On the Job: In Large Marketing Operations, Think Small

Whether increases in staff and responsibility come through consolidation, market growth or merger, many law firm marketing departments are facing issues brought on by their larger size. The best advice in most situations is to 'think small.'

Take, for example, a hypothetical international firm, with 500 attorneys, 11 offices in North America and three in Europe. About a dozen marketing staff would be required to support such a firm, and four to six of them would be in offices where they would be the only full-time marketers. This is a fairly far-flung operation, with a number of autonomous participants under the direction of half-a-dozen practice groups and a Chief Marketing Officer not located within their own geography. If you look around, you'll see more and more marketing operations with similar characteristics.

Concentrate on Closeness

When staff is spread out this way, it's essential to foster a feeling of closeness so a unified sense of style and mission can be communicated. Clearly, there is a role for technology ' including e-mail, voice mail, teleconferencing, videoconferencing and Web conferencing ' as a way to get goals established and work done. However, frequent contact is even more important. Weekly virtual meetings are ideal, but department meetings should be held at least monthly.

Communicating about ourselves and our work is just one part of establishing unity within large marketing staffs. Several times a year, bring the entire staff together physically, with the aim of clarifying roles and performance standards, plus evaluating progress towards firm and department goals. Be sure to allow for social time to build intimacy and foster a cooperative spirit among far-flung staff.

Manage Well

In law firms, where real tension can exist between attorneys' autocratic work styles and the firm's democratic decision processes, marketing leaders can be exemplars of good management. Craft a laminated hierarchy, where there is little or no distance between the production staff and the managerial staff. Team members should be responsible for some production work, as well as have some power over their own priorities. Staff at the greatest distance from the CMO should have the greatest autonomy.

Large marketing departments need a clear team vision, which should be developed by involving all staff, as well as influential firm partners. Once there is a consensus, all individual job descriptions and performance metrics need to relate back to this vision. Making a commitment to this helps stabilize and clarify the roles of marketing staff for the entire organization. And it gives autonomous staff an anchor against the tide of shifting attorney and practice demands.

Train Continuously

Finally, law firm marketing departments, such as the one in our hypothetical example, need to train and cross-train relentlessly. A commitment to education can motivate and retain good professional staff as well as provide needed backup capacity among them. Each person should know about the work of all other team members, and ideally, be well-enough trained in that work to take over temporarily at a moment's notice. Larger projects should be assigned to staff from more than one office, so that collaborative working relationships can grow.

The more large, decentralized marketing groups are imbued with the familiarity and behaviors that benefit small, informal and well-connected staffs, the more cohesive and responsive your marketing efforts will be.

Russell Lawson is on the job in Richmond, VA, as a consultant to law firm marketing partners and staff, and edits the Jobs page on lawmarketing.com.

Whether increases in staff and responsibility come through consolidation, market growth or merger, many law firm marketing departments are facing issues brought on by their larger size. The best advice in most situations is to 'think small.'

Take, for example, a hypothetical international firm, with 500 attorneys, 11 offices in North America and three in Europe. About a dozen marketing staff would be required to support such a firm, and four to six of them would be in offices where they would be the only full-time marketers. This is a fairly far-flung operation, with a number of autonomous participants under the direction of half-a-dozen practice groups and a Chief Marketing Officer not located within their own geography. If you look around, you'll see more and more marketing operations with similar characteristics.

Concentrate on Closeness

When staff is spread out this way, it's essential to foster a feeling of closeness so a unified sense of style and mission can be communicated. Clearly, there is a role for technology ' including e-mail, voice mail, teleconferencing, videoconferencing and Web conferencing ' as a way to get goals established and work done. However, frequent contact is even more important. Weekly virtual meetings are ideal, but department meetings should be held at least monthly.

Communicating about ourselves and our work is just one part of establishing unity within large marketing staffs. Several times a year, bring the entire staff together physically, with the aim of clarifying roles and performance standards, plus evaluating progress towards firm and department goals. Be sure to allow for social time to build intimacy and foster a cooperative spirit among far-flung staff.

Manage Well

In law firms, where real tension can exist between attorneys' autocratic work styles and the firm's democratic decision processes, marketing leaders can be exemplars of good management. Craft a laminated hierarchy, where there is little or no distance between the production staff and the managerial staff. Team members should be responsible for some production work, as well as have some power over their own priorities. Staff at the greatest distance from the CMO should have the greatest autonomy.

Large marketing departments need a clear team vision, which should be developed by involving all staff, as well as influential firm partners. Once there is a consensus, all individual job descriptions and performance metrics need to relate back to this vision. Making a commitment to this helps stabilize and clarify the roles of marketing staff for the entire organization. And it gives autonomous staff an anchor against the tide of shifting attorney and practice demands.

Train Continuously

Finally, law firm marketing departments, such as the one in our hypothetical example, need to train and cross-train relentlessly. A commitment to education can motivate and retain good professional staff as well as provide needed backup capacity among them. Each person should know about the work of all other team members, and ideally, be well-enough trained in that work to take over temporarily at a moment's notice. Larger projects should be assigned to staff from more than one office, so that collaborative working relationships can grow.

The more large, decentralized marketing groups are imbued with the familiarity and behaviors that benefit small, informal and well-connected staffs, the more cohesive and responsive your marketing efforts will be.

Russell Lawson is on the job in Richmond, VA, as a consultant to law firm marketing partners and staff, and edits the Jobs page on lawmarketing.com.