A Look Back and A Look Forward

Four months ago when I was asked to become Editor-in-Chief of Marketing The Law Firm, I never imagined that I would have the opportunity to engage a wonderful group of authors; select an outstanding Board of Editors; and moderate the first of what I hope will be many exciting and interesting Web audio seminars. As I look back on the last four months, I think the one thing that stands out in my mind is the fact that we had so many wonderful contributors to the newsletter. So I thought that we might take a look at the last 4 months and some of the highlights. Although I would love to be able to select all of the articles we've published, given the constraints of space, I am only able to pick two from each issue to feature. In case you missed reading these issues, we'll give you a nutshell version of these articles. I would also be remiss if I didn't say how much I appreciated the efforts of Russ Lawson and Mike O'Horo, whose monthly columns provided all of us with a look at the intricacies of marketing both in a law firm setting and to smaller firms and solos. And as we look forward, we'll take a look at what's coming up and a preview of our editorial calendar.

August

We covered a number of issues in the August newsletter. First up, David Freeman's article entitled Rev the Revenue: The Marketing Focused Retreat”. The following is an excerpt:

“Tear the roof off most any major law firm and what do you see? Massive amounts of unfocused marketing energy. From this 30,000 foot, leaders-eye view, responsible stewards of their firms should ask, “how do we harness this energy, how do we concentrate it to achieve our overall goals (assuming we have any), and how do we converge the activities of our individual lawyers, the practice groups, disparate offices, and departments in order to unleash the potential that we know exists?”

It is the job of leadership to define and channel this whirlwind of human activity. Looking into a leader's managerial toolbox, there is one piece of equipment that is woefully underutilized for providing the necessary navigational support. This instrument is the retreat. A well-designed retreat is the eye of the storm, a short window of calm that allows for reflection, decision-making and planning. Once the swirling winds of practicing law reemerge, the results from a retreat can provide the necessary guidance that most firms lack.

Creating a high impact retreat requires focus. At the end of the day, since it all comes down to profits-per-partner, retaining and acquiring clients remains for most firms a top priority. Reliance on marketing departments to solely bear this responsibility is short-sighted and naive; while they can help develop strategy and provide significant support, they are not the foot soldiers who must go and get the clients.

There's tens of millions of dollars in new business waiting out there. The marketing focused retreat can provide the strategy, direction, and tools to get the job done. The only remaining question is, how?”

There was also my article on “Client Intelligence: IT, Marketing and Client Services Unite” which focused on the marriage of technology, research and marketing and the use of software to improve client intelligence and new business development. Here's a glimpse of what I covered:

“As a futurist to what law firms need to be thinking about, I am always excited about “out of the box” methodologies that can impact the marriage of technology, research and marketing. Over the last few years as IT and Marketing Departments have played a more prominent role in law firms, IT Departments have rolled out software programs to assist Marketing with the capturing of basic client relationship information for mailings, law alerts, programs and the like while at the same time working in tandem with the library to upgrade their legal research tools. Happily with the advent of solution-based client intelligence/relationship management products, a new method of delivering all of this information can now be aggregated in one interface. These products and services are specifically designed to provide better and clear intelligence on how to add value to existing client and new business relationships.

