Fractional CMO for law firms
One senior owner for everything your firm spends on marketing.
Your vendors each report their own numbers, and none of them answers the question that matters: is this turning into signed cases? As your fractional CMO, I own that question, with the strategy, the budget oversight and the accountability.
Start a conversationSee if this sounds like youWhat you get
- One owner for strategy, budget and vendors
- A scorecard that tracks cost per signed case
- An independent review of every vendor
- Search and AI visibility strategy
- Senior leadership at a fraction of a full-time hire
The basics
You don’t have a marketing problem. You have a control problem.
You’re generating leads. Your phone is ringing. Your ad spend hasn’t stopped in years. And you still can’t say with certainty what’s turning into signed cases, or what’s leaking away before it reaches your intake team.
That’s an accountability gap. Somewhere between your website, your agencies, your intake process and your CRM, everyone owns a piece and no one owns the result.
As your fractional CMO, I’m that owner: a senior marketing leader who works with your firm part-time, owns strategy, oversees the budget, holds vendors accountable and reports on signed cases and cost per case, not clicks, impressions or brand awareness.
What an agency can’t tell you
Agencies are paid to run their channels, and they report on what they did: content published, ads run, rankings moved. They can’t see what happens after the click, and they have no reason to tell you if the problem is on your side. A fractional CMO sits above the channels and owns the whole path from first search to signed retainer.
I don’t run the ads or write the content myself. I direct the vendors who do, and I close the gap between their reports and what’s actually happening in your intake.
Sound familiar?
The problems I hear from law firms.
These come up in almost every first conversation. Here’s what I do about each one.
“I pay several vendors and couldn’t tell you what any of them did last month.”
How I help
I become the single owner above your vendors. Each one reports to a shared scorecard, so you see what was done, what it cost and what it produced.
“Our agency says everything’s going great. I can’t tell if that’s true.”
How I help
I review the work independently, with no financial tie to any vendor. You get a plain-language read on what’s working, what isn’t and what to ask for next.
“Our traffic is up, but our phones aren’t ringing.”
How I help
I map the path from first click to signed case and find where prospects drop out, whether that’s tracking, the website, call handling or lead quality.
“We get calls, but not the cases we want.”
How I help
I align your marketing with the case types you actually want, then tighten targeting, messaging and intake so more of the right calls turn into signed cases.
“Our competitors show up in ChatGPT and we don’t.”
How I help
I build entity-based content and local signals so AI engines can recognize your firm, then check the results by hand, prompt by prompt.
“I’ve become the marketing director by default, and it’s not my job.”
How I help
I take marketing off your plate with a clear strategy, a regular review rhythm and one monthly conversation, so you stay informed without managing it.
What’s included
The areas I own for your firm.
Strategy and budget
A marketing plan tied to the cases you want, with spend directed where it earns its keep.
Vendor oversight
One point of accountability for your agencies, freelancers and platforms.
Legal SEO and local
Rankings, the Map Pack, citations and content that earn the right cases.
AI search visibility
GEO and AEO work so ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and Google AI name your firm.
Paid search
PPC direction and budget review so ad spend brings in calls worth answering.
Intake and conversion
Call tracking, lead quality and follow-up, so more inquiries become signed cases.
Reporting
One executive scorecard: cost per lead, cost per signed case and channel performance.
Partner advisory
A senior voice in your partner meetings, with straight answers on marketing decisions.
How an engagement works
Four tools I use to find the leaks and fix them.
Client Acquisition Diagnostic
Before any strategy work, I map your acquisition path from first search or click through intake and signed retainer, and find where prospects are lost: slow response times, weak lead qualification, poor call handling or a website that ranks but doesn’t convert. Most firms are shocked to learn how much of their “marketing problem” happens after the lead comes in.
Marketing Performance Scorecard
One executive view instead of five vendor dashboards: cost per lead, cost per signed case, channel performance and intake conversion rate, built for a managing partner. You’ll know in minutes what’s working and where the next dollar should go.
Independent Agency and Vendor Audit
I audit your SEO, PPC and web spend independently, with no financial relationship to any vendor I evaluate. This surfaces wasted spend, underperforming channels and reporting that doesn’t hold up against signed-case data. In most engagements, this alone identifies enough reclaimed budget to fund the rest of the strategy.
