The Modern Firm is built exclusively for solo-owned and small law firms, a market that is strongly underrepresented in the legal marketing field. Additionally, they are Helping Attorneys Build Their Dream Practice in all practice areas of the law, at a budget that works best for the law firm. They take the time to understand your story, what sets you apart, and what you want to achieve. From there, they tailor a combination of their services that will align with your current position to help you reach your future goals.

Led by a veteran in the legal marketing field, Brendan Chard has been helping attorneys since the internet started in 2000. He has adapted to stay ahead of the changes in digital marketing and excels at positioning his clients in search engines and LLMs to get the exposure needed to truly grow their practice.

Their promise is no B.S., no jargon, no fluff. They don’t lock any of their clients into long-term contracts; everything they build is owned by the firm; and they have attorneys on their team to ensure the marketing and content are compliant.

Brendan Chard has been around and supporting lawyers his entire life. His father was a partner in a two-attorney real estate firm, and his mother was the director of the Institute for Continuing Legal Education (ICLE) in Michigan, one of the most highly regarded CLE organizations in the country. At an early age, Brendan was taught the importance of integrity and the realization that lawyers need a lot of help when it comes to technology, marketing, and running a business.

Brendan launched his first official lawyer-facing business in 1999, providing computer support and networking services to small law firms in Ann Arbor, Michigan. When the internet took off in 2000, he pivoted to help his law firm clients create an online presence. This was the foundation of The Modern Firm. Since, it has grown steadily into a nationally known agency by consistently responding to and adapting to its clients’ needs.

If you were to ask Brendan what his purpose is, he’d respond “to be helpful,” and that’s what he continues to love most about the work of his company today. Solving problems, learning new things, empowering, and helping clients.

Outside of work, Brendan is married and has a busy household with two teenage boys, an inappropriately large dog, a temperamental cat, and a timid snake (funny story). He is an avid golfer, biker, and skier. He is a long-time Rotary member and a frequent speaker and author to various bar associations, CLE organizations, and legal publications.

Why choose The Modern Firm?

Exclusively Serving Small Firms: Everything we do is built around the stresses and reality of running a small practice: limited time, real budgets, life intervening, and the need for marketing that reliably works. Further, clients are never competing internally with large-firm clients for attention, priority, or resources.

No Long-Term Contracts: Our services are earned every day. This keeps us accountable and allows clients the flexibility to adjust as their firm evolves.

Clients Own Everything: No lock-in. Clients own their fully functional website (developed with WordPress) and all associated data, digital assets, domains, and marketing accounts for frictionless portability.

Attorney Copywriters: Our content is written by attorney copywriters. Not generalists, not outsourced teams, not AI. We believe that unique, helpful, and authentic human-drafted content performs best. All of our attorney copywriters are passionate about getting the details right, trained in crafting compelling marketing copy, understand how people search, and are forever curious about the complexities and nuances of the law.

25 Year History of Success: The Modern Firm has supported more than 2000 solo and small law firms over our 25 years in business. More than 500 clients have been with The Modern Firm for over 5 years. This kind of longevity doesn’t happen by accident.

Built for How People Find Attorneys Now: People aren’t just searching Google anymore. They’re using AI tools like ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews to receive recommendations. We market websites to perform well in both traditional search and AI discovery so our clients show up where people are actually looking.

Tailored Solutions: We don’t force a one-size-fits-all marketing plan. Some firms simply need a validating presence or want to be more selective about the work they accept. Others are ready to scale. We meet clients where they are and build from there, at a pace that works for them.

No B.S. No Jargon, No Fluff: Clients get clear explanations, honest recommendations, and straightforward communication so that they always know what’s happening and why.

Proven Process: We’ve built thousands of law firm websites and manage hundreds of marketing campaigns. That experience shows up in a process that’s structured, efficient, and designed to make the most of a client’s time while still capturing what makes their firm unique.

Midwest Work Ethic: Our roots are in the Midwest, and it shows in how we work.
We prioritize substance over style, results over rhetoric, and long-term partnerships over quick wins.

What makes The Modern Firm different?

Many marketing agencies force law firms into aggressive marketing services right out of the gate, cater to only the highest spending firms, lock clients in with contracts, and tie up the law firm’s assets with complicated configurations. Not The Modern Firm.

We exclusively support solo and small law firms in building their dream practice, whatever that may be. We custom-tailor solutions for each unique firm with open and honest guidance. All of our work is 100% portable. No long-term contracts. Clients own everything.

What services does The Modern Firm provide?

• Website Design & Development (templated, semi-custom and custom)
• Digital Marketing (search engine optimization, AI, advertising, social media, local search, review management, email)
• Branding (logo design, print and digital collateral, signage, brochures, custom work)
• Website support (hosting, content updates, integrations, security, compliance, payment processing)

Do you provide a free consultation for a prospective client?

Yes, every potential client receives a free consultation that typically lasts about an hour. During this call, we’ll work to understand your current situation, goals, and formulate a plan.

The introductory consultation is a mutual chance to explore the fit. Above all else, we want to ensure you’re in good hands and having your needs met. If the fit is there, awesome! If not, we’ll be completely honest and point you in the right direction.

Do you provide a free or paid website audit as a starting point?

Ahead of an introductory call, we will review your website, which will be part of the initial discussion about what you’re looking to accomplish by hiring us. We don’t do any automated audits, as those are mostly a marketing gimmick. What’s more important to us is understanding your pain points and frustrations with your current configuration and how we can be of service in alleviating those.

Is your agency solely focused on law firms?

Yes, and we work only with solo and small law firms (up to about 10 attorneys). No generalists here; we understand law firm marketing and compliance inside and out so that we can hit the ground running. Further, all of our copywriters are also attorneys.

Do you provide your services to all practice areas of the law?

Yes, we work with every practice area and niche, even those that do not need extensive online marketing.

Do you provide exclusivity to your clients?

Every firm we work with gets a strategy built around its specific market, practice areas, budget, and goals. Two firms in the same city are usually solving different problems, so their plans end up looking quite different in practice. We focus on whether we're the right partner for a given firm rather than on locking out geography, and if there's ever a situation where we don't think we can serve two firms well at the same time, that's a conversation we have openly.

When do you expect results to start for the law firms you take on as clients?

Marketing campaign results are highly dependent on the type of work being done. Advertising campaigns such as Google Local Service Ads (LSA) or Pay-Per-Click advertising can start to generate results as soon as the campaign goes live. Search optimization, AI optimization, reputation management, and other organic efforts are more measured over months and are highly dependent on the competitive environment. With organic efforts, it’s common to see results building within 3-6 months, but it can be longer for competitive markets.