Corporate Law Firms Treading on New Ground

Conventional wisdom has always been that the practice of law is relatively impervious to the cyclical swings in the economy.

/CEPACLaw.com/Kevin Quinlan/ 04/17/2009

Conventional wisdom has always been that the practice of law is relatively impervious to the cyclical swings in the economy.  Many of the country's most established corporate firms have been caught by surprise and are having to downsize or rethink their hiring of new associates fresh out of law school for the first time in many years.

This downturn is reminiscent of the dot-com bubble burst leading to the 2001 recession.  In a similar turn of events many corporate firms diversified too heavily into those areas of practice that were dependant upon the frenzy of activity driving the market.  There is obviously less of a need for advice on regulatory issues, real estate syndications, employment law, mergers and acquisitions, the sale and trading of securities, financial matters, and the associated tax implications.  This time around the bubble is based on real estate and the credit issues caused by sub prime loans and derivatives based on those loans.  Attorneys have been laid off in record numbers and new hires are being postponed.

In both cases partners had seen a decline or a plateau in income growth over the prior 3-5 years, a bellwether for layoffs, hiring freezes and potential exodus from firms by top clients and lawyers.  

The first priority for these firms should be to work to secure every existing client that they currently serve by offering value added services and by working closely with their clients to find out in what areas they can improve client satisfaction.  Discuss ways to reduce costs for your clients and make sure that they are aware of your proactive stance.  

Once you have addressed your current roster, the next step should be to start the new business development process.  Relationship building is a long-term process and the cost to acquire new clients is always greater than keeping existing ones.  Now is not the time to reduce marketing budgets and the fact is that it has become increasingly more competitive to gain new clients than ever before.  For many firms advertising is anathema to their corporate culture, but now is the time to adapt or potentially perish.

In spite of the typical resistance to advertising, there have been some high level law and accounting firms that have taken advantage of YouTube.  Their goal is to personalize their firms and debunk current myths for the purposes of hiring, image building and to clearly show that they have not been left in the dust of history.  While the chances are that these videos will never go viral, it is still a clear indication that times have changed and adapting the appropriate medium and message is a way to keep pace.

Perhaps your firm should look carefully into a broad based approach that includes both online and offline marketing strategies that will plant the seeds to grow your business now and into the future.

Tweet This Post 

Social Media Tags:  new business development, client satisfaction, mergers and acquisitions, sub prime loans, real estate syndications, employment law, tax implications, regulatory issues,