Overview
The biggest difference between a launch that gets buy-in and a launch that just happens is whether each group at your firm hears something that lands with them. A managing partner cares about different things from a fee earner; a fee earner cares about different things from an accounts assistant. The same launch email sent to all three will land well with one and bounce off the other two.
This guide gives you a simple framework for identifying your audiences, working out what each one needs to hear, and choosing the right channel and timing. It complements the internal communication templates, which gives you example wording for communications.
What this covers
The Who / Where / Why / What / How / When framework for stakeholder analysis
Asking "what's the big idea / what's in it for me / what it will feel like" to create a structure for every message
A channels matrix — picking the right channel for each audience
Step 1: Identify your audiences
Most firms launching Legl have between four and eight audiences worth thinking about distinctly. Some examples:
Managing Partner / Senior Partners
Heads of Department
Fee earners (often broken down by department for larger firms)
Compliance / Risk / MLRO
Finance / Accounts
Practice management / paralegals / legal assistants
IT
Reception and front-of-house
You won't communicate with all of them in the same way at the same time. Mapping them upfront is what makes the rest of the plan workable.
Step 2: Map each audience
For each audience, work through the six questions:
Question | What you're answering |
Who? | Who exactly is in this group, and how big is it? |
Where? | Which offices, teams, or departments do they sit in? |
Why? | What are their key concerns and expectations about the change? |
What? | What do they need to know — and what don't they need to know? |
How? | Which channels do they actually pay attention to? |
When? | When in the launch journey do they need each piece of information? |
You don't need a 20-page stakeholder map. A single-page table covering each audience is plenty for most firms.
Step 3: Build the message
Every effective launch message answers three questions in order:
What's the big idea? Why is the firm doing this? What is the vision?
What's in it for me? What does this audience get out of it?
What will it feel like? What will my actual day look like once this is live?
Skipping any of these tends to produce comms that get one of the three predictable reactions: "I don't get why we're doing this" (no big idea), "Sounds great — for someone else" (no WIIFM), or "I can't picture what this means in practice" (no concrete picture).
Step 4: Choose the right channels
Different audiences pay attention to different channels. Sending a long email to a managing partner who reads them on a phone between meetings won't land — a one-page brief, or a 10-minute slot in the management meeting, usually does.
A working channels matrix for most firms:
Channel | Best for | When to use |
All-firm email from leadership | Setting context, formal announcements | Awareness, kick-off, go-live, milestones |
Team meeting / department briefing | Tailored detail; questions; resistance | Pre-training; week of go-live |
Champion / power user — direct conversation | Sensitive concerns; specific friction | Throughout |
Microsoft Teams or Slack channel | Day-to-day questions; sharing wins | After go-live |
Two-way channels matter as much as one-way. Make sure every audience has a route to ask questions and raise concerns — the absence of one is a strong predictor that resistance will surface late and in unhelpful places.
ℹ️ Important
The same person can sit in multiple audiences (e.g. a partner who is also Head of Family). Communicate with them in whichever role is most relevant for that specific message, rather than sending three versions
Every audience needs a two-way channel. The absence of one almost always means resistance surfaces late
If your firm spans multiple offices or jurisdictions, multiply the audience map by location and check whether the same channels work in each