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Evolve to Win
The Growing Role of Technology in
Law Firm Business Development
A Thomson Reuters Elite Report
September 2014
Evolve to Win: The Growing Role of Technology in Law Firm Business Development
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
In an increasingly competitive and consolidated global legal
marketplace, the quantity and quality of client relationships—both
old and new—is ever more crucial to a firm’s success.
Likewise, technology is playing an increasingly important role in
nearly every market around the world and within every type and size
of firm as part of the quest to better understand how those crucially
important relationships can be identified, maintained and cultivated
through marketing, communication and business development
(BD) activities. Whether through solutions designed for customer
relationship management (CRM), marketing automation or
e-communications, technology is rapidly moving front and center in
the battle to get ahead, innovate and differentiate.
In order to gain new insights into how law firms are utilizing
technology for marketing and BD—and some of the challenges
being faced—Thomson Reuters Elite collected the views and
experiences of legal business development and marketing leaders
across North America, UK and Continental Europe, and Asia Pacific.
Q: Overall, how extensively have you adopted technology
solutions to support the business development and
marketing function at your firm?
3%
8%
5
13%
8%
29%
39%
In summary, the results indicate that:
• 90% of firms are employing BD and marketing-focused
technology solutions in order to get ahead of the competition in
the legal services marketplace
Significant adoption
(more than 75% of the firm)
Little adoption
(up to 25% of the firm)
• Successful implementation of cross-selling initiatives is the main
tangible, measurable benefit from their use of technology in the
BD arena
Moderate adoption
(50-75% of the firm)
No adoption yet,
but planning to do so
Some adoption
(25-50% of the firm)
No adoption,
with no plans to do so
• Firms are planning further investment in technology-based
platforms, particularly in relationship management, to help
support BD and marketing over the next three years
• There are a number of challenges which stand in the way of fully
realizing the potential and power of technology in the BD context,
both cultural and technological
Gaining traction, but full potential
not yet realized
Although the legal sector has been somewhat slower to adopt
technology solutions for BD and marketing challenges than
other industries, such solutions appear to finally be gaining
significant traction.
Among the law firms surveyed, an overwhelming majority (90%)
have already adopted some form of technology-based marketing or
BD solution, ranging from e-marketing tools to comprehensive CRM
systems. Indeed, the prevalence of these solutions is significant
throughout many firms, with just over half of respondents (53%)
reporting ‘moderate’ or ‘significant’ adoption of technology solutions.
“When looking at conflict between existing and
potential clients, CRM can give a key piece of
early intelligence. It turns up old relationships—
who knows who.”
Chief Marketing Officer
Global law firm
4
11%
However, despite being used more frequently and more widely than
ever before, law firms do not yet appear to have
fully realized the
32%
potential of technology when it comes to marketing and BD. In fact,
19% nearly unanimous in their belief that their firm
respondents were
still has further value to gain from their existing systems, with none
feeling that their firm has yet realized the technology’s full potential.
“Any CRM solution must be an integral part of
14%
24%
systems [that] attorneys already use.”
IT Director
UK Top 100 law firm
These views may be explained by the fact that a majority of
respondents believe that, BD aside, their firms are not yet fully
ready—culturally, technologically or operationally—to adopt or
utilize new technology-based systems, giving their organization an
average rating of only 3.09
(out of 5) in this regard. Interestingly,
11%
18% (3.41 out of 5) when it
respondents rated their firms a little higher
came to readiness to prioritize and implement strategies for BD
more generally, highlighting the distance which exists between
overall tech readiness and BD savviness for many law firms.
Still, respondents noted a range of areas where technology
could
10%
potentially make substantial contributions in terms of BD. More
specifically, notable proportions anticipated positive impact in the
40%
5%
areas of contact and relationship management (32%),
client and
account insight (24%) and market and competitive intelligence (19%).
16%
1
7
Little adoption (up to 25% of the firm)
29%
39%
No adoption yet, but planning to do so
No adoption, with
plansFirm
to do so Business Development
Evolve to Win: The Growing Role of Technology
inno
Law
Q: In which of the following areas do you feel that
technology can make the greatest contribution to drive
marketing and business development for your firm?
11%
32%
19%
24%
14%
The impact of having a “repository of data”—which technology has
now made more accessible and functional—was particularly acute
for several firms. As one Chief Marketing Officer at a major global
law firm explained, “When looking at conflict between existing and
potential clients, CRM can give a key piece of early intelligence.
It turns up old relationships—who knows who.” One business
development
director identified the importance of systems which
4
facilitate easy “knowledge transfer to an unwilling, unable and
time-strapped
population management
of salespeople—our lawyers.”
