The Roles of Legal Business Development
Jobs in legal business development are rooted in the practice of law. They require deep familiarity with legal and professional services, the underlying economics and business models related to firms and the industries they serve, and a high degree of familiarity with business development including sales strategies, marketing, and practice group management. Managing partners look for professional business developers with experience and expertise that supports the firm’s practices, horizontally and horizontally, and positions lawyers to achieve their individual objectives .
It is not by accident that most legal business development professionals have a background in law. Understandably, they find it tedious to identify opportunities that are a good fit – much less to execute against an ill-defined strategy. Well-chosen legal business development professionals can help set the stage for success at both the firm and individual level. In order to be effective as a conduit between the firm and the market – and increase top line revenue – a legal business development professional first needs to understand the business of law.
Skills Required for Legal Business Development
To thrive in legal business development, professionals must have a unique set of skills that combine an understanding of the law with the ability to navigate the business of law. First and foremost, effective legal business development requires excellent communication skills. Whether in written or spoken form, the ability to convey complex legal concepts clearly and persuasively is crucial. In addition, since a significant portion of legal business development involves negotiating and persuading clients and other stakeholders, strong negotiation skills are also necessary.
Strategic thinking is another critical component of legal business development. Professionals in this field must be able to identify opportunities for growth, analyze market trends, and develop and implement strategies that align with the business goals of the firm. The ability to think critically and make data-driven decisions is essential.
Legal knowledge is, of course, the foundation of any career in legal business development. A solid understanding of the law and how it applies to the firm’s practice areas is essential for developing effective strategies and marketing materials.
Finally, legal business development requires strong networking and relationship-building skills. Individuals in this field need to connect with clients, prospects, and referral sources on a personal level in order to build trust and foster long-term business relationships.
Professional and Academic Background
Traditional education routes for legal business development professionals are few and far between. A Bachelor’s degree in Marketing, Business or similar area is common, with some advanced degrees, such as the MBA, preferred by employers. Employers also prefer applicants with two to four years of experience in a business development sales role in another field. While a legal education is an obvious plus for law firms, it is not a requirement. Some marketers have found a niche as the go-to person for changes in the legal publishing or technology fields that impact lawyers and endless articles about legal issues. Keeping up with publications like Above the Law and JD Journal is key. Pursuing and maintaining professional certifications such as the Legal Marketing Association’s certification in legal marketing and Business Development Professional certification shows a commitment to this evolving profession.
Potential for Career Advancement
As the role of legal business development has expanded and become more integral to law firm growth and client retention, a wider array of opportunities in specific areas of demand has been created. Even within the business development field, the legal profession offers a diverse set of roles and career paths. Essential functions of legal business development include client service, competitive intelligence, marketing communications, marketing and communications strategy, public relations strategy and execution, leadership communications, cross-selling initiatives, proposal development, business intelligence, and practice growth management. All of these disciplines are vital to the success of law firms and their lawyers.
The future therefore looks bright for candidates in legal business development .
Specific opportunities are emerging in the areas of marketing strategy and execution; legal marketing communications; proposal, presentation and interview coaching; the practice and art of rainmaking – the science of client development; succession planning; education and training; project management consulting; sales target and goal setting systems; and customer relationship management systems. The potential for advancement is great. There are opportunities to specialize in one or more of these areas, to manage teams or divisions, to run practice groups, to become a chief marketing officer (CMO), to aspire to the title of business development executive or officer, or to pursue cross training or multiple discipline career tracks.
The Legal Business Development Job Market
A legal business development career search requires specific strategies for today’s job market. Small and mid-size law firms and companies may not have the financial or other resources available to their large law firm or corporate counterparts. So why do large law firms hire legal marketers in droves?
For starters, large law firms spend a significant amount of time and money supporting initiatives that are generally farmed out to marketing consultants. Do you know what this means? It means there is no shortage of work for new legal marketers.
If you are in a down market, or one that is changing so fast that you have some completing to do, here’s something important to note. Rarely has there been a shortage of opportunities in the legal business development field.
So how do you go about finding or securing a position from the myriad of opportunities? Here’s what we suggest:
Job boards: Jobsonline.com, Monster.com, and other targeted sites may be other sources for job leads. However, these are likely to be your least successful options. Low-cost advertisements on these sites attract a horde of applicants. (Almost every Monday morning you can find law firm postings at the boards, especially here in Texas.) Develop a great resume with your skills, accomplishments and education.
Networking: There are several LinkedIn groups that are dedicated to legal marketing. Turn your search results into a network to jump-start your search. There are also organizations dedicated to legal marketing. Making the effort to join these organizations can give you access to opportunities you might otherwise miss. I encourage you to go through my previous blogs for more information and for links to organizations related to legal business development.
Your current law firm: Your current firm is often a good source for opportunities. A great attitude, a broad network and legal knowledge can often give you a great head start on recruiting.
Staffing agencies: HeadHunters can be a good source of opportunities. While they frequently work on a contingency basis, it is common for them to work on a preferred relationship basis with clients. In this case, they are looking for people who have unique characteristics supported by their skill sets.
Legal marketing managers are highly sought after. Many are recruited directly from law schools across the country. Firms are looking for managers with business development acumen, knowledge of the practice of law, human resource aptitude and general business knowledge.
On average, legal marketing managers in mid-sized firms can expect to earn $70-90K, with some older established managers earning six figures!
For marketers, similar opportunities exist within public sector organizations, private companies and Big Four companies.
Pros and Cons of Legal Business Development
The challenges and rewards of the profession are numerous. In the beginning, professionals in legal business development typically feel as though they are among the first to implement change. As the demand for professionals in legal business development has steadily increased, this feeling is lessening, but the challenge remains: How do I justify my position and my salary? What can I do to help partners understand and embrace what I bring to the table?
We have touched extensively on the challenges. The rewards of a position in legal business development can be life-changing. A successful professional will have an opportunity to work with leadership to implement creative change. He or she can help implement and demonstrate efficiencies that help attorneys focus their time on the business of the law, i.e. , billable activities. A professional in legal business development is a partner and advisor to the attorneys in his or her firm.
As for the profession, legal business development has already changed the legal industry. As competition increases and firms are forced to do more with less, the profession will continue to grow in prominence. Legal marketers in general are changing the way law firms operate in a myriad of positive ways. While we see the evidence of this in a number of ways such as via diversity initiatives, recruitment programs, training, etc., revenue generation is where legal marketing/j business development professionals have excelled. From position to position, they are learning how to identify opportunities, foster relationships and create revenue-generating systems that continually increase revenue for their organizations.