Picture if you will a software system that provides information solutions to law firms based on how they need and use information rather than a one-size-fits-all approach currently employed by most information providers: a system that provides lawyers with client oriented information specifically tailored to the way individual lawyers work; a system that takes the “flood” of available web based information and leverages this multi-sourced data. Information needs to be pulled together from various resources within a firm. Most requests for existing client or new business information begins with the Marketing Department whose assignment goes something like this: “We want to know more about our client X. We want to have an edge on getting to pitch for new business from client X. Client X will not think of us for this business unless we demonstrate that we have specialized knowledge about its business in this area so gather all the information you can including who our competition will be.” The Marketing Department either begins the process of gathering the information using sources from the Internet. In addition, the CRM database is in play to see who knows who at client X and who will have the stronger connection to the client (it's not always the relationship partner). Enter the library whose role it is to provide more in depth research on Client X. This multi-sourced gathering of intelligence is the current method employed by law firms when they go on an existing client or new business hunting expedition. It is time consuming and often does not produce the kind of results that enables a law firm to intelligently pitch for expansion of existing business or successfully develop new business and it takes a long time to pull together. Let's take a look then at how law firms can utilize a client intelligence software product with one-stop shopping for the gathering and delivery of this information. The first part of the process would involve the creation of an amalgamated department whose sole mission is providing, preparing and formatting this multi-sourced information in a manner that can be readily processed and delivered. This information can then be disseminated to the team pitching for either the expanded business or new business in formats that can include raw data or an actual question/answer response to an RFP presented in a clear, concise and informative manner. Back in the days before IT became as sophisticated as it is today, when a firm wanted to get on the inside of an existing client's thinking or go after a new prospect, the only way to gather this type of intelligence was to hire an outside consultant. On a personal note I have had the experience of hiring a consulting firm to assist me with the expansion of an existing practice group. Armed with this type of intelligence, the lawyers in the group were able to have a comfort level with the formation of a expanded practice group in which there was real legal expertise and specialized knowledge of the relevant industry that could be successfully market ”

September

We were privileged to have Michael Hodes, the Managing Partner of Hodes, Ulman, Pessin & Katz, give us “A View from the 'Upper Deck': Top-Down Marketing.” Here's a partial “view” of what Michael had to say:

“Lawyers are in the business of providing information to their clients. The issue, which perplexes most lawyers, is how to effectively and efficiently convey the right information to the right people, at the right time, so that they will hire the firm to answer their questions and to solve their problems.

All too often attorneys try to impress the consuming public with their intellect. In reality, lawyers are charged with the responsibility of not just analyzing complex legal issues and offering solutions, but building relationships through proactive communication and by adding value beyond the “here and now” issues. Once lawyers recognize that they are in the communication business, only then can they set out to identify their ideal client.

Before you begin this journey, it is imperative to know your firm and its personnel. What areas of practice should you emphasize and highlight to the consuming public? What brands should be moved front and center? You can no longer successfully rely on selling general legal services to today's savvy and discerning client. All attorneys believe that they have something special to offer. The issue, however, is how to effectively communicate those strengths.

It is critical for the modern law firm to be driven by leaders with marketing and communication savoir-faire. The leaders in the “Upper Deck” must know their organization from bottom to top. A bottom up approach is critical in order to know what the organization thinks of itself. Before you can develop a strategic marketing strategy, it is necessary to conduct a cultural survey and then define your core values. The next step is to determine which practice areas or industries your firm will highlight.”

We also had a great article by John Hellerman, a member of our Board of Editors. John's topic: “How Long Does It Take for Your Lawyer To Call You Back? How About '2 Hours. Guaranteed!” Here's what John had to say:

“Ask business managers and in-house corporate lawyers the thing that drives them crazy about lawyers, and one of the most common responses is the time they spend waiting for a call back.

“It's absolutely one of my top three issues,” says James R. Jenkins, Vice President of Legal and External Affairs for United States Cellular Corp. in Chicago. “When I pick up the phone to talk to a lawyer, it's not about the weather; it's because I have an issue.”

Jenkins cites responsiveness as a key reason that his company has long used the labor and employment law firm of Laner, Muchin, Dombrow, Becker, Levin & Tominberg, which guarantees clients a call back within two hours.

“I deal with a lot of lawyers,” says Jenkins, who heads U.S. Cellular's legal and regulatory department. “Some are excellent. Some, despite their credentials and smarts, are very unresponsive. They forget that they have a client on the other end.”

Although the 40-lawyer Laner Muchin has a long history of requiring its lawyers to quickly return client calls, the firm recently put its guarantee in writing, promising in a series of ads and a brochure that its lawyers will call clients back within two hours, “or sooner if you need us…no voicemail purgatory.”

