The post CMOs Stress Levels Surge appeared first on The BTI Consulting Group.

Skadden reclaims its position as the best-branded law firm. Benefiting directly from the increased complexity and uncertainty clients face—clients rank Skadden as the firm to turn to in bet-the-company situations more than any other firm.

Fully 18 firms in the 28 Brand Elite firm improved their brand over last year. These firms include:

• Skadden
• Morgan Lewis
• Gibson Dunn
• Kirkland & Ellis
• Reed Smith
• Hogan Lovells
• McGuireWoods
• Davis Polk
• Seyfarth Shaw

• Orrick
• Paul, Weiss
• King & Spalding
• Covington
• Mayer Brown
• Norton Rose Fulbright
• Squire Patton Boggs
• Ropes & Gray
• Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan

Quinn Emanuel makes its debut on the BTI Brand Elite—the 28 law firms with the best brands. Quinn is on an ever-growing number of clients’ short lists and has improved its client experience to the point where the firm’s brand is among the elite—and attracts inbound referrals.

A total of 6 law firms return to the BTI Brand Elite:

• Seyfarth Shaw
• Orrick
• King & Spalding
• Covington
• Squire Patton Boggs
• Ropes & Gray

Only 7 law firms earn a place on the BTI Brand Elite for all 8 years we have ranked law firm brands. Please join me in congratulating:

• Skadden
• Jones Day
• Morgan Lewis
• Hogan Lovells
• Sidley
• Baker McKenzie
• Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz

You can learn about the detailed changes in your firm’s brand and compare it to competitive law firms with your copy of BTI Brand Elite 2019: Client Perceptions of the Best-Branded Law Firms, available now.

BTI conducted more than 694 interviews with top legal decision makers to single out the law firms with the best and strongest brands. Each of the CLOs provided detailed answers and explanations—and have deep opinions about law firm brands.

The post Skadden Reclaims Best Brand: 18 Firms Move Up in New BTI Brand Elite appeared first on The BTI Consulting Group.

The post 5 Trends Shaping Legal Marketing in 2019 appeared first on The BTI Consulting Group.

CMOs are quick to point out how the attorneys are the best part of the job. But, some attorneys do a good job of driving them absolutely crazy.

4 of the 7 sources of CMO frustration start with attorneys—a small number of attorneys, but attorneys none the less. Attorneys don’t have an exclusive on driving CMOs to the brink—daily life and strategic issues play their role too.

Let’s talk about the attorneys first.

4 types of attorneys are driving CMOs crazy. They break down into the following groups:

Marketing and Business Development Skeptics

About 10% of attorneys are true Marketing and Business Development (MBD) skeptics. These attorneys don’t see how CMOs can help them—and show no interest in learning. Some are loud and vocal, and openly question your plans and attempts to help. Other MBD skeptics question CMOs in private because they are in the clear minority—but take up too much air time in the CMO world—and drive them crazy.

The Apathetic

Worse than MBD skeptics, these attorneys just don’t care about MBD initiatives. They go along as if the MBD department isn’t there. They interact only when they absolutely have to—and sometimes even then they ask not to be included.

The Jerks

They still exist—and do a great job of driving CMOs crazy. The jerks bring unpleasant, and sometimes nasty comments. They are more troublesome than the 2 groups above because they are loud, active, and go out of their way to share their thinking. The best CMOs learn to let this water run off their back and move on. Fortunately, the number of jerks has decreased to less than 5% of all partners, but their impact is much larger than their footprint suggests.

Distracted Attorneys

Attorneys can have short attention spans. But the distracted attorneys bring new meaning. These often well-meaning attorneys, move from one topic to another with lightening speed. They don’t stay in place long enough to get any traction—and they request individualized help to support their ongoing stream of ideas.

Moving away from attorneys, CMOs point to the following 3 issues as driving them crazy:

Directories and Rankings

The workload and high attorney demand drive CMOs crazy. Attorneys bring a high emotional investment in making the rankings—but most of the workload falls squarely in MBD department. This can be a double whammy because a small but measurable number of the attorneys not making the rankings become jerks and skeptics.

