JJES Proudly Supports Dress for Success

It’s almost the end of the year: a time when we all take stock of the previous year and look ahead to the next. We evaluate what worked and how we can do more of it; if there were things that didn’t work we think about how to improve it. At J. Johnson Executive Search we’re no different. We have been busy building our team to serve your teams as you look toward future growth. We’ve also been honing our strategy of giving back in a way that aligns with our organization’s mission.

It’s a challenge for any company, whether professional services or another industry, to develop and then follow a corporate giving strategy. At JJES we are lucky: we not only found an organization near and dear to our hearts but it aligns perfectly with what we do.

Most of us are familiar with the organization Dress for Success as the organization to which we donate business  attire for women in transition. For donors it’s a chance to clean out the closet and get rid of good pieces that either don’t fit quite right, or are the wrong color or perhaps with which we got bored. For recipients it’s a chance to get a fresh look and arrive at those job interviews looking sharp. We’ve been supporting this organization since 2009, and I proudly served as President of the NYC Young Executives for Success in 2012. Last week our team, along with a few friends and clients, attended the Women Helping Women breakfast in New York City.

What most people don’t know is how far-reaching Dress For Success is. In addition to the “suits” the organization provides several other supportive services: mentoring, resume-building, interview coaching, networking and other services for women in life transitions. Once they land jobs successfully, DFS also runs a Professional Women’s Group in which newly re-employed women can share tips and tactics for navigating the road ahead. Women who reach DFS have faced significant obstacles, yet their perseverance and sheer will lands them at the DFS doorstep. DFS programs help them get the right jobs, and then take part in the right post-employment activities that support their continued growth and development.

We like to say that our team at JJES is expert at curation of candidates. In our placement process we really get to know the people who will be employees of our clients’ firms someday. We know how our clients and candidates are likely to react in certain situations and it allows us to pair them for maximum success. And once they’re in the jobs, we absolutely keep in touch. It’s a continuous, ongoing process of building and cultivating a great network of people who help each other over and over again. Like any network, sometimes people contribute and sometimes they’re in a position of need. At JJES we are honored to be part of this process for our clients and for the candidates we place, and help them both through their transitions on the way to growth and success.

We’re honored to count ourselves among the many DFS supporters and be there for those women in the same way.

(The JJES Team with guest speaker Soledad O’Brien)

 

JJES is Expanding: Annie Berger Joins in NYC

J. Johnson Executive Search Expands Capabilities in New York

Hires Annie Berger, seasoned marketing professional from AmLaw 20 and midsized firms; expands capabilities to include placement of specialized roles complementing executive level searches

(New York, NY December 1, 2014) – J. Johnson Executive Search (JJES), a global executive search firm focused on highly-targeted marketing, communications and business development searches for law firms, is pleased to announce expansion of its New York presence with the addition of Annie Berger to its growing team already in place in New York, Boston and Chicago.

Prior to joining JJES, Annie, a ten-year veteran of professional services marketing, spent more than six years at an AmLaw 20 firm in a marketing leadership role driving business development for the firm’s Business and Finance Practice. Her responsibilities included managing practice group and cross-practice client pitches and RFP responses; planning and implementing turnkey client events; leading firm wide initiatives such as key client teams and industry initiatives; marketing communications; and personnel recruitment and management. Earlier in her career, she worked at Sedgwick LLP, an international litigation and business firm.

“Annie brings a wealth of experience to the role having supported one of the signature practice areas of a prestigious global law firm. She will be instrumental in guiding our clients to build the next generation of marketing departments inside law firms,” said Jennifer Scalzi, president and founder of JJES. “As firms have invested in their marketing and business development teams at the executive level, they are now addressing the need for their support and delivery systems. Law firms need search professionals who can identify the right kind of strategic contributors to deliver data-driven insights, curated content and solutions that will resonate with their firm’s clients. Annie understands how law firm management defines success, and her experience managing teams focused on meeting firm objectives will be invaluable in developing quality candidate relationships.”

Annie will focus her attention on both executive and mid-level searches, including the placement of strategic, specialized roles in areas such as RFP coordination, creative services, marketing technology, communications, public relations, event planning and others. Her deep law firm experience gives her direct insight into how candidates can excel in the professional services environment.

“My career in legal marketing has been intellectually stimulating and results-driven, and I have been fortunate to have worked at innovative firms with top-notch marketing and business development teams,” Berger said. “Now I can take the insights from my former roles and use them to build world-class teams for JJES clients.”

Annie is an active member of the Metro New York Chapter of the Legal Marketing Association. Outside of legal marketing, Annie volunteers with the Crime Victim’s Treatment Center, the largest and most comprehensive hospital-based domestic violence victim assistance program in New York State.

