Media & Communications: Grab the Wheel and Drive Yourself!: How Law Firm Marketers Can Grow Professionally … and Some Sage Advice

So, you've been in your role in the marketing department at your firm for a few years — and maybe you've been promoted once, received good performance evaluations, and like your work. Things are going well — but you want to expand your skill set, try something new, or take on a fresh challenge. The lawyers you work with routinely attend CLE classes (mainly because they have to maintain their standing with the state bar) so why shouldn't you focus on your own professional development?

Just Look at the Numbers

Some recent surveys indicate that law firms are focused more than ever on marketing and business development, how they staff those functions and what kind of training/support firms provide (or don't …):

• More than half of firms (54%) provide digital marketing training to their marketing staff (see, "The 2018 Law Firm Marketing Digital Marketing Survey." )
• In a new survey of law firm marketers, an overwhelming 87% of respondents agreed that there was a lack of technical marketing training in their department (see, "Legal Marketing Mental Wellness Survey Report." )
• 63% of firms are increasing their marketing/business development budget over the next two years (see, "Where Are We Now? Revealing the Latest Trends in Legal Marketing and Business Development." ).
• 49% of respondents said that their marketing budgets increased since the previous year (see, "Law Firm Business Development and Marketing Survey." )

Given the increased attention on marketing at law firms, it's likely that law firms will begin to expect more and more from their marketing departments — and so law firm marketers of every stripe will need to "up their game."

Grab the Wheel and Drive Your Own Professional Development Bus

What are some of the things you can do proactively to help you build your repertoire, increase your value to your department and firm, and continue to grow professionally? Here are a few suggestions — but there are probably dozens more:

• Ask to work on department/firm projects outside of your particular area. If your role is focused on PR and your business development group is getting ready to explore a new experience database, offer to be on the team that reviews/test drives the various options. It will give you insight into other members of your firm's marketing team, what they do, and how what you do intersects with what they do.
• Check your local community college or university extension for writing or editing classes. "Going back to school" can be fun – and energizing. You don't have to go full-on and get a Master's (or an MBA) — but taking a few courses here and there can help keep you on your toes. Also check-out "marketing-related" courses. Many grad schools offer night-time classes that cover a variety of marketing-related topics, everything from "Integrated Marketing Communications" to "Digital Marketing & eCommerce."
• Consider joining the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA, prsa.org ) or the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC, iabc.com) if you have a PR or communications-focused role. Industry organizations that focus on your particular area can be invigorating and inspiring, especially if the organizations draw from multiple industries.
• Join a firmwide committee that focuses on a topic/area that is of interest to you. For example, if your firm has or is, as many firms are, implementing a "wellness" committee, and being healthy is of interest to you, ask to join the committee. Not only can you bring your particular skills to bear (for example, if you're in communications, you can help the committee effectively communicate what they are doing to the firm), but you can get to know other people from different departments Volunteering for firmwide committees can broaden your knowledge of the firm, expose you to some new ideas, and provide opportunities to contribute to the firm in a new way.
• Get involved in the Legal Marketing Association (LMA), especially the PR & Communications Shared Interest Group (in the interests of full disclosure, I am currently one of the co-chairs of the PR & Communications SIG) or your local chapter. LMA offers an endless number of conferences, events, webinars, podcasts, etc. to help you grow professionally. Check out The Body of Knowledge (BoK).
• Become a mentor. Once of the best ways to push your own boundaries is to help others push theirs. Mentoring can be incredibly rewarding and you can learn as much about yourself as someone can learn from you. LMA has a mentoring program — or you can be a mentor more casually by offering to be a routine sounding board for a younger marketer in your area (or in your own department).
• Seek out opportunities to speak, present and write. There are many opportunities to hone your speaking and writing skills. You can present internally (to your fellow marketers) or to your attorneys. You can speak externally at LMA conferences (local and national) or at other marketing or communications conferences. Publications are always looking for by-lined articles. You'll find as you develop your presentation or write your article, you learn new things or begin to look at things in a new/different way. Also listing presentations and articles on your resume is a great way to differentiate yourself and to demonstrate your competency.

Advice from the Masters

Enough with the specific, practical, actionable advice. To add some "real world" flavor to this article, I reached out to some of my esteemed colleagues and asked them if they would be willing to share some career advice, some recollections, etc.

Here's a sampling of their responses.