Substance Over Style As a Winning Combination

The process was a difficult one. I was on the fence about many firms because, at least in my view, these firms did not meet the criteria of “defining, distinguishing, developing and delivering” (see the Op Ed Piece) a full service law firm marketing and communications program. Some firms did not provide substantive submissions and were automatically eliminated. Other firms did not provide submissions at all, but clearly have, over the years, demonstrated their willingness to accept and embrace marketing ' and in doing so have been able to move the agenda forward in the area of professional services marketing. Two firms on the list are not AmLaw 200 firms, but are included because they are doing significant things to impact their firms with great success, and are ultimately affecting the firm's bottom line. Some firms that would ordinarily be part of this list of 50 are missing. It is unfortunate that firms do not fully understand or appreciate the importance of marketing and communications, but nevertheless continue to throw money at their programs without analyzing their needs. The firms that made the list were chosen on the basis of their accomplishments and not as much about their staffing or budgets. While these aspects were taken into consideration, the number of staffers and the budgets did not affect the final listing. Some firms actually do quite a bit more with less staff and less money. As a veteran of law firm marketing and communications, I felt extremely confident in including these firms because I know what they are about and I know their people. The valuation of all the firms is reflective of programs that are differentiators in the world of law firms and in many ways mirror Corporate America's marketing programs.

I also wanted to mention here that I received submissions and inquiries from firms based outside the U.S. While I would have liked to include these firms on the list, I made the decision ' at least for this year ' that the list would be only U.S.-based firms. Having said that, I promised my colleagues in Canada that I would work on producing a future issue of MLF that would highlight their firms.