There are a lot of ways for attorneys to reach prospective and current clients, and the pandemic has only increased the importance of an all-hands-on-deck approach, as lawyers try to replace the face-to-face interactions that used to occur at lunches, networking events and conferences. A new survey of general counsel, conducted jointly by strategic communications firm Greentarget, legal consulting firm Zeughauser Group and B2B branding agency Right Hat LLC suggests that when the messaging is relevant, timely, novel and useful, a simple phone call will do the trick.  While law firms have gotten creative in their outreach and content production, the simplicity of a personal, relevant message goes a long way.  Norm Rubenstein observes that the fundamentals of marketing and business development have not changed. It really comes down to whether your content and service delivery are aligned with what the client wants. 

As clients look to drive down pricing, exert influence over team composition and evaluate potential new legal counsel, law firms have to ask themselves if the juice is worth the squeeze when it comes to many RFPs. The reality is that RFPs are now a constant presence in the marketing and business development process. But just because something is prevalent doesn’t mean it’s always in the best interests of the firm.

Mary K. Young notes that the prevalence of RFPs in recent years has increased, and not always with good effect. Department resources are finite. Firms should be very selective even if they are not using marketing resources. Knowing which RFPs are worth engaging on and which ones should be met with a hard pass isn’t always easy. 

And while RFPs are a necessary evil for law firms, Kent Zimmerman notes that many firms also have room for improvement to set priorities on which ones they invest the firm’s resources in answering based on which are more likely to lead to work that uses the firm for its strengths and commands its rate.

Zeughauser Group's 2020 Pocket Guide to the American Lawyer Rankings of the Am Law 200 by Profits Per Equity Partner and by Value Per Lawyer; The A-List; The Global 100; The Global 200; The China 45; The Asia 50; and The Corporate Scorecard.

You can download the ZGuide here.

If you would like a hard copy of the 2020 ZGuide, please send an email to zgadmin@consultzg.com with "2020 ZGuide Request" in the subject line and provide your mailing address.

Marketing can and should be a critical partner in the strategic planning process from inception to implementation. The goal of every law firm should be leadership status in the markets in which it has chosen to compete. Most law firms recognize that they need strategic plans to help them achieve their leadership aspirations. Mary K Young discusses strategic planning as a process through which the firm identifies its most important markets, agrees to a vision for achieving leadership in those markets, and develops and implements a plan for achieving the vision. i.e. how a firm decides where it wants to go and how it will get there.