Further, the firm challenges prospective clients using other law firms to call their own lawyers first, and then try calling Laner Muchin. “See who calls you back first; we're betting it'll be us. If it's not, we'll buy you lunch and donate $100 to your favorite charity.”

Laner Muchin's promise is no marketing gimmick. In the firm's 50-year history, Laner Muchin lawyers have always been required to promptly call back clients. Dick Laner, a recently retired partner, was famous back in the days of pink message slips for going through the message racks to see who among the firm's staff was keeping clients waiting. Those that did weren't on staff for long.”

October

In October we did our first theme issue. We selected public relations as the topic. The centerpiece of this issue was The Annual Law Firm Media Performance Report by Levick Strategic Communications and PR Newswire. This Report focused on how media appearances by the AmLaw 22, the UK Top 25 and the Canadian Top 14 firms support marketplace prominence. The introduction to the Report appears below:

“What can we make of the fact that the top 25 firms ranked by revenue in the AmLaw 200 have increased their overall presence in the media by around 18%, while firms ranked in the next two quarters, 26-75, increased by barely 1%?

Below the third quarter, the differences are even starker. Overall, the firms that were ranked 76 to 200 actually engendered fewer media appearances ' by upwards of 5% in some instances ' in 2002 than in 2001.

The easy response is that, the larger the firm, the more lawyers and practice groups there are for reporters to call on as sources and commentators, coast-to-coast and abroad. The law of nature is that the rich get richer. It applies to media profile too.

In fact, such a predictable interpretation is too glib by half. It ignores the fact that, to accelerate rather than just to maintain their advantage over other quarters, the top 25 have consciously leveraged their size advantage. They haven't been content to wait for reporters to call. They've gotten the attention of the media with ongoing formal publicity strategies designed to reinforce existing reputations and build new ones.

These formidable law firms fall into two categories. On the one hand, a very small and elite category is comprised of those that were first to market. In Skadden's case, for example, an M&A practice was perceived to have actually helped invent the legal infrastructure of an entire economy then driven by hostile takeovers. Having been first, Skadden continues to be perceived by journalists, as well as by legal service purchasers, as owning that particular market. It remains the top-of-the-list media source.”

November

And finally, we come to last month ' which for me was probably the most exciting issue to date. Again we had a theme issue. The focus: Branding. We held a Roundtable that I moderated and in which some of the best known brand experts participated. In case you missed reading the hard copy issue, the entire Roundtable is presented on our website at www.ljnlonline.com/alm?mktg Here's some of what was discussed:

“Branding: Is it the legal marketplace buzzword for the twenty-first century or is there really something to all of this? On October 19th Law Journal Newsletters Marketing The Law Firm hosted a Roundtable in its offices in Philadelphia. We decided to give branding its due by bringing together a panel of experts: Burkey Belser is President and Creative Director of Greenfield Belser Ltd. with offices in Washington, DC and Boston; Dr. Mark Greene is the Managing Director of The Brand Research Company with offices in Washington, DC and Boston; Douglas C. Kramer is the Chief Marketing Officer of Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP, Philadelphia; and Edward M. Schechter is the Chief Marketing Officer of Duane Morris LLP, Philadelphia. What appears below is an excerpt of the Roundtable:

Tursi: Through the use of branding law firms are attempting to differentiate themselves with some success. However, the scope of a law firm's services no matter how distinctive is that of being a professional services organization with either a general practice or a specialized boutique practice. What is the strategy for developing the branding of specific practice areas within the environment of a general practice large law firm and how can those practice areas be differentiated from other areas of the firm without “going to war” within the partnership as it relates to one practice area being successfully branded over another?

Kramer: It's interesting to look at how the big four and management consulting firms have chosen to go to market. It's not through their service lines or substantive practice groups but predominantly by industry. Law firms, on the other hand, typically go to market by practice group and it seems to me this is worth questioning. At Drinker, we've historically marketed through our practice groups but we're starting to more aggressively take an industry approach where it makes sense, because we have some very deep experience in a handful of industries. It all goes to the point of “know your buyer” in trying to differentiate yourself in some meaningful way.