Contact/relationship
When it comes
to how
firms(e-marketing,
are using these
systems and data in
Marketing
automation
client alerts)
general to measure and report the success of BD activities and
& account insight
initiatives Client
to management,
a majority of respondents believed that
performance metrics—such as tender success rates (45%), client
Market & competitive intelligence
feedback (31%) and invitations to tender (17%)—were the most
valued and
soughtmanagement
after indicators of success. Interestingly, about
Experience
one-third of respondents said that they were not required to provide
any evidence or fixed metrics in this regard.
“The most important thing is to keep the
attorney population happy.”
Contact/relationship management
Client & account insight
Marketing automation
(e-marketing, client alerts)
Market & competitive intelligence
Experience management
Tangible benefits11%
and new measures of success
18%
Even though firms may feel that they have not yet realized the full
value of their BD and marketing technology solutions, the benefits
(both tangible and intangible) from their deployment and utilization
are being felt, according to survey respondents.
10%
Among the top benefits reported were implementation of crossselling initiatives, identifying and building client relationships,
and easier or40%
more customized client communication.
In addition,
5%
many firms also reported that these solutions had proven useful in
spotting untapped opportunities or relationships, and for providing
new metrics and data to support BD within
16% their firm.
Table 1
Top Benefits Observed from BD Technology Platforms
Overall rank
Benefit
1
Facilitation/implementation of cross-selling initiatives
2
Identifying/building client relationships
3
Easier/improved/more customized client communication
4
Providing metrics and data to support BD
5
19%
Spotting untapped relationships
or opportunities
17%
3%
3%
11%
5%
Chief Marketing Officer
Global law firm
In addition, many respondents also noted the role and importance
7
of partner feedback. This more informal—but culturally important—
metric underscores the pivotal influence of fee-earners in assessing
Yes, once
the value and impact of marketing and BD strategies and activities,
and the technology
platforms
which
Yes, more than
once but less
than support
three timesthem. “The most
important thing is to keep the attorney population happy,” noted
than three times
one CMO Yes,
of amore
major
global firm.
No but we are debating doing so
Cultural barriers prove challenging
No, never
Despite the benefits already being realized by many law firms,
We don’t
use a CRMchallenges
solution
there are still
significant
which remain when it comes
to deploying such platforms, encouraging their utilization and
realizing their full potential.
Firstly, nearly a third of respondents indicated that they had been
required to redeploy their existing CRM solution at least once,
with an additional 15% or so contemplating doing so in the near
future. Among the reasons cited were overall lack of adoption, poor
implementation, data issues, lack of business support involvement
(ie secretarial or administrative staff) or poor system design.
“The3 lawyer population is immune to
technological
innovation and has little time
System design/interface/usability
nor anyIntegration
interest
in understanding
it.”
of existing
data/databases
Integration
Chief Marketing
Officer with other existing systems (ie practice management)
Global law firm
Adoption by partners and fee-earners
Adoption by BD/marketing team and other business support
Flexibility
42%
2
Data quality
Experience management
17%
3%
14%
24%
3
19%
Evolve to Win: The Growing Role of Technology
in Law Firm Business Development
3%
11%
4
11%
Q: Have you ever had to redeploy your CRM solution?
32%
19%
11%
18%
Contact/relationship management
5%
When asked
about potential reasons why the technology
had not
been adopted
by
partners
and
fee-earners,
respondents
reported a
Marketing automation (e-marketing, client alerts)
‘lack of understanding’42%
of the individual benefits of using it (34%) or
Client & account
insight
that the lawyers
‘don’t perceive
that it delivers value to the attorney
role’ (29%). In contrast, only 9% indicated there was a lack of senior
Market & competitive intelligence
7
management buy-in, and only 3% cited the need for ‘more training’
to understand
howmanagement
to use the system.
Experience
Yes, once
Yes,
morehas
thanbeen
once but
less
than threecause
times of partners/fee
Q: What, if
any,
the
leading
14%
24%
earners’ failure to adopt the technology?
Yes, more than three times
10%
No but we are debating doing so
40%
No, never
5%
6%
9%
We don’t use a CRM solution
6
20%
16%
3%
11%
7
18%
Yes, once
No but we are debating doing so
Yes, more than once but less than
three times
No, never
Yes, more than three times
28%
Yes, once
We don’t use a CRM solution
Yes, more than once but less than three times
Yes, more than three times
10%
However, the majority of the challenges identified proved to be
cultural rather
than 17%
technical. Only 19% 19%
of respondents pinpointed
40%
5%
issues with the system design, interface or usability as their most
significant challenge,
compared with nearly 42% who highlighted
3%
adoption by3%
partners and fee-earners as the single greatest barrier
16%
to the firm’s full realization of the technology.
