D&I advocate Justin Farance social media clout valued at nearly £200k
New research has sought to place a value on social media posts by influential lawyers, spotlighting Irwin Mitchell‘s Jen Shipley as the top “SuperInfluencer” with annual engagement exceeding a hefty £300,000.
The findings reveal that the top 10 legal influencers from the UK’s 200 leading law firms generated engagement valued at £1.21 million in LinkedIn advertising spend — more than double the £532,000 generated by the top ten firms’ LinkedIn pages.
Shipley, a medical negligence lawyer known for sharing updates and advice with her large LinkedIn following, leads the pack by a significant margin, with annual engagement valued at £307,435
Other notable names include A&O Shearman‘s D&I leader Justin Farrance, with engagement valued at £185,082; Howard Kennedy lawyer Mark Stephens, at £164,338; and Linklaters‘ global head of learning, Patrick McCann, at £28,654.
Marketing guru Simon Marshall conducted the research, calculating cash values based on what each firm would need to spend on LinkedIn ads to achieve the same level of engagement.
“Firms who want to take their social media to the next level need to embrace the SuperInfluencers,” said Marshall, CEO of TBD Marketing. “And if they don’t have influencers or superinfluencers, now would be the time to create some.”
He continued:
“SuperInfluencers like Jen Shipley are rewriting the rulebook, turning personal engagement into measurable business value. Rather than holding these rising stars back with corporate communications rules and strict brand guidelines, firms should see them as brand ambassadors, harnessing their influence to amplify the company’s reach.”
The LinkedIn top 10 UK legal ‘SuperInfluencers’
1. Jen Shipley, Irwin Mitchell — £307,435
2. Ilana Kattan, Hogan Lovells — £153,703
3. Justin Farrance, A&O Shearman — £185,082
4. Mark Stephens CBE, Howard Kennedy — £164,338
5. Sophie Wardell, Higgs — £58,917
6. Joel Shen, Withers — £124,000
7. Jon Gregson, Weightmans — £68,733
8. James Quarmby Stephenson Harwood — £82,524
9. Matt Schwartz, DLA Piper — £35,498
10. Patrick McCann, Linklaters — £28,654
Ranked by likes and comments with their ad spend equivalent in £.