Annie holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Bucknell University and resides in New York City.

View Annie’s Bio HERE

Contact Annie: annie@jjohnsonexecsearch.com

The 2nd Am Law 100 Marketing Departments – Survey Results

Johnson Executive Search surveyed the Second Hundred Am Law marketing departments. With a response rate of 31%, we are pleased to share the preliminary findings on what’s behind the hiring and staffing decisions of marketing and business development leadership. Comprehensive results will be released in January 2015: stay tuned!

Executive Summary:

Questions posed to the departments fell into two major categories in the short answer section: 1) quantitative/budget breakdown and 2) FTEs by specialized discipline. In addition, respondents were asked whether their internal resources were tasked formally with lead generation. Respondents were also asked an open-ended question regarding what they consider measures of success.

Generally speaking, today’s marketing decision makers at these Second Hundred firms are managing, on the average, a budget of totaling approximately 3% of the firms’ revenue. This number is aligned with, though slightly higher than, the 2% cited in the annual Am Law 200 survey. Of this budget, advertising takes up an average of 4.2% and sponsorship approximately 15.8%. (All numbers exclude salaries.)

From a staffing perspective, ratios stack up at approximately one FTE for every 12.9 partners and every 25.4 fee earners.

Stay tuned for our full results in January which will explore what’s behind these numbers and highlight trends in specialized roles and spending.

Direct People Management Experience – How Can You Acquire These Skills?

By Kate Harry, J. Johnson Executive Search

In June 2014, our Market Analysis reported the following:

“Firms are seeking Managers who possess several years of formal and direct people management skills, but we see a significant gap in legal marketers with people management skills. Most managers are not exposed to this responsibility in their current firms, being a Manager of projects, but not people. We will keep our eye on how this is to be reconciled in years to come. Some people are being particularly savvy on this front and are seeking out management opportunities in other areas, such as their LMA committees and not for profit associations that they are involved in.”

This is still an issue. People are progressing into Manager roles with very little, or zero, formal people management responsibilities.

Knowing how to formally manage (ie day to day management, review, and, sometimes even, performance manage) people is critical. And this is not something that most people know how to do. You must learn this craft and practice it to become a good manager and then a respected leader.

The issue that will happen down the track is that our Managers will ultimately step into Senior Manager and then Director positions and, at that point, they must have people management experience. And several years experience of this at least. So how do we fill the gap in the meantime?

Savvy marketers out there are focusing on what they can do to address this ‘gap’ with their teams and firms. Firms are also trying to help, but law firms typically don’t offer the people management component as part of their Manager titles; they are a Manager in title only.

Some firms offer people management training to their marketers alongside their attorneys. Other firms are also finding ways to satisfy the manager in us all by offering project-based management responsibilities.

Here’s some things you can also do to help this ‘gap’. The more you suggest, innovate and lead, the more of a manager you are…

• Ask to manage people on a project-by-project basis. What projects are you currently doing where you’re deal with more junior people daily? Ask to formally manage these people for these projects.
• Managing interns. Are there any interns in your team who need a mentor? Ask to be the person who is responsible for their experience. This is a big commitment but will allow you to really see how to do this effectively.
• Look at what projects your peers are involved in and what management responsibilities they have. There is always extra work to go round, someone going on maternity leave, someone out on vacation. Step up and see if you can manage the people / projects in their absence.
• Seek out management training from your firm. Start with what training the attorneys might be receiving to see if you can join, otherwise research what trainers you can bring in-house for you and your budding managers.
• Look at local organizations (LMA is a great one!) or volunteering opportunities to have a leadership role and manage people. Many of you are already involved in work within your communities, and whether its on a sub-committee or smaller project, you can create the opportunity for yourself to lead their group.
• Think laterally… you manage up every day, you manage people in other departments, you even manage your local child’s football team on a Saturday morning. This all counts.
  

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Kate Harry is a Recruiting Manager with J. Johnson Executive Search, Inc. She can be reached at kate@jjohnsonexecsearch.com

 

 

Analysis of Legal Marketing and Business Development June 2014

By Kate Harry, J. Johnson Executive Search 

From our position as market leaders in the legal marketing industry, we see a lot! Below are some themes we have come across in the past few months…

Market overview:

Cities

• Legal marketing recruiting is active across the US, with most of our placements being in the following cities: Boston, Chicago, Dallas, DC, Houston, LA, NYC and San Francisco.
• The West Coast did see a significant uptick in recent months, with one third of all our placements this year so far being in either San Francisco or LA.
• Texas has also seen the rise of localized, satellite offices that hire start-up, often sole, marketing and business development roles for the first time. Establishing this function within newer offices and in competition to the long-established Texan firms will prove interesting to watch over the next couple of years.
• The bigger cities, NYC, Chicago and DC, still see a lot of movement in legal marketing, with many firms competing for the very best talent. Firms are bolstering their teams with good quality juniors, mid-level managers and strategic marketing project managers who are able to drive and manage all marketing and business development efforts and initiatives.

