This month’s Member Spotlight features Ron Currie, Director of Marketing at Gowling Lafleur Henderson LLP.
How did you get started in legal marketing?
I did my MBA at Queen’s University and, knowing that I wasn’t a financial guy, I responded to a marketing co-ordinator posting at Borden & Elliot [now Borden Ladner Gervais LLP]. I had an excellent rapport with the Director, who wanted to upgrade the position with someone who had marketing education and experience. Part of my role would be building relationships. I was attracted also to the need to support the lawyers in their relationship building. The role wasn’t just reading sales graphs and monthly reports, and that appealed to me.
How has your career progressed since then?
I have been in law firm marketing for 14 years. I stayed at Borden & Elliot for four and a half years, picking up the ball as best I could when the Director left six months after I arrived. Then I joined Miller Thomson LLP during a period of expansion from two offices and 125 lawyers to eight offices and about 350 lawyers. My activities focussed on building the foundation of the marketing function, getting the lawyers accustomed to the level of service they could expect, and creating toolkits and materials to support them. I joined Gowlings as Director of Marketing in 2003. The firm was at the tail end of a number of mergers, and there was a lot of internal marketing structure and relationship building with the professionals that needed to be done.
What do you love about your role at Gowlings?
I really hit it off with the executive team here, which is what really attracted me to the firm. I love the freedom of movement within a law firm. There are more entrepreneurial opportunities here than in large corporations. Despite the challenge of getting professional organizations to buy into some things, I enjoy trying to find the right balance between marketing and business development, and between the individual and the brand. We sell services, but we also sell people. We often have to coach and provide objective information to intelligent professionals to help them get the most out of their BD efforts.
What do you enjoy doing when you’re not at work?
I have two worlds – this and two young kids. When I’m not at work, I spend the rest of the time with them. I’m newly married (in the last three years), so it’s all about family and kids when I’m not at work. When I get around to it, I’m an avid runner and I love to golf.
When did you join the LMA and what advice would you offer to new members of the organization?
I joined the LMA in 1994 on the recommendation of my Director. At that time, the LMA was the only association of its kind. It offered a great way to get connected and network with others doing this kind of work, and to get a good sense of what was happening across the industry. The meetings, publications and online resources give you a better idea of the scope of what this work entails and what others have done that can educate your efforts.
The industry has changed tremendously. It is now a highly competitive, international business. If you’re new and trying to figure it all out, speak with your lawyers, starting with the partners. Find out what their goals are and what they need help with so that you can build bridges and create a relationship. Relationships are very important internally as they allow the lawyers to build trust about your abilities. Once you have this trust, you can start giving them more daring and useful ideas.