Special Issue: The Sixth Annual MLF 50 ' The Top 50 Law Firms in Marketing and Business Development

K&L Gates LLP has experienced considerable and continuous growth in recent years. 2009 proved no different for the global law firm, as it surpassed $1 billion in revenue, placing it at No. 12 on The American Lawyer’s Am Law 100 ranking, and No. 19 in terms of global revenue in The Lawyer’s Transatlantic Elite. Furthermore, K&L Gates was one of only a handful of firms that showed an increase in both revenue and profits in 2008 and 2009, based on Am Law figures.

Demonstrating a commitment to growth even during still-uncertain economic times, K&L Gates opened several offices in 2010 ‘ Tokyo, Moscow, and Warsaw ‘ providing footprints in three new countries. The firm also added more than 35 lateral partners in 20 markets in the first half of 2010, ranking it among the top firms by Law360 in terms of new lateral hires.

As K&L Gates continues to expand in size and scope, the goal of its marketing department remains constant ‘ to effectively respond to the needs of the firm and its clients to assure superior client service, continued revenue growth, and ongoing industry success. From strategic planning and broad brand positioning to tactical execution and follow-up, the marketing team, led by Chief Marketing Officer Jeff Berardi, has helped K&L Gates become a leader on the international scene.

The K&L Gates marketing and business development department supports the firm and its brand through a well-defined strategy that includes diverse initiatives such as advertising, collateral design/production, Web site development, marketing technology, and public relations, as well as focused client development activities, strategic research and analysis, client teams, targeting efforts, proposal production, and event management.

The marketing team of more than 60 people spread across 19 offices also takes a rigorous analytical approach to its tracking and reporting functions, with a keen eye toward measuring how data can be used to guide the firm in future growth, both in terms of specific practices and the international platform.

For instance, the team tracks and refines the firm’s client development efforts, entering all opportunities for new business ‘ requests for proposals and information, client inquiries, identified prospects ‘ into a central repository, along with details on practices, offices and lawyers involved, type of work, value, referral sources, and next steps for follow-up. The team’s focus in this area is evidenced by an impressive yearly growth in pursuit activity, with total pursuits increasing nearly 100% between 2006 and 2009. Presently, the total number of pursuit wins is up from 2009, and this year’s pursuit volume is on pace to break the annual record.

K&L Gates’ business development managers are supported by BD specialists and coordinators, all of whom work closely with the firm’s practice and office leadership and lawyers to initiate and build relationships with clients. The BD team facilitates cross-office and cross-practice coordination to help set the stage for effective business growth and relationship-building with clients, prospects, and referral sources.

As of July 1, the BD team has been involved in nearly 30% more pursuits vs. the same period in 2009, with 39% of those pursuits involving lawyers from multiple offices.

The K&L Gates team strives to be proactive in assessing client needs and identifying the most effective ways to satisfy them. The launch of K&L Gates’ Global Government Solutions report ‘ designed as a guide to the challenges and opportunities created by the economic crisis ‘ is but one example of the department reacting to market conditions and addressing client needs. More than 65 professionals from 16 different offices contributed to the mid-year report, which was shared with thousands of firm clients and colleagues in both electronic and print form, as well as media outlets and professional service organizations. Articles noting the report appeared in legal, political, and business trades. In addition, the report was accessed more than 1,500 times via the firm’s Web site in the weeks following its release.

Along the same lines, the team worked with K&L Gates’ Financial Services Reform group to create a series of alerts covering all aspects of this summer’s financial reform legislation. The alerts were made available on the firm’s Web site, and shared with targeted media outlets. In addition, marketing worked with a related practice, the Global Financial Markets group, to promote its blog, which tracks and analyzes financial regulatory initiatives at home and abroad.

Though K&L Gates operates on a global platform, the marketing team also strives to identify opportunities at local and regional levels. K&L Gates has held successful annual oil and gas seminars in both Pennsylvania and Texas, with the firm’s most recent event attracting more than 300 registered attendees from more than 150 companies representing 15 states.

