We’ve all seen dozens of social media posts and news stories discussing the challenges of working while isolated at home. This has included surviving endless Zoom meetings, supervising dependents and making sense of the world around us. So how is this impacting our work hours?

• 40% of our survey respondents are working 1 - 3 hours more each day
• 17% of our survey respondents are working over 3 hours more each day
• ​That’s 57% working at least 5 additional hours each week, and some more than 15 additional hours each week

Some key questions for our profession:

• Is this sustainable in “the new normal”?
• How do we avoid the risk of burn-out? (Many are juggling work, dependents and have less access to support services.)
• Do leaders have adequate plans in place to address and solve these challenges?

Marketing and BD teams are famous for wearing multiple hats in any given day. Responding to pitches and RFPs, organizing events, executing on business goals, planning ways to enhance and sustain existing relationships... this list never stops. Given this context, when asked to share the major focus areas for the marketing and BD team during the COVID-19 response, the respondents answered as follows:

• The most common major focus areas were 'thought leadership development and production' (74% of survey respondents) and 'external communications' (also 74%)
• Next were 'strategic BD' (70% of respondents) and 'virtual events' (also 70%)

​The trend among survey respondents is highlighting an emphasis on externally facing initiatives. They appear to be “protecting the base” by providing support and knowledge to existing clients and taking next steps on already defined strategic business development plans. Comparatively less focus has been applied to marketing to new clients, implementing new initiatives or responding to RFPs.

​Many discussions with firms early in the pandemic response considered how marketing and BD teams could use their transferable skills to support other teams (at the expense of traditional marketing and BD activity). 

​There are a number of takeaways from this data:

• Firms are clearly seeing the value in core marketing and BD activity in these challenging times. This is a sign of respect for our profession.
• Many of our colleagues are showing the ‘change agility’ that so many of my clients ask for in their candidates.
• Professionals who can flex their skills and experience to help out multiple areas across the firm are always valued - even more so in times of change and uncertainty.

For years, we have heard a growing number of colleagues talk about wanting more flexibility in their professional lives, with the option of working remotely (or at home) for at least some of the time. COVID-19 has pressure tested this working model in ways few of us could have imagined. Close to three months in, our survey respondents have indicated their preferred working styles:

• An overwhelming amount of respondents - 96% - have enjoyed working remotely in some form
• Of that 96%, the majority would ideally have a hybrid model, which allowed them to have flexibility with office interactions alongside the ability to work remote (73% of respondents)
• There was a smaller proportion of respondents (23%) who prefer the remote working arrangement all of the time

​It will be interesting to see whether these rates persist if current restrictions continue for months (or years). Anecdotally - and supported by the data above relating to working hours - it would seem that productivity has not dropped despite teams working from home. This has long been a concern of firms considering more flexible working arrangements. One unexpected benefit from these challenging times has been this ‘case study’ in working from home. I’m sure this will lead to a lot of consideration for ‘the office of the future’ for law firms.

Let’s talk…         

Let’s talk about the problem with titles in legal marketing.

Many legal marketers take pride in their title as they can accurately reflect technical proficiency, seniority and credibility. There are, however, many examples where this is unfortunately not the case. This presents a tricky dilemma for many team leaders.

For example, is the experience of a legal marketer who holds the title of Business Development Director and who has 25 years of tenure the same as a legal marketer who holds the same title, but who has less tenure? Are the technical demands of a legal marketer who holds the title Senior Manager in a global firm the same as a Senior Manager in a mid-sized firm? Is a legal marketer who holds the title of Director and who manages a team of five in a mid-sized firm more or less qualified than a Director of a team of three in a large firm?

The problem is that there are no standardized rules that are applicable when determining what titles should be used when labeling legal marketers. This really matters because labels are truly just that. They stay with that professional throughout their whole career and people frequently judge others based on those labels. This is despite legal marketers all having different experience in variously sized firms and roles.

Further, layer onto this problem these two additional nuances. First, partners’ understanding about what titles are applicable at each level of a legal marketer is greatly different in each firm. This is because there is still a large variance on what partners think of and perceive marketing and BD roles to be in their firms; they have all started from a different place on the value of marketing. Secondly, firms are not always getting title-to-salary or title-to-experience information correct when making hiring decisions.