Belser: Law firm marketing is really an adolescent industry. Some practice areas are naturally focused on industries like real estate or transportation. Others, like corporate or litigation, require that the firm focus the practice on an industry. But all our research shows again and again that people come to law firms wearing their industry hat. They want to know what you know about their industry. But law firms have not organized themselves around industries. They drop back to the practice area format. But if you look at the table of contents of any law firm brochure over the last 20 years, you'll see a mix of industry and practice areas. For example, the tax practice is followed by telecommunications. I find it hard to imagine selling criminal defense on an industry basis except perhaps in the financial industry. But labor and employment can be industry-specific, although I think the jury is out on how a large firm can make money focused solely on labor and employment. What's the ideal? Create a 3-D matrix where practice areas overlay industries. Sell practice areas to industry strengths.

Tursi: Since we're conducting this conference here in Philadelphia and two of our panelists are Chief Marketing Officers from large Philadelphia firms, I'd like to mention that The Annual Law Firm Media Performance Report issued by Levick Strategic Communications and PR Newswire has an entire section on firms in the Philadelphia area. The Report discusses an interesting branding issue and that is Philadelphia firms positioning themselves as global. They use as examples in this report Morgan Lewis & Bockius and Dechert We're not getting off the topic here, but it's interesting to see the concept of taking a firm like Dechert and Morgan Lewis & Bockius and their push to move from having a national to a global presence.

Schechter: Clearly the trend toward law firms is to grow either by acquisition of the smaller or medium size firms or in terms of attracting a number of laterals in different markets. That's created some major dynamics in the marketplace. I think that both Dechert and Morgan Lewis & Bockius are clearly looking to do that on a broad basis. What we've chosen to do within the market is establish a national presence within the footprint that we have in the U.S. and internationally through our London office. Our attorneys have the ability through their connections and/or industry and practice specialty knowledge to market themselves on a much broader basis around the world. I think there are a few firms who are going to be able to pull it off. I don't think it will grow beyond that.”

We also had a wonderful piece “Branding: Enhancing Succeessful Legal Marketing” authored by Jane Hewson, one of the true leaders in branding strategies. Jane's take on branding:

“The efficacy of branding law firms has been a topic of considerable debate. At root, the discussion lays bare an interesting and fundamental question – are law firms really something greater than the sum of their parts? On one level, any organization that isn't completely dysfunctional adds something to the individuals who comprise it. Getting from that simple human statement to branding, however, requires buy-in to another, related concept.

Branding requires institutional consistency ' that is, consistency of markets, of messages, of service, of aptitudes, etc. Few firms, if any, manifest that level of sameness. Law firms are not made of margarine; they're made of people. But branding implicitly conveys sameness, consistency; the lawyers who work inside a firm's walls are often aware of the contradiction ' their clients and prospects are aware of it too.

There is no doubt that branding elevates over time the overall name recognition of a firm, but unless it works in tandem with building a network and providing superior service, it's a static concept that won't address the fundamental business goals of a firm: to be engaged in the most challenging matters and to stabilize and develop the revenue stream.”

Looking Ahead

So here we are at the end of another year of bringing you cutting edge issues that impact our profession. What's next? Well I've been doing a lot of thinking about marketing and what I believe 2004 will hold for the professional services industry and how they market themselves. Bearing in mind that some of these topics may change as we continue to be at the forefront of law firm marketing, here's some of what we will focus on for 2004.

We are also planning on having a quarterly spotlight featuring a partner or marketing professional who has been the driving force within their law firm as a supporter and proponent of marketing. There will be lots more too. Stay tuned: It's going to be a wonderful year.

