Team Member spotlight: Samantha Drake

Written By Meg Pritchard, Principal and Founder
Picture of Samantha Drake create communications staff raider with green background. She’s wearing a denim jacket and a floral shirt. She has short brown hair and is smiling the title of the article team member spotlight, lead writer, Samantha, Drake,

A Journalist’s Journey

How I Became A Legal Marketing Content Writer

I’ve been a marketing content writer for more than 10 years and made my living as a journalist for a lot longer than that. A background in journalism isn’t necessary to be a good content writer, but it can help quite a bit. 

When I started writing marketing content for law firms, I felt my usual nervousness about trying something new. I’d written about numerous types of litigation over the years, including toxic torts, pollution liability, personal injury, and insurance, but what did I know about writing marketing content? I discovered I knew more than I thought. Good journalists and marketing writers are both able to quickly learn enough about a subject to write knowledgeably about it, tailor the content’s message to the target audience and craft a compelling narrative that makes readers want to keep reading. 

I started out working at a small local newspaper right out of college, I wrote about everything from sewer easements to small-town politics. That job made me realize I’m kind of addicted to learning about new things and coming up with ideas.

I moved on to other newspapers and a magazine and—when I inevitably got laid off—took a job at Mealey Publications, a small company that publishes newsletters for attorneys and was acquired by LexisNexis. At the time, I knew nothing about the legal system beyond paying a few parking fines, but I needed a job. I started off needing an editor to explain what a summary judgment means and ended up writing about U.S. Supreme Court oral arguments and decisions. The job led to other legal writing opportunities and my current position as lead content writer at CREATE Communications.

Now I write about legal topics such as U.S. copyright law, new developments in data privacy and banking regulations, and part of my job is generating ideas for new content in a range of industries. In 2024, I’m looking forward to writing effective, compelling content for new and existing clients that requires making sense of sometimes complex issues and providing knowledgeable insights for a specific audience. I especially enjoy writing content based on legal decisions, legislation and recent news. The journalist in me isn’t going anywhere. 

When I’m not writing—and there are times I’m not writing—I enjoy gardening, catering to my cat, and surprising people with my knowledge of weird royal history trivia.

Featured Articles

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Why ‘sales’ shouldn’t be taboo in legal services
Why ‘sales’ shouldn’t be taboo in legal services

I’m a swear-word enthusiast. I actually have that in my LinkedIn profile headline.

To know me is to know my creative use of the F-word — noun, verb, adjective, adverb, expletive.

I love a good unmentionable word. 

And I’ve noticed a taboo term popping up lately in legal service marketing — the “S-word”…

Sales.

There, I said it.

The idea that lawyers and firms don’t — or shouldn’t — “sell” to clients and prospects remains widespread.

I think it’s time we change this perspective. It’s neither practical nor sustainable in a legal services marketplace, where competition to keep clients and attract new ones is intense and the ability to stand out from the crowd is increasingly challenging for both lawyers and firms.

It’s also not what clients want or what serves them best in the long run.

Leveraging Rankings and Awards for Visibility
Leveraging Rankings and Awards for Visibility

In a recent blog post, we talked about how to make the most of the annual process of gathering the matters and references needed for submissions to research-based legal awards and directories. (You can read our blog post here: https://www.create-cmm.com/blog/making-the-most-of-rankings-and-awards.)

In this blog post, we’re giving you tips for getting the most visibility out of your recognitions, whether that’s one or many this awards season.

To truly get the most visibility out of rankings, recognitions and awards, you need to do some planning before the first submission packet is ever uploaded.

Learning the Lingo: How Industry Jargon Can Enhance or Hurt Marketing Content
Learning the Lingo: How Industry Jargon Can Enhance or Hurt Marketing Content

Every time a marketing content writer takes on a client in a new industry, we’re faced with learning at least one new set of business jargon— the client’s jargon — and often the industry-speak of the client’s clients as well.

The question is: How much jargon should we use in the content we create for our clients?

On the one hand, our job as marketing content writers is to help our clients show that they speak their clients’ language. On the other hand, peppering copy with too many industry-specific terms can alienate even the intended audience, not to mention the broader audience.

Jargon refers to terms and expressions used within a profession or industry that may be difficult for those outside the industry to understand. It often takes the form of shorthand for more complex processes. Often, jargon isn’t too difficult to figure out. For example, “capability uplift” is a human resource term that means investment in training and development to help employees build skills and knowledge. In the website development world, the term “breadcrumbs” is short for a site’s secondary navigation system that shows users the location of a webpage in relation to the rest of the site.

Meg Pritchard, Principal and Founder

I’m Meg—a lawyer, writer and editor, and marketing professional who understands the content marketing challenges facing law firms in today’s competitive—and cluttered—marketplace. I founded Create Communications in 2011 to serve as an outsourced resource for law firms that want to harness the power of branded content and thought leadership in their marketing and business development. When you work with us, you get a hand-picked team of kick-ass writers and editors with legal, journalism, business and marketing experience who believe that exceptional content can be the rocket fuel that powers business growth. We’re committed to defying your expectations, every time.

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