Few attorneys know how to create effective videos. Here are four lessons they can learn about doing so from videos regularly created by—of all people—plumbers and cafe owners.
Judging by what you’re seeing on your social media feeds these days, it seems like EVERYONE is pumping out videos.
Your plumber, Paul.
The owner of that cafe a few blocks away, Cassie.
Your teenage nephew.
Your mother-in-law.
While we can only guess why your teenage nephew and your mother-in-law are posting videos, we know why Paul and Cassie are: They want you to think of them first when you have a broken sink or are craving a matcha latte and an almond croissant while you’re out and about.
We don’t have to tell you that attorneys should follow Paul and Cassie’s lead today, tomorrow, and for the foreseeable future. You’ve been told that by both your middle-school-aged neighbor and your definitely-not-middle-school-aged marketing colleagues.
But in our experience, while many attorneys know they should create videos as part of their marketing and business development efforts, relatively few understand how to create ones that attract clients and could lead to new client matters.
With that in mind, here are four lessons from Paul the Plumber’s and Cassie the Cafe Owner’s videos that attorneys should apply to their own videos.
Sell through education, not through self-promotion
Paul the Plumber could record videos that show you how to choose the right kitchen faucet based on the size of your kitchen, or that explain what you need to know about different toilet flush mechanisms. Or, he could record videos that show him smiling and shaking hands with people we’re supposed to believe are satisfied customers, so we think he’s good at what he does.
Which video type is more persuasive if you’re in the market for a plumber? The first one, right?
Cassie the Cafe Owner has the same two choices. She could record videos that show the process she follows to turn raw ingredients into beautiful pastries, while talking the viewer through the process. Or, she could simply look in the camera and say some variation of “We’ve been here for ten years and love our customers. Stop in today!”
Which video is likely to get you off your chair and in line at the cafe? Again, the first one, right?
Your current and prospective clients will react similarly to the two kinds of videos you could produce.
Sure, you could stand up in front of Atlantic Reporter volumes purchased during the George W. Bush administration, look into the camera, and talk about how many combined years of practice you and your colleagues have and how you pride yourself on “zealous advocacy” and “excellent client service.”
Or, you could post videos that discuss legal issues, developments in your clients’ industries, and current events that answer questions current and prospective clients are likely to have about them.
One video is forgettable self-promotion. The other positions you as the attorney to call when someone has a legal issue you can help with.
Balance being seen as an authority while also being seen as a human being
If you watch enough videos from Paul and Cassie, you’ll see that they aren’t fully buttoned up. They often let their personalities shine through. And, their videos sometimes include cameos from human and furry family members.
There’s a lesson there for you when you create your videos. Yes, you might be a talented attorney, but we’re relatively certain that you aren’t the only attorney practicing in your area of law. What, then, in the eyes of clients and referral sources, separates you from other attorneys practicing the same law you do?
Hint: it’s not the number of years you’ve appeared on the “Super Lawyers” list. It’s your personality.
Even on LinkedIn, personality-less discussions of the law (and life) can only get you so far. The videos that are most likely to resonate with clients and referral sources—and are most likely to lead to new client matters—are the ones that show some of your personality and make you likable to people who don’t know you. This is how audience members develop a parasocial relationship with you that fosters affinity and trust. This affinity and trust can persuade people going through difficult and emotionally taxing situations to pick up the phone and reach out to you.
There’s plenty of room to show off your personality without creating a spectacle. You need not record videos with family members if that makes you (or them) feel uncomfortable. Nor do you need to record videos of yourself working out, dancing, or engaging in other activities you would rather not share with the world.
You can inject your personality in more subtle ways. For example, record a video while drinking a coffee or another beverage, and spend 20 seconds talking about the store you bought it from, how you discovered it, or the manufacturer, before analogizing it to the topic you’re covering in the video. Or, record a video while walking around your neighborhood or a nearby park, discussing something about your surroundings before moving on to the substantive topic you want to cover.
That being said, as you’ve undoubtedly seen on LinkedIn, videos can too frequently be too personal. They can be so far on the personal side of things that they don’t show off the knowledge and wisdom an individual brings to the table. We advise our clients to always weave into their videos some substance related to their work. That way, every video reminds viewers about the work our clients do, which helps them stay top of mind regarding their legal practices or industries served.