Upcoming Topics for 2004

January

Law firm makeovers

March

The financial side of marketing including “shoestring” marketing

May

Crisis management recovery marketing

September

Practice Group marketing strategies and how they impact individual marketing efforts

November

Marketing Department issues including staffing and multitasking

Four months ago when I was asked to become Editor-in-Chief of Marketing The Law Firm, I never imagined that I would have the opportunity to engage a wonderful group of authors; select an outstanding Board of Editors; and moderate the first of what I hope will be many exciting and interesting Web audio seminars. As I look back on the last four months, I think the one thing that stands out in my mind is the fact that we had so many wonderful contributors to the newsletter. So I thought that we might take a look at the last 4 months and some of the highlights. Although I would love to be able to select all of the articles we've published, given the constraints of space, I am only able to pick two from each issue to feature. In case you missed reading these issues, we'll give you a nutshell version of these articles. I would also be remiss if I didn't say how much I appreciated the efforts of Russ Lawson and Mike O'Horo, whose monthly columns provided all of us with a look at the intricacies of marketing both in a law firm setting and to smaller firms and solos. And as we look forward, we'll take a look at what's coming up and a preview of our editorial calendar.

August

We covered a number of issues in the August newsletter. First up, David Freeman's article entitled Rev the Revenue: The Marketing Focused Retreat”. The following is an excerpt:

“Tear the roof off most any major law firm and what do you see? Massive amounts of unfocused marketing energy. From this 30,000 foot, leaders-eye view, responsible stewards of their firms should ask, “how do we harness this energy, how do we concentrate it to achieve our overall goals (assuming we have any), and how do we converge the activities of our individual lawyers, the practice groups, disparate offices, and departments in order to unleash the potential that we know exists?”

It is the job of leadership to define and channel this whirlwind of human activity. Looking into a leader's managerial toolbox, there is one piece of equipment that is woefully underutilized for providing the necessary navigational support. This instrument is the retreat. A well-designed retreat is the eye of the storm, a short window of calm that allows for reflection, decision-making and planning. Once the swirling winds of practicing law reemerge, the results from a retreat can provide the necessary guidance that most firms lack.

Creating a high impact retreat requires focus. At the end of the day, since it all comes down to profits-per-partner, retaining and acquiring clients remains for most firms a top priority. Reliance on marketing departments to solely bear this responsibility is short-sighted and naive; while they can help develop strategy and provide significant support, they are not the foot soldiers who must go and get the clients.

There's tens of millions of dollars in new business waiting out there. The marketing focused retreat can provide the strategy, direction, and tools to get the job done. The only remaining question is, how?”

There was also my article on “Client Intelligence: IT, Marketing and Client Services Unite” which focused on the marriage of technology, research and marketing and the use of software to improve client intelligence and new business development. Here's a glimpse of what I covered:

“As a futurist to what law firms need to be thinking about, I am always excited about “out of the box” methodologies that can impact the marriage of technology, research and marketing. Over the last few years as IT and Marketing Departments have played a more prominent role in law firms, IT Departments have rolled out software programs to assist Marketing with the capturing of basic client relationship information for mailings, law alerts, programs and the like while at the same time working in tandem with the library to upgrade their legal research tools. Happily with the advent of solution-based client intelligence/relationship management products, a new method of delivering all of this information can now be aggregated in one interface. These products and services are specifically designed to provide better and clear intelligence on how to add value to existing client and new business relationships.

