Trending: Turnover of Leading Law Firm CMBDCOs

CMBDCOs = chief marketing/business development/communications officer

The demand for experienced, proven law firm CMBDCOs has increased due to intensified competition; law firms’ growing size, scope and sophistication; dwindling client retention rates; growing signs of recession; the proliferation of requests for proposals; general counsels’ demands for more predictability and diversity; lawyers’ expectations and impatience; and retiring baby boomers (some of whom are or were anti-CMBDCO, skeptics or naysayers). @Michael Rynowecer, @SilviaHodgesSilverstein, @JulieSavarino

Below are eight related factors contributing to the recent merry-go-round of CMBDCOs.

1. There is often a disconnect between initial short- and long-term expectations and deliverables for the CMBDCO role. Often, firm leaders understand the need for a proven CMBDCO and a related department, yet many other (often powerful) partners’ opinions of the value, focus and emphasis of the role, department(s) and staff members can vary dramatically.@DebraBaker, Esq.
2. Many lawyers still think marketing/business development/communications (MBDC) results should happen quickly, when, in fact, the average sales cycle for buying legal services is quite lengthy. So, often the gap is vast between the firm’s and the lawyers’ expectations and what’s realistic. 
3. Given that most of us who are lawyers tend to be quite skeptical and judgmental, many lawyers think MBDC are easy, simple and nothing but common sense, when, in fact, there is now an over-30-year body of science and information that proves what works best. Successful MBDC takes knowledge, experience, consistency and adequate staffing to attend to the myriad of details. Yet, many law firms lack adequate and optimal MBDC staff, which can lead to mistakes and burnout. The reluctance of some law firms to invest in optimal MBDC staff is one of the factors contributing to CMBDCO turnover.
4. To get consistent results from the CMBDCO and MBDC departments, a strategic balance of the right people, processes, procedures and up-to-date technologies is needed. This requires adequate and consistent investment and regular reassessments by firm leaders. Yet, due to time demands and competing priorities, creating and maintaining this balance remains a continual leadership and management challenge. 
5. Firms that do not invest in the above and in key strategic initiatives initiated by the CMBDCO are some of those losing their proven CMBDCOs to other firms – firms that have infrastructure and are willing to invest. 
6. The return on investment (ROI) and results all MBDC efforts deliver to the firm are often unclear, especially for broadcast-type marketing and communications efforts and investments (which still have a place in brand building). Yet, too few law firms require MBDC staff members to track their professional time or engage in formal process improvement. In many firms, MBDC results are not regularly tracked, measured and formally reported to firm leaders and owners. MBDC ROI should be communicated at least annually within the firm. Without doing so, the MBDC functions are often viewed internally as expensive overhead rather than as a profit center.
7. Experienced and proven CMBDCOs are and can be revenue generators for law firms, and some originate two, three or five times their annual salary. But as is true in any profession, some are better and more capable than others. The law firm CMBDCOs who produce the best results usually have experience in the legal industry, consulting or other industries and are both strategic and hands-on in getting things done.
8. Finally, one of the major complaints law firm clients have about their outside lawyers and law firms is they are “too reactive,” i.e., they do not anticipate clients’ needs nor regularly initiate unprompted communication or offer innovative solutions. Ironically, this too-reactive complaint is also a major complaint many lawyers have of their in-house MBDC departments.

In response, in addition to CMBDCO turnover, some law firms regularly reassess their entire MBDC function, and some have reorganized it, created new positions, split up and/or rebranded their traditional CMBDCO function in order to be more streamlined and client-facing. For more information about the changes some firms have made, read this article.

NOTE: In 2017, the average tenure of a Big Law CMBDCO was approximately five and a half years. @JenniferScalzi

 

About the Author

Julie Savarino holds an MBA, a JD, and is a licensed attorney. Over her 30+ year career, she has helped build leading law firm MBDC departments and assisted law firms, lawyers and other professional services providers to win new clients, new work and generate millions in new revenues. She is known as one of the world’s leading client development and service strategists, RFP and proposal coach and content producer for lawyers, law firms, and other professional services providers and firms.  She has successfully served in-house in client and business development positions for the law firms of Dickinson Wright and Butzel Long and for the accounting firm Grant Thornton. Connect with Julie on LinkedIn or contact her at +1 (734) 668-7008, Julie@BusDevInc.com, @JulieSavarino.

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