Furia Rubel Communications, Inc.

09/08/2026

As AI gets better at producing polished content, sounding polished is becoming less differentiating.

In the latest episode, Leslie Richards points to the growing risk for law firms of content that feels synthetic or “void of human input.” This can erode trust rather than build it.

Prospective clients are not only evaluating whether a lawyer understands the law. They are also trying to understand how that lawyer thinks, what they value, how they communicate, and whether they can be trusted with a significant business or personal issue.

AI can support the process. It can help with research, outlines, and first drafts.

But Leslie argues that the “human perspective and our human voice” still need to come through.

That means the goal should not be perfectly generated content. The goal should be credible content that reflects actual experience, judgment, perspective, and personality.

As the volume of AI-generated information grows, those distinctly human qualities may become one of the strongest signals of trust a law firm can offer.

🎧 Hear Leslie, Sarah Larson, Jennifer Simpson Carr, and Becky Bergman discuss what this means for law firm visibility, media relations, and thought leadership.

09/03/2026

AI can explain the issue, but your lawyers still have to explain what it means.

That distinction may become one of the most important tests of effective legal thought leadership.

In the latest episode, Jennifer Simpson Carr is joined by Leslie Richards, Sarah Larson, and Becky Bergman to discuss what law firms can do to strengthen thought leadership.

AI can generate volume. It can summarize a law, describe a regulation, or produce a lengthy article. But volume and explanation are not the same as insight.

Real thought leadership asks different questions.
• What are clients actually worried about?
• What patterns are lawyers seeing in practice?
• What are businesses overlooking?
• Where could litigation or regulation be heading next?
• What should decision-makers be doing now?

As Becky puts it: “A true thought leader tells us what the issue means and what comes next.”

For law firm leaders, that raises the bar for content strategy. The opportunity is to uncover the experience, judgment, and perspective that only your lawyers can contribute.

🎧Listen to the full episode wherever you get your podcasts.

09/01/2026

Getting found online is no longer the whole objective.

Being perceived as credible enough to become part of the answer matters, too.

In our latest episode, Leslie Richards, Sarah Larson, and Becky Bergman join Jennifer Simpson Carr for a continuation of the conversation that examines what law firms can actually do to strengthen visibility as the path between a question and being cited in the answer AI produces.

One of the biggest shifts is happening inside earned media itself. Coverage still needs to reach and influence people. But as Sarah explains, that coverage increasingly has to “do double duty” as firms consider how professional expertise fits into the broader information environment surrounding AI-generated answers.

That puts greater emphasis on sustained communications, credible third-party visibility, authentic thought leadership, and a distinctly human perspective.

For law firm leaders, this is a conversation about much more than search and AI. It is about building trust wherever decisions begin.

In the episode they cover:
• Why the objective is moving from clicks toward citations
• Why communications should be sustained rather than episodic
• How AI raises the standard for genuine thought leadership
• Why human experience and storytelling remain differentiators

🎧Listen to the full episode by following the link in the comments or find us wherever you listen to podcasts.

08/26/2026

The more sophisticated our technology becomes, the more valuable trust becomes.

In the latest episode, Leslie Richards, Sarah Larson, and Becky Bergman join Jennifer Simpson Carr for a conversation about what media relations looks like in the age of AI.

In the conversation, they share that reporters are experimenting with AI for research, background, and source discovery. But at the same time, they are becoming more cautious about whether the commentary they receive is authentic, credible, and genuinely useful.

That puts a premium on something technology cannot manufacture: trusted relationships.

️✔A reporter working quickly needs confidence that a suggested source is real, credible, and actually knowledgeable about the issue.
✔ A client validating a referral needs similar assurance.
✔ A law firm trying to build long-term visibility needs more than polished, AI-generated copy. It needs a recognizable body of genuine expertise.

As Sarah says, “It makes it all the more important that you as the source, the lawyer, are found online for the things you want to be talking about.”

AI can support the process. It can help with research, visibility, and efficiency.

But it cannot replace the credibility, relationships, and original thinking that effective media relations is designed to communicate.

🎧Listen to the full episode by following the link in the comments or find us wherever you get your podcasts.

08/24/2026

More content does not automatically create more authority.

That is one of the most important strategic implications of AI-powered search for law firms.

In the latest episode, Leslie Richards, Sarah Larson, and Becky Bergman join Jennifer Simpson Carr to discuss how generative engine optimization is changing the way law firms need to think about media relations, lawyer visibility, and market positioning.

The takeaway is not that firms need to choose between content volume and communications discipline; it is that they need both.

An attorney needs enough of a public profile to become associated with a particular “area of expertise,” but volume without consistency creates the problem of dozens of disconnected signals that never clearly establish what that attorney should be known for.

Leslie describes this as the difference between association and surfacing.

First, a lawyer has to become part of the relevant conversation. Then originality, consistency, and credibility help distinguish that lawyer from everyone else in it.

