Inside the Law Firm CMO Shuffle

Law firms continue to try to up their marketing game. At the same time — CMOs are trying to escalate their careers. This can be a match made in heaven — or a disaster. It also drives demand for top CMOs and turnover in first-chair marketers.

We canvassed more than 300 law firms. We tracked law firm CMO movement through LinkedIn and our own research. Here’s what we found:

• 31% of law firm CMOs made a career move — up from 28% last year
• 12% of these were promoted into the CMO slot at their current firm — up from 5% last year
• 10% (of the 31%) were recruited from another firm — up slightly from 7% last year
• Another 8% of law firm CMOs left the world of law — it was 7% last year

To Change or Not to Change

More than twice as many law firms promoted an internal person into the CMO role compared to last year. They see the value in people who understand the culture and know the partners and the firm’s strategic plan. These firms typically like their current approach and want to amp it up.

Almost the same number of firms brought in a new CMO — they want a fresh perspective and/or want to make changes to the role.

Biggest Reasons for CMOs to Move to a Firm

• Chance to make an impact
• More opportunity
• Leadership change at their existing firm
• A new dynamic leader at the destination firm

What About Comp?

Compensation no longer makes the top of the reasons for a change in firms. CMOs tell me salaries matter but making an impact matters more.

CMOs are doing more due diligence on the firms trying to recruit them. They are looking deeply at:

• Leadership attitude toward Marketing and Business Development
• Partner EQ and courtesies extended during the interview process
• Paying more careful attention to the questions asked during the interview process

More Decliners

CMOs are turning down more inquiries and offers than ever. The top reasons for remaining at their current firm include:

• See themselves as part of the leadership team
• Believe they are making an impact
• Are openly appreciated by a measurable number of leadership partners

Law firms and CMOs are getting pickier and want more. Most are becoming more strategic. Every CMO owes it to themselves to assess their current situation with cold, steely eyes. Law firms owe it to themselves to take the same look at the role and their attitude toward Marketing and Business Development.

Law firms can also benefit from shaping the CMO role from the reasons CMOs change firms above.

The most successful firms are putting more distance between themselves and the other firms. CMOs want to be part of the more successful firms. Perform due diligence on your current firm and any potential firm — especially if the CMOs ability to make an impact and be part of leadership matter more than compensation.