The need for standardization     

I’ve asked two legal marketing veterans and CMOs to weigh in: John Byrne and Trish Lilley. Byrne and Lilley each have 30 years of experience leading marketing and BD teams in law firms. Additionally, both have held multiple leadership roles within LMA and currently lead their respective regions, the Midwest and Northeast respectively. Byrne is the CMO of Chicago firm Gould & Ratner and Lilley is the CMO of Stroock & Stroock & Lavan headquartered out of New York City.

Byrne agrees that many small, well-intentioned decisions on titles can lead to a confusing result: “Titles are always a bit of alchemy, especially in larger departments.” He adds “Any CMO wants to be able to build their department the way that it makes the most sense. But often internal processes and policies, and pay ranges, get in the way. Marketing pay ranges are often compared to other departments within the same firm.”

Lilley similarly shares this view: ”There’s a huge need for standardization in this area within legal marketing and business development”. She continues “While we (department heads/team leaders) can craft our own schemata within our firms, we face a dilemma when hiring because there is no uniformity relating to titles and roles across the industry. This makes the candidate assessment and getting stage of recruiting much more labor-intensive and time-consuming than it should be, and that inefficiency often flows into the interview stage of the process as well.”

These comments go to the heart of addressing the lack of standardization that legal marketing leaders are faced with when hiring and building their teams. While the default is to compare and contrast on titles across the industry, when there is no uniformity on titles generally, this task is problematic.

The need for internal differentiation       

In addition to the lack of standardization in legal marketing titles, I also frequently see team leaders struggle to deal with how to differentiate their existing team members to distinguish them and reward them based on their efforts and contributions.

Both Lilley and Byrne also weighed in on this difficult task.

Byrne talked about the limitations within the current structure of titles as we know them. He stated that “there are issues with layering people when they need to move up, but the titles don’t always help that if someone is already a Director, say.”

He continued on to acknowledge how tricky that really is, as these issues impact both the person you’re trying to change the title for to acknowledge their efforts, and then for the other people in the team who may feel slighted because of any title changes around them. He said that in practice what typically happens is that “the title can be the same, but the salary, bonus and raises are far different” for different team members. External people to that team or firm, however, won’t see this internal recognition.

Lilley shared her vantage point on how to adequately structure different team members’ titles, noting the difficulties with more junior legal marketers: “I do think that the greatest disparities and variations we in hiring roles see across positions are found in the ranks of coordinators and specialists. I have come across both very junior specialists and those so senior that they left those roles to take first-chair and/or client-facing positions at other firms. Coordinators and specialists are both non-exempt at certain firms and both exempt at others.” 

This is a practical side effect of wrongly labeled professionals. They have to then explain their moves when seeking external advancement so they can be understood and placed into a certain title bucket that makes sense to the person hiring. And this works well if those buckets are neatly defined; unfortunately, that is often not the case.

Practical takeaways for team leaders to move forward

There are no easy answers to these issues. And proposing significant changes to these issues will of course take time to take effect and create the meaningful change that is needed.

Having said that, there are some takeaways that Lilley and Byrne shared that can help us all in the meantime:

• Lilley stated “Historically, I have partnered with my firms’ talent management departments to establish consistency across titles even when functions differ. For instance, I would establish overall expectations and position requirements regarding project and people management, level of autonomy, and delivery expectations.” Lilley also added that these position requirements would be consistent across the firm and tie into the existing structure of other titles, to establish some uniformity.
• Byrne stated “Adding ‘senior’ in front of the title can help.  Or moving that person up the title ranks one slot but then putting "associate" or "assistant" in front of it to help keep the others at that higher rung from feeling like they've now been put upon by someone else's promotion.” These relatively small title changes can often have the most significant impact on an individual marketer; bestowing confidence and recognition upon their efforts.

