Carl Whitaker

As President of Whitaker Communications, Carl Whitaker assists law firms and non-profits with public relations and marketing matters. With 25 years of law firm and consulting experience, Carl provides focused, practical advice on public relations, positioning, marketing and communications planning, and website development.

Carl provides strategic public relations support to national and regional law firms and their clients. He has special expertise in the area of litigation public relations and advises lawyers on case-specific public relations strategies. A skilled writer and story-teller, Carl helps clients distill and communicate their key messages. He has worked effectively with the legal and business press in the San Francisco Bay area for the past 20 years. Carl has advised law firm leaders in internal and external communications related to sensitive business operations, such as acquisitions and mergers, downsizing, office closures and financial disclosures, as well as high-profile cases.

Carl also has extensive experience developing strategic marketing initiatives for law firms at the firm, office, industry and practice group levels. He was Director of Marketing at Morrison & Foerster, a 1,000 lawyer international law firm, from 1992 to 2003. His deep understanding of the law firm environment and the legal marketplace, especially in California, provides clients with a competitive edge in the design and implementation of their marketing plans. Since 2003 Carl has advised a number of the leading small and mid-sized law firms in the San Francisco Bay Area on marketing and public relations matters.

Carl also advises non-profit organizations on communications issues, including media relations, the creation and editing of organizational newsletters, development of websites and print collateral, and overall communications strategy. He has, for example, provided hands-on communications support to the Pangaea Global AIDS Foundation since 2003 and The Kidney TRUST since 2007, where he has been responsible for developing and implementing strategies to increase public awareness and visibility of organizational programs.

Over the years, Carl has created and implemented numerous law firm market research programs, focusing on key clients, alumni, and industry-specific groups. He has planned and executed law firm meetings and retreats, multi-day client events, and seminars. Carl also has significant experience with national and global advertising and branding initiatives. While Director of Marketing at Morrison & Foerster, he was responsible for the successful rollout of award-winning advertising campaigns involving multiple languages and cultural issues.

With an extensive background in both marketing and information resources, Carl provides clients with expert guidance in the development of effective websites. He leads an experienced web development team, which provides a full range of design, development, and editorial services. He has also created a number of innovative web-based communications programs designed to update internal and external audiences on key legal and management issues.

Carl is a member of the Executive Committee of the Law Practice Management Section of the Bar Association of San Francisco. He is also a member of the Legal Marketing Association and served as a judge for the 2009 Your Honor Awards.

Carl received a Bachelor of Arts, with Distinction, from Sonoma State University and his Masters degree from the School of Library and Information Science at the University of California, Berkeley.