Law.com Subscribers SAVE 30%

Call 855-808-4530 or email [email protected] to receive your discount on a new subscription.

Time to Think Big: What Law Firm Marketing and Bus Dev Teams Can Learn from the Fortune 500

By Joel Wirchin
December 01, 2023

Of all areas within the law firm, marketing and business development (BD) is one of the top areas impacted by the significant market challenges occurring over the past couple of years. Productivity has been down since Q4 of 2022 (see, Thomson Reuters 2023 State of the Legal Market Report) and uncertainty in the geo-political landscape has caused business across verticals to slow, which has placed enhanced pressure on marketing and BD to win more business. At the same time, rising internal expenses — primarily driven by surging associate compensation — is straining marketing teams to do more with less to protect margins.

2023 also added significant market "churn," as half of corporate clients consider changing firms. This surge in competition came with an accompanying increase in Requests for Proposals (RFPs) adding pressure for marketing and business development to increase output; added too was a surge in mergers and acquisitions in 2023, with 41 mergers compared to 37 and 33 in 2022 and 2021, respectively. See, "It's Not Your Imagination, There are More Law Firm Mergers in 2023," Above the Law, October 2023. This uptick was driven by firms seeking to increase scale in strategic markets to capture needed revenue as productivity dipped or new practice areas to balance out those that were languishing.

And of course, in 2023, generative AI emerged as a significant disruption to law firms and especially to their marketing and business development professionals. While law firms grapple with leveraging its power in a compliant manner, defining necessary policies, accessing expert talent to lead AI innovation, expectations of marketing and BD teams has been reshaped overnight.

This premium content is locked for Entertainment Law & Finance subscribers only

  • Stay current on the latest information, rulings, regulations, and trends
  • Includes practical, must-have information on copyrights, royalties, AI, and more
  • Tap into expert guidance from top entertainment lawyers and experts

For enterprise-wide or corporate acess, please contact Customer Service at [email protected] or 877-256-2473

Read These Next
Major Differences In UK, U.S. Copyright Laws Image

This article highlights how copyright law in the United Kingdom differs from U.S. copyright law, and points out differences that may be crucial to entertainment and media businesses familiar with U.S law that are interested in operating in the United Kingdom or under UK law. The article also briefly addresses contrasts in UK and U.S. trademark law.

The Article 8 Opt In Image

The Article 8 opt-in election adds an additional layer of complexity to the already labyrinthine rules governing perfection of security interests under the UCC. A lender that is unaware of the nuances created by the opt in (may find its security interest vulnerable to being primed by another party that has taken steps to perfect in a superior manner under the circumstances.

Strategy vs. Tactics: Two Sides of a Difficult Coin Image

With each successive large-scale cyber attack, it is slowly becoming clear that ransomware attacks are targeting the critical infrastructure of the most powerful country on the planet. Understanding the strategy, and tactics of our opponents, as well as the strategy and the tactics we implement as a response are vital to victory.

Removing Restrictive Covenants In New York Image

In Rockwell v. Despart, the New York Supreme Court, Third Department, recently revisited a recurring question: When may a landowner seek judicial removal of a covenant restricting use of her land?

The Cost of Making Partner Image

Making partner isn't cheap, and the cost is more than just the years of hard work and stress that associates put in as they reach for the brass ring.