Jana Schilder

To Grow Big, Be The Media’s “Go To” Source On Family Law

Andrew Feldstein, managing partner of Feldstein Family Law Group, interviewed by Marci Ien on Canada AM on the topic of the odd disappearance of the mother of the late Michael Jackson, who had interim custody of his children.
Andrew Feldstein, managing partner of Feldstein Family Law Group, interviewed by Marci Ien on Canada AM on the topic of the odd disappearance of the mother of the late Michael Jackson, who had interim custody of his children.

CLIENT

A Toronto family law firm.

PROBLEM

Our family law firm client was already very successful as one of the largest niche firms in Greater Toronto. The head of the firm gave us a mandate to make his law firm even bigger by developing and running a reputation program.

One of our client’s unique differentiating factors is that the business was a corporation rather than a partnership, which is how most law firms operate. When all of the lawyers work on salary and don’t have equity in the business, the decision-making curve is short.

However, this means the managing partner is responsible for keeping everyone busy, and having lots of work in the pipeline is a must. To use law firm lingo, he is the sole “rainmaker.”

OPPORTUNITY

Turn our client into one of the best known family law firms in Greater Toronto, helping to ensure that the phone rings constantly with new clients. But “best known” also means that the firm must maintain the highest reputation for quality work, client service and client satisfaction.

The client wanted to be widely known, so media relations became a heavy component of the reputation enhancement plan.

DELIVERABLES

We created a proactive, annual news media plan incorporating law and business publications, newspapers, television and radio. We made a list of family law topics that are of interest to the media and prioritized the list.

On the reactive side, we constantly monitored magazines, newspapers, radio and television for opportunities for our client to be an “expert commentator,” who could offer readers and viewers insight and context on family law issues.

RESULTS

In one year, we obtained more than 40 media mentions for the client including major interviews in The Globe and Mail, The Toronto Star, numerous law firm journals, Newstalk1010, CTV and CBC.

The coverage resulted from both proactive and reactive media opportunities. Equally important, the client would be available to the media on short notice.