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5 essentials to put your law firm's marketing plan in to action

By Douglas McPherson

Douglas is Director at Size 10 ½ Boots, a business development agency that works solely with professional service firms.Tenandahalf help their clients grow by winning more new clients and by generating higher fees from their existing clients. Due to their innovative methods, the marketing of private client services is now an area in which Tenandahalf lead the market.

1. Keep everything joined up

If you are to implement your plan successfully it needs to be directly relevant to every part of your business plan.

Your fee earners need to see:

• All of your key objectives are tackled
• That departmental objectives match the firm’s
• The overall financial targets match the sum total expected of each department
• That departmental targets are directly linked to individual billing targets
• The required activity targets match the financial targets

Most importantly your fee earners need to see all of the firm’s practice areas are involved and that, if this is going to work, they are expected to act in the interest of the firm, not to work in their own silos.

 

2. Nobody escapes

One of the easiest ways to derail the implementation of any plan is to leave yourself open to being asked “Well, they don’t do it so why should I?” 

There’s no credible comeback and once that particular elephant’s in the room, it’s impossible to persuade it to leave.

Everyone has to be involved in the implementation process in some way.  Everyone has to be accountable for delivering their part and the way those accountabilities are measured has to be the same for everyone.

Make any special dispensations to save difficult conversations or preclude anyone and you are create excuses for some to dip in and out as it suits them.  This will affect both engagement and financial return.

 

3. Clear personal accountabilities

To implement a plan properly everyone involved needs to know exactly what they’re doing and that doesn’t mean woolly suggestions, it means clearly spelled out targets, sectors, activities and timelines.

Create a working environment without any confusion and you will create an environment that works.

 

4. Adopt (and circulate) SMART targets

I don’t want to teach granny to suck eggs (or whatever that appalling phrase is) but I feel duty bound to remind you that if you are going to set goals they need to be:

• Specific (as in clear personal accountabilities)
• Measurable (up next!)
• Achievable
• Realistic
• Time-bound

 

I won’t insult you by offering definitions for each!  They are completely self-explanatory. 

 

5. What isn't measured isn't done

Alongside financial targets there needs to be performance indicators.  What do you need to do, how often do you need to do it, how many times are you going to need to repeat those activities if they are to bring in the success required to realise your financial targets?

If it takes 10 phone calls to fix 3 coffees to get one pitch opportunity then the targets need to start with the 10 phone calls, not with the proposal and definitely not with a number preceded with a £.

Those performance indicators then need to be added to a simple dashboard; somewhere your fee earners can record their activities quickly and easily.  This will allow you to monitor progress continually so you know everyone on the team is fulfilling their personal responsibilities.

 

 

Did you find this post helpful? Do you you struggle with marketing ? Feel free to leave your questions and comments below. 

 

 

To find your next legal role, search and apply on TotallyLegal today  

 

US law firms make further inroads into London

By Guy Adams

Guy Adams is a qualified solicitor who has worked within the legal industry for the past 12 years. Guy co-heads our EMEA Private Practice team and focuses on Partner recruitment, strategic team moves and office openings. Guy recruits across various practice areas and has worked in Australia, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Hungary, Italy, Middle East, Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Russia & CIS, Singapore, Spain, the Offshore jurisdictions and in the UK. 

Whilst the UK top 50 law firms shifted their focus somewhat away from London for the 2012 partner promotions rounds, senior lawyers with US firms in the capital appear to be fairing slightly better.

Although 2012 was a varied beast for different firms, most would agree that the financial year did not deliver all that was promised by the market at the end of 2011. In terms of partner numbers generally within London, statistics from the Solicitors Regulation Authority showed that this market uncertainty translated into a drop of 153 positions (up until 20 June), compared with 2,100 partner positions having been created in the two years prior.

For the top 50 UK firms, as well as partners leaving the partnership voluntarily or otherwise, the number of partner promotions in London in 2012 also fell by around 20% year-on-year. Interestingly, the total number of global partner promotions made by these firms stayed relatively constant between 2011 and 2012, indicating a shift of focus (deliberate or unintentional) by these firms to regions outside of London. Outside the top 50, the picture was even bleaker, with many firms reporting significantly lower numbers of partner promotions in London; some in the region of 70% less compared to last year.

On the other hand, partner promotions for US firms in London saw a modest resurgence in 2012, increasing from 54 last year to 61 this year (with the majority of the US firms having now reported their promotions). This 13% increase in London, coupled with a global 5% decrease in the total number of partners made up at US firms, meant that London accounted this year for an average of 12% of all partner promotions for US firms (up from last year’s 10%). In fact, only six US firms have decreased the number of partners that they have made up in London year-on-year, whereas fourteen US firms have made up the same amount as, or more than, last year.

It is also good to note that a little over 30% of the partners promoted in this round at US firms are female; not quite at the 50% level that some firms have stated they would like to achieve, but certainly better than the 27% average that the UK top 20 firms are currently promoting.

