Director, Market & Client Communications

Overview

Foley & Lardner LLP is a great place to work because of what we do and how we do it. Here, your unique perspectives, experiences, and abilities will be embraced and developed, so you can excel. Being a part of Foley means having the opportunities and resources necessary to gain experience, advance professional goals, and forge meaningful connections. It’s a place where you can build your career and enjoy professionally satisfying work. We have over 2,300 people who are #HappyatFoley, and we think you will be too.

The Director, Market & Client Communications leads market-facing communications that strengthen Foley's brand reputation, elevate its visibility and engagement in the market, and advance client development, go-to-market priorities, and talent recruiting. This role shapes the firm’s narrative for clients, prospects, referral sources, lawyers, business professionals, and recruiting audiences. The position focuses on demand creation, market differentiation, thought leadership, lawyer visibility, client-facing content, external storytelling, and recruiting-aligned brand communications. It also develops targeted internal communications that help lawyers and business professionals understand Foley’s market activity and effectively position its capabilities. This unique opportunity focuses on strengthening Foley's brand reputation, elevating its visibility and engagement in the market, and advancing client development in support of Foley’s strategic goals. Responsibility for other communications functions resides elsewhere within the firm, including crisis management, executive, leadership, and internal communications.

Responsibilities

Core Responsibilities

• Develop and execute integrated external and go-to-market communications strategies that support Foley’s client development, sector, practice, talent acquisition, recruiting, and market growth priorities.
• Direct and manage agency and external supplier support, including setting priorities, briefing and coordination across geographies, and managing communications budget and spending.
• Shape and steward Foley's market-facing narrative, ensuring that messaging clearly communicates the firm's differentiators, expertise, culture, and client value.
• Oversee public relations, awards nominations, rankings submission process, creative, social media, and content strategy to advance go-to-market and practice priorities, elevate the firm’s capabilities and perspectives, and strengthen its visibility through timely, relevant market commentary.
• Partner with Business Development, Client Development, sector leaders, practice leaders, attorneys, Talent, and Recruiting to create communications plans that advance revenue growth, client engagement, lawyer visibility, employer brand strategy, law student recruiting communications, and lateral recruiting campaigns.
• Develop internal sales-enablement communications, including market updates, campaign summaries, capability talking points, and materials that help lawyers, business professionals, partners, and client-facing teams understand Foley’s market activity and activate the firm’s go-to-market strategy.
• Lead thought leadership strategy, editorial planning, and content development tied to priority industries, practices, client needs, market opportunities, talent positioning, and brand storytelling needs.
• Identify and elevate high-impact stories, insights, matters, client issues, lawyer perspectives, and people-related proof points through proactive public relations, profile-raising, and content opportunities that reinforce Foley’s market position and talent value proposition.
• Develop messaging, talking points, media materials, bylined articles, alerts, client-facing content, social media content, website copy, recruiting-adjacent brand content and blog posts, internal market updates, and other external or go-to-market communications as needed.
• Partner with digital, creative, social media, events, rankings, marketing technology, Talent, and Recruiting to deliver integrated campaigns across appropriate external channels.
• Coordinate with Leadership Communications team to calendar and distribute internal sales-enablement communications via appropriate internal channels.
• Monitor market trends, competitor positioning, client priorities, talent market dynamics, media conversations, and industry developments to identify communications opportunities.
• Measure and report on the effectiveness and ROI of marketing communications using qualitative and quantitative data, including engagement, reach, share of voice, earned media quality, content performance, internal sales-enablement engagement, and contribution to client development and talent acquisition goals.
• Establish standards, processes, calendars, and governance for external and go-to-market internal communications to ensure clarity, consistency, and alignment with business priorities.
• Stay abreast of developments in marketing communications to bring new thinking and creativity to the function.

Success Measures

• Increased visibility, recognition, and understanding of Foley’s priority sectors, practices, lawyers, strategic growth initiatives, talent priorities, recruiting-relevant differentiators, capabilities, value proposition, and culture.
• Improved quality, consistency, and business relevance of Foley’s external market-facing, talent-facing, and internal go-to-market communications.
• Measurable engagement with thought leadership, client-facing content, talent-facing content, internal sales-enablement content, media placements, social media, and integrated campaigns.
• Stronger alignment between communications activity, client development priorities, talent acquisition priorities, recruiting-alignedbrandvisibility, and lawyers’ ability to sell firm capabilities.

Management & Mentorship

• Develop training programs and best practices for the BD and marketing communications team, attorneys and others engaging with internal and external communications across the Firm.
• Lead, coach, and develop 10+ member team and manage supporting public relations, creative, social media, content strategy, thought leadership, and external communications.
• Provide strategic communications guidance and coaching to lawyers delivering market commentary through media interviews and other external platforms, and pursuing speaking, thought leadership, recruiting-related visibility, internal capability presentation, and other market-facing opportunities.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's Degree required.
• Minimum of fifteen (15) years of strategic marketing communications and brand experience, including integrated plans across content strategy, public relations, digital, social media, SEO, and internal communications required.
• Law firm experience strongly preferred.
• Impeccable written and verbal communications skills, with the ability to effectively tailor communications for different stakeholders and audiences.
• Collaborative relationship builder with the interpersonal skills to work well across the Business Development & Marketing Communications function and wider firm, build trust with stakeholders, and create consensus around new programs and initiatives.

In support of transparency and equity in the workplace, Foley provides salary ranges for all positions. The figures below represent the full compensation range for this position. The actual amount offered will be between the range minimum and midpoint based on the following factors: education, experience, geographic market, and internal pay equity at Foley. We are accepting ongoing applications. Foley & Lardner LLP will consider qualified applicants with criminal histories in a manner consistent with California’s Fair Chance Act.

• $199,100 to $298,700

Foley offers a comprehensive benefit program which currently includes Paid Time Off; Paid Holidays; Medical, Dental and Vision insurance; 401(k) Retirement; Disability and Life insurance; Adoption Assistance; Backup Care for Dependents.

Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer/M/F/Vet/Disabled.

About Foley & Lardner

Foley is an Am Law 50 law firm consistently ranked among top-tier practices. With over 1,100 lawyers in 26 offices across the United States, Mexico, Europe, and Asia, our market-leading platform includes Corporate, Intellectual Property, and Litigation. Adding depth to our bench strength, we focus on four primary sectors: Energy, Health Care & Life Sciences, Innovative Technology, and Manufacturing. We look beyond the law to focus on the constantly evolving demands facing our clients and act as trusted business advisors to deliver creative, practical, and effective solutions.

For nearly two centuries, Foley has maintained its commitment to the highest level of innovative legal services and to the stewardship of our people, firm, clients, and the communities we serve. While respecting our roots, we’re also continuously looking to modernize all aspects of our business and elevate who we are and what we do, which keeps us focused on the future.