Thought leader

By Caroline Poynton

April 2006 has been a particularly busy month for Ark Group, with the launch of a new title, Legal Marketing. This bi-monthly publication will complement Managing Partner, touching on some of the essential business-development/strategy issues raised in our flagship title, while drilling down more deeply into the day-to-day work of today’s legal marketing team.

The launch comes as competitive pressures and a changing business environment have forced many firms to rethink their approach to market. The traditional model, where partners ruled the roost and ‘owned’ their clients is coming to end. Such change can be attributed to a globalising marketplace where a law firm’s clients are likely to work across multiple jurisdictions and expect their law firms to be able to do the same. Internal competition between firms of all sizes has also led many practices to seek new ways of differentiating themselves in a profession where most firms can boast technical expertise.

Most significantly, market challenges and competition have opened the door to strategic-marketing initiatives that have pushed the marketing role to new heights. Not so long ago, law firms might have selected a partner to head up some ad hoc marketing campaigns or, if marketing managers were appointed, they would only be involved in event planning, directory listings and the firm’s brochureware. Such marketing managers were little involved in the core functions of the firm and would have few dealings with fee earners or partners.

With a changing landscape, however, marketing directors have become more involved in client-facing activities, often heading up client-relationship-management (CRM) programmes and getting involved in mentoring and coaching the firm’s lawyers to cross-sell. They often manage the client-review process, preparing client-action and service-development plans that include everything from better communication processes to pricing strategies. Working closely with other support functions, particularly human resources, the modern marketer’s work has moved out of a siloed department and into the heart of the firm.

There are still obstacles, however. Marketers can at best expect to face cynical partners who do not believe in the value of marketing activity; at worst, they will meet outright resistance to change. The first challenge for a marketing director in a typical mid-tier firm will be gaining buy-in for client-focused marketing activity. For lawyers that are quite happy with their existing client relationships, inspiring a change in attitudes will be hard – and getting them to actually change behaviours will be even tougher. Many do not succeed and end up leaving the law firm after two to three years, before their efforts have had any serious impact on the firm’s business development. The firm recruits a new marketing director who faces just the same problems, and so begins a vicious circle that merely reinforces partners’ views that marketing is a waste of money.

Despite potential problems, however, the legal profession now offers a more fulfilling career to ambitious marketers than ever before. Legal Marketing not only reflects upon this evolutionary path, but provides practical guidance for marketers looking to capitalise on the legal opportunities now available to them.

For more information on Ark Group’s Legal Marketing magazine, please contact Adam Scrimshire at ascrimshire@ark-group.com