4 Key Lessons On The State Of Legal Marketing And Business Development

Biglaw firms used to depend entirely on doing good work as the key to getting new business. But that notion's time has passed.

marketingWhat is the future of business development and legal marketing? That is a question many legal industry professionals have been asking themselves, but to understand where we’re going, you have to know where we’ve been — or at least where we currently are.

It used to be that Biglaw firms would depend entirely on doing good work as the key to getting new business. But that notion’s time has passed; the business of getting new business is coming of age and law firms have to be proactive about getting new work.

Documenting the state of the industry was the inspiration for a survey co-sponsored by Bloomberg Law and the Legal Marketing Association which gathered opinions of ~300 attorneys and legal marketing professionals on the current and future state of the industry. Nancy Furman Paul, Bloomberg Law’s Commercial Product Manager, released the results of the survey yesterday in a session at the Legal Marketing Association Annual Conference (LMA), and these are the four key takeaways.

1. Law firm focus on marketing and business development is increasing.

Ninety-four percent of respondents agree or somewhat agree that firms are increasing focus on marketing and business development. What is behind that increased emphasis demonstrates the changes the industry is experiencing. Sixty-eight percent of those who believe there is an increased focus say it is from an internal pressure to generate revenue. The other large contributors to this change are: corporate counsel are reducing firms they work with (46%); pressure from other law firms (43%); and new billing models (41%). Only 15% of responders see alternate service providers — those designed to disrupt the legal market — as the reason behind the increased focus. Perhaps it’s because we are blind to what we cannot see. No one ever expects to be disrupted.

Biglaw firms, those with 200 or more attorneys, are the firms increasing their staff to meet this demand. Having employees who are solely focused on legal marketing, business development, pricing, and competitive intelligence is the new normal.

2. There have been changes in roles and responsibilities.

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Unsurprisingly, social media is a large factor in changes to how both attorneys and legal marketing professionals go about marketing and developing business. But social media is the only new marketing task lawyers admitted to performing.

On the other side of the aisle, there have been big increases in the tasks and responsibilities marketing and business development professionals have taken on. Even with the reported increases in staffing and budgets for these departments, there is a crunch felt by these professionals; the biggest challenge for these professionals is lack of sufficient staffing.

3. The relationship between attorneys and marketing / business development professions is key.

Described by Paul as “where the rubber meets the road,” the the relationship between attorneys and marketing / business development professionals has to be a functional one for the firm to be successful. The good news is the relationship is generally good and frequently described as respectful, collaborative, supportive, and responsive. But there is a stumbling block — getting buy-in is still a challenge as this graphic demonstrates.

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According to the survey, attorneys depend on marketing and business development professionals for gathering company information, responding to requests for proposals, rankings and awards submissions, and content marketing. Attorneys rely on these professions for client meetings, developing practice area expertise, forming / managing client teams, and practice / process improvement.

Attorneys perceive that marketing / business development professionals excel at planning and executing events, support for client pitches, building the brand, and producing client communications. They felt they’re weakest at integrating business development into to workflow, generating new business, strategically positioning the firm, and generating media coverage.

Interestingly,  marketing and business development professionals report doing more of the work they are depended upon least for, which represents an opportunity for growth.

4. The role of technology has to evolve.

The biggest challenge identified by the survey is lack of time; it would seem logical that technology can fill the gap and make marketing and business development more efficient. Unfortunately, technology is not fully utilized in law firm marketing and business development. The reason? Tech tools being out of date tops the list. Often times the tech a firm has isn’t right for the task at hand, or it is just plain old. Survey respondents also noted that buying new systems isn’t seen as a high priority for firms.

Earlier: The Future Of Legal Business Development: An Interview With Bloomberg Law’s Melanie Heller


Kathryn Rubino is an editor at Above the Law. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments. Follow her on Twitter (@Kathryn1).