For further consideration…

I’ll also add these five thoughts for your further consideration, especially when hiring professionals into your team.
​

• Evaluate professionals on more than title. Take someone’s title into consideration, as they can be very meaningful, but don’t look only at title. When you’re looking behind their title, consider their overall years of experience (including any prior non-law firm experience), the firms within which they’ve worked (some firms have very few layers, for example), and the level of sophistication of their marketing and BD experience.
• Remember that not all Managers manage people. Don’t mistake Managers or Senior Managers for people managers. Most at these levels are very strong in project management (that is, managing people on a project-by-project basis), but have no formal people management experience. Those with formal people management experience should highlight this where possible as it sets you apart.
• Preserve the CMO and Director titles for roles with complete ownership. The top title – a CMO or Director - should be fully empowered by firm leadership to develop their firms’ BD and marketing strategy. If you don’t have this empowerment and complete autonomy, you are likely a senior manager wrapped up in a Director / CMO title with limited authority. This title may be nice in the short term, but in the long term it can prove tricky if seeking external promotion. Consider Byrne’s comments here of layering more titles at the senior end of your team if appropriate.
• Elevate those functioning above their title. If Coordinators and Specialists are solely responsible for a Practice or Industry Group, then they are likely operating at a Manager level of technical capability, and you should recognize that. Label their efforts with an elevated title to reward them; if you don’t, they may look elsewhere. Find a way to distinguish them from their peers who require more frequent direction. Keep at the forefront of your minds Lilley’s comments here on how junior titles can equate to significantly different capabilities.  
• Develop your own framework. Despite no standardized rules, develop your own internal rules or policies to help you with your own team. Consider additional layers or client capabilities to differentiate people who have the same title but who have very different levels of experience. Also consider implementing ways to challenge and incentivize at each level and invest in people management experience for your Managers and above. Finally, provide each level with what they need to accomplish to meet expectations at their title, as well as what they need to do to exceed expectations. And importantly, promote those who exceed expectations. Because if you don’t promote them, they will look outside to go up.

 
Legal marketing titles can be accurate or they can be misleading. While we are all in this existing structure together, implement these takeaways to ensure greater consistency for our legal marketing professionals. They work hard and deserve a correctly labeled title and recognition from their peers and leaders. 

On August 8, 2019 I co-presented on the topic of advancing your career in legal marketing with Clare Ota. Together we discussed the various careers in legal marketing, what skills are essential in these roles, career road-maps, the role of a mentor, annual reviews, the salary history ban, and more. This presentation was to the West Region of the Legal Marketing Association and was aimed at all levels, from junior to mid level to seniors in the marketing and business development space. 

Here is a recap of this program - which never takes the place for attending in person, but David Juarez does a great job in this recap: https://www.legalmarketing.org/p/bl/et/blogid=20&blogaid=5808

As featured in Attorney at Work on July 17, 2019

A checklist to use before your search begins. 

Sooner or later, all firms find themselves asking whether they should hire a marketing or business development professional — closely followed by “how” to hire and whom.
In Part 1 of this series, we discussed the five factors that signal your firm and partners are ready to hire someone. Typically, it’s the realization that the firm’s growth has stalled and the current working model actually hinders growth.
Now let’s talk about how to find that professional.

How Do You Identify the Right Person? Three Elements.

Experience has taught me that no single criterion will determine the “right” match, but common patterns often emerge. Over time, I’ve developed a framework based on what I know law firms value. Here are three key elements.

1. Organizational Cultural Fit

It’s always essential to test technical expertise. But organizational and cultural fit is more important. At its core, cultural fit is about ensuring all of your professionals share the values your firm and leadership have established. Put simply, it’s “the way things get done around here.” For some firms, that means hiring entrepreneurial professionals in an environment that encourages creativity and risk-taking. For some, it means hiring professionals who thrive on competition in a driven and hierarchical environment. Each firm is different, so each hire will be different.
Cultural fit is hard to incorporate into a formal interview. To properly consider whether the values of the candidate match those of your firm, create situations where the candidate is more relaxed and make sure the person conducting the interview is armed with the right questions.
People choose to stay at firms because of the cultural fit and the right leadership at the top. Technical knowledge is simpler to identify, and gaps are more quickly resolved through training.

2. Seniority

How senior and involved in the business will this professional be? There are four levels for the professional you’ll consider hiring.

