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Adams and Reese Partner Will Cheek is featured by JDSupra in “The Write Stuff: How to Be a Successful Thought Leader,” highlighting Cheek’s readership numbers and popularity as an author on the legal news publishing platform.
Cheek is a two-time recipient of JD Supra’s Readers’ Choice awards in the Food & Beverage category, and is ranked Band 4 Nationwide by Chambers USA in Food & Beverage: Alcohol Law. Cheek’s “Last Call” blog – Your First Stop for Tennessee Liquor News – is well read by both peers and corporate clients in the alcohol and hospitality industry sector.
“Listening to Will talk, one quickly realizes that his successes as a thought leader (and even attorney, perhaps) can best be summed up with one word: Responsiveness,” writes JDSupra VP of Client Services Paul Ryplewski. “At the heart of many of Will’s stories during our Zoom conversation is a theme of clear-eyed, meaningful response to the situation at hand, of understanding where the value lies in what you do and then seeing it through.”
Cheek added that writing thought leadership not only establishes credibility in a marketplace among clients and prospective clients, but also is a way for a young lawyer to establish credibility and influence within their own firm, both by being recognized for their expertise by colleagues and also by growing a book of business with writing.
“If you’re embarking upon a new path as a writer, a thought leader, understand what unique value you bring to the marketplace and your clients and then embody it in your writing,” writes Ryplewski.
Several additional editorial habits of Cheek’s and best practices for attorneys include to: write at a consistent pace; write on a consistent subject; write to inform, not to impress; keep it practical; make it easy to read; make it entertaining; make it easy for yourself; work with your marketing team; talk to your clients; talk to your colleagues; call out your readers in your title; and stay true to your promise.
Often referenced as the go-to liquor lawyer in Tennessee, Cheek leads the Tennessee Retail Team of Adams and Reese's Alcohol and Hospitality practice. He counsels both local and national clients on licensing and regulatory compliance under Tennessee state and local liquor and beer laws. Cheek also counsels distilleries, wineries, breweries and contract manufacturers on production, distribution and marketing, including complex federal and state tied house issues.