Law Firm Marketing Brief

A few weeks ago we noted the slowdown in law firm mergers this year, particularly the mega-deals that had become routine in recent years. But while most BigLaw firms seem to have hit the pause button on acquisitions, there is one notable exception. Denton's -- which already bills itself as the world's largest law firm -- this week announced a trio of new deals, expanding its already large footprint with a merger in South Korea, another in New Zealand and another in Central America.

What gives Denton's the confidence to keep plowing ahead with its world wide ambitions when other firms are pulling back? Well for one thing Denton's markets itself as "polycentric" and emphasizes that it has no primary office, culture or center of gravity. This certainly stands in contrast to most of its BigLaw competitors which are organized and run as "traditional" multi-national enterprises, with a primary center of gravity and national identity either in the US or UK. So perhaps not all growth is problematic in today's market but rather we are entering a new era in which polycentrism flourishes.

There's a very good overview article in The Artificial Lawyer this week that highlights four major trends in the legal tech market today. Platformization and consolidation head up the list, which strikes me as spot on, followed by the continued proliferation of new start-ups, which may prove to be somewhat more ephemeral, particularly if the legal market heads into a downturn, at which point venture funding may quickly dry up. The fourth trend mentioned in the article is perhaps the most interesting from the point of view of law firm marketing and positioning -- it's the trend that more and more law firms are not simply using tech as an off the shelf product but are actively pursuing their own application development in order to secure a competitive advantage. Closely related to this is something we have noticed in recent months -- an increase in the number of joint venture deals that law firms are cutting with tech companies, as an alternative to in-house tech development. Given how difficult a time most law firms have managing their own business, let alone forging ahead into the perilous world of technology development, a joint venture approach would seem to have distinct advantages.

Finally, I want to call your attention this week to a few articles that explore the intersection between legal practice and emotional well-being. Jane Genova explores the connection between loneliness and legal practice in a recent blogpost, citing the ABA survey that found 61% of all practicing lawyers score above average on the loneliness scale. The Lawyerist also has a good article on preventing lawyer burnout. At the other end of the positive thinking spectrum, there are a few articles that emphasize the importance of investing in yourself and your own career, both as a key to marketing success (as Jay Harrington suggests in his blogpost), and simply as a means of enhancing your sense of well-being (as practitioner Kristine Reed explains in her blogpost).

I don't mean to sound too much like Dr. Freud but I think there is an important message here for the marketing department. Instead of just conceiving the marketing function in narrow terms -- being primarily a matter of web-site design and sharpening the firm's brand promise -- it's important to realize that marketing can be part of the problem or part of the solution when it comes to promoting a lawyer's sense of connectedness and personal well being. It all depends on how you, the marketer, conceive of your task -- whether your lawyer-clients will see your requests for help as one more burden that contributes to burnout or far better (for everyone's sake) if they see how more effective marketing may ultimately enhance their opportunities for self-fulfillment.