Personal injury law firm advertising is often ubiquitous in larger television markets. So many firms have run commercials for decades – often with no-frills, creative, and tough-talking men – that it’s become a pop-culture staple.
Goff Law Group is turning this model on its ear. It is the largest female-owned personal injury law firm in Connecticut, and 14 of 15 attorneys are women. Instead of the usual legal or courthouse imagery and “fighting” slogans, the website has bright colors, modern artwork, and edgy fonts that buck what a traditional law firm website looks like.
Brooke Goff, who is 37, founded Goff Law Group, which has three offices in Connecticut, and it’s changing the perception of personal injury law. The media-savvy Goff brainstorms the firm’s advertising campaigns and enlists the assistance of celebrities to up the firm’s profile.
Past campaigns have included Flava Flav and Mike Tyson. Its latest media blitz capitalizes on the Super Bowl contending Detroit Lions and its MVP-caliber quarterback Jared Goff, who shares her name. Jared and Brooke pose with footballs and encourage viewers to “Join our family,” with the slogan, “We will bring you to the end zone.”
Brooke Goff, an outspoken advocate for women’s empowerment, is committed to breaking barriers. She frequently speaks at events that inspire women and girls to excel in male-dominated fields. Jared Goff and his wife are active in the global organization Girls, Inc., which empowers and encourages girls to become strong, bold leaders, so he thought this opportunity was an ideal fit.
Being a leader of this level of notoriety and success wasn’t predetermined for Brooke Goff, who grew up under very modest means.
“My mom’s a very strong woman, and she was the head of the house, but it was very unusual for girls to see themselves in leadership roles,” she says. “I’m not sure if I knew it cognitively or not, but I wanted to make an atmosphere where women could thrive not because we’re women but because we may be the best candidates for a position.”
Brooke opened that door to share the equality factor and advocate for leveling pay and gender gaps. She says the 14 women attorneys in her firm are doing as well, if not better, than their male counterparts. Incidentally, she also fights against what she considers the “invisible barrier” for women achieving true equality in business, and that’s other women. She wants to fight against the culture where women leaders perpetuate the cycle of inequity.
“The attorneys in my firms are paid what they’re worth,” she says. “Creating this atmosphere is my superpower, I think. And, believe me, I do not have a chip on my shoulder when it comes to men. I have a son who is being raised by two moms. I’m married to a woman. Our son is the most emotional soul and the nicest kid. We have a boy and a girl, and we treat them equally. The way to eliminate this male-female dichotomy is for everybody to be treated the same.”
Personal injury tends to be a male-dominated area of law if you go by prevalence in media, whether it be broadcast, billboard, or online advertising.
“I will tell you it is rare, but it’s not like there aren’t women in personal injury; they’re just not featured in highly visible campaigns,” Brooke says. “However, since I’ve become more visible, it seems more firms are now putting women in their ads, and if I’ve done my part in that, fantastic. I believe the rarity of women wanting to be trial lawyers comes from imposter syndrome. In personal injury, you’re trying cases, and with family law, you’re mediating cases and more women have gravitated toward that in the past.”
According to the American Bar Association, the percentage of women attorneys in the United States reached 39% in 2023, but women trial attorneys still trail men significantly, with 29.2% women versus 70.8% men.
“Visibility is so important, which is why I made myself so public,” Brooke says. “I don’t do it because I love seeing my face everywhere, but I want women to see what they can do. I’m the only female owner-operator of a personal injury law firm I’ve ever seen on a billboard. Now, other firms have started bringing women forward and using them in advertising.”
The Goff Law Group differs in another way from traditional personal injury firms as it takes sexual abuse cases and, in fact, Brooke is a leader in that realm. She represented many of the plaintiffs who sued the Boy Scouts of America in its massive sexual abuse scandal.
“That’s how I got my first bout of notoriety – through the Boy Scouts of America cases I brought that were televised,” she says. “When public cases hit, I think people realize they might have had the power to come forward. They have the courage to make that decision, and then we, unfortunately, have to tell them maybe it’s too late or maybe there’s no case. I don’t want to say that the cases are becoming more common but the publicity for them is through the roof right now.”
Brooke says there are a variety of factors that make these cases so difficult – other than the obvious, such as the passage of time and lack of physical evidence. The biggest hurdle is that insurance companies don’t pay for punitive damages for sexual abuse lawsuits, so the defendants must have deep pockets for it to even be a viable case.
“These are the hardest cases, so many attorneys will default to car accidents,” she says. “It’s one pattern. It’s the same. The process is similar for any case that comes in. Sex abuse cases are not like that. Every case is unique, and we do them, but they are time-consuming and very difficult, but we do them because not enough good lawyers do.”
When asked how the partnership with Jared Goff came about, as it seems like a “stars in alignment” situation. Brooke is not only a self-described football fanatic but also a former player. She was the first female player on her middle school and high school teams in Hudson, New York.
“My last name is Goff, so we obviously share that,” she says. “About a year ago – we plan our campaigns a year in advance – I was thinking about football. I’m in five fantasy leagues. I’m a commissioner on one. We came up with the concept with Jared. Our agents reached out to him, and he was very kind and great to work with. We flew out to Detroit for the shoot, and it worked out great. I brought my 11-year-old son, and Jared was kind enough to throw the ball around with him. It was a special experience for my family.”
Brooke is in the process of creating her own foundation and was familiar with Girls, Inc. prior to her collaboration with Jared. She’s been looking at different foundations and charities hers will align with to create her foundation’s pillars and who she hopes to partner with.
“The best part about having money and being successful is being able to choose how to give it away,” she says. “It’s the best when you can give away money to improve people’s lives. Any entrepreneur or self-made person who’s not experienced this feeling is missing out on what life is about.”
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