AI tools are changing the marketing game for small and midsized law firms, making it easier for them to compete with the bigger players in their markets. In this episode of "Spill the Ink," Michelle Calcote King interviews Jennifer Scotton, the Chief Marketing Officer at Constangy, to discuss how AI is transforming legal marketing. Jennifer's team views AI as an enhancement of human capabilities, not a replacement, and has implemented a firmwide policy emphasizing its ethical use. In this interview, she highlights specific tools her team uses, including custom GPTs for website content and AI headshot tools for remote photography. Jennifer explains how she selects which tools to adopt, and considerations for maintaining a growth mindset and preserving institutional knowledge for long-term success when using AI in law firms.

• Why treating AI as an accelerant rather than a replacement extends human expertise and creates space for higher-value thinking and relationship building.

• Which AI tools make Jennifer's shortlist, including Aragon.ai, OpusClip, Picky and There's An AI for That

• How to develop custom GPTs that maintain brand voice consistency.

• How AI headshot tools solve professional photography challenges for remote and distributed law firms.

• How to use AI to establish historical knowledge so teams can access past decisions and processes.

• Why starting with one key pain point and conducting small pilots leads to more sustainable AI adoption than trying to implement everything at once.

• The resources legal marketers can use to discover new AI tools and learn from peers implementing similar solutions across the industry.

• How the shift in client attitudes toward AI from resistance to expectation is creating competitive advantages for firms that embrace innovation.

A relentless innovator and true change agent, Jennifer Scotton serves as Constangy's chief marketing officer. In this role, she guides the firm's marketing and business development strategy, leading a team of highly skilled marketing professionals.

With 20 years of experience in legal marketing, Jennifer has enjoyed multiple leadership positions at both the regional and international levels of the Legal Marketing Association, as well as serving on the American Marketing Association's Board of Directors. An award-winning marketing professional, she was named to Triad Business Journal's "Top 40 Professionals Under 40" list in 2022, selected as an "Unsung Legal Hero" by North Carolina Lawyers Weekly in 2018 and has led her team to win multiple "Your Honor" awards from the LMA.

• Check out Constangy

• Follow Constangy on LinkedIn and Facebook

• Connect with Jennifer Scotton on LinkedIn

• Say hello to Michelle Calcote King on LinkedIn

• Use JENNIFER15 to get 15% off Aragon.ai

This episode is brought to you by Reputation Ink.

Founded by Michelle Calcote King, Reputation Ink is a marketing and public relations agency that serves B2B professional services firms of all shapes and sizes across the United States, including corporate law firms and architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) firms.

Reputation Ink understands how sophisticated corporate buyers find and select professional services firms. For more than a decade, they have helped firms grow through thought leadership-fueled strategies, including public relations, content marketing, video marketing, social media, podcasting, marketing strategy services, creative services and more.

To learn more, visit www.rep-ink.com or email them at info@rep-ink.com today.

Understanding the methodology behind legal rankings can transform how law firms approach the nomination process. In this "Spill the Ink" episode, Elizabeth Petit, Vice President of Research and Development at Best Lawyers, pulls back the curtain on the peer-review process that has been the rankings program's foundation since 1983.

Michelle and Elizabeth also discuss the transition path from the "Ones to Watch" list to "Best Lawyers" recognition, the role of AI in improving rankings visibility without impacting the methodology itself and critical action steps firms should take before the December 12 nomination deadline to ensure their lawyers are positioned in the correct practice areas.

• Strategic considerations for nomination decisions, including experience thresholds and practice area selection approaches.

• The distinct pathways and requirements for lawyers at different career stages, from emerging talent to established practitioners.

• What law firms should understand about the relationship between the "Ones to Watch" list and "Best Lawyers" recognition.

• Critical timing and accuracy considerations for the nomination process to avoid common classification pitfalls.

• The methodology that distinguishes Best Lawyers' peer-review process from popularity voting and client satisfaction measures.

• The ways Best Lawyers incorporates AI technology while maintaining the integrity of its quantitative ranking methodology.

Elizabeth Petit gave serious consideration to pursuing a legal career, but a twist of fate brought her to the research department of Best Lawyers' parent company in 2010. She remained with the organization and has led the Research and Development department since 2012.

Guided by the long-respected transparent methodology of Best Lawyers, Elizabeth has established the consistency of the quality of research throughout the organization's platforms and services, most notably its three institutional programs: Best Lawyers, Best Law Firms and Lawyer Directory.

Elizabeth initiates many Best Lawyers products and plays a pivotal role in guiding their execution. She has found it particularly rewarding to have maintained the original mission of the company while enhancing it in new and creative ways.

Elizabeth earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from Tulane University before receiving her Master of Arts from the University of South Carolina. Additionally, she holds certificates in Project Management (2019) and Non-Profit Management (2009) from the University of South Carolina, where she also served as adjunct faculty member from 2009-2020.

• Check out Best Lawyers

• Follow Best Lawyers on LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram

• Connect with Elizabeth Petit on LinkedIn

• Say hello to Michelle Calcote King on LinkedIn

When AEC firms grant decentralized offices free rein to create their own messaging, the results can be damaging: wasted resources, confused clients, weakened competitive positioning and marketing teams that unknowingly sabotage each other's work. Yet many firms continue operating this way, treating brand fragmentation as an inevitable cost of doing business across multiple markets.

