The findings were revealed off the back of a study conducted by marketing agency, TBD Marketing, that looked at the output of 4,500 lawyers and other professionals at the top 200 law firms for a report that will be published early in 2025.
A list of the top 10 LinkedIn ‘superinfluencers’ was created, on the basis that each of them got the equivalent of at least 10,000 likes per quarter. Comments on posts were counted as four likes, in line with LinkedIn’s current algorithm. Figures were calculated for ad spend equivalent, but each were ranked based on likes and comments.
The list’s top five ‘superinfluencers’ cumulatively have as much influence on the networking platform as the 11 biggest law firms combined, in one instance creating engagement worth over £300,000 in LinkedIn ad spend.
Similarly, the top ten ‘superinfluencers’ from the top 200 law firms created engagement that was worth around £1.2 million - over double the LinkedIn ad spend of the top 10 law firm pages at £532,000.
Consider this, for example:
In order to match the influence of the list’s leading ‘superinfluencer’, Jen Shipley, a senior associate in the medical negligence team at Irwin Mitchell, the firm would have to have spent £307,435 on LinkedIn ads in 2024.
Ilana Kattan, an associate and competition and regulation specialist at Hogan Lovells in Washington DC, placed second on the list with an ad spend equivalent to £153,703.
Justin Farrance, a solicitor and DE&I ambassador at A&O Shearman, placed third with an ad spend equivalent to £185,082.
The study reveals a clear need for law firms and the wider legal sector to reconsider their social media approach if they want to prioritise growing their presence on platforms like LinkedIn.
Simon Marshall, chief executive of TBD Marketing, believes the top ten’s success is due to the freedom they post with online. He said:
“The people in the top ten have got a different worldview to their firms. They have things they’re passionate about, they have opinions, they have preferences, and they don’t have to worry about only issuing posts that every lawyer in the firm has approved.”
He believes that the legal sector has entered a new era, where exceptional individuals “massively outperform” their firms on social and networking media.
He continued: “What this means is that we need to see an evolution of law firm social media strategy, so we move away from the firm page to the firm page plus influencers. That’s the magic formula."
