Maurice Blackburn Appoints Howatson+White as Agency of Record

Australia’s leading social justice law firm, Maurice Blackburn, has appointed Howatson+White as its agency of record.

Howatson+White won the account after Maurice Blackburn ran a market tender to search for a strategic creative agency. The process was led by the firm’s newly appointed General Manager Marketing, Caroline Ruddick, who joined Maurice Blackburn in late 2020, from Latitude Financial Services where she grew the brand in market by 35% YOY.

While Maurice Blackburn works with a range of agencies, Howatson+White is the Creative Services Agency of record for the law firm, and has a remit that spans strategy and creative across the full channel mix.

Caroline Ruddick, general manager marketing at Maurice Blackburn, said that during the RFP process, Howatson+White stood out as an exceptional values aligned creative partner who could help to accelerate the firm’s future ambitions: “Howatson+White demonstrated they understood our purpose, our culture and our ambition. I am confident that working together we will further strengthen our brand as Australia’s #1 law firm. Having worked with Howie and Ant before, I trust their commitment as deep business partners and leaders in creative excellence. In addition, Howatson+White exceeded our criteria to partner with organisations that support gender equality in the workplace for both leadership and workforce participation. We couldn’t be happier to bring them on board as our agency of record.”

Chris Howatson, CEO and founder of Howatson+White, said: "The Maurice Blackburn team have an unrivalled generosity of spirit and passion for justice. It’s a misunderstood category and we are looking forward to supporting their growth. Caroline is a visionary marketer who is able to perfectly balance head and heart. We look forward to continuing our partnership.”

The Maurice Blackburn appointment of Howatson+White is effective immediately.

According to Nielsen, in 2020 the legal category spent $40m in main media, of which Maurice Blackburn was the largest spender.