No Strategy

These CMOs are working hard but are not sure where they are going. They see no sign of a firm strategy or vision. This not only dilutes the CMOs’ efforts but takes away guiding light. These CMOs are among the few who have a bird’s eye seat to multiple strategies and wasted resources. These same CMOs see the power of using the resources for a limited number of strategically coordinated initiatives.

Workload

Think of it as a form of job security. Demand exceeds marketing supply. CMOs face a continuing stream of RFPs before adding in all the daily tasks of running the department—mentoring, partner requests, events, web updates, PR, special projects, and a string of strategic initiatives like client teams, client feedback, and industry teams. Simply put, the CMO cup runneth over.

BTI’’s exclusive research shows the largest firms (think Am Law 30) are adding staff, as are the Am Law 31 to 100, and the Am Law second 100. This is not enough staff to fuel the demand. But the resource-short departments learn to prioritize and manage expectations to deliver what their firms need and expect.

The Good News

Successful CMOs know how to successfully navigate these frustrations—and they would do it all again. They know what experience counts and what’s worth caring about. As we discussed a few weeks ago, the most successful CMOs also shared 7 lessons they learned to make sure they don’t let their responsibilities or people they deal with drive them crazy. You can’t read this advice too many times.

MBR

The post Only 7 Things Drive Law Firm CMOs Crazy appeared first on The BTI Consulting Group.

Successful CMOs know how to navigate the people and culture of their firm. They know what experience counts and what’s worth caring about. The most successful CMOs have 7 lessons they wish they had known earlier. 

What Advice Would You Give Yourself When You Were Just Starting Out?
We asked more than 150 law firm marketing leaders this very question. The messages are pretty compelling:

1. Don’t take it personally. Everyone questions new ideas. The questioners are not attacking you, they are trying to get their head around your ideas. Their approach may be hard and gruff, and they may not be believers—but it comes with the territory.

2. Persistence. Don’t give up the ship. People won’t really understand what you are saying until they hear it 7 times. This means the initial resistance and indifference are part of the process. Very few ideas get off the ground without at least 7 clear messaging events to the right audience(s).

3. Adapt. Learn from all the feedback you get. Rejection, resistance, and lack of enthusiasm all tell you the message or approach you are proposing may not be on target. Change your approach to play to the issues and concerns you hear.

4.  Don’t make the job bigger than you. Don’t care more about the job than the firm cares. There will always be a few law firms who fundamentally don’t respect or care about the marketing and business development function. These law firm marketing leaders advise a new CMO to jump ship and go to a place where marketing and business development is an accepted part of the firm.

5.  Really get to know the attorneys. Attorneys have their priorities and preferences. Marketing leaders recommend taking the time to understand these people and their personalities. You are there to make the firm and the attorneys more successful. Your knowledge of the attorneys’ personas, and how they conduct business, helps you develop your roadmap—and helps you make sure you get to know the partners most likely to make you successful.

6.  Dial down the website. New websites are a visible success—but they take time. And, attorneys have many opinions about the website. In retrospect, these CMOs would have taken on the task, but given it a lower profile and spent more time with leadership talking about business development than web pages.

7.  Do It! Only 2% of law firm marketing leaders tell aspiring CMOs to go elsewhere with their careers. In short, CMOs like being CMOs.

Hindsight is a wonderful thing. Advice for the new may also apply to the most seasoned CMOs. Let’s all keep learning and getting better. Use these insights as a start.

Any lessons we left out? Let us know. mrynowecer@bticonsulting.com

MBR

The post 98% of CMOs Would Do It All Again appeared first on The BTI Consulting Group.

33% of law firms are increasing their Marketing and Business Development (MBD) budgets. This is 3 times more firms than last year—making this the largest number of firms increasing their MBD spending in 9 years. This increased investment in MBD may just give these firms an unprecedented edge in 2019.

New money means new programs or beefing up old ones. These CMOs put the following programs at the top of their to-do list:

• Client feedback

• Client service

• Industry programs

On average, these lucky CMOs will have 5.13% more to invest in MBD than they did in 2018.

