A few weeks ago I spoke to a group of directors of law firm marketing and business development at prominent firms in London as part of the Professional Services Marketing Group’s Directors’ Breakfast series.  It was a very switched-on group and their questions were inspired.  My topic was: Five Global Counsel Buying Trends Changing Law Firm Marketing and Business Development

The five trends:

1)     Global complexity and it’s effect on corporate buyers of legal services - law firm marketing and business development staff must help their law firms deliver concise information and streamlined services, as well as connect the dots across geographies -- making life easier for global counsel

2)     Focus of global corporate heads of legal on risk, compliance and controls (that's what it's all about today)

3)     Global counsel care about service nearly as much as technical skill (service is a big help in managing risk)

4)     Macro-economic trends that are changing legal services buying (primarily shift of growth and ownership)

5)     Global counsel are buying services from a widening range of providers (not just law firms)

The fact is, like the rest of the business world, law firm marketing and bd is far more demanding today.  You must constantly learn new skills, including project management and prioritization to manage the mushrooming workload.

My discussion of buying trends and how they are changing law firm marketing and business development moved quickly through a lot of information, connecting various points to arrive at the five big trends.  The info included:

• findings from top global in-house counsel studies and what they mean for law firms
• how global corporate law departments are changing the way they buy legal services
• anecdotes from discussions with chief legal officers and their teams around the world
• the global focus on compliance and its impact on law firm marketing & BD
• the impact of value-driven corporate legal functions on law firm marketing & BD
• the impact of growth in emerging markets on law firm marketing & BD
• practical steps to make your law firm marketing & BD respond to legal services buying trends

If you’d like to know more about the five global counsel buying trends, please feel free to contact me at eldance@ELDInternational.com