Picture if you will a software system that provides information solutions to law firms based on how they need and use information rather than a one-size-fits-all approach currently employed by most information providers: a system that provides lawyers with client oriented information specifically tailored to the way individual lawyers work; a system that takes the “flood” of available web based information and leverages this multi-sourced data. Information needs to be pulled together from various resources within a firm. Most requests for existing client or new business information begins with the Marketing Department whose assignment goes something like this: “We want to know more about our client X. We want to have an edge on getting to pitch for new business from client X. Client X will not think of us for this business unless we demonstrate that we have specialized knowledge about its business in this area so gather all the information you can including who our competition will be.” The Marketing Department either begins the process of gathering the information using sources from the Internet. In addition, the CRM database is in play to see who knows who at client X and who will have the stronger connection to the client (it's not always the relationship partner). Enter the library whose role it is to provide more in depth research on Client X. This multi-sourced gathering of intelligence is the current method employed by law firms when they go on an existing client or new business hunting expedition. It is time consuming and often does not produce the kind of results that enables a law firm to intelligently pitch for expansion of existing business or successfully develop new business and it takes a long time to pull together. Let's take a look then at how law firms can utilize a client intelligence software product with one-stop shopping for the gathering and delivery of this information. The first part of the process would involve the creation of an amalgamated department whose sole mission is providing, preparing and formatting this multi-sourced information in a manner that can be readily processed and delivered. This information can then be disseminated to the team pitching for either the expanded business or new business in formats that can include raw data or an actual question/answer response to an RFP presented in a clear, concise and informative manner. Back in the days before IT became as sophisticated as it is today, when a firm wanted to get on the inside of an existing client's thinking or go after a new prospect, the only way to gather this type of intelligence was to hire an outside consultant. On a personal note I have had the experience of hiring a consulting firm to assist me with the expansion of an existing practice group. Armed with this type of intelligence, the lawyers in the group were able to have a comfort level with the formation of a expanded practice group in which there was real legal expertise and specialized knowledge of the relevant industry that could be successfully market ”

September

We were privileged to have Michael Hodes, the Managing Partner of Hodes, Ulman, Pessin & Katz, give us “A View from the 'Upper Deck': Top-Down Marketing.” Here's a partial “view” of what Michael had to say:

“Lawyers are in the business of providing information to their clients. The issue, which perplexes most lawyers, is how to effectively and efficiently convey the right information to the right people, at the right time, so that they will hire the firm to answer their questions and to solve their problems.

All too often attorneys try to impress the consuming public with their intellect. In reality, lawyers are charged with the responsibility of not just analyzing complex legal issues and offering solutions, but building relationships through proactive communication and by adding value beyond the “here and now” issues. Once lawyers recognize that they are in the communication business, only then can they set out to identify their ideal client.

Before you begin this journey, it is imperative to know your firm and its personnel. What areas of practice should you emphasize and highlight to the consuming public? What brands should be moved front and center? You can no longer successfully rely on selling general legal services to today's savvy and discerning client. All attorneys believe that they have something special to offer. The issue, however, is how to effectively communicate those strengths.

It is critical for the modern law firm to be driven by leaders with marketing and communication savoir-faire. The leaders in the “Upper Deck” must know their organization from bottom to top. A bottom up approach is critical in order to know what the organization thinks of itself. Before you can develop a strategic marketing strategy, it is necessary to conduct a cultural survey and then define your core values. The next step is to determine which practice areas or industries your firm will highlight.”

We also had a great article by John Hellerman, a member of our Board of Editors. John's topic: “How Long Does It Take for Your Lawyer To Call You Back? How About '2 Hours. Guaranteed!” Here's what John had to say:

“Ask business managers and in-house corporate lawyers the thing that drives them crazy about lawyers, and one of the most common responses is the time they spend waiting for a call back.

“It's absolutely one of my top three issues,” says James R. Jenkins, Vice President of Legal and External Affairs for United States Cellular Corp. in Chicago. “When I pick up the phone to talk to a lawyer, it's not about the weather; it's because I have an issue.”

Jenkins cites responsiveness as a key reason that his company has long used the labor and employment law firm of Laner, Muchin, Dombrow, Becker, Levin & Tominberg, which guarantees clients a call back within two hours.

“I deal with a lot of lawyers,” says Jenkins, who heads U.S. Cellular's legal and regulatory department. “Some are excellent. Some, despite their credentials and smarts, are very unresponsive. They forget that they have a client on the other end.”

Although the 40-lawyer Laner Muchin has a long history of requiring its lawyers to quickly return client calls, the firm recently put its guarantee in writing, promising in a series of ads and a brochure that its lawyers will call clients back within two hours, “or sooner if you need us…no voicemail purgatory.”

