Some things never change
This year’s spring Managing Partner’s Forum, in Atlanta in late April, reminded me of how much things have changed and how much things have stayed the same in the 30-plus years I have been involved with law firm marketing. While there was a lot of talk about social networking, and particularly LinkedIn, there was still a lot of discussion on the part of managing partners about how difficult it is to lead groups of attorneys.
If you can imagine managing partners grousing about how difficult it is to get their partners to do what they are asked (told?) to do, then you can realize the daunting nature of the task for law firm marketing professionals in trying to get anything done that involves timely attention from a partner.
At the end of the day, it became clear that lawyers, like most other people, tend to do best what they “perceive” that they are paid for the most. And, as long as the billable hour appears to be what is respected the most in law firms, that is exactly what lawyers will spend their time doing.
Is there a lesson somewhere in this? Let me know what you think!
Comments
Jay,
While there is definietly truth in your premise I remain awed at the forward process law firm marketing has made over the years. When you and I crossed paths some 20 years ago law firms were barely able to wrap their arms around creating a brochure. Of course your ground breaking work with Howrey and Grahm & James helped pave the way for a sea change!
Thank you Merry and very good to hear from you. And, yes I too am proud of the forward progress that has been made over the past 30 years. But make no mistake, law firms are still on the trailing edge of marketing innovation and as long as problems exist in attitudes about leadership, compensation, management and investment the progress will continue to be, in my mind at least, painfully slow. Lawyer bashing is waste of time and smart marketers know that, but they also know that the battle for the minds of the buyers has to begin at home and that is where I see is the "Mother" of all battles.
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About the Author
President and CEO of Jaffe PR for the past 30 years plus, Jay M. Jaffe is widely known in the legal industry as an innovator of legal marketing services and a proponent of the critical importance of a law firm’s Public Reputation. He is a driving force in the profession, pushing the creative and technology envelope every step of the way, and encouraging law firms to take advantage of all of today’s Public Reputation tools.
Read my full bio.