Over the years, we’ve worked with local and national law firms, Fish & Richardson stands out as one of the most distinguished that we’ve had the pleasure to work with. I recently had a chance to talk with Liz McCarthy from Fish. She reached out to us when one of the firm’s star attorney’s was about to receive national recognition for her barrier-breaking work. It was a large project, with many moving parts, across two states, and with a tight turnaround. Since then, we’ve continued the partnership with new collaborations.
This interview has been edited for clarity.
Carlos Foster (Co-Founder, Creative Manager, Blue Barn Creative): Hi Liz! Thank you for joining me on the call today. First of all, I’d like to start with some simple questions. If you could just tell our readers who you work for and what it is you do.
Liz McCarthy (Public Relations Manager, Fish & Richardson): My name is Liz McCarthy, and I am the public relations manager for intellectual property law firm Fish & Richardson.
CF: Tell us a little bit about Fish & Richardson. What areas of law do you specialize in?
LM: We are a premier intellectual property law firm helping inventors protect their innovations. We have over 400 attorneys and technical specialists across 15 offices in the United States, Germany, and China.
CF: Does your own work touch everything that’s going on in Fish no matter where it’s happening?
LM: Yes, part of the fun of my role is being able to work with so many smart, talented, and kind individuals and have my hands in all kinds of different things, which included the project that we’re about to talk about.
CF: What was the project?
LM: We were celebrating a tremendously talented and renowned attorney: Juanita Brooks. She is a litigator in our San Diego office. Juanita was being recognized with a prestigious award by ChIPs, which is an organization that advances and connects women in technology, law, and policy. ChIPs selected Juanita as their Hall of Fame inductee for 2023.
CF: Why did video play a part in that?
LM: We wanted to celebrate Juanita in a meaningful way and recognize this incredible honor. She is a very accomplished litigator and she’s also done so much for the culture and the development of Fish over the years. We have a very special culture. It’s very collegial, it’s very collaborative. We value mentorship and creativity. Juanita has been a stalwart in fostering that. We set out to celebrate this remarkable achievement for Juanita and thought a video was the right medium.
CF: And what was the plan with the video before you even knew who you were going to work with? Did you know where it would debut? Would it just be for internal purposes? What was your original plan?
LM: We knew that we wanted to make the most of this video. If we were going to be investing the resources, we wanted to use it across different channels. The initial goal was for the video to premiere at a dinner honoring Juanita. An additional benefit was to use it on our website and on our social media and have our key messages shine through.
CF: Once you decided you needed a video and you knew the purpose of the film, how did you go about searching for a production partner?
LM: I turned to good ol’ Google! I knew it was very important to find a strong, reliable partner. I had some experience in terms of the PR side of working with production companies and working with producers and directors, but not on the creative side, and bringing the vision to life. I knew that I needed a strong team who could coach me in that and who I could collaborate with along the way. I knew two minutes into my intake call with Vic that I had found my partner.
CF: Let’s talk about that initial call. You spoke with our executive producer, Vic. What was it that gave you the confidence that you were in the right place?
LM: He was reassuring. We only had pieces of the puzzle initially, but we didn’t know how that puzzle was going to come together. After laying that out to Vic, it was clear to me he could quickly see the full picture. And that was reassuring.
A complicating factor was that this wasn’t going to be shot entirely in San Diego. It was shot in three states, so it was a pretty large scope for a video. At that time, we had several options on the table for how we could execute the video shoot by the deadline, but there were a lot of moving pieces. So when Vic said Blue Barn can be flexible and, “We will make it work,” that gave me confidence.
CF: What happened in the planning stage as the pieces did start to come together and you were narrowing down who would participate? How was it working with Blue Barn to plan out the logistics for the production?
LM: It couldn’t have been smoother. It truly felt like I had another partner in the project. Not that I was just working with an external vendor who was also rigid in their needs. I had someone who was helping me to navigate this through each step and roll with the punches.
CF: Let’s talk about the shoot in Chicago. What was the experience like for the people participating? A lot of these people, maybe they’re used to being in a court, but not on camera in such an intimate way.
LM: The interview subjects felt very comfortable. All of them are litigators, so they are comfortable in court. They’re used to being in front of a judge and jury and thriving on adrenaline. And so that was how I framed it to them as we prepared: you’ve done this before, but instead of a jury, it’s a camera and instead of a patent infringement case, it’s speaking about your colleague and mentor.
And that does something for litigators. It sort of turns the switch. There were some initial nerves, naturally. But once they felt the rhythm of the questions and that the Blue Barn team was setting them up for success, that gave them peace of mind. That and the fact that it was going to look good in the end because they were with a very capable, supportive team.
CF: It’s one thing to have a great experience over the phone, but was there a feeling of taking a leap of faith that this would work out?
LM: I certainly had some nerves going in, partly because the stakes were high. We had one day to get the majority of the shoot done and it needed to go smoothly. But once I heard the soundbites we were capturing, and watched the video shots on the cameras, I was reassured that we were getting great material. We were laying the foundation for a stellar video.
And I don’t mean to jump ahead here, but I will because when I saw the near-final cut with the B-roll, I was blown away. Once you layer in the B-roll and add the audio and the music, the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. And so it was just a very special moment.
CF: There was a tight turnaround between when we shot the main interview with Juanita Brooks and getting the video ready for the event. What was the post production process like? I think at that point, you and I were working together, and coordinating the edit very closely.
LM: It moved quickly, and so it meant that you and I were volleying versions and edits back and forth. It’s an intensive process, especially if it’s unfamiliar to you. But that’s, again, where the support is so critical because you have a team who is really experienced, who knows the best practices, who knows what’s going to land with the audience, and how to evoke emotion and steer you in the right direction. There were certainly times when we went back and forth where I said, “What do you think?” And I wouldn’t have done that if we didn’t have that trust.
CF: What was the team’s reaction to the video?
LM: Before the event, I shared the final video with our senior leadership. It was late Friday night, and all day Saturday I received emails from my senior leaders with absolutely glowing reviews. I believe that one person even said it brought tears to his eyes as he was drinking his morning coffee. For me, that was icing on the cake.
I wasn’t on the ground for the reception honoring Juanita where the video premiered, but I got lots of positive feedback, including a very touching note from Juanita.
CF: If someone has been tasked with looking for a production company, what advice would you give them?
LM: Well, the thing that first comes to mind is that you need to trust the team that you work with. I didn’t walk away with a sense of ease after the other calls I had with other potential vendors. They only saw the puzzle pieces, not the full picture. And from my starting position, feeling like a novice in this experience, I needed a pro.
I needed someone who could see the full picture before I could and could help to navigate me there. It was also important to have a team that could roll with the punches because there were a lot of things that were up in the air when we first started out. But given the timeline, we just had to jump in. So, for my particular case, it was really important that I had a team that was nimble.
CF: And specifically the Blue Barn team? What would you say to a colleague who asked about the experience of working with us?
LM: I felt like we had a great partnership. I felt that I was in good hands. And that was important as, again, the timeframe that I was operating under was tight. You want a team that you can trust and can get you across the finish line. And I think this team has proven that even under less-than-ideal circumstances, they will get you across the finish line and deliver a great product.
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