Attorneys and their law firms should strive to become THE destinations for thought leadership in the eyes of their clients and referral sources—not merely sources of it.
Is there another attorney, fictional or otherwise, who has inspired more attorneys to pursue the practice of law than Atticus Finch?
While defending Tom Robinson in his trial for allegedly raping Mayella Ewell, Finch fought to secure justice for his client. In doing so, he showed the world—and generations of future attorneys—the impact attorneys can have on their clients’ lives and society.
With all due respect to Mr. Finch, the local legal market in his fictional Maycomb County, Alabama, in the mid-1930s bears little resemblance to local and regional legal markets today.
So while attorneys may wish to emulate Atticus Finch’s commitment to seeking justice for his client, if they want to build a legal practice that feeds their families, they should emulate Joe Rogan.
Standing out by becoming THE DESTINATION
The way people find information today is rapidly transforming. There are several reasons for that, including evolving SEO and social media algorithms, the rise of short-form social media video, and the influence of AI in both search and content creation.
Yet, amidst this flux, many established and newer media outlets and content creators aren’t just surviving; they’re flourishing.
Why? Because they’ve become destinations for information or entertainment, not simply sources of it.
The people who actively seek out, for example, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Mr. Beast’s YouTube channel, Joe Rogan’s or Alex Cooper’s podcasts, or any ALM/Law.com media property know what to expect from the content these organizations and individuals produce. When they want that content, they go directly to these sources for it. In many audience members’ eyes, these individuals and organizations have become trusted sources of information or entertainment (or both).
Sure, they have competitors, maybe even formidable ones. But there are many media outlets and content creators that have carved out such a powerful brand that they are the unquestioned, go-to places for the information and entertainment they provide.
This is how you and your law firm can cut through the noise and stand out with your thought leadership content today, tomorrow, and in the coming years. You strive to be the Mr. Beast, Joe Rogan, or Alex Cooper of your practice area, while your practice group or law firm strives to be The New York Times of its practice areas.
In other words, you and your firm strive to become and stay THE DESTINATIONS for thought leadership, not merely one source among many.
THE DESTINATION — not just a source — for knowledge, wisdom, and insights that show past, current, and prospective clients and referral sources and other target audiences that you and your firm should be the first call they make when they need attorneys who do the work that you and your colleagues do.
Seven strategies for becoming THE DESTINATION for thought leadership
How, exactly, do you and your firm become THE DESTINATIONS for thought leadership in the eyes of your target audiences? Here are seven high-level considerations to guide you as you and your firm build a content program aimed at achieving this goal.
First, commit to the idea and merits of thought leadership.
You and your firm will have to embrace the philosophy that the best way to impress upon your target audiences that you are authorities regarding the work you do is to consistently create thought leadership content that is relevant, valuable, and compelling to them.
You and your colleagues must be convinced that thought leadership content creation should be a vital component of your marketing and business development efforts today and for the foreseeable future.
Second, commit to owning a niche and/or an industry.
Resist the urge to create thought leadership content about broad topics related to your practice. Instead, commit to creating content that positions you as owning specific niches or industries within your practice—even if you want your client base to be broader than those niches or industries.
The goal is for you to plant your and your firm’s flag as THE leading source of information regarding the niche or industry you serve by consistently producing thought leadership regarding everything clients need to know regarding that niche or industry.
To become and remain THE DESTINATION for people who want to stay up to date on the most impactful news regarding a niche or industry, you’ll need to cover more than just court decisions, legislation, or administrative agency actions. Thus, you and your colleagues will need to embrace sharing insights not just about legal issues, but also about economic, societal, and political trends impacting that niche or industry.
Third, commit to consistent, frequent content production.
You knew this was coming, right? Consistent, frequent content production is key to becoming THE DESTINATION for thought leadership in the eyes of your target audiences.
We’re not talking about publishing content monthly or bi-weekly. Strive to produce content at least weekly. Ideally, aim to produce multiple content pieces per week in multiple forms. Speaking of which . . .
Fourth, take an omnichannel approach.
If you want to become THE DESTINATION for thought leadership for your target audiences, you can’t rely on just articles or blog posts. To become a true destination, you’ll need to meet your target audiences where they are regarding content consumption.
We all consume content differently, and we all have our preferred ways of consuming content. Consider creating thought leadership content in the form of podcasts, videos, social media posts, and email newsletters.
Additionally, think about ways you can mix, match, and repurpose that content. For example, email newsletters that cover the same topics as recent articles but in summary form, or blog posts derived from recent podcast episodes. This ensures that your valuable insights reach individuals who prefer various content formats.
Fifth, consider the full spectrum of content.
People not only want to consume content in different formats, but even those who prefer one medium often like a variety of offerings.
For example, not every piece of written content should be a 2,000-word article. Nor should it even be an 800-word blog post. Sometimes, a concise 250-word “hot take” on a relevant news item is all that’s needed.
On the multimedia front, consider 60- and 90-second videos as complements to your longer YouTube videos. And, for podcasts, consider five- to seven-minute episodes focused on news updates or “tips and tricks” as complements to your longer interview-based episodes.
On the other end of the spectrum, go big. Like, really big.
Consider dedicating resources to proprietary research and other flagship content pieces that no other firms could create because they haven’t invested the time and resources into their thought leadership programs, or they don’t have the same knowledge about the underlying subject matter that you and your colleagues have.
Sixth, staff your content operation appropriately.
If you want to become THE DESTINATION for thought leadership in the eyes of your target audiences, your content creation can’t just fall on the shoulders of the attorneys at your firm. It takes a team to create a steady stream of relevant, valuable, and compelling content that allows you and your firm to be seen as THE DESTINATION for thought leadership.
Consider hiring a content manager who can oversee a practice or industry group’s content creation. You’ll also want to consider hiring at least one dedicated writer to ease the time and effort burden on attorneys to write thought leadership, as well as at least one editor who can handle video editing and audio (i.e., podcast) editing. Someday—or even today—your content operations might need multiple writers and editors.
If your firm is large enough, you could deputize members of your firm’s or practice group’s marketing, communications, and business development teams to take on some of these responsibilities without hiring new employees to do so. Or, you could hire an exceptionally talented individual to handle all three responsibilities.
If you want to become THE DESTINATION for thought leadership for your target audiences, you can’t expect one or two attorneys to drive content creation for an entire practice group.
Just like one or two attorneys don’t handle all the legal work for a practice group, one or two attorneys shouldn’t be expected to handle all the content creation for one.
Seventh, seek feedback from your target audiences.
Finally, you’re going to want consistent feedback from your target audiences. Understand what they do and don’t like about your content, and create future content with that feedback in mind.
Which topics do they want you and your colleagues to cover more often? Which topics couldn’t they care less about?
Are the formats you’re producing adequate? Are there new formats your target audiences want you to deliver your content in?
Do your target audiences enjoy the mix of subjective and objective content you produce? Would they prefer more coverage of legal developments, such as decisions, legislation, and regulatory actions, or do they want to see more of your and your colleagues’ opinions and hot takes?
Incorporating feedback from your target audiences will help you create content that draws in and retains readers, viewers, and listeners. If your target audiences aren’t reading, watching, and listening to your content, it can’t do its job of building your and your colleagues’ authority.
Thrive in today’s legal marketplace by becoming a DESTINATION for your target audiences
Despite the dynamic and sometimes chaotic nature of content creation and content discovery today, many individuals and organizations, both newbies and established players, are thriving. They’ve separated themselves from the pack because they’ve become destinations for their respective audiences. Learn a lesson from them.
To survive and thrive in today’s legal marketplace, you and your law firm should strive to become THE DESTINATION for thought leadership for your target audiences.
By consistently providing relevant, valuable, and compelling knowledge, wisdom, and insights to your target audiences, you and your firm can become the first places they go for information about the areas of law you and your firm practice and the industries you serve—and the first people they call when they need legal assistance.
Society is counting on you to fight for justice like Atticus Finch did.
Your family is counting on you to build your practice by developing a devoted following like Joe Rogan has.
Wayne Pollock, a former Am Law 50 senior litigation associate, is the founder of the Law Firm Editorial Service, a thought leadership consulting and ghostwriting service. The Law Firm Editorial Service helps law firm partners and executives at organizations serving the legal industry produce high quality, human-written thought leadership articles that meet their exacting standards in a fraction of the time they would typically spend writing such articles themselves. He can be reached at waynepollock@copostrategies.com.
Reprinted with permission from the January 9, 2026, edition of The Legal Intelligencer © 2026 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.