Career Journal: Across the Pond

Law-firm marketing in the UK has witnessed some important developments over the last three years. Firms of all sizes, from large international players to smaller niche firms, have made sizeable investments in their business development departments. U.S. firms with a presence in the UK and Europe have also invested heavily in this key area. Some of First Counsel's largest clients ' with the exception of the UK 'Magic Circle' ' have been the larger U.S. law firms with a significant presence in Europe.

More resources for business development and marketing goes in line with other support functions in law firms, and we have seen major investment across the board with firms bringing in more expertise focused on a whole raft of areas such as learning and development, knowledge management and risk. Today's modern UK-based law firm has one non-lawyer for every lawyer and many of these non-fee-earners are employed at a senior level. In spite of the pressure to maximize profits, more and more people (with the associated cost) are entering the sector.

More Heads

Most firms' head counts of business development and marketing personnel have increased significantly over the last two years. In many cases, the size of the department has more than doubled. Much of the growth is associated with business development and the desire to resource this area more. Perhaps more significantly, the head count has increased and so has the cost per head. One key factor has been the lack of suitable candidates, which has driven up the market rate for a practice-focused business development manager. On top of the desire for more experienced talent has meant that firms have to pay more to get what they want. UK Magic Circle firms now employ 80-plus people just in London performing various marketing and business development roles while many firms in the top 30 will have more than 25 people in the department.

More Vacancies

For more than two years, we have had a rolling list of around 40 business development manager vacancies. Roles vary in content ' some focus on practice groups, some on industry sectors, while some will sit centrally and cover a bit of everything. The main thrust is on targeting, new business, bid support, research and analysis and, increasingly, account management. One enlightened magic circle firm combines a traditional business development role with the account management of two or three key clients. Clearly, there has been, and continues to be, major investment in this area.

Client Retention

Most firms now have some kind of client relationship management program that has identified a list of clients of strategic importance to them. Some have recruited a specific person to drive that program. This is usually someone who is internally focused with no client contact who works with partners and associates on pulling together a proper program for priority clients. The role may take direct involvement in client service reviews although many are still conducted by partners or external third party consultants. Firms with sufficient resources ' usually limited to the top twenty firms ' have recruited relationship managers who are wholly dedicated to managing two or three key relationships. These roles bring non-fee-earners into constant contact with the client in an account management capacity. Relationship managers have been particularly successful in the banking area with seven of the top ten firms employing people in this capacity focused on their institutional banking clients. There is no doubt that the trend of recruiting relationship managers is set to continue.

Specialist Expertise

Rising head count is partly because of the extra focus given to business development and client management roles but we are also seeing firms invest more in specialist expertise covering areas such as client research and analysis, pitching/proposals, brand management, database management and internal communications. Many of the larger firms already have these people, but the trend is filtering down to the smaller firms who traditionally employ a generalist who covers a bit of everything.

Squeeze on Talent

Many firms still require (or prefer) the comfort of hiring people with prior experience in professional services. An understanding of the idiosyncrasies of partnerships is considered very useful, but with demand outstripping supply, firms are finding it hard to fill vacancies with candidates who have such experience. Other factors, such as demand for higher quality candidates as well as a more settled environment in the Big 4 accountancies (which was traditionally a good hunting ground for law firms), means that some vacancies stay unfilled for months. We try to educate firms about the talent in other sectors and to explain that, given a degree of patience in the first six months as an employee settles in, many skills are transferable to the law firm environment. On top of this, we are now involved in bringing candidates over from other international locations. Australian and New Zealand law firms continue to provide superb lawyers and also have excellent business development and marketing managers. We have also recruited U.S. talent into top firms in Europe, although visa issues can present problems. Our overall message to clients is ' there are not enough good people, so firms think laterally to fill their roles.

American Law Firms in London

Many U.S. firms continue to expand their presence in London and Europe. As their fee-earner head count increases, so do requirements for support in business development and marketing. A couple of years ago most U.S. firms, excluding the larger ones firms have been in London for some time, might have had a junior person providing general support for the office. Today, most U.S. firms in London employ practice focused business development managers, PR experts and various other specialists.. Most certainly the seniority of the people in these roles has increased beyond recognition. For example, a smallish London office of a U.S. firm will often now pay its BD/Marketing Manager close to '100,000 (U.S. $200,000) per annum. One U.S. firm has increased its head count in London from around five to more than 20 people in a little over two years.

