Ed. note: This is the latest installment in a series of posts on motherhood in the legal profession, in partnership with our friends at MothersEsquire. Welcome Susan Peters to our pages. Click here if you’d like to donate to MothersEsquire.
You worked incredibly hard to get to this place professionally and develop your skills. For 2025, make it a priority to raise your profile and get more work that you want!
As a former litigator turned public relations and communications professional, my advice is to promote yourself at all stages of your career, whether you are a brand-new lawyer or have been practicing for a while.
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Profile raising is key for lawyers looking to cement long-term success, build influence, and position themselves as leaders in their field.
Lawyers, especially busy mother attorneys ask me all the time: Why should I care about self-promotion? Why do this with what little free time I have? Isn’t my work product good enough? Sadly, the answer is no — profile raising is crucial for women for many reasons.
There is a huge gender gap in self-promotion, which incredibly begins as early as sixth grade, and a study finds that female workers’ deep discomfort over touting their skills and experience adds to gender gap in promotions and pay. We have to fix this!
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Lawyers with strong, visible profiles are more likely to attract new clients. A well-established public presence signals expertise and trustworthiness, making clients more comfortable in choosing them for legal representation.
Profile raising helps lawyers manage and shape their public image. By actively engaging in thought leadership, commenting on newsworthy topics, social media, or public speaking, lawyers control how they are perceived by the public, peers and clients.
In a crowded legal market, raising your profile distinguishes you and sets you apart from the competition. Being known for a particular expertise or leadership in the industry often gives you a competitive edge in securing high-profile cases and clients.
Additionally, a well-known lawyer can leverage their public profile to build a wider network of peers, clients and industry contacts. These relationships can lead to collaborations, referrals and new business opportunities.
A strong profile also makes lawyers attractive for media interviews (the fun stuff!) and speaking engagements. This helps further elevate your status as a thought leader. Lastly, lawyers with elevated profiles are more likely to receive referrals from colleagues, clients, and other industry professionals who recognize their expertise and trust their reputation.
Some Suggested Tactics On How To Do It
I am often asked what are the most effective ways to raise my profile with the least amount of time and effort. While everyone is different and excels in different areas, some of my top suggestions:
Thought Leadership and Content Creation
One of the most impactful ways to raise your profile is through thought leadership. Writing articles, blogs, or op-eds on topics relevant to your practice areas allows you to showcase your expertise and become a go-to source for the media. Publishing in industry or legal publications or contributing to platforms like LinkedIn can position you as authoritative voices in your field.
Have limited time? Focus on topics that align with your daily work or cases that you are currently handling. This makes content creation less time-consuming but still highly relevant.
Speaking Engagements
Speaking at conferences, panels, and webinars offers a direct way to demonstrate your knowledge and build your professional reputation. If you are newer to practicing or nervous about getting started, look for smaller, local engagements or virtual events, which require less travel and time commitment. Bar associations, legal organizations, and women-focused networks can often offer great opportunities. Preparing a few key presentations on familiar topics allows you to reuse and refine your material, reducing the prep time needed for each new event.
Awards And Recognitions
Actively pursue professional awards and recognitions! Sometimes women are more shy or nervous about submitting for these, but you should not be! These accolades offer third-party validation of your skills and achievements. Either you or your marketing professional should identify relevant awards and submit nominations for yourself (and others).
Social Media
Social media, particularly LinkedIn, provides an excellent platform to share your insights, successes, and opinions. By consistently engaging with relevant content and sharing professional milestones, women lawyers can build a robust digital footprint that amplifies their personal brand with minimal time invested.
Networking
Networking is critical for elevating your profile. However, this doesn’t mean that you must attend every event — that leads to burnout and overextension. Be strategic — choose key industry events, join niche groups (like MothersEsquire), and cultivate a small but powerful network of mentors, peers, and influencers in your area of law.
Depending on what stage you are at in your career, it is important to stay connected and visible. These groups foster a sense of belonging in a profession that can feel isolating, especially for mothers juggling multiple roles.
Balancing a legal career and motherhood comes with unique challenges, such as managing demanding schedules, client expectations, and family obligations. Networking with peers who also cope with and understand these struggles gives much-needed emotional support and camaraderie. These groups also create a unique safe space to share experiences, offer advice, and celebrate successes.
In our group, discussions often come up on topics of importance to lawyer moms such as navigating parental leave policies, maintaining work-life balance, or dealing with bias in the workplace. Members are really generous about sharing their resources like tips on time management, childcare solutions, or strategies for returning to work after maternity leave. It is also a great resource for referrals, as members regularly solicit recommendations for lawyers serving the specific practice area and jurisdiction that they need.
MothersEsquire has been a great group for networking and has allowed me to connect with lawyer mothers at all different stages of their careers, from law school students to mothers with adult kids out of college.
By combining these tactics and sometimes getting out of your comfort zone a bit, you can meaningfully raise their profiles, even within the constraints of a busy legal career and often-hectic family life.
Susan Peters is the founder of Greybridge PR, which provides public relations and communications assistance for legal and professional service firms. She was a litigator in New York City for over eight years before switching careers. She is also a member of the board of MothersEsquire.