[Episode Sixty-Nine of ‘The Employee Advocacy and Influence Podcast] 🎧
What does employee advocacy look like inside a law firm? In this episode of The Employee Advocacy & Influence Podcast, Lewis Gray and Elliot Elsley sit down with Sam Moles, Digital & Personal Brand Specialist and Employee Ownership Advisor at Stephens Scown, one of the top-ranked firms for employee advocacy.
Sam shares how Stephens Scown embedded advocacy into its culture, overcoming the hurdles of a traditional, highly regulated industry. From helping senior lawyers build confidence to supporting new hires with LinkedIn training, Sam explains how trust, patience, and proof points shaped their success. The conversation also explores how employee ownership and culture foster advocacy, and how the firm is approaching AI responsibly while maintaining authenticity.
Key Takeaways
- Why advocacy became essential for law firms during the pandemic.
- The dual challenge of building both confidence and competence on LinkedIn.
- How Stephens Scown embedded advocacy into its employee-owned culture.
- Why authenticity is more valuable than ever in the age of AI.
- Practical ways to onboard leaders and junior staff into advocacy.
Embedding Advocacy into Firm Culture
Too often, advocacy is treated as a corporate mandate, something employees “have” to do. At Stephens Scown, Sam has helped make advocacy a cultural norm. It’s not enforced from the top down but woven into the everyday practices of the firm. New hires receive LinkedIn onboarding, monthly drop-ins give lawyers ongoing support, and champions within teams help normalize the behavior. Over time, advocacy became self-perpetuating, as employees encouraged one another and saw the value for themselves. For businesses seeking to establish sustainable advocacy rather than short-term compliance, this episode provides a roadmap to success.
Employee Ownership Reinforces Advocacy Success
Stephens Scown’s employee ownership model is a natural amplifier for advocacy. As Sam explains, when employees are also owners, they have a vested interest in the firm’s success, and advocacy becomes an extension of that. Employees who invest in their personal brand are simultaneously strengthening the collective brand, creating a win-win scenario. This sense of shared responsibility and reward has been a key driver in embedding advocacy across the firm. For listeners, it’s a powerful example of how ownership structures and advocacy strategies can reinforce each other to create a stronger, more engaged workforce.
Balancing Confidence and Competence on LinkedIn
A recurring challenge in professional services is that experts possess in-depth knowledge of their subject but lack the confidence to share it publicly. Sam captures this perfectly with his idea of balancing “confidence and competence.” Lawyers are highly competent in the law, but many hesitate to post on LinkedIn for fear of saying the wrong thing or being judged by senior colleagues. At Stephens Scown, Sam and his team created training and support systems to remove these barriers, from basic LinkedIn know-how to building reassurance that sharing insights adds value, not risk. This approach transformed hesitant employees into authentic advocates. If you’ve struggled to get your people posting confidently on social, Sam’s perspective will resonate deeply and offer actionable solutions.
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Selina Sher Gill
Selina has a Master's Degree in Marketing and Brand Management, and is DSMN8's Digital Marketing Executive. She's a pro at creating and editing video content, using these skills to create short-form social media videos and edit the Employee Advocacy and Influence podcast.
