Digital Director Emma Maule has been featured extensively in the Law Society Gazette in an article about how law firms and legal tech companies need to evolve their marketing strategies in the age of GenAI, with Emma’s quotes both opening and closing the piece.
Written by leading legal tech journalist Joanna Goodman, the article explores how firms can make sure that their unique expertise is recognised in an AI-first digital environment, with earned media, credible signals and reputation playing a much bigger role in how firms are surfaced and trusted. Joanna looks at earned media, social media, and the legal directories.
“The new premium status of earned media is creating a commercial feedback loop: firms featured in credible media are more likely to surface in AI responses, driving visibility, enquiries, and further coverage.” says Emma.
Within the directories boxout, Emma is quoted:
Could GenAI boost legal directories? “Legal directories are perfect training and retrieval tools for large language models,” says Emma Maule, digital director at MD Communications. “A strong ranking is now more likely to surface indirectly via AI-generated answers. However, this needs to be combined with owned content, as well as earned media and social media, in order to stack authority signals. Directories are a crucial part of your PR and comms toolkit, in combination with earned, owned, and social media.”
From a PR perspective, there is a shift in mindset:
- It’s no longer about volume of coverage, but being present in the right, opinion-shaping outlets
- The value of coverage is extended through social media amplification, which increases both reach and the likelihood of being picked up by AI systems
Finally, Emma underlines the continued role of thought leadership – but only when it’s effectively distributed. Social media plays a key role in positioning lawyers as credible experts, creating a “symbiotic relationship” where media, social, and owned content all reinforce each other to boost both human and AI visibility.