Search and AI Visibility Strategy
Traditional SEO gets you ranked on Google. It doesn’t get you recommended by ChatGPT or cited in Google’s AI Overviews. I build local search strength in your target markets plus structured, entity-based content that positions your firm to be the one AI platforms recommend.
The comparison
Agency, full-time CMO or fractional CMO?
Each has a place. This is how they differ for a law firm.
| Marketing agency | Full-time CMO | Fractional CMO | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reports on | Activity: clicks, rankings, impressions | Varies by hire | Outcomes: signed cases and cost per case |
| Accountable for | Its own channel only | Full strategy, if experienced | The full acquisition path, from vendor to intake |
| Vendor oversight | None. They’re the vendor | Yes, if senior enough | Yes, independent of any vendor relationship |
| Legal-industry depth | Varies | Varies | 15+ years in legal marketing |
| AI and GEO search strategy | Rarely included or well understood | Depends on the hire’s background | Core competency |
| Cost | Ongoing retainer, activity-based | $200K–$300K+ salary plus benefits | Senior-level strategy at a fraction of full-time cost |
| Commitment | Month-to-month, per channel | Full-time, permanent hire | Scoped engagement, senior expertise on demand |
Is this a fit?
Who a fractional CMO is for.
This is for you if
- You’re already spending meaningfully on marketing and generating leads, and you’re done with reports that don’t connect to signed cases.
- You have several vendors and no one accountable for the combined result.
- A partner is acting as the marketing leader by default.
- You can’t tell whether your spend is turning into signed cases.
- You want AI visibility and local search handled with a real strategy.
- You want senior legal-marketing leadership without a full-time salary.
It’s probably not a fit if
- You want someone to write content, run your ads or build your website. I direct that work; I don’t replace the people doing it.
- You have little marketing in motion yet. This works best when there’s real spend to direct.
- You’re looking for the lowest-priced option.
- You want a guarantee you’ll be number one by Friday.
- You’d rather hear everything is going great than what’s actually working.
The best place to start
Start with the Diagnostic.
Before committing to an ongoing engagement, most firms start with the Client Acquisition Diagnostic: a clear-eyed map of where your marketing dollars are going, and where they leak before they become signed cases.
Ask about the Diagnostic
Who you’d work with
Me, personally.
I’ve spent 20+ years in SEO, 15+ of them in legal marketing, including years leading search strategy at Martindale-Avvo across 120+ client accounts. When you hire me, the person who understands your market is the person doing the work.
More about meQuestions
Before you reach out
What does a fractional CMO do for a law firm?
A fractional CMO owns the firm’s marketing strategy, budget, vendors and reporting on a part-time basis, so the managing partner no longer has to. The focus is on signed cases and cost per case, not clicks or impressions.
Does my law firm need a fractional CMO?
It makes sense if you have several marketing vendors with no one accountable for the combined result, if a partner is acting as the marketing leader by default, or if you can’t tell whether your marketing spend is turning into signed cases.
What is the Client Acquisition Diagnostic?
It’s a map of your acquisition path from first search or click through intake to signed retainer. It shows where prospects are lost, such as slow response, weak lead qualification, poor call handling or a website that ranks but doesn’t convert. Most firms start here before committing to an ongoing engagement.
How is a fractional CMO different from a marketing agency?
An agency is usually scoped to its own channels and reports on its own activity. A fractional CMO is independent of your vendors and accountable for the full path from first click to signed case.
Will you replace my current agency or vendors?
Not automatically. I start by reviewing what each vendor does and what it costs. Some stay, some change and some go. I have no financial tie to any vendor I review.
How much time will you spend on my firm?
The time commitment is set in our first conversation based on your firm’s size, vendors and goals, and it’s a fraction of a full-time role.
How much does it cost?
It depends on scope. After a short conversation I’ll give you a clear range before you commit to anything. It costs a fraction of a full-time executive hire.
Do you guarantee rankings or cases?
No. Nobody honest can. I commit to clear tracking, honest reporting and a plan tied to signed cases.
Can you also do the hands-on work?
I direct the vendors who do the work, and I don’t replace them. If you want a team to carry it out, I recommend Verdict Digital Marketing, the agency I founded. I own Verdict, and you don’t have to hire it to work with me.
If you have five vendors and no one owns the result, let’s fix that.
A short conversation is enough to tell whether a fractional CMO makes sense for your firm.
Start a conversationRead the case studies