Parrish Law

Parrish Law Firm opened its doors in 2004 in Manassas, Virginia. Founder Jim Parrish, a former insurance defense attorney, built the practice around personal injury cases, especially car accidents. His background gave him an advantage: he knew exactly how insurers reviewed claims and what it took to get fair settlements for clients.

But as the firm grew, so did the need for more consistent marketing. For years, outreach was handled with Mailchimp, grassroots events, and referrals. Mailchimp worked for basic newsletters, but the cracks soon showed.

Luis Fer, who joined the firm in 2024 as Marketing Director, recalls, “We used to run very basic email campaigns through Mailchimp, but it didn’t give us the flexibility we needed. We could not really segment, personalize, or automate the way we wanted.”

The workload grew heavier as the firm expanded. Luis had to pull numbers by hand each month to understand performance, costing hours. Newsletters looked too plain, and engagement rates stayed flat. “I remember that we were probably in the 17, 19% range,” Luis said of their open rates. Jim added, “There were months where our open rates were under 10%. We knew we needed a better way to connect with people, but we didn’t have the right technology.”

With more leads to nurture, past clients to stay in touch with, and community programs to manage, it became clear Mailchimp couldn’t keep up. The firm needed a platform that could automate, personalize, and provide better reporting to support growth.

In mid-2024, Parrish Law switched from MailChimp to ActiveCampaign. The difference was immediate.

One of the ways Parrish Law captures new contacts is through free eBooks. Instead of sending the same follow-up to everyone, they use ActiveCampaign to deliver content that matches each person's actual interests.

“If someone asked for our car accident ebook, they get different content than someone who tried to get the dog bite ebook,” Luis said. “That level of personalization makes all the difference in engagement.”

This way, prospects get information that feels relevant to them, which builds trust and keeps the firm top of mind.

1. Create separate signup forms: One for each eBook (for example, Car Accident or Dog Bite).
2. Apply tags automatically: When someone fills out the form, ActiveCampaign tags them based on which eBook they selected.
3. Trigger the right automation: Each tag starts a different email series.
   • Car Accident tag → emails about insurance claims and accident recovery.
   • Dog Bite tag → emails about liability, medical steps, and related resources.
4. Send targeted follow-ups: Continue sharing tips and resources related to their topic.
5. Use conditional content: In newsletters, show different sections depending on each contact’s tag.

This setup keeps outreach specific and useful instead of generic.

Giving back has always been part of Parrish Law’s DNA. The firm runs several local programs that support families, teachers, and schools. These efforts make a real impact in the community, but they also take a lot of coordination. For a small team, running them all by hand just isn’t realistic. “Every program has its own automation,” Luis said. “That helps us share who we are and everything we’re doing, without reinventing the wheel every time.”

Some examples:

• Golden Apple Program: Each week, teachers are nominated by their peers or community members. The winner receives a $100 gift card for classroom supplies. ActiveCampaign manages the nomination forms, confirmation emails, reminders, and winner announcements.
• Wild Summer Kids: This program gives families outdoor equipment to encourage kids to spend more time outside. Automations track registrations and make sure follow-up messages go out without the team lifting a finger.
• Seasonal Client Gifts: The firm regularly sends gifts—like umbrellas in the spring or beach towels in the summer—to thank clients. Once the gift list is uploaded into ActiveCampaign, the system handles the rest: a follow-up email goes out a week later asking if they enjoyed it, and a second reminder is sent if there’s no response.

For Jim, these programs do more than show goodwill—they build lasting relationships. “Parents and families came to the office this summer to pick up bikes for their children,” he said. “When they see the impact firsthand, it’s easier for them to say to a friend, ‘I know this firm. They helped us. You should call them.’”

Automations let Parrish Law keep these programs running smoothly while freeing the team to focus on other priorities. The result: more consistent outreach, more participation, and a stronger presence in the community.

Before switching to ActiveCampaign, Luis pulled numbers into spreadsheets every month just to see how campaigns performed. Now he asks the Active Intelligence for insights and gets answers right away.

“Active Intelligence replaced my manual reports completely,” Luis explained. “I just ask the system for insights, and it gives me everything I need to track performance and to show improvements.”

Pairing that reporting with subject line testing has had a direct impact: Parrish Law’s open rates jumped from under 20% to consistently hitting 35–40%.

1. Ask a question in Active Intelligence Workspace: For example, “Which subject lines performed best last month?”
2. Use Active Intelligence to spot patterns: Maybe questions do better than statements, or certain send times work best.
3. Set up an A/B test: Create two subject lines or pre-headers based on those findings.
4. Send the test: ActiveCampaign will determine the winner automatically.
5. Check results with Active Intelligence: Ask, “Which version had the highest click-to-open rate?”
6. Use what worked: Apply the winning approach in your next campaign and keep a running list of what performs best.

This cycle of checking insights, testing ideas, and applying what works helps Parrish Law steadily improve results without wasting time guessing.

ActiveCampaign also anchors the firm’s broader content strategy. Luis builds six-month calendars that turn newsletter topics into LinkedIn posts, TikTok clips, YouTube Shorts, and Instagram content.

“We build a six-month content plan so that the same topic becomes a newsletter, a LinkedIn post, a TikTok video, a YouTube short, and so on,” says Luis. “That way, everything is aligned and we save time.”

The firm is preparing to expand into Spanish-language newsletters under its Tu Abogado Jim brand to better serve Latino clients.

Active Intelligence has reshaped how Parrish Law runs its marketing.

• Email open rates climbed from under 20% to 35–40%.
• Reporting time dropped from hours to seconds using Active Intelligence.
• Community programs now scale without extra staff, thanks to autonomous marketing.
• Contact database growth accelerated, reaching the 5,000-contact limit within months.

“Success is about building stronger relationships at scale,” Luis says. “ActiveCampaign helps us do that while freeing up our time to focus on growth and community impact.”

Jim adds: “With ActiveCampaign, I don’t need to be in the weeds. I get insights in a way that’s digestible, and I know our marketing is reaching people in the right way.”

Parrish Law demonstrates how you can operate like a big firm by modernizing your marketing, without needing to invest a lot. By moving from one-size-fits-all emails to segmented journeys, automated community engagement, and AI reporting with Active Intelligence, the firm has built a system that keeps them top-of-mind with clients and prospects while saving hours of work.

For other professional service businesses, the lesson is clear: automation and Active Intelligence can make personalized marketing possible at scale. If you’d like to see how ActiveCampaign can help you grow your business, start a 14-day free trial today!