
This does not mean law firms should never produce timely commentary. It simply means they should be realistic about who is likely to see it and whether the potential return justifies the work involved.
Choose commentary with the target market in mind
The fact that a story is important to lawyers does not necessarily mean it matters to prospective clients. Before producing commentary, a firm should consider whether the subject is relevant to the people or organisations it wants to reach.
A technical judgment may attract interest within the legal profession but have little practical significance for the firm’s target clients. In contrast, a relatively modest regulatory change may be highly valuable if it affects a specific sector the firm advises.
The key question is not simply whether the subject is legally interesting. It is whether the intended audience is likely to care.
Solicitors should also consider whether those readers are likely to need legal advice as a result. Commentary is more commercially useful where there is a clear link between the development, the problems faced by the target market and the services offered by the firm.
Consider the likelihood of gaining an instruction
Not every article needs to generate an immediate enquiry. Content can also support brand awareness, demonstrate expertise and strengthen relationships with existing clients and referrers.
However, firms should still be clear about what the content is intended to achieve.
Before spending valuable time writing a news-led article, it is worth asking:
- Is the topic relevant to a market the firm wants to target?
- Are people affected by the development likely to require legal advice?
- Will the published article reach those people?
- Does the firm provide that advice?
- Is there a clear route from reading the article to making an enquiry?
Where the answer to any of these questions is no, the firm’s time may be better spent elsewhere.
Reporting what happened is not enough
A law firm article should not simply repeat a story already covered by the media.
The firm’s value lies in explaining what the development means in practice. That may include who is affected, what risks arise, what action should be taken and when legal advice may be required.
A short explanation of the news may be necessary for context, but it should not dominate the article.
Solicitors should move quickly to the insight only they can provide. That is what demonstrates expertise and gives the reader a reason to engage with the firm rather than a newspaper or trade publication.
News commentary has a short lifespan
Most news-led content has a limited period of relevance.
It may attract attention for a few days or weeks, but interest often declines quickly once the story develops or is replaced by something newer. In some cases, the article may become outdated almost immediately, particularly where legislation is still being debated or a decision may be appealed.
That makes news commentary a relatively short-term marketing asset.
The time spent researching, drafting, reviewing and publishing it should be assessed against how long it is likely to remain useful.
Evergreen content usually offers a better return
Evergreen content is content that remains relevant long after publication. Rather than reacting to a particular announcement or judgment, it answers questions prospective clients are likely to ask repeatedly.
Examples include articles on how long someone has to make a personal injury claim, what happens when a business partner breaches a shareholders’ agreement or whether an employer can dismiss an employee during probation.
These subjects are not tied to a single news cycle. People may search for them throughout the year and, provided the content remains legally accurate, for several years.
This gives evergreen content a longer commercial lifespan. It can continue to attract search traffic, support service pages, be shared on social media and answer common questions during the enquiry process.
It is also often closer to the point at which someone needs legal advice. A person searching for an answer to a specific legal problem is more likely to be considering an instruction than someone reading general commentary on a recent court decision.
Evergreen does not mean maintenance-free. Content should still be reviewed and updated when the law or relevant guidance changes. However, it will usually remain useful for far longer than a conventional news article.
When commentary is worth producing
There are circumstances where timely commentary can be highly effective.
It may be worth producing where the development directly affects an important target market, the solicitor is a known authority on a topic or the subject is closely connected to a service the firm wants to promote.
Commentary can also work where solicitors can explain practical implications that have been overlooked by the wider media or where the firm has a strong existing audience in the relevant sector.
Speed still matters. If the firm cannot publish while interest remains high, it may be better to wait and produce a more considered evergreen article once the immediate news cycle has passed.
Social Media is a more time-efficient way to comment on the news
Not every worthwhile development requires a new article on the firm’s website. Where a story is relevant but likely to have a short shelf life, the firm can share a news report, official announcement or press release on social media and add a brief comment explaining why it matters.
This allows solicitors to demonstrate awareness and contribute a useful perspective while the story is still current. It avoids the time and cost involved in researching, drafting, approving and uploading a new webpage, sourcing an image and optimising the content for search.
The accompanying comment should still add something of value. A sentence or two identifying who may be affected, the practical significance of the development or a point others have overlooked may be sufficient. If the subject subsequently proves to have lasting relevance, it can then be developed into a fuller evergreen article.
Interpret the news rather than report it
Law firms should not attempt to compete with journalists on speed, reach or volume.
Their advantage lies elsewhere.
Solicitors can provide informed interpretation, practical guidance and specialist insight. That is far more valuable than repeating a story the audience has already seen.
The best law firm content is selective. It focuses on subjects that matter to the firm’s target market, have a clear connection to its services and offer a realistic opportunity to support an instruction.
In most cases, that means prioritising useful evergreen content over short-lived commentary. When a firm does choose to respond to the news, it should do so because it has something relevant and valuable to add, not simply because the story exists.
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