Law firm marketing comes in two flavours.
First, there is firm marketing which is designed to promote the firm’s brand. The firm sponsors events, advertises, and engages in a myriad of other activities, all designed to convince their target market that Super Duper LLP is a fantastic law firm. Their lawyers are the brightest and best looking, know all the judges and politicians, and are leaders in the profession. The firm pays for all of that marketing.
Second, there is the personal marketing conducted by the individual lawyers. Robbie Rainmaker and Darlene Dollars buy lunch, take folks to the Scotiabank Arena to see the Maple Leafs lose, and speak at conferences. Robbie convinces potential clients that he is a fantastic lawyer and Darlene tells them to choose her instead. The firm pays for all of this too.
So what happens when Robbie announces that he is leaving Super Duper Inc. to join a firm which has better resources to serve his clients, both in Canada and internationally, which is code for “the new firm is going to pay me more money than Super Duper LLP was paying me?”
Well, if the firm marketing was great, perhaps Robbie’s clients will stay with Super Duper LLP. But if Robbie’s personal marketing was better, the clients would probably go with him.
I used to have one partner who focused on firm marketing. He told every client who would listen that every lawyer in the firm was fantastic. Then he left the firm. We kept his clients.
I had another partner who told everyone that he was the greatest lawyer in Canada, if not the world. When he departed, his clients left as well.
Every firm wants their lawyers to be team players, and it is in the interest of every lawyer to be one, because a good firm brand will help them promote their own brand. For example, Robbie would rather be able to present himself as “Robbie Rainmaker of Super Duper LLP.” instead of having to identify himself as “Robbie Rainmaker from Third Rate Scoundrels LLP.”
So here is the dilemma: How do lawyers in a firm draw the line between promoting the firm and pitching themselves? Go too far in the first direction and clients will not come with you when you leave the firm. At the opposite extreme, the partners are calling you out for not being a team player. They may even dock you in compensation!
If only these were the old days when lawyers stayed with firms forever and few cared whether or not they had the ability to leave and take their clients with them. But these days are different. Lawyers need to be strategic about their marketing.
In my view, the most successful strategy is to promote yourself first and foremost, while paying as much lip service to the firm marketing as you have to in order to protect your job and your compensation.