How to fight Morgan & Morgan and other Whales in your market.

If you’re a personal injury lawyer running your own firm, chances are you’ve looked at the “whales” in your market—firms like Morgan & Morgan—and felt like you’re playing in a different league. But here’s the truth: you can compete, and in some ways, you have advantages they don’t. The key is to leverage your brand, your local presence, and smart marketing strategies that actually work for firms of your size.

Here’s a blueprint to get started.

1. Nail Your Brand

Big firms have name recognition, budgets, and flashy campaigns—but they can’t out-brand you for your local market. Branding is more than a logo or a tagline; it’s the promise you make to your clients and how you consistently deliver it across every touchpoint.

Start with your brand message. Ask yourself: what do you want your clients to think and feel when they hear your firm’s name? There are multiple types of messages you can craft, depending on your personality, practice style, and market:

• Expertise-focused: You’re the authority in your practice area in your market.
• Client-centric: Your approach is compassionate and highly responsive.
• Results-oriented: You win cases and get top settlements.
• Community-oriented: You care about your city, and you are involved in community activities.
• Niche-focused: You specialize in a specific type of personal injury case.

Once you pick a message that fits your firm, deliver it consistently. Every piece of content, every social media post, every printed flyer, and every interaction should reflect that brand. On your website, your logo, slogan, hero image, and main headline must clearly communicate your message. Think of your website as your central brand hub—the place where your clients instantly understand who you are and why you’re different.

2. Don’t Fall for the Morgan & Morgan Trick

Many law firms try to copy Morgan & Morgan’s large website form, assuming it works because they’re the biggest firm in the country. But that strategy only works for them because over 200,000 people search for their name every month and wait for a callback. For most firms, this approach actually hurts results. After testing landing pages, we found that featuring a prominent phone number instead of a big form generated significantly more calls and cases—Jeff’s firm saw a 176% increase in calls and a 44% increase in signed cases after removing the homepage form and emphasizing the phone number, especially on mobile. Phone calls convert far higher (20–24%) than form submissions, where many leads never answer or hire another firm first. Even with ongoing tests—including smaller forms and color variations—the data consistently shows that highlighting the phone number outperforms the “Morgan & Morgan” form strategy. The key is always to test and confirm what actually works. Click here to watch the success story of our client in this case study, “200+ Cases a Month with Geoff McDonald Law Firm.”

3. Use Local Service Ads (LSAs) Strategically

Here’s a common misconception: throwing money at Google’s Local Service Ads will automatically put you at the top. That’s not how it works. One client of ours set a $100,000 per location budget—and their leads actually went down. Too much target budget can confuse Google’s algorithm.

The good news? LSAs are still a massive opportunity, especially for smaller firms. Google “spreads the love” and gives multiple firms the chance to show up. Unlike pay-per-click campaigns, where you compete with giant ad budgets, LSAs help you get leads that actually convert. On average, phone calls from LSAs convert 1:4—meaning every fourth call is a potential client. For a small to mid-sized firm, that’s huge.

The key is to do everything right on the back end of the LSA platform – we have crafted a “Secret Algorithm” link to download and include a scan.

4. Build Your Local Presence

Here’s where smaller firms have a distinct advantage: local credibility. Big national firms like Morgan & Morgan may have massive advertising budgets, but they can’t compete with the relationships you build in your community.

Being active locally does two things:

1. Keeps you top-of-mind for potential clients.
2. Establishes trust and credibility in ways that advertising alone cannot.

There are two kinds of local involvement we recommend for every attorney and professional in the firm: professional and personal.

• Professional: Get involved with your local bar association, chamber of commerce, or other professional boards. Be a contributor, get on a committee and become well-known in one organization. This not only strengthens your network but positions you as a local leader in your field.
• Personal: Pick a cause that matters to you or your family—like a cancer fundraiser, animal shelter, or school program. The authenticity of personal involvement resonates with your community, and that’s something a large national firm can’t replicate.

Why This Works

Consistency is the secret sauce. Every interaction—whether online or offline—is an opportunity to reinforce your brand. When your message is clear and consistently delivered, your audience starts to associate your firm with the qualities that matter most: trust, expertise, and care.

The other big lesson: pick what works for you and your market. Not every tactic is right for every firm. Focus on the strategies that resonate with your audience, highlight your strengths, and leverage the advantages only a nimble, local firm can have.

When you combine a strong brand, strategic use of LSAs, and genuine community involvement, you’re not just competing—you’re creating a sustainable growth engine that can rival even the biggest names in your market.

Action Steps

1. Define your brand message and ensure every touchpoint communicates it.
2. Optimize your LSAs with the right budget, profile, and reviews, and use our “Secret Algorithm” to get in the top 3, download it here. 
3. Get involved in your community both personally and professionally.
4. Track results and adjust, but always maintain brand consistency.

Remember, competing with the big firms isn’t about having the biggest ad budget—it’s about being the most relevant, trusted, and visible firm in your market. Small and medium-sized firms have a huge advantage when they leverage local relationships, clear messaging, and smart technology. If you consistently deliver your message and build trust where it matters most, you’ll not only survive—you’ll thrive.

Make sure that in every opportunity you have to make a brand impression, your message is consistent. 

What works best is the message that resonates with your firm and your market.