By, Arielle Lapiano
I studied to be a diplomat.
I had visions of becoming an ambassador. Life had other plans.
So no, I’m not the lead in The Diplomat like Keri Russell, and I doubt anyone’s making a Netflix series about my life. But turns out I became a different kind of diplomat: a complexity translator—someone who helps experts turn sophisticated ideas into narratives that resonate and drive results.
Early in my career, I was literally translating French medical and legal documents into English for a diet drug litigation case. Then I translated derivatives for Risk magazine readers who needed to understand why the financial world was melting down. Later, I landed at Paul Hastings, where I spent 15 years ultimately leading global communications and helping some of the sharpest legal minds in the world make their expertise accessible. I also spent time demystifying cryptocurrency as Chief Communications Officer at a digital asset startup—its own brand of translation gymnastics.
During my time at Paul Hastings, a practice leader pulled me aside after I’d navigated some particularly thorny partner dynamics and said, “You should’ve been a diplomat.” I laughed it off. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized: I am a diplomat. I just traded embassy postings for press tours to global offices, and my clients are brilliant people who need help bridging worlds—legal and business, technical and human, expertise and influence.
That’s the work I’ve spent my career doing, and it’s the work I’m here to do with you at LIMELIGHT.
Here’s what I know:
If you’re leading a law firm right now, you’re getting pressure from every direction. AI is rewriting how you deliver services—and you’re trying to figure out how to leverage it and what it means for the profession. Clients want more value and transparency. The war for talent is brutal. And somewhere in the middle of all this, you need your lawyers to be more than just excellent practitioners—you need them to be leaders who can communicate with clarity and win.
If you’re a communications professional in a law firm, you know a different truth: your job is incredibly hard. You’re trying to get big brains to simplify incredibly complex ideas for reporters who are spoiled with choice and have little time. You’re the one who gets handed the 9,000-word article on changes to the tax code with a cheerful “Can the New York Times run this as an op-ed?” You’re managing egos, translating jargon, and somehow supposed to make the firm’s story break through when half your partners are convinced their work speaks for itself.
I’ve lived in so many worlds over my career—as a reporter, a translator, a diplomat, an underdog. I’ve worked in numerous environments: Big Law, boutique law, a crypto startup. And I like to believe that I helped them all transform in some way through my complexity translation.
When I started at Paul Hastings, decades ago, people called asking to speak with “Mr. Paul Hastings” — proof they had no idea who we really were. Over 15 years, I worked to make sure everyone who mattered knew: our capabilities, our leaders, our reputation. By the end, they were calling daily for partners across the firm. They understood who we really were. Sorry, “Mr. Paul Hastings.”
One of my favorite transformations? A firm chair who didn’t see the value in press. After our work together, he became the go-to source for The American Lawyer, The Wall Street Journal, and Bloomberg. The turning point? When lateral partners mentioned the coverage during recruitment. Suddenly, he understood: communication isn’t vanity—it’s a business driver. That kind of transformation is what I live for.
Here’s what I believe:
One of the greatest challenges for law firms today is communications. It’s what will separate leaders from the pack. That’s why I’ve joined LIMELIGHT with an amazing team of talented former reporters, publishers, and CMOs to lead the Law Firm Practice and launch our leadership growth and training practice. We’re not just here to manage your communications. We’re here to transform how your people communicate—to equip your lawyers and leaders with the skills to articulate their value, win client trust, and build a brand that attracts the brightest talent.
Whether you’re a chairperson or managing partner looking to sharpen your firm’s competitive edge, a practice group leader developing your next generation of rainmakers, or a communications leader who desperately needs your lawyers to stop burying the lede—the goal is the same: to ensure your brilliance is seen, heard, and remembered.
My amazing colleagues and I are here when you’re ready to step into the limelight.
Arielle Lapiano
Senior Vice President, Law Firm Practice + Growth Training
LIMELIGHT
arielle@limelightgrowth.com