The practical starting point for firms is to identify the three to five issues your attorneys want to own. Then examine whether their biographies, media coverage, thought leadership, LinkedIn activity, and other communications are reinforcing those same areas.

For law firm leaders, this marks an important shift necessary to build a deliberate, connected visibility strategy that helps the market understand what your lawyers are known for.

🎧Listen to the full episode by following the link in the comments or find us wherever you get your podcasts.

08/20/2026

A media placement used to have a relatively clear finish line.

Secure coverage. Reach the audience. Build credibility. ,

AI search is changing that equation.

In our latest episode, Jennifer Simpson Carr is joined by Leslie Richards, Sarah Larson, and Becky Bergman for a conversation about how generative engine optimization is reshaping media relations strategy for law firms.

Earned media no longer lives only in the moment someone reads the original article. Coverage can now become part of a broader public record that helps define what a lawyer is known for, which subjects are connected to that lawyer, and why independent sources view that “expertise” as credible.

As Becky Bergman explains, “Placement isn’t the end game anymore. It becomes an asset in a much larger ecosystem.”

For law firms, that has real strategic implications. Media relations is about building authority in ways that can be recognized by clients, reporters, referral sources, talent, and increasingly, AI-powered search tools.

For law firm leaders thinking about how their attorneys show up in the market and how that visibility may be interpreted in an AI-driven search environment, this is a conversation worth hearing.

🎧Listen to the full episode by following the link in the comments or find us wherever you get your podcasts.

08/18/2026

AI search is changing more than how people find information.

It is changing how law firm “expertise” is discovered, validated, and connected to the issues clients care about.

In this episode, Jennifer Simpson Carr sits down with Leslie Richards, Sarah Larson, and Becky Bergman to discuss what generative engine optimization (GEO) means for media relations and why earned media may be more valuable than ever.

A strong placement no longer reaches only the people who read it directly; it also contributes to the broader body of credible information AI tools use to understand a lawyer’s authority and relevance.

🗝️Key episode insights:
• Why credible media coverage can become part of a lawyer's larger online authority.
• How journalists are using AI to research complex topics and identify potential sources.
• Why authentic insight and trusted reporter relationships become more important as AI adoption grows.

For law firm leaders, this means considering whether your firm’s communications strategy is coordinated enough to build authority.

🎧Listen to the full episode by following the link in the comments or find us wherever you get your podcasts.

08/17/2026

Bucks County residents now have a door they can walk through at any hour, on any day, when a mental health or substance use crisis hits.

Congratulations to the Bright Path Center, which opened in Doylestown today as the first walk-in, standalone behavioral health crisis center in Pennsylvania. Children, teens and adults can walk in without an appointment. Depending on what each person needs, care may include crisis intervention, stabilization, connection to community resources, short-term crisis residential care and withdrawal management. The building at 520 N. West St. has separate entrances and spaces for children and adults.

Getting here took a genuine collaboration among the Bucks County Department of Behavioral Health/Developmental Programs, the Bucks County Drug & Alcohol Commission, Magellan Behavioral Health, Penn Medicine Doylestown Health and the Lenape Valley Foundation, which operates the center.

Furia Rubel is honored to have supported the naming, brand development, public relations and communications strategy for Bright Path Center. Few assignments carry this kind of weight.

If you or someone you know needs help right now in Bucks County, call or text 988, the Su***de & Crisis Lifeline, answered locally by Lenape Valley Foundation, or reach Mobile Crisis Services at 1-877-435-7709. For a medical emergency alongside a behavioral health crisis, call 911 or go to the nearest emergency department.

Watch the announcement: https://youtu.be/KE2SwoAcS80?si=Yb3F2f9n7m56mjZg

Discover how Bright Path Center is transforming behavioral health c...

08/14/2026

When should you say no to new business? What red flags tell you an opportunity isn't the right fit?

These are questions every professional services leader should be asking, according to Gina Rubel, who recently joined Scott Love on The Rainmaking Podcast. They discussed why pursuing every opportunity isn't always the best strategy—and how saying no to the wrong business can protect your people, reputation and long-term goals.

From knowing your core values and defining your ideal clients to identifying red flags before they become problems, Gina shares practical ways firms can make more strategic decisions about the business they pursue. And sometimes, setting clear boundaries can actually strengthen a prospective client relationship rather than end it.

Listen to the full conversation at the link in the comments below.

08/13/2026

Stop treating Chambers like an annual submission.

In their latest article, Jennifer Simpson Carr and Maria Aronson explain why the firms that consistently improve their Chambers rankings don't start when submissions open. They build stronger systems for capturing, organizing and leveraging their experience all year long.

The piece covers:
• Why Chambers strategy should align with broader business goals
• How a living inventory of matters preserves institutional knowledge
• Ways Chambers content can support marketing and business development
• How “Chambers champions” can strengthen the process year-round
• Why success should be measured by more than rankings

The best Chambers submissions aren't built during a busy submission season. They're built on processes that capture one significant matter, one client relationship and one strategic marketing opportunity at a time.

Read the full blog post at the link in the comments.