At least 20 Am Law 200 firms have brought on new chief marketing officers this year. At the same time, salaries for in-house legal marketing pros in major markets have shot up by as much as 20% since 2020, according to Calibrate Legal recruiter Jennifer Johnson, who conducts periodic compensation surveys.
Maverick Search Consulting CEO Ren Tucker, who like Johnson specializes in placing non-lawyer professionals, said 2021 “has been incredibly busy.” He added, “We’re getting more asks to do searches than we can agree to.” “Law firms race to be second,” one CMO told me. “If you have a new idea, the first question is ‘Who else is doing it?’” The CMO requested anonymity to speak candidly about the relatively small world of law firm marketing.
Culture is a factor as well. Law firms tend to divide into two camps, with lawyers on one side and everyone else on the other. It should come as no surprise that marketing pros prefer firms where they don’t feel like second-class citizens.
this is terrible news