Salaries Head North

As one would expect, we have seen the average salary of a business development professional in a law firm increase significantly in the last two years. This has been driven by a number of factors, not least the lack of candidates. In some instances this has led to bidding wars ' we had one candidate offered a role by five firms. With many firms 'counter-offering' people when they resign and giving double digit annual increases it has become more and more difficult to keep up with the salary inflation, particularly in certain 'hot-spots' such as the mid-level business development manager paid between '50,000 and '60,000 (U.S. $100,000-$120,000) per annum. The trend on bonuses is mixed. Some firms offer bonuses up to 25% of base salary, while others offer nothing. Benefits are generally unchanged at the moment. Although as people try to enter the sector from other markets, the lack of benefits such as car allowances and decent bonuses may cause further inflation in terms of basic pay.

Looking Ahead

What of the future? Alongside other emerging functions such as knowledge management and risk & compliance, we firmly believe that firms will continue to invest in marketing and business development. New business acquisition and account management will remain a major focus, particularly if the market takes a turn for the worse, as will a focus on creating genuine brand differentiation between firms. Finally, we expect more and more people to successfully enter the sector from other markets as firms adopt more of a corporate way of managing their businesses and recognize the skills that transfer from outside the confines of the legal or other professional services arena.

Tim Skipper, Director at First Counsel in London, UK, is a guest columnist with whom Wisnik Career Enterprises has a strategic alliance. Eva Wisnik, President of Wisnik Career Enterprises, and Jennifer Johnson, Director of Recruitment, specialize in collaborating with law firms nationwide to identify top-quality professionals to lead their marketing, business development and public relations departments. They are looking forward to sharing their market knowledge with you through this column. Please e-mail any topic ideas, thoughts, or questions to [email protected].

Law-firm marketing in the UK has witnessed some important developments over the last three years. Firms of all sizes, from large international players to smaller niche firms, have made sizeable investments in their business development departments. U.S. firms with a presence in the UK and Europe have also invested heavily in this key area. Some of First Counsel's largest clients ' with the exception of the UK 'Magic Circle' ' have been the larger U.S. law firms with a significant presence in Europe.

More resources for business development and marketing goes in line with other support functions in law firms, and we have seen major investment across the board with firms bringing in more expertise focused on a whole raft of areas such as learning and development, knowledge management and risk. Today's modern UK-based law firm has one non-lawyer for every lawyer and many of these non-fee-earners are employed at a senior level. In spite of the pressure to maximize profits, more and more people (with the associated cost) are entering the sector.

More Heads

Most firms' head counts of business development and marketing personnel have increased significantly over the last two years. In many cases, the size of the department has more than doubled. Much of the growth is associated with business development and the desire to resource this area more. Perhaps more significantly, the head count has increased and so has the cost per head. One key factor has been the lack of suitable candidates, which has driven up the market rate for a practice-focused business development manager. On top of the desire for more experienced talent has meant that firms have to pay more to get what they want. UK Magic Circle firms now employ 80-plus people just in London performing various marketing and business development roles while many firms in the top 30 will have more than 25 people in the department.

More Vacancies

For more than two years, we have had a rolling list of around 40 business development manager vacancies. Roles vary in content ' some focus on practice groups, some on industry sectors, while some will sit centrally and cover a bit of everything. The main thrust is on targeting, new business, bid support, research and analysis and, increasingly, account management. One enlightened magic circle firm combines a traditional business development role with the account management of two or three key clients. Clearly, there has been, and continues to be, major investment in this area.

