AI is never going to be able to replicate or replace client contact
Ruth Peters
Ruth leads the business development team at Olliers and was the Manchester Legal Awards 2021 Solicitor of the Year.
Overseeing marketing strategy for the firm, Ruth’s responsibilities include website management, content strategy, content creation, SEO, PR, brand positioning, social media strategy, advertising, events, networking, award and directory submissions. She also manages both Ollier’s marketing team and new business team, developing pricing strategies, refining the customer journey and increasing organic growth.
Having been with the firm for more than 20 years, Ruth has an enviable level of experience across the entire spectrum of criminal defence. In addition to her marketing, business and leadership duties, she often deals with the initial stages of cases for privately funded clients who are seeking the very best criminal defence representation for a variety of offences.
Known for her calm, approachable, down-to-earth and reassuring manner, she understands that for many clients, this is the most difficult period of their life and handles their cases with the utmost sensitivity and understanding.
Tell us about your career and how you found yourself in this role.
I undertook a degree in European law, which was essentially a Law degree with the benefit of a year in Germany. I joined Olliers in January 2005, starting a training contract whilst also undertaking a legal practice course part-time. I qualified as a solicitor in 2007.
When I came back after my second maternity leave in 2012, I predominantly specialised in defending motoring allegations. From 2013, I became involved in our website, producing content, and writing blogs, leading to my managing the firm’s social platforms.
At this time, I was still actively defending motoring allegations, but during Covid the Courts closed, and I started working on content and the website more myself. In 2021, I became a Director and was responsible for business development and marketing; the management of the website, content strategy, brand, developing pricing strategies and refining our customer journey
It's been really exciting, and no day is ever the same. I've been really fortunate because I've been able to move into something that I enjoy, and I feel my skills are really aligned with marketing and business development.
Tell us about Olliers and the journey the business is on.
It's changed so much! But I think there are still a lot of things that are the same, such as the culture. One of the best things about working at Olliers is that there are so many of us who started as trainees at a similar time.
“No day is ever the same”
When I started in 2005, Olliers was predominantly a legal aid firm. Whilst the firm still excels at defending serious criminal allegations on a publicly funded basis, the firm has changed a lot in terms of the type of work we do. One of our real focuses is being proactive at the precharge stage. It's something that's worked really well for us, and our clients want us to be proactive and to do all we can to stop it from going to court.
We’ve just celebrated 12 months in our new offices at Peter Street. The move has been instrumental for us, the space here is amazing, the office culture is really important for the development of our trainees and to encourage collaboration across departments.
Olliers on track to hit record fee income - growth supporting recruitment at firm
We've just had the best month ever, and 2026 is looking really good from a business perspective. However, more importantly, the business success helps us continue to provide a premium service to our clients. When you're dealing with a client who is going through the most traumatic time they've ever had, being able to understand and to empathise with them is so important. Towards the end of last year, we launched a client care accreditation scheme for our teams, so we can ensure that client care is always a priority and a premium - it is the most important aspect of our business.
Law firm Olliers Solicitors hails record month and plans expansion
We created a new enquiry team, so rather than the fee earners having to deal with inbound enquiries, we have a specialist team in place. Like many firms, we need them to focus on the job they are there to do and are best at. Having a dedicated team also means there is time for each call, and it allows us to really focus on client service.
AI has to solve a problem
Ruth Peters
What does AI and innovation mean to you in the context of the legal industry?
Since last year, things have changed so much, as we are moving from generative AI to agentic AI, which is creating so many opportunities for the industry. What is going to be possible and what is possible now is amazing. However, we also need to balance this with ethical issues, the legislation, or rather the lack of legislation, guidance from the SRA, and what feels right for us, as a firm.
There are so many things that AI can do for us, such as summarising evidence and interview transcripts, which saves significant time. Because of the relationship with our clients, AI is never going to be able to replicate that. I don't think we want it to, and our clients wouldn't want it to.
In terms of innovation, at Olliers, it's not about being the first to use a new tool or the first to do something just for the sake of it. It has to solve a problem so that we're getting a better outcome. We're not a tech firm, we're a law firm!
