Meet Norm Rubenstein, Partner at Zeughauser Group
If you’re going to talk about Who’s Who in legal marketing, Norm Rubenstein’s name would have to be one of the first to come up. It’s not just that he has been the chief marketing officer of three international law firms, or that he is one of the original partners of Zeughauser Group, a highly respected consulting group to the world’s most prominent law firms. Norm served as president of the Mid-Atlantic Chapter (before we were called the Capital Chapter) and of the National Law Firm Marketing Association (a predecessor to LMA International) and was one of the first inductees to the LMA Hall of Fame.
It’s hard to believe that someone so prominent in the legal marketing field would have come into it accidentally.
“In the late ’80s I don’t know that many of us were aware of the opportunities that existed in law firms,” said Norm. He had been doing marketing and publishing for 10 years at Edison Electric Institute, one of the nation’s largest trade associations, following a five-year academic career.
“The idea of being a legal marketer couldn’t have been farther from my thoughts,” he said. “A friend asked me to interview at his law firm. I ended up finding the opportunity interesting and different than the kind of marketing I had been doing.” Several career moves later, he joined Peter Zeughauser and the other founding partners of Zeughauser Group.
Norm holds B.A. and M.A. degrees from Tulane University, and pursued a doctorate at the University of Virginia, where he also taught for 5 years. He writes extensively on legal marketing and management topics and frequently speaks at industry conferences. My conversation with Norm was different from any other profile interview I’ve done. He spoke deliberately and articulately as if he were teaching a class.
Based on his experience, Norm’s advice is invaluable to legal marketers, so what follows are his views on the changing state of the industry and how marketing professionals can adjust. I’m sure it’s just the tip of the iceberg that is Norm Rubenstein.
Advice to Firms
- Now is the perfect time for law firm leadership to be thinking about whether their firms’ positioning is compelling and memorable. There’s far less distinction in the marketplace than one would hope to see. For marketers who recognize the opportunity, now is the time to capture clients’ attention in a way that’s compelling.
- Many lawyers are missing an opportunity to capitalize on institutional marketing. As they go out to grow existing relationships or to form new ones, they don’t think to use the language of their brand—to articulate how they can add value in a way that dovetails with the overall messaging of their firms. Attorneys need to reinforce their firm’s value proposition in daily conversation with clients and potential clients.
- There has been a shift in focus from branding to business development. I submit that it’s historically predictable. Every time you have a downturn in the economy, attorneys are motivated to pound the pavement, and firms place greater emphasis on in-person business development. In a boom economy, when the pendulum swings in the other direction, law firms are happy to fund ad campaigns and sponsorships and other forms of passive marketing. Firms that take an either/or approach instead of modifying their programs to have both get it wrong in either economy. Those that continue to invest in branding in a slow economy get more bang for their buck and retain greater name recognition.
- Most law firm marketing programs are not as effectively integrated as they need to be to capitalize on their investment. What we’re going to see over time is an increased integration of marketing, business development and sales so that all institutional marketing creates a backdrop for relationship-building.
- Law firms are not doing a good enough job with the professional development of legal marketing staff. It’s one of the first things they cut when times get tough, but now is not the time to grow stagnant. Training and networking activities for marketing staff bring energy and fresh thinking to the firm.
Advice to Legal Marketers
- You won’t get a second chance to make that first impression [with an attorney]. In order to be truly prepared you have to take the time to learn the substance of the work you are marketing. If you’re serving two or three practice groups, you need to make time to read the literature your attorneys and their clients are reading. Otherwise, you’ll be treated as an order taker and not a strategist.
- Master your communication skills. Attorneys place a high premium on the ability of their colleagues to express themselves. They’ll value you for being articulate.
- Master your project management skills. You won’t be judged solely on your ideas, but on your ability to implement those ideas.
- Over the last 15 years, we’ve seen law firms grow increasingly specialized. There’s an analogy within marketing departments. Large teams weren’t available in the past, and marketers had to be “generalists” or have an understanding of all aspects of the business. If you have a desire to specialize in business development or one aspect of legal marketing, there are certainly a lot of opportunities. However, if your aspiration is to be the CMO and run the show, then you have to have a comprehensive understanding of how marketing, business development and sales work together in order to support the strategic objectives of the firm and make a meaningful impact on revenue production.
- We’ve made great progress, but marketers need to be helping lawyers focus on their clients’ needs. The marketer’s role is to remind the lawyers that it’s not about the law firm; it’s about the client and achieving its objectives.
Profile written by Elaine Noble, principal of Noble Pursuits, a graphic design and branding firm in Warrenton, Va.