Client Retention

Most firms now have some kind of client relationship management program that has identified a list of clients of strategic importance to them. Some have recruited a specific person to drive that program. This is usually someone who is internally focused with no client contact who works with partners and associates on pulling together a proper program for priority clients. The role may take direct involvement in client service reviews although many are still conducted by partners or external third party consultants. Firms with sufficient resources ' usually limited to the top twenty firms ' have recruited relationship managers who are wholly dedicated to managing two or three key relationships. These roles bring non-fee-earners into constant contact with the client in an account management capacity. Relationship managers have been particularly successful in the banking area with seven of the top ten firms employing people in this capacity focused on their institutional banking clients. There is no doubt that the trend of recruiting relationship managers is set to continue.

Specialist Expertise

Rising head count is partly because of the extra focus given to business development and client management roles but we are also seeing firms invest more in specialist expertise covering areas such as client research and analysis, pitching/proposals, brand management, database management and internal communications. Many of the larger firms already have these people, but the trend is filtering down to the smaller firms who traditionally employ a generalist who covers a bit of everything.

Squeeze on Talent

Many firms still require (or prefer) the comfort of hiring people with prior experience in professional services. An understanding of the idiosyncrasies of partnerships is considered very useful, but with demand outstripping supply, firms are finding it hard to fill vacancies with candidates who have such experience. Other factors, such as demand for higher quality candidates as well as a more settled environment in the Big 4 accountancies (which was traditionally a good hunting ground for law firms), means that some vacancies stay unfilled for months. We try to educate firms about the talent in other sectors and to explain that, given a degree of patience in the first six months as an employee settles in, many skills are transferable to the law firm environment. On top of this, we are now involved in bringing candidates over from other international locations. Australian and New Zealand law firms continue to provide superb lawyers and also have excellent business development and marketing managers. We have also recruited U.S. talent into top firms in Europe, although visa issues can present problems. Our overall message to clients is ' there are not enough good people, so firms think laterally to fill their roles.

American Law Firms in London

Many U.S. firms continue to expand their presence in London and Europe. As their fee-earner head count increases, so do requirements for support in business development and marketing. A couple of years ago most U.S. firms, excluding the larger ones firms have been in London for some time, might have had a junior person providing general support for the office. Today, most U.S. firms in London employ practice focused business development managers, PR experts and various other specialists.. Most certainly the seniority of the people in these roles has increased beyond recognition. For example, a smallish London office of a U.S. firm will often now pay its BD/Marketing Manager close to '100,000 (U.S. $200,000) per annum. One U.S. firm has increased its head count in London from around five to more than 20 people in a little over two years.

Salaries Head North

As one would expect, we have seen the average salary of a business development professional in a law firm increase significantly in the last two years. This has been driven by a number of factors, not least the lack of candidates. In some instances this has led to bidding wars ' we had one candidate offered a role by five firms. With many firms 'counter-offering' people when they resign and giving double digit annual increases it has become more and more difficult to keep up with the salary inflation, particularly in certain 'hot-spots' such as the mid-level business development manager paid between '50,000 and '60,000 (U.S. $100,000-$120,000) per annum. The trend on bonuses is mixed. Some firms offer bonuses up to 25% of base salary, while others offer nothing. Benefits are generally unchanged at the moment. Although as people try to enter the sector from other markets, the lack of benefits such as car allowances and decent bonuses may cause further inflation in terms of basic pay.

Looking Ahead

What of the future? Alongside other emerging functions such as knowledge management and risk & compliance, we firmly believe that firms will continue to invest in marketing and business development. New business acquisition and account management will remain a major focus, particularly if the market takes a turn for the worse, as will a focus on creating genuine brand differentiation between firms. Finally, we expect more and more people to successfully enter the sector from other markets as firms adopt more of a corporate way of managing their businesses and recognize the skills that transfer from outside the confines of the legal or other professional services arena.

Tim Skipper, Director at First Counsel in London, UK, is a guest columnist with whom Wisnik Career Enterprises has a strategic alliance. Eva Wisnik, President of Wisnik Career Enterprises, and Jennifer Johnson, Director of Recruitment, specialize in collaborating with law firms nationwide to identify top-quality professionals to lead their marketing, business development and public relations departments. They are looking forward to sharing their market knowledge with you through this column. Please e-mail any topic ideas, thoughts, or questions to [email protected].