1. Junior administrative support employee. This person will provide basic marketing duties and will not contribute to strategy; they do what you tell them. It’s tempting to begin a department here, as it’s an affordable, seemingly risk-free approach. But if you spend all your time directing someone what to do, getting a task done may take up as much of your time as theirs.
2. Mid-level professional. This person takes direction but also executes independently. A good person performing at this level will also contribute to strategy but will need leadership from, typically, a managing partner or marketing partner.
3. More senior visionary. They are proactive and strategy-focused and will set the tone of the marketing or BD function. They will be telling the partnership how the function should evolve at their firm and will be instrumental in crafting this function.
4. Change agent. This is a seasoned professional who will help facilitate an internal shift to elevate or change the marketing or BD function. This is a harder task that often happens when the marketing function may have been established incorrectly and some serious course-correcting and perception-shifting is warranted. This person is very much a peer to the partners and respected for their understanding of firm dynamics and the expertise they bring to the table.

A common mistake is to hope your first hire can somehow miraculously span all four roles. Know what seniority is right for your firm now. This will naturally change over time as the function is more established.

3. Recruiting Strategy

You may not realize it, but your recruiting strategy affects your firm’s reputation and how the industry responds when you’re searching. Think about how long it should take to run a search, who should be involved in the process, and how people will engage with the candidates along the journey.
Marketing and business development professionals do have the reputation of typically changing jobs frequently. Senior marketing and BD folks will seek out roles with more authority, empowerment and strategy. For mid-level professionals, what’s important to them when they move relates more to the culture, firm leadership and a firm’s tendency to promote from within, as well as title advancement. For juniors, it’s typically all about promotion and work-life integration.
Against this backdrop, we’re experiencing extreme competition in the legal profession and a 50-year-low unemployment rate. Handling your first search well and hiring correctly will help you avoid headaches and preserve your reputation as a well-run and progressive firm.
Specialist knowledge, professionalism, transparency, proactiveness, deadline-driven; these things are, in my experience, critical to a successful search. Failed searches have at least one and often most of these elements missing from a sound recruiting strategy.

Hiring Checklist

It is a challenge to make the decision to hire and then find the right marketing or BD professional for your firm. Before you hire, consider this checklist:

• Do you know what you’re looking for in your right candidate?
• Do you have a consensus within your firm?
• What are the geography-specific salary ranges and comparative bonus percentages? (And, are they in line with comparative market intelligence?)
• Are you aware of new laws impacting a hire, such as new laws relating to the salary history discussions?
• Have you defined, and gained agreement on, your recruiting strategy?
• Do you have the knowledge, experience and capacity to execute your recruiting strategy?

If you can answer these questions confidently, you are well positioned for a great search and a successful first hire.
And remember, this is a defining, exciting and precedent-setting time for your firm. Getting it right is far more important than quickly checking it off your list.
​

As featured in Attorney at Work on June 27, 2019

The marketing and business development function in law firms is an established, credible business service. Unless a firm acquires a marketing department as part of a merger, these departments are built — carefully and thoughtfully — over time. But many smaller firms operate without one until someone realizes the firm’s growth is curtailed because fee-earners are the ones doing all the heavy lifting. Sooner or later, all firms — even solo practices — find themselves asking “when” they know the time has come to hire a marketing or BD professional, closely followed by “how” do I hire and whom.

This is the first in a two-part piece addressing these questions.

Signs Its the Right Time to Hire

If you are answering “yes” to one or more of these five factors, then it’s likely time to embark on hiring your first marketing or BD professional:

• Your firm’s market position or pipeline has shifted negatively, and you’re not sure how to reverse that trend.
• You have senior or named partners who have been key to generating revenue and who are leaving the firm in the coming years. Their successors do not have the same “rainmaker” abilities.
• You have lawyers and partners who are showing an appetite or aptitude for acting on their own individual BD goals but don’t have coaching and support to make them successful.
• You have key lawyers and partners who are frequently talking about a website overhaul or a brand refresh but do not have the expertise or time to advance the projects.
• You have non-marketing professionals, such as a paralegal or office manager, maintaining some marketing or BD activities, but no marketing or BD leader setting the strategy.

Common Missteps

Having identified the need to build a marketing or BD function, it’s important to avoid some common missteps in implementing that plan:

1. Confusing marketing and business development

Many firm leaders do not understand the difference between marketing and BD. Many firms also define these functions very differently. Know where you need the most assistance and name it according to your specific needs and firm. For example, heavy-hitting BD activities include:

• Developing individual and practice group strategic plans aimed to increase revenue
• Developing customized pitch and proposal work (including coaching partners on pitch preparation)
• Conducting analysis of various markets and competition

On the other hand, duties typically associated with the marketing function include:

• Brand enhancement
• Materials that support that brand
• Website messaging and content

2. Asking for too little or too much experience

Understand the level of seniority you need for this position and overall function. Do partners need to be guided and coached on this function (which indicates a more senior strategist) or do they need help in executing on their already identified goals (which suggests a mid-level professional)?

3. Writing and unrealistic job description

When writing the job description, think about how you want to prioritize responsibilities. A common failing is writing the entire marketing or BD function in one job description, rather than one well-considered role that meets immediate needs, from which you can grow.

4. Lack of strategy

Think about your recruiting strategy. Do you know enough about the role to identify the right candidates? What are the most important qualifications? Prior experience? Technical expertise? Cultural fit?

You Can't Know What You Don't Know

The danger lies in attempting to build a marketing or BD team despite a lack of experience with the field. Avoid missteps by seeking advice from those experienced with defining and recruiting the right marketing and BD team for a firm like yours. At the same time, ask peers to share what they’ve learned in building out their departments.

I add this for your consideration: Marketing and BD professionals provide a different way to grow the firm, both through existing and new streams of revenue. They are not restricted by a finite number of billable hours. They are professionals focused on building relationships who will supplement your lawyers and who have the liberty of taking a long-term view of the firm to achieve — and hopefully, exceed — its strategic goals.
​
Armed with the knowledge that the timing is right to hire a marketing or BD professional, how do you go about looking for the right candidates? Stay tuned for part two.

(Last reviewed and updated on August 7, 2019)

If you’re a hiring manager in a firm, what does that mean for you with the numerous cities and states that are now impacted by the new salary history bans?
 
Below I set out the three key things you must do as a hiring manager to ensure compliance with the new laws. But first, know which new geographies have been recently added to the list: Kansas City, Washington state, Colorado and Maine.
 
Here is a list of the affected geographies for firms: 

2017:

• Oregon - October 6, 2017
• New York City - October 31, 2017
• Delaware - December 14, 2017
• Albany County (NY) - December 17, 2017

2018:

• California - January 1, 2018
• Massachusetts - July 1, 2018
• Vermont - July 1, 2018
• Westchester County (NY) - July 9, 2018

​2019:

• Connecticut - January 1, 2019
• Hawaii - January 1, 2019
• Suffolk County (NY) - June 30, 2019
• Washington – July 28, 2019
• Alabama – September 1, 2019
• Maine – September 17, 2019
• Chicago – September 29, 2019
• Kansas City – October 31, 2019

2020:

• New Jersey – January 1, 2020
• New York – January 6, 2020
• Cincinnati – estimated to be March 10, 2020
• Toledo – June 25, 2020

2021:

• Colorado – January 1, 2021

 
An important note: the following geographies currently only affect city or state employers. So, not firms. However, precedent would suggest that best practices should be followed as if it did impact your firm; over time similar bans could also be enacted which will impact more than just city or state employees:

2017:

• City of New Orleans LA - January 25, 2017
• City of Pittsburgh PA - January 30, 2017

​2018:

• City of Salt Lake City UT – March 1, 2018
• City of Louisville KY - May 17, 2018
• State of Pennsylvania - September 4, 2018

​2019:

• ​City of Atlanta GA – February 18, 2019
• State of North Carolina – April 2, 2019
• State of South Carolina – May 23, 2019
• City of Jackson MS – June 13, 2019
• Montgomery County (Maryland) – August 14, 2019

 
As a hiring manager, here’s what you need to do:

1. Update Internal policies or practices to inform interviewers they must not ask questions relating to salary. These updates then need to be shared with the greater hiring team so each internal hiring manager is educated on the new laws. Also consider whether these best practices should be shared with the partnership, as final interviews are mostly conducted by partners, who may want to discuss salary.
2. Ensure any automated processes that screen based on salary are removed.
3. Know your geography and what applies. For example:​ (a) Do you have an office where there are special provisions which impact what to do if a candidate volunteers their salary information? New York City says you still can’t use this information to formulate an offer. Kansas City disagrees with this and says you can; (b) If a candidate asks for the salary range when being interviewed, do you have to provide that range? California says you do have to provide that information; (c) Are you in a geography that is not currently impacted, but is likely to be? Based on recent developments, Cincinnati and Philadelphia will likely be included in these bans in the not too distant future, so best to establish best practices early to be prudent.

