The CLSA is a dedicated membership association for criminal law practitioners. As a committee of volunteers, they needed someone with sector knowledge to take accountability of their marketing, build consistency and help to manage their annual conference. They started working with Consortium in early 2024 and have had transformational results.
Here's what Katy Hanson, Chair of the CLSA had to say about working with Consortium:
“As a voluntary organisation run by practicing lawyers, marketing often felt impossible to prioritise. Consortium brought structure, consistency and momentum at exactly the right time. The turnaround in engagement, conference attendance and visibility has been remarkable – and it’s allowed us to focus on what we do best: supporting the criminal law profession.”
The Brief
The Criminal Law Solicitors Association (CLSA) is a voluntary membership organisation representing and supporting criminal defence lawyers across England and Wales. Run by a committee of practicing criminal lawyers – many of whom are managing or senior partners – CLSA plays a crucial role in championing the profession at a time of immense pressure and change.
By early 2024, CLSA faced a familiar but significant challenge. With limited time and no dedicated marketing resource, communications and promotion had slipped down the priority list. Membership numbers had plateaued, digital visibility was minimal, and the CLSA annual conference – once a flagship event in every criminal lawyer’s diary – had seen attendance decline sharply following the disruption of Covid and the loss of in-person momentum.
In March 2024, CLSA appointed Consortium to help stabilise and revitalise its marketing activity, rebuild engagement with members, and restore the profile of the Association within the criminal law community.
The Approach
Consortium, led by Account Manager Hannah Perryman, began by laying strong marketing foundations and introducing consistent, manageable activity that worked around the realities of a voluntary committee.
The first priority was visibility. Consortium launched CLSA’s LinkedIn presence from scratch, creating a professional, credible platform to share news, commentary and updates relevant to the criminal law profession. In just 18 months, the page grew from zero to over 570 followers – establishing CLSA as an active and authoritative voice online.
Alongside this, Consortium reintroduced a monthly email newsletter to reconnect with members, share insights, highlight initiatives and promote events. This provided a reliable communication channel that helped rebuild trust, consistency and engagement with the membership base.
Consortium also worked to refresh and improve CLSA’s website, ensuring member profiles were up to date, topical articles were published, and partnerships with suppliers and supporters of the legal sector were clearly showcased. These partnerships not only added value for members but also helped reinforce CLSA’s position at the heart of the criminal law ecosystem.
A key focus was restoring the CLSA annual conference as a must-attend event. Through clearer messaging, consistent promotion and renewed confidence in the Association’s brand, Consortium helped drive ticket sales and engagement.
The Outcome
The results have been transformative. Both the 2024 and 2025 CLSA conferences sold out, with over 100 tickets sold for each event. Crucially, the 2024 conference didn’t just breakeven – it ran at a profit. This shift allowed CLSA to reinvest and significantly elevate the 2025 conference, bringing in a paid comedian as a guest speaker and professional event photography to capture and amplify the experience.
With renewed confidence and momentum, planning for the 2026 conference is already underway, with ambitions to scale up to 150 attendees and continue building on the success of recent years.
Membership numbers have grown steadily over the past 18 months, reversing previous stagnation. Consortium is now supporting CLSA with targeted messaging and content aimed at younger, next-generation lawyers – a critical audience at a time when criminal law is facing a well-documented talent shortage.
Today, Consortium acts as an outsourced marketing partner to CLSA, providing strategic direction, consistent delivery and the continuity that a volunteer-led organisation simply cannot achieve alone. The partnership demonstrates how effective marketing can drive real-world outcomes – even with limited time and resources – when it is well planned, well executed and aligned with purpose.
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