The marketing team, in cooperation with the firm’s professional development department, also works to help lawyers hone their business development skills by offering a Client Development and Relationship Management (CDRM) curriculum. Workshops are often conducted by Jeff Berardi in his role as CMO, and include business intelligence programs and moderated panels regarding career progression and networking skills training.

K&L Gates continued its national advertising campaign into 2010 with a series of ads promoting firm values of creativity, innovation, responsiveness, client service, forethought, wisdom, versatility and multiculturalism ‘ all characteristics that define K&L Gates’ approach to the practice of law.

The marketing team also worked to boost recognition of the K&L Gates brand in individual markets with the launch of region-specific advertising campaigns in several different markets. The message of “Right around the corner and all around the world” promoted both the firm’s local expertise and global platform, with ad copy focusing on local capabilities, connections, and longevity in the region, while also noting the firm’s global capabilities.

All told, the K&L Gates’ marketing team completed more than 700 graphics jobs in the first half of 2010, and more than 1,300 throughout all of 2009.

Currently, the firm is in the process of redesigning its Web site ‘ which welcomed more than 1.8 million visitors, an average of approximately 300,000 visitors per month, during the first half of 2010 ‘ to provide visitors easier access to the firm’s content. The redesigned platform will include, among other features, integrated foreign language content, expanded RSS feeds, handheld-friendly features, and an online multimedia center with links to videos, podcasts, and Webinars. I am happy to say that I was given a preview of what’s to come in the redesign of the Web site. It’s a winner!

Beyond the firm’s Web site, a number of K&L Gates’ practice groups maintain blogs ‘ such as the K&L Gates e-Discovery Law Blog, Climate Change Blog, and Construction Law Blog ‘ to update clients on breaking news and decisions in their fields.

The firm also has begun using social media tools, such as LinkedIn and Facebook, to establish and maintain professional connections. The marketing team created a Facebook page for K&L Gates’ “Change Your World” campaign ‘ an online recruiting campaign that offers a trivia challenge tied to a charitable donation on behalf of the firm.

Additionally, the marketing team worked with the firm’s insurance coverage practice on K&L Gates’ entrance to Legal OnRamp, a collaborative online tool that enables lawyers to connect and share information virtually. The team continues to work with lawyers to contribute relevant alert and event content to the ramp.

The marketing team supports numerous client-relation activities, but its commitment to client service is perhaps best evidenced through the management of K&L Gates’ Client Team Initiative. This program focuses on understanding the needs of clients; enabling greater communication between lawyers, practices, and offices; and defining new opportunities via regular meetings, relationship mapping, and client development planning.

The number of K&L Gates’ client service teams has continued to grow and now totals 35 active teams, an increase of 75% since 2008. This structured client service approach is critical when one considers that 448 of K&L Gates’ 500 largest clients used lawyers in two or more offices in 2009.

The marketing team routinely collaborates with other departments to produce a variety of noteworthy communications. The team works with the firm’s pro bono committee to produce a bi-annual report ‘ “For the Public Good” ‘ that highlights K&L Gates’ long-standing commitment to pro bono work. The group also works with the firm’s diversity committee to promote K&L Gates’ diversity initiatives to clients and the community, including the creation of an annual video for the Corporate Counsel Women of Color Career Strategies Conference, where the firm is a lead sponsor.

The recent economic climate has not changed the fundamental elements of K&L Gates’ marketing philosophy as the firm’s global team works closely each day to consistently meet the needs of the firm and its clients. Jeff Berardi is a true leader in every sense of the word.

In January 2010, under the direction of Adam Severson, Director of Business Development and Marketing, the BDM team at Faegre & Benson LLP implemented a strategic plan for the department. The plan was created based on a needs assessment, and structured parallel to the firm’s overall strategic plan so that BDM initiatives and directives were mapped to broader firm objectives. Herewith an overview of the plan: