Peer to Peer Magazine

Spring 2015

The quarterly publication of the International Legal Technology Association

Issue link: https://epubs.iltanet.org/i/480238

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PEER TO PEER: THE QUARTERLY MAGA ZINE OF ILTA 48 FEATURES hiring people (in-house or outsourced) with complementary strengths to provide top- notch, full-service marketing departments for lawyers. EXPANDED RESPONSIBILITIES When marketing departments are small, it forces the marketers to focus on "fires" — alerts to be sent, webinars to be scheduled, proposals to be submitted, etc. With more support, however, the leaders of the department can focus on more strategic elements of marketing. Many people fail to understand the full scope of the marketing function. Marketing has long been described as the "Four P's": product, price, place (distribution) and promotion. In the past (and, for some lawyers, still today), the focus was on the last "P." Promotion relates investment, functional specialists now exist in an array of areas including: • Business development coaches • Communications professionals • Event coordinators • Graphic designers • Marketing technology/CRM professionals • Market research professionals • PR directors • Pricing specialists • Proposal managers • Social media experts • Writers Each of these different functions requires different skills, so it is unrealistic to expect one person to handle them all with equal capability. As a result, firms are In 1986, I was asked to write an article for the National Law Journal on an emerging position: the law firm marketer. The piece was titled, "Firm Development Mobilized by a 'New Breed' of Resource." What a difference the years have made. Where law firms then had but one marketer, regardless of the size of the firm, they now have 5, 15 or 150, depending on the practice or number of lawyers. Although the law firm marketing professional is no longer a new breed, the responsibilities and functions continue to evolve. As the departments have grown, so have their scope of responsibilities and, dare I say, influence. Let's explore some of the biggest changes in the role of marketing professionals in law firms. FUNCTIONAL SPECIALISTS In the past (and still in many smaller law firms), the marketer was expected to handle everything related to marketing and business development. However, in larger firms or those willing to make the

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