I enjoyed this webinar and article from Michelle Calcote King, Reputation Ink and Jordyn Cordner, Strategic Technology Solutions, on what is working and not working in law firm marketing in 2026. One point particularly stood out for me.

Law firms are competing to be the experts that AI tools find, trust and reference. And as Michelle and Jordyn put it, “Generic content disappears; specificity wins.”

I think some people look at AI and conclude that lawyers will need to write less because AI can produce the content instead. 

I think the opposite is true.

AI can produce endless amounts of content. What it cannot produce is a lawyer's actual experience, judgement and point of view. 

That is why concise, timely and client-relevant thought leadership matters more than ever. 

It means giving a short and useful answer to three questions: What has happened? Why does it matter to my clients? What should they be thinking about or doing next?

“The first impression used to be a meeting. Now it’s content.”

The objective is to remain top of mind and tip of the tongue. When a client has a problem, you want them to think of you. When a client, prospect or, importantly, another lawyer at your firm asks who they should speak to, you want your name to be the one that gets mentioned.

The audience is internal as well as external. In most firms, I talk with the lawyers who do not really know what many of their colleagues do - or what they know. They might know their practice area, but not the particular issues they understand, the sectors they work in or how they think.

Regular thought leadership helps solve this because it makes expertise visible inside the firm as well as outside it. Over time, that visibility creates familiarity. Familiarity builds trust, and trust is what gives a partner the confidence to introduce a colleague to an important client.

AI will change how expertise is discovered, but it does not change the fundamentals. Lawyers still need to be useful, relevant and visible. Probably more visible now than ever.