11%
Q: Which, if any, of the following challenges has proven the
most significant when it came to implementation of these
5%
systems within your organization, and realising their
full potential?
42%
17%
19%
3%
3
34%
No but we are debating doing so
No, never
System design/interface/usability
We don’t use a CRM solution
Too difficult
to useof existing data/databasesDoesn’t deliver value to the
Integration
Users need more training
attorney role
Lack
of senior
management buy-in
with other
(ie practice
management)
Lack ofIntegration
understanding
of theexisting systems
benefit to him/her
We haven’t had this problem
Adoption by partners and fee-earners
3%
Adoption by13%
BD/marketing team and other business support
Several respondents
also referenced perceptions among the
attorneys Flexibility
that use of the system would be ‘time consuming’. In the
words of one marketing leader, “the lawyer population is immune
Data quality
to technological
innovation and has no time nor any interest in
understanding it.” This perhaps perfectly underscores the continuing
need for and importance of educating the firm about the efficiencies
50%
3
to be gained
and individual benefits from system utilization. At the
end of the day, “people only use software if there’s something in it for
them,” as System
put34%
bydesign/interface/usability
the IT Director of one UK Top 100 law firm.
9
Integration of existing data/databases
3%
11%
6%
9%
20%
6
Adoption by BD/marketing team and other business support
IT Director
Too
difficult to use
UK Top 100 law
firm
Flexibility
5%
42%
3%
28%
System design/interface/usability
Integration of existing data
databases
Integration with other existing
systems (ie practice management)
Adoption by partners and
fee-earners
9%
existing systems (ie practice management)
“PeopleIntegration
only with
useother
software
if there’s something
by partners and fee-earners
in it forAdoption
them.”
Adoption by BD/marketing team
and other business support
Flexibility
34%
Data quality
Users
need more training
Data quality
Lackaoffeeling
understanding
of the benefit toshifts
him/her
Some noted
that generational
would have a key role
to play in overcoming some of these cultural challenges, as more
Doesn’t deliver value to the attorney role
technologically-savvy junior lawyers continue to rise within the
18%
15% another
ranks of firms.
addition,
respondent
felt that the key to
Lack ofInsenior
management
buy-in
adoption lies in making CRM platforms “an integral part of systems
haven’tuse,”
had this
problem
attorneys We
already
such
as financial management platforms or
even Microsoft Outlook.
18%
6%
6
20%
3
3%
34%
Too difficult to use
Users need more training
9%
16
Integration of existing data/databases
6%
Integration with
(ie practice management)
9% other existing systems 20%
3%
11%
6
Adoption by partners
and fee-earners
Evolve to Win: The Growing Role of Technology
in Law
Firm Business Development
Adoption by BD/marketing team and other business support
3%
5%
Flexibility
42%
Data28%
quality
Structural challenges remain
What lies ahead
Given the relatively recent widespread adoption of technology
within the legal sector (and previously limited solutions available),
it is perhaps not surprising that a number of firms also report some
structural and technological challenges with their existing platforms.
The pace and scope of technological innovation within the legal
services market overall continues to grow, and this is also proving
34%
true when it comes to the future role that technology will play within
the BD and marketing sphere for law firms. Indeed, respondents
cited a number of wider trends—both technology-related and overall
legal industry dynamics—which they feel will significantly impact
the role, function and operation of BD and marketing in the future.
In particular, respondents noted significant difficulties when it
came to how integrated or compatible their existing systems were
with each other, with a majority (nearly 59%) reporting that their
existing array of solutions—CRM-focused or otherwise—were ‘not
6%
very’ or only ‘somewhat’ compatible
or integrated with one another.
9%
20%
No respondents reported ‘seamless’ compatibility,
and one law
firm Marketing Director noted the ongoing effort required “to get
systems to talk to each other and not compete.”
3%
Another significant issue which was reported related
to the need
for ‘data stewardship’—non fee-earning staff time or even whole
teams dedicated to data maintenance—for some existing solutions.
28%
The vast majority of marketing leaders surveyed (84%) indicated
that ‘moderate’ or ‘significant’ amounts of staff time and resources
have been necessary to update and maintain their CRM systems. In
34%
contrast, only about 12% said that little or
no data stewardship had
been required.
Q: For your existing CRM solution, to what extent have
resources dedicated to ‘data stewardship’ been required?
(ie non fee-earning staff time/roles dedicated to data
maintenance)
6
“Integration
is key in a law firm.”
