Why hire a legal content writer? Three practical reasons (plus what to check before you do)
Introduction
So, why should you hire a legal content writer?
When your lawyers or policy specialists write their own content, two issues usually arise: accuracy or capacity. A specialist legal content writer protects both, turning complex matters into clear, compliant copy that brings in work and saves fee-earner time.
It’s common to confuse content marketing with sales copy and direct advertising. The aim of effective legal content is to engage and educate your audience. A legal content writer will create informative and engaging content that addresses your audience’s needs. This could involve answering frequently asked legal questions, providing information about more complex legal topics, or offering practical tips and advice.
Compelling content is essential to build your brand’s reputation and attract new leads.
Here are three practical reasons legal firms, regulated organisations, the public sector and charities outsource, plus a quick checklist for hiring the right writer.
Reduce risk. Hire a legal content writer for accurate, compliant and clear content
Clients and prospects need clear information, and regulators expect it.
A legal content writer:
understands risk boundaries and the importance of not giving off-the-cuff advice.
writes for lay readers while maintaining legal accuracy.
meets accessibility and inclusivity expectations, structuring legal content appropriately, using descriptive headings and readable sentences.
Need sector-accurate copy that takes away risk? Read more about how a legal content writer can help.
Create capacity: free fee-earner time at lower effective cost
Associate hours are scarce. This means that content writing for lawyers can often go to the bottom of the ‘to do’ list. If you want to become a trusted authority in your practice areas, working with a good legal content writer and engaging freelance legal content writing services can transform your reputation.
Outsourcing routine content such as practice pages, service guides, FAQs, blog explainers and client alerts to a legal content writer, means:
partners can focus on billable work, not drafting web pages
predictable fixed fees instead of internal opportunity cost
Faster time-to-publish with a writer who’s legally trained and understands your tone of voice
A typical 1,000 word practice page can take a senior associate a long time to complete. Hand it to a specialist legal content writer with a structured brief and you get the same quality, signed off in a single review round, while your fee-earners do what they’re paid for: client work.
Win work: better visibility and persuasive copy
To win work, prospects need to firstly be able to find you. The other half of the job is persuading your readers to act.
A legal content writer will:
Target the terms buyers actually search .
Structure content for search and for your target audience (clear H1/H2s, internal links, FAQs, descriptive meta).
Write to convert, using benefit-led headlines, credibility proof, social proof and clear next steps.
By crafting well-researched, informative content such as blogs, articles and whitepapers, legal content writers can demonstrate your firm’s expertise to potential clients. This could be anything from discussing recent legal developments to providing practical advice on common legal issues.
The value of engaging content that builds credibility and trust with your audience can’t be underestimated.
When you shouldn’t outsource (and what to keep in-house)
Legal advice
On occasion, it might not be possible to assist with urgent same-day updates where the fastest route is internal (e.g. breaking regulatory changes requiring immediate client comms).
Deep technical advice pieces that require named authorship
Work in respect of live matters or sensitive/privileged issues.
What to look for when you hire
Examples from your practice areas / areas of expertise
Process: Has the legal content writer provided a briefing template? do they capture tone-of-voice? Do they manage version control? Do they use a plain-English approach?
Evidence of regulatory compliance in respect of confidentiality, data handling (UK GDPR) and awareness of conflicts.
Business fit: How does the legal content writer charge (fixed fees, payment by project, payment by word)? Are timelines clear and agreed by both parties? What is the revisions policy? Is there collaborative sign-off?
Ready to learn more? Book a short scoping call.
FAQs
What’s the difference between a legal content writer and a legal copywriter?
A legal content writer focuses on accuracy and clarity for legal audiences. The aim is to educate, inform, entertain and build trust. A legal copywriter writes to accomplish a specific action, with a focus on persuasion and search.
Clear and Credible provides both services: to find out more click here.
How do we know your content is accurate?
Firstly, as you’re working with a qualified lawyer, you’re in safe hands when it comes to legal accuracy. I use a two step review: first I check the substance for legal compliance and secondly, I check for clarity, tone and compliance language (disclaimers etc). I also offer a revision process to ensure you have full oversight, allowing you to tweak anything if you decide you’d like to make changes.
Can you match our tone of voice?
Yes. At the outset, I’ll go through a short discovery process with you. I’ll also adhere to any Tone of Voice guidance and Style Guide you may have (voice, banned terms, reading age, formatting).
What can we outsource safely?
Practice/Service pages, sector pages, people bios, blog explainers, client guides, campaign landing pages, whitepapers, social media posts, briefings and long-form articles. I also offer an AI-review service should you have draft content that you would like to optimise for search.
A good legal content writer who understands the importance of search engine optimisation (SEO) will improve your firm’s rank in search engine results. A legal SEO writer can strategically incorporate relevant keywords, create compelling headlines and optimise metatags, increasing the organic traffic to your website.
Next steps
If you’re thinking of getting support from a legal content writer, there are some simple ways to test the value:
Request a single page rewrite to test the impact of sector-specialist writing and how well it improves clarity and client engagement.
Trial a blog or article series. For example, you could outsource two or three thought-leadership posts to maintain consistency without tying up fee-earner time.
Book a short scoping call to consider your current content plan and identify quick wins for outsourced support.
Summary
In short, engaging legal content writing services and/or hiring a freelance content writer is far more cost-effective than relying on your own lawyers to write your content. A legal SEO writer has the specialist skills to get your firm the visibility it needs, and outsourcing frees up your lawyers to focus on the billable hours.
Effective legal content helps you to build trust and credibility, educates your audience and improves your online visibility. Transform your legal marketing. Give me a call to learn more.