Which Firms Will Be at a Disadvantage?

Fully 64% of law firms are keeping their budgets the same as last year—again, as measured by percent of revenue. Firms experiencing bottom-line growth will throw more actual dollars at MBD, but not as much as the firms increasing the percent of revenue committed to MBD. The firms with no growth will be facing the same budgets as last year.

Small Increases Go a Long Way

Overall, the typical law firm (the largest 500 firms) are targeting 2.76% of their revenue for marketing and business development in 2019—up from 2.63% this year. The Am Law 100 is targeting 2.67% of revenue, while the Am Law 101-200 targets 2.71%. Law firms outside the Am Law 200 are planning to spend 2.86% of their revenue on MBD. The differences are woefully small to sound meaningful—but, can be the difference between 1 and 5 full time BD equivalents, funding a new client team, or creating one more industry group. All of which are proven to drive new business.

Why Increased Budgets Will Bring the Biggest Returns Ever

Clients are moving a giant chunk of their legal budget back to outside counsel for the second year in a row in Litigation—we will see the same increases across most legal spending when we release our BTI Practice Outlook 2019 next week. This increase in spending is a gift. The law firms able to capture this new spending put themselves in a position to reap the benefits for years.

In addition to increasing their spending, clients are making big decisions about which law firms to use and how to reduce their rosters. This means much more business for the law firms able to snag a spot on clients’ shrinking roster of legal providers. The amount of new client spending dwarfs the increases firms are making to their MBD budgets—making a compelling argument to boost those MBD budgets for 2019. One-third of law firms have already figured this out.

There’s still time to rethink your firm’s budget.

MBR

*Based on in-depth interviews BTI conducted with more than 136 law firm marketing leaders between July 13, 2018 and November 5, 2018.

The post 1/3 of Law Firms Up Their Marketing and BD Spending appeared first on The BTI Consulting Group.

The market is ripe for law firms to up their marketing game.

Smaller firms, bigger firms, and global giants are all bringing on new marketing leaders. In the last 6 (or so) months alone, we’ve seen many notable changes in leadership:

• Baker McKenzie adds long-time pro Wendy Bernero to head client development

• Hogan Lovells welcomes deeply experienced David McClune from Shearman & Sterling

• White and Williams promotes Andrea Malone to CMO

• Klehr Harrison Harvey Branzburg brings on Holly Lentz Kleeman as CBDO

• Stroock adds Trish Lilley, a well-respected, experienced veteran

• Hodgson Russ hires Carrie Ryder who has both big firm (think Morgan Lewis) and smaller firm experience

• Paul Weiss brings back alumnus Luke Ferrandino as their CMO

• Drinker Biddle hires Kristin Coda, a long-experienced CMO

• Akerman brings on P. Jeanne Brown, a veteran CMO

• Steptoe & Johnson hires Wendy Taylor, a long-tenured law firm CMO

• Nelson Mullins adds Beth Huffman with an impressive resume in law firm marketing

• Kean Miller brings on law firm marketing pro Carolee Swallie as CMBDO

This flurry of top-level turmoil can be credited to retirements, a drive for law firms to build more marketing muscle, people leaving for new opportunities, law firms setting new strategic directions, and a host of other factors.

Think for a minute. Almost ½ of law firm CMOs are on the road to burn out. Only 20% see themselves as trusted advisors to their firms and only 45% rate their jobs an 8 of 10 or higher. In short, a lot of talent is open to greener pastures.

So… How can law firms use this to their advantage?

Love the One You’re With: Double Down on Your Marketing Leadership

Up your support, listen more, listen better, and an occasional extra thank you never hurts. Include your CMO as a central figure in the firm’s strategic direction. Take the time to review the firm’s strategic vision, marketing & business development plans, and client-facing philosophies. Ask them for new ideas and thoughts about how to up the marketing and business development game—and give them the support to see their initiatives through.

