It’s as untraditional as it gets, but having a non-attorney in the driving seat of your law firm can do wonders for streamlining operations, enhancing the client experience and strengthening team culture. But it’s not without its challenges — as our guest discovered when he built a law firm from the ground up (with the help of a team of attorneys) in just two weeks.

Before Jonathan Delk was CEO of Colorado-based JVAM, he was a ski instructor-turned-digital marketer with a Master of Business Administration. In this episode, he tells Michelle Calcote King how he leveraged those skills and experiences to support and enhance the firm’s legal work by finding new ways to innovate and build a team culture that attracts talent from around the country. Jonathan also shares his take on how technology will disrupt the legal industry in the coming years.

• How Jonathan went from ski instructor to digital marketer to law firm CEO.

• About Colorado-based law firm JVAM, which believes in specialization (no one team member should do everything all the time).

• The benefits of allowing a non-attorney (or non-practicing attorney) to call the shots.

• The biggest hurdles of leading a firm without a law degree, including navigating the occasional, “Wait, you’re not a lawyer?!”

• How to obtain buy-in as a non-attorney leader.

• Why marketing skills are the special sauce for client experience and firmwide communication.

• How artificial intelligence and automation will disrupt how law firms operate.

Jonathan Delk is responsible for all facets of JVAM’s business outside the practice of law, including general management of finance, human resources, location management, information services and business development. Specializing in legal management, Jonathan works to keep JVAM at the forefront of practice management and an employer of choice in the legal field.

Jonathan attended the University of Colorado, Boulder, where he double majored in Economics and Political Science. Later, he earned a Master of Business Administration at Colorado State University, focusing heavily on finance and leadership.

Before starting his career in the legal industry, Jonathan worked in the outdoor industry as a professional ski and snowboard instructor, and a trail guide and coach for downhill and cross-country mountain biking. For years, he tallied 200-plus days a year on snow between Aspen, Colorado and Queenstown, New Zealand. Now, he takes his ski days with his wife, Erin, and daughter, Amelia.

• Check out JVAM

• Follow JVAM on LinkedIn and Facebook

• Connect with Jonathan Delk on LinkedIn and X

• Say hello to Michelle Calcote King on X and LinkedIn.

This episode is brought to you by Reputation Ink.

Founded by Michelle Calcote King, Reputation Ink is a public relations and content marketing agency that serves professional services firms of all shapes and sizes across the United States, including corporate law firms and architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) firms.

Reputation Ink understands how sophisticated corporate buyers find and select professional services firms. For more than a decade, they have helped firms grow through thought leadership-fueled strategies, including public relations, content marketing, video marketing, social media, podcasting, marketing strategy services and more.

To learn more, visit www.rep-ink.com or email them at info@rep-ink.com today.

Michael Mantese brought a fresh perspective to Eskew Dumez Ripple, a nationally recognized architecture firm, when he joined in 2017. Coming from a New York City digital marketing and advertising agency, he brought a data-driven, people-centric approach to the firm’s marketing and content creation strategies. As marketing director, he leads the firm with the same values and elevates its brand storytelling through his photographer’s eye.

In this episode, Michelle chats with Michael about tools and strategies for cutting-edge architecture marketing, content ideation and amplification, and how marketing departments can leverage analytics and technology. Michael also shares how his photography background influences his marketing work, including ways marketers can collaborate with photographers to tell better project stories.

• Who is Michael Mantese is

• About Eskew Dumez Ripple

• The growing importance of data analytics in effective marketing

• Insights into Eskew Dumez’s research-based content ideation approach

• How to repurpose project case studies and proposals into omnichannel content

• Ways thought leadership can support proposal writing (and vice-versa)

• How Eskew Dumez leverages technology as a competitive advantage

• New ideas for leveraging photography to tell better project stories

Michael Mantese brings a storyteller’s craft to communicating Eskew Dumez Ripple’s brand identity and mission. A writer at heart, he expands this skillset with a background in user experience design — letting market insights, data and analytics drive his decision-making, rather than assuming he knows what every audience is thinking. He augments this storytelling with a keen visual eye and maintains a particular fondness for photography and typography.

Before joining Eskew Dumez Ripple, Michael worked in the tech industry, designing digital experiences for some of the world’s biggest brands, including Marriott, Amex and City University of New York (CUNY).

• Check out Eskew Dumez Ripple

• Follow Eskew Dumez Ripple on X, Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram

• Connect with Michael Mantese on LinkedIn

• Say hello to Michelle Calcote King on X and LinkedIn

• Read the latest on EDR+

This episode is brought to you by Reputation Ink.

Founded by Michelle Calcote King, Reputation Ink is a public relations and content marketing agency that serves professional services firms of all shapes and sizes across the United States, including corporate law firms and architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) firms.

Reputation Ink understands how sophisticated corporate buyers find and select professional services firms. For more than a decade, they have helped firms grow through thought leadership-fueled strategies, including public relations, content marketing, video marketing, social media, podcasting, marketing strategy services and more.

To learn more, visit www.rep-ink.com or email them at info@rep-ink.com today.