Of course, percentage comparisons are all well and good, and in real numbers UK firms are still promoting substantially more actual numbers of partners in London than their US brethren. However, it is perhaps fair to say that the above statistics are yet another example of how US firms are making further inroads into the London market, albeit a little at a time.

 

Legal job opportunities in the ABS market

By Dominic Higgins

Dominic Higgins graduated from University College London with a Law degree with French Law in 2005. His academic background covers a number of areas of law including contract, property, criminal law and international/EU law. Dominic has worked as a legal adviser in the UK, Spain and South Africa and has a particular expertise in immigration and nationality law. He writes for Contact Law on a range of legal issues. 

The brave new dawn of Alternative Business Structures is upon us, and with the news earlier this month that Direct Line Group could be the latest major player to enter the fray, many solicitors are wondering about the consequences of this new legal landscape.

To date 33 Alternative Business Structures have been approved by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority, which is the body responsible for reviewing applications under the Legal Services Act 2007. Around one-third of these are either personal injury firms, or companies selling services into the insurance market.

Legal sector sees drop in retirements at Partner level

 

Study highlights:

• Number of partners retiring each year has fallen by a third in the last 15 years
• Total number of solicitors has risen at twice the rate of partners over same period

 

One in three (33 per cent) lawyers within private practice think their career progression is being stifled by a lack of opportunity within their firms, according to research conducted by international legal recruitment specialists Laurence Simons.* 

In a survey of more than 200 lawyers working in private practice, one in seven (15 per cent) feel their pursuit of partnership is being hindered by the reduced number of partners retiring in their firm. This indicates that the 30 per cent decrease in partner retirement and those leaving the profession each year (down from 12 per cent to 8 per cent) over the last 15 years** is having a knock-on effect on the career paths of those throughout the legal sector. Just seven per cent of lawyers specified ‘a lack of colleagues moving to work for other firms’, as their rationalisation as to why their climb up the legal ladder has decelerated.

The Rise of the Mid Market Law Firm...continued...

By Gary Weiss

Gary Weiss covers the appointment of Partners, Associates and Counsels within international and boutique law firms across North America and abroad. Gary Weiss is based in New York City and is part of the specialist international legal recruitment consultancy, Laurence Simons. 

Continued....

It is very important that anyone that you work with as a recruiter, whether that person is the Legal Recruiting Coordinator of an international law firm or the Managing Partner of the smallest boutique, get to know you on a personal basis if possible, and better yet, understand that the two of you are partners and have a mutually established goal - to find the best talent which fits the needs of the firm. The goal of a good recruiter is not only to fill a law firm's needs and make placements; it is to build a long lasting relationship. 

Insight into the legal jobs market

By Kate Tregoning,  

Managing Director, Michael Page Legal, Policy & Offshore

Kate is a specialist in recruitment services having worked in the industry for more than 20 years covering legal, accounting, finance and secretarial disciplines. In her current role, Kate is responsible for recruiting partners into US and UK law firms, as well as running the Legal, Policy and Offshore businesses for Michael Page International. Managing Director, Michael Page Legal, Policy & Offshore 

While incremental hiring will be thin on the ground for many organisations, there is staff turnover in some sectors of the legal market which will drive some consistent recruitment activity in the Canary Wharf area.

Overview of the legal jobs market can be divided into the following three key areas:

Private practice

The buoyancy of the legal recruitment market for private practice roles continues to be dependant on sector. We are noticing a consistent demand for quality candidates in areas such as intellectual property, information technology, pension funds, asset finance, capital markets and international projects. Demand for real estate, on the other hand, remains stagnant. 

Canary Wharf is a business hub for many large firms offering specialists roles in areas experiencing buoyancy so recruitment prospects are optimistic. Another trend we are seeing is that many firms in the area have the fiscal capacity to grow into larger offices giving them advantage over their smaller competitors. 

Financial services

Asset managers and insurance companies are offsetting much of the downturn by implementing long-term strategies to recruit the highest quality candidates for the future. The impact on Canary Wharf is that recruitment into the larger banks has slowed in the second half of 2011 and much of the recruitment into asset management firms is taking place in Mayfair and the City.

Industry and commerce

In challenging times the industry and commerce market has proven itself to be the most resilient and stable. In 2009, many companies in this area took a long-term view of market, avoiding boom and bust strategies to recruitment and supporting staff retention in their legal divisions. As a result we are likely to see recruitment demand based on natural attrition. When these roles become available, the most attractive candidates will be those with direct sector experience and/or strong commercial intellectual property, and information technology experience. 

Unlike the other sectors, industry and commerce does not have a central industry hub with many of its large businesses establishing themselves outside London, particularly towards the North and West. However, Canary Wharf is home to a number of large businesses who have teams present in the area including energy and commodity markets so we should see some movement in this sector.