Further, the firm challenges prospective clients using other law firms to call their own lawyers first, and then try calling Laner Muchin. “See who calls you back first; we're betting it'll be us. If it's not, we'll buy you lunch and donate $100 to your favorite charity.”

Laner Muchin's promise is no marketing gimmick. In the firm's 50-year history, Laner Muchin lawyers have always been required to promptly call back clients. Dick Laner, a recently retired partner, was famous back in the days of pink message slips for going through the message racks to see who among the firm's staff was keeping clients waiting. Those that did weren't on staff for long.”

October

In October we did our first theme issue. We selected public relations as the topic. The centerpiece of this issue was The Annual Law Firm Media Performance Report by Levick Strategic Communications and PR Newswire. This Report focused on how media appearances by the AmLaw 22, the UK Top 25 and the Canadian Top 14 firms support marketplace prominence. The introduction to the Report appears below:

“What can we make of the fact that the top 25 firms ranked by revenue in the AmLaw 200 have increased their overall presence in the media by around 18%, while firms ranked in the next two quarters, 26-75, increased by barely 1%?

Below the third quarter, the differences are even starker. Overall, the firms that were ranked 76 to 200 actually engendered fewer media appearances ' by upwards of 5% in some instances ' in 2002 than in 2001.

The easy response is that, the larger the firm, the more lawyers and practice groups there are for reporters to call on as sources and commentators, coast-to-coast and abroad. The law of nature is that the rich get richer. It applies to media profile too.

In fact, such a predictable interpretation is too glib by half. It ignores the fact that, to accelerate rather than just to maintain their advantage over other quarters, the top 25 have consciously leveraged their size advantage. They haven't been content to wait for reporters to call. They've gotten the attention of the media with ongoing formal publicity strategies designed to reinforce existing reputations and build new ones.

These formidable law firms fall into two categories. On the one hand, a very small and elite category is comprised of those that were first to market. In Skadden's case, for example, an M&A practice was perceived to have actually helped invent the legal infrastructure of an entire economy then driven by hostile takeovers. Having been first, Skadden continues to be perceived by journalists, as well as by legal service purchasers, as owning that particular market. It remains the top-of-the-list media source.”

November

And finally, we come to last month ' which for me was probably the most exciting issue to date. Again we had a theme issue. The focus: Branding. We held a Roundtable that I moderated and in which some of the best known brand experts participated. In case you missed reading the hard copy issue, the entire Roundtable is presented on our website at www.ljnlonline.com/alm?mktg Here's some of what was discussed:

“Branding: Is it the legal marketplace buzzword for the twenty-first century or is there really something to all of this? On October 19th Law Journal Newsletters Marketing The Law Firm hosted a Roundtable in its offices in Philadelphia. We decided to give branding its due by bringing together a panel of experts: Burkey Belser is President and Creative Director of Greenfield Belser Ltd. with offices in Washington, DC and Boston; Dr. Mark Greene is the Managing Director of The Brand Research Company with offices in Washington, DC and Boston; Douglas C. Kramer is the Chief Marketing Officer of Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP, Philadelphia; and Edward M. Schechter is the Chief Marketing Officer of Duane Morris LLP, Philadelphia. What appears below is an excerpt of the Roundtable:

Tursi: Through the use of branding law firms are attempting to differentiate themselves with some success. However, the scope of a law firm's services no matter how distinctive is that of being a professional services organization with either a general practice or a specialized boutique practice. What is the strategy for developing the branding of specific practice areas within the environment of a general practice large law firm and how can those practice areas be differentiated from other areas of the firm without “going to war” within the partnership as it relates to one practice area being successfully branded over another?

Kramer: It's interesting to look at how the big four and management consulting firms have chosen to go to market. It's not through their service lines or substantive practice groups but predominantly by industry. Law firms, on the other hand, typically go to market by practice group and it seems to me this is worth questioning. At Drinker, we've historically marketed through our practice groups but we're starting to more aggressively take an industry approach where it makes sense, because we have some very deep experience in a handful of industries. It all goes to the point of “know your buyer” in trying to differentiate yourself in some meaningful way.