Find Your True Love: Find the Best Performers Looking for More

When a potential new CMO walks through your door, tell them a compelling story—the firm’s vision and how you see marketing and business development playing a central role. Sharing your marketing and BD philosophy right away will tell you more about each other than any other conversation you have. Make sure everyone who meets your candidate can tell the story. Revisit priorities, even briefly, to be sure everyone in leadership is in sync with the role of marketing and business development. This shows your candidate they can make an impact, be respected, implement new programs, and see their contribution to the firm’s success.

And, your candidate knows you already. They’ve checked your firm out in Chambers, BTI reports, and talked with folks who have worked for you—they want to know your vision and how this role fits in, not about the firm’s history.

It should go without saying but treat your candidate well. Think of candidate service as a proxy for exactly what it will be like to work at the firm. CMOs tell me stories of firm management being late to interviews, partners taking phone calls during interviews, and no one ever saying thanks for coming in—even when the candidate travels from out of town.

To attract the best-in-class CMOs, offer a market-based salary. High performers believe their current pay plus a percent doesn’t speak to commitment or value—it speaks to offering enough to make a move. CMOs have a good sense of what the market will support. And, the top performers view themselves as being at the top of the market.

More than a few law firms are still on the hunt for a marketing leader. The candidate pool is strong. Look for more offers, more moves, and law firms with strong leaders making sure theirs don’t go.

MBR

The post There’s a Bull Market for Law Firm CMOs appeared first on The BTI Consulting Group.

The B players outperform the A players.

They are hungrier, want to make change and are ready to fight city hall (aka management), if need be. These law firm marketing leaders are focused on blocking and tackling issues such as: client service, client feedback, basic business development skills, client teams, and an occasional industry group.

This is from the results of more than 160 law firm marketing leaders’ self-assessment of 15 key areas of performance.

B Players are Building with the Basics

The B players are much harder on themselves—offering a self-ranking of 8 out of a possible 10. But, they sport the highest 3-year growth rate of all law firms, at just over 5%. It pays to be just a bit humble and focus on the basics.

A Players are Building Strategy before the Basics

The self-ranked A players show the slowest 3-year CAGR, at a 1.2%. The self-ranked top performers are focusing on the strategic. They are emphasizing legal prowess, technology, innovation, content marketing, industry groups, and collaboration—all important. But these programs rarely show results without training in the basics. These strategic programs are highly effective in attracting clients—but don’t turn into business unless partners can turn these leads into clients—using the basics which remain the focus of the B players above.

Doing What Works – the Self-Ranked 7s

Law firm marketing leaders ranking themselves 7 and below receive less institutional support than the self-ranked 8s, 9s, and 10s. The 7s put all their energy into getting programs, tactics, or a single effort in place—but they are making forward progress—at the 3-year CAGR of 4.3%.

These 7s are like the 8s—they focus on basics and building blocks. And don’t let go until their program is up and running—and working.

Influence by Osmosis

At a self-ranking of 6, the law firm marketing leaders are making an impact at the partner level. They may get a firmwide program or 2 off the ground (usually client feedback) and will use the feedback and their coaching skills to drive improvement and change. These CMOs take on the one-to-one relationships with the vested partners—and drive change with each one. The good news—the vested partners are typically the most interested in building client relationships and new business—so it’s well-placed leverage.

The self-ranked 6s deliver a CAGR of 2.8%.

The Disenfranchised

Ranking their firm’s performance at 5 or less—these CMOs are most likely to be in the market looking for a new gig—they try—but can’t get a lot of traction. They are pushing water up hill and want to make more progress. Usually, somewhere other than their current firm.

Few Areas of Greatness

Only 3 areas really stand out with a self-ranking of 10—with more than 20% of CMOs ranking themselves a 10—these are:

–        Cultivating Work from Existing Clients
–        Setting Strategic Direction
–        Providing Tools for BD

Conversely, more than 50% of CMOs rank their firms at 6 or lower in 4 areas: 

–        Partner Accountability
–        Using Metrics to Drive BD
–        Attracting New Marquee Clients
–        BD Training for Attorneys

You can see the full results of how CMOs rank their firms in each of the 15 activities by clicking here.

The best performers show a bit of humility and hunger. They show how mastering the basics beats the strategic at this stage of the market. But, it won’t always be this way. Business development is going to become a lot more difficult—and those firms who mastered the basics will be the first to really get benefits from a well-crafted strategy.

Based on in-depth interviews BTI conducted with more than 160 law firm marketing leaders between September 2016 and May 2017.

The post Where Law Firms Think They’re Great, and Where They Ain’t appeared first on The BTI Consulting Group.

Wishes do come true. Legal spending is up. The existential crisis is over. And, urgency is retreating as success is just a little easier to come by. One year of renewed growth is bringing complacency back to law firms.

Complacency Makes a Comeback

Complacency now stands as the number-one source of insomnia for law firm CMOs, at 24.9%*. This rate rivals 2005 complacency levels when demand started to exceed supply. The current number of complacent law firms has virtually doubled last year when it was 13.6%.  

These CMOs at complacent law firms see their firms happy about their new-found wealth but are unhappy and deeply concerned about their firm’s lack of action to make sure growth continues—or in some cases—returns.

The worry comes from 3 main complacency related threats:

          1. Prey for Aggressive Firms

The most aggressive firms are scooping up new business from complacent firm clients: Latham; Kirkland; Paul, Weiss; Greenberg Traurig; Quinn Emanuel; Dechert; Jones Day, and the rest of the BTI Business Development Badasses, who all are making big moves to carve out new business and not just ride the wave.

2. Failure to Engage

Most partners in the complacent firms have no real interest in client teams, client development, industry groups or other proven programs to build, strengthen, and keep client relationships. They don’t show up for training, don’t consult with the CMO on pitches except to make the PowerPoint, and otherwise keep their distance from marketing and business development.

3. No Strategy

These sleepless CMOs say their complacent firm has no strategy and doesn’t want one. The firms don’t engage in planning beyond the budget. Partners are largely left to define their plans with little specificity about how. They have no defensive strategy (keeping rainmakers, keeping clients) or offensive strategies (grow clients, target new clients).

Complacent firms are likely to be victims of both market changes and the more aggressive firms who are on the prowl for clients—and laterals.

By Contrast, Other CMOs Less Stressed than Last Year

Last year, almost half of all CMOs were on the road to burn out. Thankfully, this number is shrinking.

CMOs losing sleep over getting all the work done shrank to 20.69% from 25.3% last year. At the same time, more CMOs stay up worrying about performance—at 18.82% from 14.9%—suggesting a shift to more strategic initiatives.

Urgency Retreats While Success Creeps Back into the Market

Relentless and aggressive firms are using new demand to expand business with current clients and grab new ones. They are also spending more than ever on these efforts. All law firms, complacent or not, are off the aggressive firms – whether they want to or not.

Complacency just makes it easier for everyone else.

MBR

*Based on in-depth interviews BTI conducted with more than 160 law firm marketing leaders between September 2016 and May of 2017.

The post Complacency Epidemic Hits Law Firms as Growth Returns appeared first on The BTI Consulting Group.

Every law firm, every company has a tell. New positions at your firm tell the world so much about your strategic intent. You can tell if the firm is bold, passive, locked in the past, or unsure about the future—but everyone will know what story you’re telling with these positions, if they examine them closely.

New job titles are one of the most reliable indicators of real change. Bold new strategies create new responsibilities. They demand new skills and create original titles. If and when you start recruiting outside the firm, you are broadcasting your plan.

Keep a keen eye on new hires, new positions, and listen closer when your phone rings—it could be about one of these strategic leadership positions destined to change the future of law. And, it will change the nature of client relationships for the better, especially when the following positions appear:

Head of National Pursuits

Responsible for driving the success of large-scale, strategic pursuits, this role takes ownership of all activities from the moment a partner says, “I want this client” to the follow-up and ultimate win. The HNP assembles their business development team using resources from across the firm, sets the strategy, and shapes the story and the pitch. The HNP also can say no, if it looks like a prospect is not worth the firm’s time and effort to pursue.

