Chris McKenna Built an Inbound Engine on LinkedIn by Showing Up as Himself
IP attorney and Foley & Lardner Partner Chris McKenna had the track record and the client relationships. What he didn’t have was a digital presence that reflected any of it. With MadScript, he built one, growing his audience by over 15% in seven weeks while turning LinkedIn into a platform that works before he ever picks up the phone.
Chris's perspective
The challenge
Chris McKenna isn’t a typical IP attorney. Before law school, he spent years as an operator, including as COO of a manufacturing software systems integrator, and that background shapes how he advises clients. By early 2025, his LinkedIn following sat at just under 7,900. He had the credibility. He didn’t have the platform.
His goals were clear: build his brand first, then let the brand work for him. He wanted founders, operators, and enterprise buyers to know who Chris was and how he thinks *before* he reached out. Inbound credibility, not just connections.
The constraint: a schedule that runs full. He needed a system that could keep up with his thinking without turning content into another job.
The solution
MadScript deployed its professional content framework, built for a partner-level legal voice:
- Voice-note capture and monthly interviews for fast, authentic content sourcing
- Consistent 5x/week cadence on LinkedIn
- Weekly Substack newsletter, The Operator’s Counsel
- Five content pillars mapped to Chris’s practice and expertise
- Weekly performance loops to double down on what worked
By leading with Chris’s business instincts rather than his legal credentials, MadScript helped him stand out in a field where most attorneys sound exactly the same.
Execution
Two content patterns emerged quickly and consistently led performance. The first was personal: posts where Chris shared his background, his path as a first-generation college student from Chelsea, and his mentorship philosophy. The second was opinionated IP counsel: posts where he took a specific stance and backed it with operational precision.
The program’s breakout post, “Owning My Story,” reached 33,612 impressions and 589 reactions, the highest-engagement piece of his content career. A companion post, “From UMass Lowell to Paying It Forward,” followed with 11,965 impressions and 208 reactions.
On the IP side, specificity won every time. Posts that told operators and founders what to actually do consistently outperformed posts that explained what IP is.
The results
With MadScript’s system in place, Chris turned LinkedIn into a platform that builds credibility at scale:
- +15.3% follower growth in six weeks
- Breakout post: 33,612 impressions / 589 reactions, an all-time high
- Repeatable content playbook: Human and personal posts paired with clear-position IP counsel consistently led performance
Beyond numbers, Chris’s content began generating inbound recognition, with people entering conversations already knowing who he is.
What's next
With a proven content system in place, Chris is focused on growing The Operator’s Counsel newsletter and deepening the LinkedIn presence he’s built. The playbook is established. The audience is growing. And the platform is starting to work before he picks up the phone.
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