Director, Brand Communications at McGuireWoods in New York, NY

Overview

The Director of Brand Strategy & Communications leads the evolution, articulation and activation of the firm’s brand across internal and external audiences. Working closely with the Chief Marketing and Business Development Officer, firm leadership and the broader Marketing & Business Development (MBD) team, the Director is responsible for ensuring the firm communicates a distinctive, authentic and consistent market position that reflects its culture, capabilities and value to clients.

This role serves as both a brand strategist and change leader, helping the organization move beyond traditional communications toward an integrated approach to brand, reputation and storytelling. The Director will listen across the organization to understand the firm’s culture and strengths, translate those insights into compelling differentiation, and educate and engage lawyers and business professionals around how the brand should come to life.

Ultimately, the Director is responsible for developing a modern communications function that strengthens the firm's reputation, creates greater consistency across the client journey and helps McGuireWoods communicate why the firm is meaningfully different in an increasingly competitive legal market.

McGuireWoods, one of the world’s leading law firms, has provided legal solutions to corporate, individual and nonprofit clients since 1834. Along with excellent benefits, McGuireWoods offers most employees a hybrid remote option allowing flexibility and work-life balance. Our Applicant Disclosures describe your rights. Our Privacy Statement describes how we will process and safeguard your personal data.

Responsibilities

Brand Strategy & Evolution

• Lead the continued development and evolution of the firm's brand strategy, positioning, messaging architecture and narrative in partnership with the Chief Marketing and Business Development Officer and firm leadership.
• Develop a deep understanding of the firm's culture, client relationships, strategic priorities and competitive strengths through active listening and engagement with lawyers, clients, business professionals and other stakeholders.
• Translate those insights into clear, credible and compelling points of differentiation that can be consistently communicated across markets, practices, industries and audiences.
• Serve as a steward of the firm's brand, ensuring its positioning and identity are consistently reflected across communications, business development, digital channels, events and other client experiences.
• Continually assess how the firm's brand should evolve in response to changes in client expectations, the legal market, technology and the competitive landscape.

Organizational Leadership & Brand Adoption

• Lead the internal journey of building understanding and adoption of the firm's brand strategy across the MBD department and broader organization.
• Educate MBD professionals on the firm's positioning and provide frameworks, tools and guidance that enable teams to translate the brand into their respective areas of responsibility.
• Build support for evolving brand and communications strategies among senior leadership, lawyers and other key stakeholders by clearly articulating the business rationale, opportunity and intended outcomes.
• Serve as a strategic counselor to firm leaders on reputation, positioning, messaging and significant internal and external communications.
• Build partnerships across Business Development, Client Experience, Strategic Events & Branding, Marketing Technology, Digital, Media Relations and other functions to create a connected and consistent market presence.

Storytelling & Market Positioning

• Establish the firm's overarching storytelling strategy and identify the stories, proof points and experiences that best demonstrate the firm's differentiation.
• Partner with Business Development and practice and industry leaders to translate business priorities, client successes, market insights and lawyer experience into compelling market-facing narratives.
• Guide thought leadership strategy with an emphasis on relevance, differentiation, audience value and alignment with the firm's strategic priorities rather than volume of content.
• Oversee the strategic direction of the firm's digital content, website, social media, executive communications, internal communications, advertising and other key communications channels.
• Partner with Media Relations to ensure earned media and external communications reinforce the firm's broader brand narrative and strategic positioning.
• Develop communications approaches that strengthen the connection between the firm's external brand promise and the experiences delivered to clients, lawyers and business professionals.

Technology & Communications Innovation

• Reimagine the communications function through the lens of emerging technology, automation and artificial intelligence.
• Partner with Marketing Technology, Digital and other teams to identify opportunities to automate routine production, content management and administrative processes while maintaining appropriate quality, governance and brand standards.
• Establish modern workflows and communications systems that improve speed, consistency, collaboration and reuse of high-value content and intellectual capital.
• Explore how technology can enable greater personalization and more relevant communications across client and stakeholder audiences.
• Use efficiencies created through technology to redirect team capacity toward higher-value activities, including strategic counsel, creative development, storytelling, audience engagement and differentiated brand experiences.
• Establish appropriate governance for the use of emerging technologies in communications, balancing innovation with accuracy, confidentiality, reputation and professional standards.

Communications Strategy & Reputation

• Lead the firm's integrated internal and external communications strategy, ensuring communications reinforce the firm's business strategy, culture and market position.
• Provide strategic communications counsel for major firm initiatives, leadership priorities, organizational changes and other matters affecting the firm's reputation.
• Establish standards and governance for communications across the firm while empowering teams to operate effectively within those standards.
• Oversee major firm communications platforms and programs, including digital content, executive communications and internal communications.
• Partner with relevant teams on rankings, awards and other reputation-building opportunities, focusing resources on efforts that meaningfully support the firm's positioning and business priorities.

Team & Operational Leadership

• Lead, develop and inspire a high-performing communications team capable of operating as strategic advisers, storytellers and brand stewards.
• Establish clear roles, expectations and accountability while developing the capabilities required for a modern communications organization.
• Shift team capacity from transactional production toward higher-value strategic and creative work through improved processes, technology and thoughtful allocation of resources.
• Develop appropriate measures of communications effectiveness, moving beyond activity and output metrics toward measures of audience engagement, reputation, brand consistency and business impact.
• Manage external agencies, consultants and other partners as appropriate, ensuring outside resources complement internal capabilities and deliver measurable value.
• Oversee communications resources and investments with an emphasis on effectiveness, efficiency and alignment with firm priorities.
• Recruit, develop, coach and evaluate communications professionals and build succession and professional development plans for the team.

Qualifications

• Requires college degree and five to ten years related communications experience. Law degree highly desirable.
• Excellent time management and multi-tasking skills.
• Strong manager who can direct, coach, motivate and inspire people to work hard.
• Strategic thinker that understands branding and consistency of message and the look/feel.
• A team player that can fulfill the roles as necessary.
• Proven ability to build relationships with a wide range of people.
• Keen eye on cost controls and ability to negotiate the best prices.
• Strong technology knowledge of relevant existing and new technology.
• Attention to detail ensuring a quality product.
• Ability to interface with attorneys and all other levels within the Firm.
• Planning and organizational skills.
• Budget creation, management and innovation in maximizing the use of funds.
• Interest in using innovative AI technology, including Harvey and Copilot, to support efficient high-impact work.

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