We're really open to utilising new tools, and we're open to new ways of working and new ways of thinking, but we want to always bring it back to ‘is this going to deliver a better outcome for our client?'
What are the key areas in legal services that you believe are ripe for innovation? How much of your focus is on marketing?
We are seeing that clients are increasingly using AI to research and create their initial questions. We often see long-form enquiries from potential clients that have been drafted with AI. If it’s helping those individuals articulate their problems in a more sophisticated manner, then it’s a good thing. Our new enquiry team would always try to speak to people on the phone to understand the nuances of their particular case, and I don't think it takes us any longer; it’s just something we’ve adapted to.
From a marketing and website perspective, I think for a lot of firms it will become easier, because you can create content quickly. It's going to make everything a lot more competitive because other firms that may not have previously put as much effort into their content, into their website or into their marketing, there’s a lower barrier.
We've also had to change a lot of things that we do. We're focusing at the moment on schema markup on a lot of our pages, a clear Q&A formatting to try and directly answer questions and ensure that we're answering a question to satisfy an LLM or someone who isn't clicking through to the website.
A lot of our previous content has been really legal-heavy, with not enough empathetic language, and AI helps us refine this. It's difficult because obviously, we still want to rank in SEO, but also want to create content for LLMs. We are finding that it's not about the volume of content, it's about the quality of it.
It's not about the volume of content, it's about the quality of it
Ruth Peters
How do you align innovation initiatives with the firm's overall business strategy?
“It's definitely easier because we're a bespoke firm (Olliers specialises in Criminal Defence).
We're in the process of developing an accreditation for some of our staff in AI, and we've introduced an AI task force of 10 people who are trialling various initiatives. I'd say we've got quite a wide variety in terms of where people are up to in terms of their AI journey.
We spent a lot of time towards the end of last year focusing on our brand and our brand’s key values. We undertook external research with Barristers, Chambers, and people from Manchester’s business community. For our clients, deciding which law firm to represent them is one of the most important decisions they'll ever make. For this reason, we don't want to be seen as an inexpensive firm. We're not a firm that undertakes high-volume work, and our price point is more on a par with London firms.
AI will make it a lot more competitive
Ruth Peters
How do you measure the success of innovation initiatives? What are some key performance indicators (KPIs) you use to track progress?
We ask questions such as ‘How do our typical clients actually find us?’ I think for our type of client they still are probably more of a ‘Google search’ than an ‘AI search’ and probably using AI at a late stage for more in depth, for more in depth questions.
We try to ask at the enquiry stage how they found us, but it's not always appropriate. We focus on adapting our marketing to the success we are seeing in enquiry volume and quality - the most important metrics for a law firm.
How do you stay updated on trends and developments in legal innovation?
It's hard! There's so much, isn't there?
I went to the Legal X conference a few weeks ago in Manchester, which was amazing. I spend a lot of time on social media, emails from the Law Society Gazette and Manchester Law Society.
You've got to be curious, haven't you? However, we have guardrails in place for research; our AI policy is very clear that you don't use any public AI tools.
What advice would you give to law firms in 2026 who are not sure how to approach or adopt innovation?
Be excited by it and not be scared of it. So many people seem to be a little bit nervous and a little bit apprehensive. But look, it's really exciting. I think if you're a small firm, things are becoming so much easier for you to become competitive.
You know, as it becomes easier and things become more competitive, you need to actually think about what is actually going to be your real differentiator. For Olliers, it’s our brand, results and client care.
We're going to keep doubling down on creating a human connection with our clients so that we can deliver the best client care. Legal expertise is going to become increasingly commoditised by tech, and I would say that client care is going to be the true differentiator.
About I-COM
I-COM was founded in 2004, starting with just a handful of employees. Since then, we’ve gone from strength to strength, growing to a 30+ person team of passionate digital marketers, web developers, designers, project managers, and a fantastic leadership team.
Over the years we’ve had the pleasure of working with a great range of clients and are proud to currently lead the digital marketing strategy for several high-profile law firms, including JMW, Switalskis, Walker Foster, TJL Solicitors, and Graham Coffey & Co.
In 2019, we decided to become an employee-owned business focusing on delivering the best work for our clients. As a result, I-COM is still growing and ever-evolving.
