About five years ago, when the opportunity to move from agency to legal marketing presented itself, I spoke to a friend whose sister was a partner at a large Milwaukee firm, asking him what she thought about the profession. "Don't bother applying," he later told me. "My sister doesn't think you'd like it. High turnover, unsatisfying work — printing brochures, arranging cocktail receptions, managing guest lists for client entertainment events. That's about it."
Fortunately, I was still curious enough to take the first interview, because my soon-to-be boss painted a vision of a much different marketing department. Yes, the traditional roles of marketing were still there, and I began my new job working with caterers and producing "canned" brochures, but I also began working directly with attorneys and attorney teams, coaching them on methods to move beyond reactive legal services and toward proactive client service. My counterparts and I began helping to build multidisciplinary teams that researched clients' businesses and industries and sought to fulfill individual unidentified or unaddressed needs. We began to rein in the traditional client entertainment event and emphasize client visits to talk business and strategy instead. We started working with the lawyers to change their primary mission from "handling client matters" to "delivering long-term value." We ejected pre-printed brochures and moved to customized analyses of clients' particular legal needs and how we are able to meet them. The title for my position morphed, from "Client Relationship Manager" to "Business Development Consultant." Now, lawyers want to talk with my fellow "BDCs" and me about their interactions with their clients and, instead of simply dictating next steps, they often ask us what we think they should do.
And I haven't spoken with a caterer in years.
Across Wisconsin and the nation, legal marketers are evolving into business professionals who play an active role in client development and management. No longer social secretaries who are seen and not heard, marketing professionals take the lead in business development and are respected for it. It’s an important advancement for our profession and for our firms.
I guess I must have come along at the right time. Being an observer and participant in a key transformation of the legal industry has been fun and exciting, and I look forward to the next five years and more. In fact, I've recently moved over to the communications side of my department, where I can use my experience as a legal business developer to compose customized documents that combine my firm's legal capabilities with its client-by-client service protocols. Now that we’re operating like a twenty-first century service organization, it’s time to get that message out.
Don't get me wrong — I'll always enjoy planning a good party; I just don't have much time for it anymore.
David Wise is a senior writer and business development consultant at Quarles & Brady LLP. Contact David.