Build your strategy around your target clients, not your comfort zone or preferences
Both Paul and Cassie primarily publish videos on Instagram and TikTok because they’ve determined that these platforms are where their target clients are most likely to find them. If you look at their feeds, you’ll see they have a variety of different video types and styles, but they produce some types and styles more often than others, such as Paul’s demonstration videos and Cassie’s “behind the scenes” videos we mentioned above.
Follow their lead. Your video content strategy must revolve around your target clients—not you. If your target client base is on Instagram or TikTok, your videos should be there too, even if you don’t regularly spend time on these platforms. If you’re an avid LinkedIn poster, but few of your clients see those posts, consider posting less on LinkedIn and more on the platforms where your clients are.
(But don’t stop posting on LinkedIn. Because relatively few attorneys do, you’d be missing opportunities to build referral relationships. But that’s a different topic for a different day.)
Likewise, your videos will not always perform well. That’s ok! Nobody’s videos always perform well.
Over time, if you pay attention to your videos’ metrics, such as number of views, likes, and comments, you’ll see certain videos fare better than others. It’s incumbent upon you to experiment with various video types and styles, giving your audience the opportunity to show you, through their engagement, their preference toward one type or style. Once they reveal that preference, you can then make that type or style most of the time. But you can also continue to test other types and styles to see if your audience’s preferences change.
Become—and stay—a student of the video game
Neither Paul nor Cassie was born a video creator. Nor did they each wake up one morning knowing everything they needed to know about creating videos. Instead, they did what every other video creator has done: They paid attention to the videos they consumed, thought about how they could talk about topics relevant to their businesses in a video, did so, and then hopped on trends in video creation that they observed by continuing to pay attention to the videos they consumed.
Steal this process from them. To excel at creating videos, pay attention to the kinds of videos you encounter—whether from other attorneys, other professional services providers, or other people generally—that attract likes, shares, and comments. Note the length, the substance, the location, how formal or informal the video is, the use of a microphone, the lighting, and any other details that would shape how you create a video.
Once you’ve become comfortable creating videos in a particular style, such as you sitting at a desk, consider experimenting with new video styles you’re seeing on social media. Remember, just because you recorded a video where you experimented doesn’t mean you need to publish it. But if you make video creation a regular component of your marketing and business development efforts, you’ll want to stay abreast of new trends and styles so that you stand out from the pack of attorneys creating uninteresting and uninspiring videos.
Seeking inspiration from clogged drains and decadent pastries
For most people, an attorney’s video discussing cryptocurrency regulations, a high-profile white-collar criminal case, or a state’s new environmental law is nowhere as interesting as a video showing a plumber unclogging a drain or a time-lapse video of a cinnamon roll baking in an oven.
But your videos aren’t targeting most people. They’re targeting people looking for knowledgeable attorneys to assist them with their legal or business issues.
Sure, your videos may never be as sexy as Paul the Plumber’s or Cassie the Cafe Owner’s. But if you follow their lead, your videos might be better than sexy. They might actually lead to new clients and matters for you and your firm.
Kerry Barrett is an Emmy Award-winning former television news anchor turned on-camera and video coach for attorneys. She specializes in helping legal professionals build authentic video presence across digital platforms. Drawing from two decades of on-camera experience, she coaches attorneys to transform their expertise into engaging video content that attracts and converts ideal clients. She can be reached at kerry@kerrybarrett.com.
Wayne Pollock, a former Am Law 50 senior litigation associate, is the founder of Copo Strategies, a legal services and communications firm, and the Law Firm Editorial Service, an award-winning thought leadership consulting and ghostwriting service for Big Law and boutique law firm partners, and executives at companies that serve the legal industry. He can be reached at waynepollock@copostrategies.com.
Reprinted with permission from the September 15, 2025, edition of The Legal Intelligencer © 2025 ALM Media Properties, LLC. All rights reserved. Further duplication without permission is prohibited, contact 877-257-3382 or reprints@alm.com.
Thinking about bringing on an outside writer to help your law firm strategize and create compelling thought-leadership marketing and business development content? Click here to schedule a 30-minute Content Strategy Audit to learn if collaborating with an outside writer is the right move for you and your firm.