VP of Communications

About the Role

TopDog Law is a nationally scaling personal injury firm built for impact and growth, owning the client experience end-to-end—from marketing and intake through litigation. We combine world-class marketing with exceptional legal talent and operations to create better experiences and outcomes for clients and the business. As the VP of Communications, you will own TopDog's reputation in the legal space, driving a strategic shift from a historically defensive communications posture to an offensive one. The mandate is trust and authority, targeting stakeholders including industry publications, trial attorney forums, plaintiff bar associations, legal media, mainstream business media, local media, state bar leadership, prospective attorney hires, B2B referral partners, and the broader legal community.

The role centers on a reputational transition: shifting TopDog’s perception from a marketing network to a leading, powerful, client-obsessed law firm. You will build and execute an offensive communications strategy guided by a client-first thesis—positioning the firm as trustworthy and credible through respected leadership, visible client-centric operations, and proven results.

Responsibilities

• Founder Platform – James Helm: Build James into a named industry voice through published bylines (Law360, ABA Journal, Trial magazine), podcast placements, and speaking engagements at AAJ, state trial lawyer association conferences, and legal industry events. Develop message frameworks for interviews about the firm’s transition and business model.
• Earned Media Strategy & Execution: Build and run the earned media program from scratch. Select and manage agency partners (boutique legal PR firms, national agencies, or a combination) to secure placements that shift how the plaintiff bar, legal press, and business media perceive TopDog.
• Attorney Legitimization Program: Establish firm-wide standards and support for attorney public presence, including LinkedIn guidelines, local media protocols, professional headshots, message coaching for new hires, and content templates. Ensure seamless onboarding for attorneys asking, "Who helps me post about my new role?"
• Attorney Recruiting Communications: Develop and place jurisdiction-targeted communications on Law.com and equivalent platforms to attract elite attorney talent, signaling TopDog’s growth as a serious in-house litigation practice. Partner with recruiting on messaging and placement strategy.
• Attorney Referral Communications: Position TopDog as a firm worth referring cases to via placements in trial lawyer forums and industry publications. Messaging emphasizes geographic coverage, resources for high-value cases, and fee structure.
• Tech & Process Storytelling: Turn TopDog’s client-centric tech (including AI) into PR assets for outlets like Above the Law, Legaltech News, Bloomberg Law, and mainstream business press.
• Wins Amplification: Own the end-to-end process for identifying, packaging, and placing significant client and attorney wins. Collaborate with marketing, case management, and the General Counsel to ensure bar-compliant framing, results qualifiers, and co-counsel language. Target placements in trial attorney publications, verdicts databases, local press, and industry media.
• Narrative Development: Partner with the CMO to shape, pressure-test, and evolve TopDog’s narrative platform. Develop media objects, research pieces, industry reports, and position papers that advance the firm’s category-leadership story.
• Firm Transition Narrative: Structure the public story around TopDog’s shift from a lead generation model to a national in-house litigation firm, ensuring compliant framing in partnership with the General Counsel.
• Crisis & Issues Management: Own responses to adverse verdicts, bar inquiries, employee issues, plaintiff losses, and negative press in close collaboration with the General Counsel. Build and pressure-test the crisis playbook.
• Agency & Vendor Management: Select and manage PR agency partners, media training vendors, awards programs, and industry sponsorships. Address the agency mix as a strategic question during the interview process.

Requirements

• 10+ years running communications for a law firm or regulated professional services company where reputation was the operating constraint.
• Demonstrated legal industry communications experience with placements in Law360, ABA Journal, Bloomberg Law, or comparable outlets.
• Proven experience building or managing an earned media program—not just executing against one.
• Direct experience placing founder or executive voices in tier-one legal media.
• Direct experience running crisis communications.
• Politically astute—comfortable navigating the intersection of a firm’s ambitions and its regulators.
• Able to drive strategy from day one with deep knowledge of how legal media operates.

Preferred Qualifications

• Personal injury-specific communications experience.
• Comparable exposure through mass torts, product liability, or defense-side communications at an AmLaw 100 firm.
• Existing relationships within plaintiff bar media and associations (AAJ, state trial lawyer associations).
• Experience with legal tech or productized professional services storytelling.
• Track record of category-defining features in tier-one legal or business press.
• Experience building internal attorney communications programs from scratch.

Core Values

• Embrace Change: Open to feedback, embracing change, and always asking "what's next?"
• Committed: You care deeply, have your teammates' backs, and show up to build something lasting.
• No-Ego Energy: Positive, professional, and solutions-oriented. Drama stays at the door.
• Ownership: You do what you say, follow through, and treat the business like it's yours.
• Fast & Hungry: You move with urgency, thrive under high expectations, and are motivated by growth and impact.

Benefits

• Medical, dental, and vision insurance.
• 401(k) with company match.
• HSA (Health Savings Account).
• Life insurance and disability coverage.
• Paid time off and parental leave.

Pay

Base salary range varies by geography based on local market rates and cost of labor. Eligible for performance-based bonus.