The article examines Calibrate’s research into how law firms deploy their marketing and business development (MBD) resources, and why structural alignment—not effort or talent—is increasingly the determining factor in effectiveness.
What the Research Reveals
Drawing on an analysis of 80,000 hours of time‑tracked MBD data, surveys, and interviews, from more than 2,800 Am Law 200 partners and firm leaders, Calibrate’s white paper concludes that many firms are asking MBD teams to deliver outcomes they were never designed to produce. As Lindsay Hamilton, Managing Principal at Calibrate, explains in the article:“The data confirms what we have been studying for a decade, and that data is consistently clear in that any perceived issues with marketing and business development aren’t about talent or effort, but rather are structural. They are utilized more than ever, busier than ever. But many firms are running them on legacy operating models that were built for a different era of legal growth.”The research further shows that these challenges are not limited to any particular firm size. According to Hamilton, even larger firms with more resources experience the same structural constraints, making the current approach “increasingly and urgently unsustainable.”
The Cost of a Reactive Model
The piece also explores how traditional, highly responsive service models can unintentionally limit MBD’s strategic impact. Keith Whitman, Chief Operating Officer at Finnegan, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner, notes that while responsiveness is important, it often comes at the expense of higher‑value activity:“Some firms that designed their business services 20 years ago haven’t really evolved. We have seen some operational changes in how departments are structured, but mostly they are structured to support attorneys reactively, not proactively.”Whitman adds that MBD teams frequently spend disproportionate time on surveys, client requests, and other reactive work—essential tasks, but not necessarily the ones that best support long‑term revenue growth. He emphasizes that MBD teams are uniquely positioned to drive proactive initiatives such as targeted client strategies and cross‑office, cross‑practice collaboration.
Aligning Effort with Growth Priorities
The article also includes insight from Kimberly Rennick, Chief Marketing and Business Development Officer at Thompson Coburn, who says the findings mirror what many MBD leaders see inside their firms every day:“That is data confirmation of what my peers and I have either seen or are seeing. Firms should be putting their MBD efforts into the highest and best places for growth, shortening the sales cycle.”A key finding discussed in the article highlights how, in the absence of strong governance and structure, a small subset of attorneys can consume a disproportionately large share of MBD attention—often without corresponding alignment to a firm’s strategic growth priorities.