In this episode of "Spill the Ink," Michelle Calcote King sits down with Amy Zelenka, Director of Marketing at Affiliated Engineers, Inc. (AEI) to explore what happens when AEC firms allow their decentralized structure to fragment their brand identity across offices, markets and practice areas. According to Amy, the solution isn't centralized control, but rather strategic alignment that preserves regional flexibility while ensuring consistent messaging.

• Who Amy Zelenka is and her journey from Fortune 100 companies to AEC marketing.

• About Affiliated Engineers and how the 900-person MEP firm tackles complex building challenges.

• Why decentralization can create bigger brand challenges for AEC firms than for other industries.

• The hidden costs of brand fragmentation, including wasted time, lost credibility and weakened differentiation.

• How the seller-doer model can contribute to inconsistent messaging across offices.

• Why a hybrid approach works better than purely centralized or decentralized marketing.

• Why effective brand guidelines must go beyond visual identity to include strategic messaging.

Amy Zelenka has spent 25 years building marketing expertise across diverse industries, from Fortune 100 companies to startups, before finding her calling in architecture and engineering. She previously served as Global Marketing Director at Jensen Hughes and led marketing across three business units at Johnson Controls International. At AEI, where she's Director of Marketing, she drives brand development, digital strategy, communications and marketing database management.

Amy holds an MBA from the University of Wisconsin and combines strategic thinking with hands-on execution for AEI's 900-person organization. Her approach blends creativity with data-driven insights, connecting AEI's engineering talent with opportunities to tackle the industry's most complex building challenges.

• Check out Affiliated Engineers Inc. (AEI)

• Follow AEI on LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram

• Connect with Amy Zelenka on LinkedIn

• Say hello to Michelle Calcote King on LinkedIn

This episode is brought to you by Reputation Ink.

Founded by Michelle Calcote King, Reputation Ink is a marketing and public relations agency that serves B2B professional services firms of all shapes and sizes across the United States, including corporate law firms and architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) firms.

Reputation Ink understands how sophisticated corporate buyers find and select professional services firms. For more than a decade, they have helped firms grow through thought leadership-fueled strategies, including public relations, content marketing, video marketing, social media, podcasting, marketing strategy services, creative services and more.

To learn more, visit www.rep-ink.com or email them at info@rep-ink.com today.

In this episode of "Spill the Ink," Michelle Calcote King sits down with Gabe Lett, Chief Marketing Officer at Prairie Engineers, to explore what happens when technical experts dictate marketing decisions and marketing teams get buried in proposal work. According to Gabe, the results are ineffective communication, missed opportunities for business development and frustrated professionals on both sides.

Gabe brings a unique perspective to AEC marketing, having grown up in the industry with a father who was a civil engineer and business owner. This background gives him deep insight into both the technical and business sides of engineering firms, which he leverages to bridge the gap between engineers and marketers to drive results for his firm.

• Who Gabe Lett is and his unique path into AEC marketing.

• About Prairie Engineers and their multidisciplinary approach.

• The biggest misconceptions between technical professionals and marketers.

• Why engineers need to move from communicating "how" to "why."

• How to push back on technical leaders' marketing ideas using genuine curiosity.

• The difference between proposals and marketing (and why it matters).

• Why marketing deserves a seat at the leadership table.

• How to establish marketing as business-critical rather than a convenience function.

Gabe Lett began marketing engineering services in 2003 for Tri-State Engineering, a family business in Joplin, MO. He had marketing and business development roles for two other engineering firms. He joined Prairie Engineers as Chief Marketing Officer in 2024. Gabe creates strategy for Prairie Engineers' marketing and business development activities. In leading these teams, he provides inspiration and insight to help achieve growth and work satisfaction for employees.

Gabe enjoys active community service. He is an Elder at his church and serves on several community non-profit boards. In 2021, Gabe published the book, "The AEC Professional's Guidebook: 70 Lessons to a Stronger Career." Gabe is an avid mountain lover and regularly hikes Colorado peaks every summer. Gabe and his wife, Jamie, have three daughters.

• Check out Prairie Engineers

• Follow Prairie Engineers on LinkedIn and Facebook

• Connect with Gabe Lett on LinkedIn

• Say hello to Michelle Calcote King on LinkedIn

• Find Gabe Lett's book, "The AEC Professional's Guidebook: 70 Lessons to a Stronger Career," on Amazon

This episode is brought to you by Reputation Ink.

Founded by Michelle Calcote King, Reputation Ink is a marketing and public relations agency that serves B2B professional services firms of all shapes and sizes across the United States, including corporate law firms and architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) firms.

Reputation Ink understands how sophisticated corporate buyers find and select professional services firms. For more than a decade, they have helped firms grow through thought leadership-fueled strategies, including public relations, content marketing, video marketing, social media, podcasting, marketing strategy services, creative services and more.

To learn more, visit www.rep-ink.com or email them at info@rep-ink.com today.