Ayesha Badhwar’s strategy at Morgan & Morgan — Stripo.email

In the legal industry, trust and accuracy are important across all spheres of a company’s work, not just in client-facing work but across all communication channels. That’s why email marketing for a law firm requires a careful balance between empathy, strategy, and technology. 

How can you create email campaigns that respect sensitive client needs while driving measurable results? In this interview, Ayesha Badhwar, Director of Email Marketing at Morgan & Morgan — the largest law firm in the US — shares her insights with Stripo. 

Key takeaways

1. To respect client needs, effective email marketing for legal services requires strict attention to privacy, deliverability, and thoughtful segmentation.
2. Personalization and dynamic content powered by tools like AMP script and SQL enable highly relevant communication that builds trust and engagement.
3. Thorough QA processes, including using tools like Litmus and live device testing, are essential, especially when working with new design formats like dark mode and accessibility-first templates.

With nearly a decade of experience, Ayesha Badhwar has built a reputation as a thoughtful and data-driven leader in the email marketing space. As Director of Email Marketing at Morgan & Morgan, one of the largest law firms in the US, she leads complex, high-impact campaigns that span millions of contacts, bringing together strategy, technology, and compliance in a highly regulated industry.

Ayesha’s expertise covers the full marketing stack, with deep knowledge of Salesforce Marketing Cloud, HubSpot, and Epsilon. She’s known for turning complex data into actionable insights, crafting client lifecycle strategies that drive real results, and managing cross-functional teams with clarity and purpose.

Blending strategy and empathy: How a self-proclaimed email geek leads with purpose

Stripo: You’ve built a decade-long career in email marketing, progressing from QA roles to director-level leadership. What initially drew you to this field, and what keeps you excited about it today?

Ayesha: I’ve always had the ability to be very technical and creatively strategic at the same time, and email marketing is a perfect field to combine those two skill sets. My first role was in QA at the College Board, where I got a taste of what it’s like to produce work and see immediate results. Depending on the words in the email — or placing the call-to-action button in just the right spot — you could see a huge ROI and immediate profit.

Putting an email out there is almost like putting a part of yourself out there. You’ve worked on every aspect of that message, and now, it’s reaching millions of subscribers. It’s pretty thrilling.

Now, as a director, I love mentoring and guiding my team using all the technical knowledge I’ve gained, especially around Marketing Cloud and data. (I know I sound like an email geek, but I’m a proud one.)

S: As the Director of Email Marketing at a major national law firm, how do you approach developing an email strategy that drives business goals? Are there any special considerations involved in this approach given your legal services background?

A: For context, the law firm where I work is one of the largest in the country. We are continuing to grow very rapidly, which means our database is also expanding. When I started here over three years ago, our email audience wasn’t even close to a million. Now, it’s almost double that.

My strategy is simple: Ensure every person who comes to us for help gets the best digital experience possible via email or SMS. Making that happen requires the careful orchestration of technology, data, and content.

For a law firm, thoughtful segmentation is essential. We’re careful not to oversaturate our audience or bombard them with emails, especially when they’re dealing with a serious injury. Our content is carefully curated, and we analyze performance based on newsletter topics to guide future articles.

On the technology side, we rely on AI for Send Time Optimization to ensure messages land at the right moment. In the end, everything supports our core business goals: helping clients sign up and encouraging them to return if they ever need us again.

Process, precision, and personalization: Building a scalable email strategy for legal services

S: What are the five key points in an email marketing strategy for a law firm that will make this strategy successful?

A: If I needed to choose five key points in an email marketing strategy for a law firm that will make this strategy successful, I would point to the following: 

1. Privacy and data compliance: In the legal industry, protecting client information is non-negotiable. Ensuring full compliance with data privacy regulations like GDPR and HIPAA builds trust and safeguards the firm’s reputation.
2. Deliverability: Even the best message won’t make an impact if it doesn’t reach the inbox. Deliverability requires ongoing attention — through list hygiene, authentication protocols, and reputation monitoring — to keep campaigns effective.
3. Personalization: Legal matters are deeply personal, and emails should reflect that. Customizing messages by case type or the stage in the client journey can make communication feel relevant and supportive.
4. Thoughtful segmentation: Rather than sending broad, generic emails, we segment based on meaningful criteria, such as injury type, case progress, or location, to ensure the right people receive the right message at the right time.
5. Brand and content: Consistency in tone, visuals, and message reinforces credibility and trust. The content must be clear, empathetic, and informative, especially because many recipients are dealing with sensitive or urgent legal issues.

S: What does your ideal email production pipeline look like, from brief to launch? How do you handle friction points when multiple teams (design, legal, and CRM) are involved?

A: We have a well-oiled machine when it comes to production. We use Monday.com for email requests, and the team is assigned tasks based on these requests. We work from prebuilt templates, so it’s more like plug-and-play, and then, we test with Litmus.

Of course, there are always edits and approvals. One friction point is when we need new templates to keep up with constant updates from Gmail and Outlook. Staying on top of HTML/CSS changes and preventing rendering issues can be tough.

Like many teams, we encounter the usual hurdles — legal approvals, support from CRM teams, and coordination with design. The best way to navigate these is through strong relationships and clear, concise communication. When things get especially tricky, I call in the big guns, like my CMO.

S: You started in QA and now lead entire campaigns. What’s your framework for ensuring high-quality email testing today, especially at scale?

A: Even at scale, we have to be very granular with QA. I’ve worked with my team to build a QA checklist for single email sends. When it comes to QA for journeys, automations, or SQL queries, there’s no shortcut. You have to take the time to test everything end to end and cover all possible scenarios.

Especially in a journey flow, it’s essential to keep a spreadsheet and map out every logic branch before launch. Otherwise, you’ll end up with a dozen versions. For example, we think through the following questions: What if the user’s status changes? What if there’s no default value for a personalization field? What if the data extract removes a contact? What if it’s the weekend?

Personalization at scale: How data, AMP, and AI shape a tech-first email strategy

S: Where do you see the most strategic use of AMP script and SQL in your current campaigns, and how do you ensure marketers and developers collaborate effectively on these elements?

A: To deliver truly personalized experiences, we actively use the AMP script for dynamic content. Whether it’s a welcome series or a pre-conversion message, we ensure the content reflects the specific case type.

Our daily workflow in Marketing Cloud heavily depends on SQL queries. It’s a fundamental skill for our team, enabling us to create precise audience segments, normalize data, and filter out sensitive case types. This allows for highly targeted communications that resonate with the recipient’s context.

S: What are your go-to tools and practices for cross-client QA, especially when working with new design formats like dark mode or accessibility-first templates?

A: Litmus and live device tests help us catch rendering issues across email clients and ensure consistency, especially in dark mode, which can dramatically alter design elements. We also pay close attention to accessibility standards, like color contrast and screen reader compatibility, to make sure every subscriber has a smooth experience.

S: What upcoming trends or emerging challenges in email marketing are you most interested in exploring, whether they are technical, strategic, or ethical?

A: I’m excited about Salesforce’s future, especially with the changes in Marketing Cloud and the role of AI. I have a love–hate relationship with Salesforce. It’s not always user friendly, especially for non-technical users, but it’s also built an entire ecosystem of opportunities.

Often, it feels like we’re solving puzzles, and that’s what keeps my role exciting. Using AI for better insights and smaller agentic tasks will be game changing, freeing us up to focus more on strategy and less on repetitive execution.

I don’t rely on AI for content, but I treat it like a junior assistant.

I also recently completed an intensive Data Cloud class, and I’m eager to explore that area further. Fortunately, my firm strongly supports my adoption of best-in-class technology. We’re definitely a tech-first law firm, and that goes a long way toward helping us better serve our clients.

Wrapping up

We thank Ayesha Badhwar for sharing her valuable insights into and experiences with navigating the unique challenges of email marketing for legal services. Her approach highlights the importance of combining technical precision, personalization, and empathy to create impactful campaigns that both respect clients’ needs and drive business growth. For email marketers in regulated industries, Ayesha’s strategies offer a clear roadmap to success.