Belser: Law firm marketing is really an adolescent industry. Some practice areas are naturally focused on industries like real estate or transportation. Others, like corporate or litigation, require that the firm focus the practice on an industry. But all our research shows again and again that people come to law firms wearing their industry hat. They want to know what you know about their industry. But law firms have not organized themselves around industries. They drop back to the practice area format. But if you look at the table of contents of any law firm brochure over the last 20 years, you'll see a mix of industry and practice areas. For example, the tax practice is followed by telecommunications. I find it hard to imagine selling criminal defense on an industry basis except perhaps in the financial industry. But labor and employment can be industry-specific, although I think the jury is out on how a large firm can make money focused solely on labor and employment. What's the ideal? Create a 3-D matrix where practice areas overlay industries. Sell practice areas to industry strengths.

Tursi: Since we're conducting this conference here in Philadelphia and two of our panelists are Chief Marketing Officers from large Philadelphia firms, I'd like to mention that The Annual Law Firm Media Performance Report issued by Levick Strategic Communications and PR Newswire has an entire section on firms in the Philadelphia area. The Report discusses an interesting branding issue and that is Philadelphia firms positioning themselves as global. They use as examples in this report Morgan Lewis & Bockius and Dechert We're not getting off the topic here, but it's interesting to see the concept of taking a firm like Dechert and Morgan Lewis & Bockius and their push to move from having a national to a global presence.

Schechter: Clearly the trend toward law firms is to grow either by acquisition of the smaller or medium size firms or in terms of attracting a number of laterals in different markets. That's created some major dynamics in the marketplace. I think that both Dechert and Morgan Lewis & Bockius are clearly looking to do that on a broad basis. What we've chosen to do within the market is establish a national presence within the footprint that we have in the U.S. and internationally through our London office. Our attorneys have the ability through their connections and/or industry and practice specialty knowledge to market themselves on a much broader basis around the world. I think there are a few firms who are going to be able to pull it off. I don't think it will grow beyond that.”

We also had a wonderful piece “Branding: Enhancing Succeessful Legal Marketing” authored by Jane Hewson, one of the true leaders in branding strategies. Jane's take on branding:

“The efficacy of branding law firms has been a topic of considerable debate. At root, the discussion lays bare an interesting and fundamental question – are law firms really something greater than the sum of their parts? On one level, any organization that isn't completely dysfunctional adds something to the individuals who comprise it. Getting from that simple human statement to branding, however, requires buy-in to another, related concept.

Branding requires institutional consistency ' that is, consistency of markets, of messages, of service, of aptitudes, etc. Few firms, if any, manifest that level of sameness. Law firms are not made of margarine; they're made of people. But branding implicitly conveys sameness, consistency; the lawyers who work inside a firm's walls are often aware of the contradiction ' their clients and prospects are aware of it too.

There is no doubt that branding elevates over time the overall name recognition of a firm, but unless it works in tandem with building a network and providing superior service, it's a static concept that won't address the fundamental business goals of a firm: to be engaged in the most challenging matters and to stabilize and develop the revenue stream.”

Looking Ahead

So here we are at the end of another year of bringing you cutting edge issues that impact our profession. What's next? Well I've been doing a lot of thinking about marketing and what I believe 2004 will hold for the professional services industry and how they market themselves. Bearing in mind that some of these topics may change as we continue to be at the forefront of law firm marketing, here's some of what we will focus on for 2004.

We are also planning on having a quarterly spotlight featuring a partner or marketing professional who has been the driving force within their law firm as a supporter and proponent of marketing. There will be lots more too. Stay tuned: It's going to be a wonderful year.

Upcoming Topics for 2004

January

Law firm makeovers

March

The financial side of marketing including “shoestring” marketing

May

Crisis management recovery marketing

September

Practice Group marketing strategies and how they impact individual marketing efforts

November

Marketing Department issues including staffing and multitasking