 
Your firm leadership should be standing on the right side of this issue. Your clients and prospective employees will care. Get on the front foot to establish yourself as an employer who is actively addressing these issues.
 

(NOTE: This article is not to be taken as legal advice. The author is not a practicing attorney, nor does the author purport to be. For any legal question or issue related to these topics in your state or city, you should seek advice from a practicing attorney.)

“I hire for cultural fit. It’s the most important thing to me. How do I test for that?”

Every one of my clients talks about the importance of organizational cultural fit when they add new BD and marketing professionals into their teams. It is one of the first things they tell me when we talk about a potential hire.

Consideration for an organizational cultural fit is one of the hardest pieces to be successful on when hiring a BD or marketing professional; or, in fact, any professional. What exactly is cultural fit and how do you successfully hire a professional who is culturally aligned to your firm?

Cultural fit is hard to define. At its core, it’s about ensuring all of your professionals share the same beliefs and values that your firm and leadership have established; put simply, it’s “the way things get done around here”. In some firms, it means hiring entrepreneurial professionals in an environment that encourages creativity and risk-taking. In some firms, it means hiring professionals who thrive on competition in a driven and hierarchical environment. In some firms, it means hiring professionals with a more formal and conservative style in a firm where convention and tradition is key. Importantly, each firm is different, so each hire will be different.

Before we address “what” to ask, the “how” is key. Adjusting how you interview (see my previous blog on this topic) and really doing away with an overly formal process allows you and your candidate the opportunity to speak, listen and share. People are unique individuals who have points of view, stories to tell, a particular type of sense of humor, and different perspectives to relate on work and life. Getting into these things allows you to really see what a person is like. The technical questions need to be asked, of course. But then cultural questions - like these below - help you consider whether you are culturally aligned:

• What career moment did you learn from that you would pass on to a more junior employee?
• If you had an extra day in the work week, what innovative topic would you explore?
• What would your close colleagues share about your approach?
• In your ideal team who do you need above, beside and below you to perform at your best?
• What’s your reaction to the saying, “Do first, ask for forgiveness later”?

These types of questions tell you information about what is important to that professional, and why it’s important to them. They also touch on their journey and their upcoming goals and – dare I say – dreams. You will then have a much clearer picture about your professional and whether your values are aligned. 

“I’m a solo marketer at a small firm and I’m hungry for the ‘big law’ experience. What do I need to be aware of with this career move?”

I love working with solo marketing and BD professionals who come from smaller firms. Why? They are typically resourceful, relationship-minded and client-centric professionals. They have also had to be solutions-focused in an environment with minimal marketing and BD leadership, and with little to no resources under and around them.

But I find some of the small firm solo marketing professionals in my network feel that they may not have what it takes to go up against their bigger firm peers. And yet, many big law firms seek out skills unique to smaller firm candidates.

There are certainly pros and cons to working in both small and large firms. As an eternal optimist, I focus on the pros, but I am aware of the cons. After this, my best advice to the solo marketers seeking a bigger firm is to leverage the things that make you different to your competition (not the things that make you the same). Firms like different. They embrace that perspective and seek it out. And, if you are a great cultural fit for them, then it often does not matter what size of firm you are coming from.

As a person who spent her early years in smaller firms before also getting hungry to work in the bigger firms, consider this as you contemplate your ‘big law’ move:

• As the solo marketer, you will have likely either set, or helped to set, the strategic direction of the marketing and BD effort at your firm. Think about all the consensus building you had to do for that. Use this example when interviewing to show your input and influence.
• Think about what resources you have had to use to help you do your role. For example, some of the administrative professionals, or outside vendors, or firm consultants. You will have helped to manage those people. You can talk about your skills in delegating and managing on a shoestring budget to get results.
• Consider which partners you have worked with. (Likely all of them.) From named equity partners to executive committee partners to junior partners. Each has a different focus and a different set of BD goals. Working within all of this shows you can flex your style and capability and then execute for different causes. 

​