Too difficult to use
IT Director
3%
UK Top 100 law
firm
Users
need more training
13%
9
Lack of understanding of the benefit to him/her
Foremost among these was the impact of legal industry market
Doesn’t deliver value to the attorney role
consolidation and competitiveness, noted by one-third of respondents
as havingLack
the of
largest
influence. In
addition, the ‘growth of big data’
senior management
buy-in
and ‘increased reliance on technology’ were both highlighted by
50%
We haven’t had this problem
nearly one-fifth
of respondents, while nearly 10% cited the impact of
mobile and flexible working on the future of the BD function within
34%
a law firm. Somewhat
surprisingly, only 6% said that they believed
cybersecurity and risk would have the biggest impact, indicating
that such risks are perhaps viewed as more systemic across the
entire firm rather than specific to marketing and BD.
Q: Which of the following technology-related trends is,
in your view, likely to have the biggest impact on your
firm in terms of the role, function and operation of
business development?
3%
9
13%
Significantly (large amounts of time or multiple team members)
Moderately (small amounts of time or a few team members)
18%
Limited or none15%
(insignificant amounts
of time or no team members)
50%
We don’t use a CRM solution
34%
18%
34%
Significantly (large amounts of time
or multiple team members)
Moderately (small amounts of time
or a few team members)
Limited or none
(insignificant amounts of time
or no team members)
4
9%
We don’t use a CRM solution
It also appears that there are a number of needs which are currently
18%
15% technology solutions
not being met by available
within the BD and
marketing arena. Aside from the growing range of overall platforms
designed for CRM, marketing automation, experience management
or business intelligence, respondents expressed a desire for new
tools to assist with strategic planning and budgeting, quantification
of client feedback, and end-to-end event management, to name
18%
just a few. However, all indicated that any new capability
in the
areas above would
need
to
work
seamlessly
with
their existing
34%
systems, so as to avoid the challenges and frustrations related to
the lack of integration and compatibility noted previously.
6%
6%
9%
Growth of big data
Cybersecurity and risk
Increased reliance on technology
Market consolidation/
competitiveness
Mobile/flexible working
16
Growth of big data
Fee pressure from clients
Encouragingly, firms report that they are planning to continue to
invest in new
or expanded
solutions within the
Increased
reliance on technology-powered
technology
marketing and BD area over the next three years. More specifically,
Mobile/flexible
working that they particularly plan to invest
most respondents
indicated
further in Cybersecurity
platforms in
areas
and
risk such as relationship management
(61%), market and client intelligence (55%) and contact and
company Market
(data)consolidation/competitiveness
management (55%).
Fee pressure from clients
16
Evolve to Win: The Growing Role of Technology in Law Firm Business Development
Table 2
Top Five Areas of Future Investment for BD and
Technology (next three years)
Area
Response
Relationship management
61.3%
Market/client intelligence
54.8%
Contact/company (data) management
54.8%
Experience management
48.4%
Marketing automation (e-marketing, etc)
41.9%
This robust level of investment comes despite the many
challenges—whether cultural or technological—which exist, and
thus appears to underscore overall understanding of the significant
potential advantages to be gained by further harnessing the
power of technology within the area of legal business development
and marketing.
However, most still feel that law firms have quite a way to go before
matching their counterparts in other industries. As one Business
Development Manager noted, until BD is led by future trends and
truly embraces technology and its full potential, the legal industry is
likely to continue to remain “on the back foot.”
With an increasingly pressurized business climate and ever growing
demands to demonstrate the value and effectiveness of marketing
and business development within law firms, technology clearly
has a significant role to play when it comes to improving efficiency,
unlocking opportunity and strengthening relationships with clients,
both current and prospective. In the words of one seasoned legal
marketer, “technology is just such a big part of our lives these days,
you either adapt… or get left behind.”
About this report
For this research, Thomson Reuters Elite commissioned an
independent research organisation—UK-based Spada Research
(www.spada.co.uk)—to interview and survey a wide range of senior
business development and marketing leaders from firms across
North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific. A total of 38 survey
responses were received, supplemented by four in-depth qualitative
interviews from additional firms.
“Technology is just such a big part of our lives
these days, you either adapt… or get left behind”
Business Development Manager
Leading Australian law firm
The vast majority of survey respondents (77%) came from firms with
a head office located in the US, with the remainder being based in the UK (15%), Europe (6%) or Canada (3%). The size of respondents’ firms
ranged broadly from under 50 to over 1,000 fee-earners, with about half of respondents coming from firms with 250 fee earners or fewer.
The total annual revenue of the firms surveyed also represented a similarly large range, with the vast majority of respondents (61%) from
firms with revenues of between $10 million and $250 million. An additional 6% of respondents came from firms with revenue smaller than
$10 million, with 16% representing firms with total revenue of more than $1 billion each year.
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