The HNP is responsible for all pursuits over a certain threshold amount (in revenue or potential fees), and actively pursues potential clients from the firm’s strategic target list. The HNP cuts across all organizational boundaries to secure a win. The HNP mostly defines strategy and approach—but will pitch at the mega opportunities.

National Business Development Partners

These are the firm’s best business developers who are also practicing attorneys. Firms have reallocated their billable hour targets, so these partners spend more time on business development activities. These partners operate nationally and globally to win the most important clients. They work with the HNP and local partners but clearly take the lead on pitches, briefings, and front-line business development. This team includes rising stars as well as rainmakers—the primary qualification is a strong ability to quickly engage and educate clients.

Like the HNP, this team develops business with potential clients over a certain threshold amount in revenues or potential fees, or targeted clients from the strategic target list.

Vice Chair – Clients

Responsible for all client-facing activities, this senior leader ensures the firm puts clients first in all its systems, protocols, practices, and activities. The Vice Chair – Clients makes sure the firm’s relationship partners receive and promptly act on feedback. This includes feedback from the countless interviews the Vice Chair – Clients conducts, as well as 3rd-party objective feedback to add granularity and depth to firm-gathered feedback. This role requires strong analytical skills to translate the data into actions the firm can use to drive revenue growth.

This Vice Chair individual is also responsible for managing the firm’s most important clients—those who are so important they are “house accounts”—truly a firm client. These are the largest 50 to 200 clients and are managed by senior partners who report to the Vice Chair.

The Vice Chair also works with relationship partners to develop detailed strategic account plans, identify the best resources from across the firm, and provide training in the care, handling, and development of the firm’s largest and most important clients. (This training is often a template for client service training throughout the rest of the firm.)

Chief Digital Officer

Law firms can easily drown in digital opportunities. The Chief Digital Officer ensures their firm thrives and harnesses opportunities in a strategic manner. The CDO drives growth for a law firm by integrating digital strategies, tactics, and investments to ensure each activity supports the others. These strategies include internal processes, legal work, knowledge management, client-facing processes, and recruiting, at a minimum. The CDO evaluates, anticipates, and plans for new digital strategies to ensure the firm is always one step ahead.

Partner in Charge of Client Experience

Looking beyond client service, this partner ensures clients receive the appropriate attention between matters, after cases, and throughout all points from matter inception moving forward. Client experience includes planned interactions, education, and value-added touch points every partner can use to keep relationships growing—even during downtime. Expect this partner to provide tools and templates for discussion, coaching in continuing client conversations, and a roadmap of when to reach out to clients with what.

A key component of this role is working with the Vice Chair – Clients to obtain ongoing, measurable feedback from clients to ensure the clients have a consistently superior experience with their team.

Partner in Charge of Alliances and Teaming

Kirkland doesn’t want small matters. So, they are building a network of firms they can refer to their clients to send the smaller deals. This is informal now, but will evolve. Law firms looking to drive profitability with this highly strategic approach look to team up with alliance partners and collaborators in key practices where small matters are intermingled with large matters. This is a two-way street. Huge benefits can be had for referrers and referees.

The most successful law firms will pick the alliance partners in advance and develop a network where smooth and easy transitions are the norm.

“DātAttorney”

AI in legal isn’t coming—it’s already here, and is creating new types of lawyers. These attorneys learn and develop AI/knowledge-mining tools. From making legal services more efficient to being able to predict legal issues before they arise, dātAttorneys merge law and technology to vastly improve the client experience.

Independent Board Member

You can count the number of law firms with independent board members on 1 hand, maybe 2, if you look hard. Independent directors provide objectivity and outside perspective. Law firms will start to embrace these independent directors as a source of strength—and will use them to help develop more robust strategic plans.

PwC added 2 independent directors to their Board in June 2017. They set the precedent for all other professional services firms.

These positions (or equivalents) already exist in almost every other profession. They not only exist—but are critical components of success. Law firms can let these positions evolve or map out the positions and dive in now. Those diving in now will set the benchmark for everyone else—and clients will be the first to note the difference.

MBR

The post Brush Up Your Resume, Here Are the Best Jobs in the Future of Law appeared first on The BTI Consulting Group.