Skills

• Firms are seeking Managers who possess several years of formal and direct people management skills, but we see a significant gap in legal marketers with people management skills. Most managers are not exposed to this responsibility in their current firms, being a Manager of projects, but not people. We will keep our eye on how this is to be reconciled in years to come. Some people are being particularly savvy on this front and are seeking out management opportunities in other areas, such as their LMA committees and not for profit associations that they are involved in.
• Only a handful of firms are starting to recognize that their marketing teams need professional development training, and are offering management training on topics including business writing, budgeting, and project management.
• There seems to be a relatively even split between firms seeking strategic marketing and business development roles. Often these two types of positions significantly overlap, but the differentiator for a business development role is the true partnership between a business developer and their attorneys and partners. Attorneys are asking for business-savvy, proactive and ‘big-picture’ strategists to actually advise them to increase their bottom line.

At the top

• The “Chief” and “Director” titles are starting to attract a more diverse talent pool, which is being driven by the law firms who are looking for a different perspective.
• Gone are the days where firms seek yet another marketer who has done the same thing in five different firms. Re-branding, re-positioning and challenging internal cultural norms are just a few of the key experiences that the top Am Law firms are looking for in today’s market.
• Skills learned outside of the legal world, along with solid strategy initiatives and strong leadership capabilities are highly sought after. Enthusiasm and energy within these top roles, which filters down, cannot be overstated.

Added headcount to support growth:

Managers

• Manager and Senior Manager roles are still the most common additions to the marketing and business development teams. Most roles we work on are added headcount to keep up with the demands of the attorneys in our overly-competitive legal world.
• Salaries for Manager roles in most markets typically start at $100k and can go as high as $160k for some roles. Senior Manager salaries typically start at $150k and can go into the low $200s. Markets such as NYC, DC and San Francisco are where we are seeing the upper ends of these ranges; this is becoming necessary to attract the best talent into their firms. We have a supply and demand issue in our industry – lots of jobs and not enough talent to go around. Firms are realizing that they must compensate competitively to get the best to say yes.
• Managers typically have around seven years of experience and, depending on the title and firm, professionals can step into that role with as little as five years experience. Most strategic, proactive, business development focused roles, however, require at least seven years of experience. Partners need to have confidence in their business partners; humble confidence, respect, diplomacy and gravitas are as important as the technical and strategic abilities a person brings into the role.

How qualified?

• Additional qualifications, such as a JD, MBA or Masters, are not expected.
• While some candidates can differentiate themselves with these elite qualifications, most firms do not request these additional credentials and don’t expect candidates to bring these into the role.

Lateral moves

• With the Manager title including experience anywhere from 5-15 years, lateral moves in title are more and more common. People are starting to look at the opportunity (i.e. the firm, team, culture, leaders, and salary) ahead of the title when considering opportunities.
• Common lateral moves on title are when small firm marketers want to step up into bigger firms, or into a firm with a true global footprint or industry specialty.

Small firm or big firm?

• When it comes to smaller firms, they are giving bigger firms a run for their money when it comes to their marketing efforts.
• We recently commissioned a survey with ALM which showed that three in four small and mid-sized law firms are making significant investments in formalized marketing programs, thus increasing the firm’s bottom line revenue: http://bit.ly/SgvqC2

Stay or go?

• Good initiatives, good mentors and encouraging firm statistics and growth keep good talent staying at their firms.
• More and more people place significant importance on the CMO and Director and their approach in their firms and value in the industry more generally; people are becoming conscious about these factors and whether they align with their own work values and goals.
• Gaining people management skills and new challenges (not wanting to ‘cap out’ in current roles) are mostly what entices people to move.

For the second half of 2014?

The rise of strategy roles:

• Regardless of whether the focus is marketing, communications or business development, very proactive and strategic minds are being rewarded in these positions.
• And even further, if a marketer can show their worth / value, they are the ones who get promoted and rewarded the most. We all know that partners respond best to facts and figures and evidence; so tracking projects, initiatives and the success of these are how people are proving their worth and being rewarded.

Project managers:

• People who can successfully manage projects while keeping all the parts moving are what teams are looking to add right now.
• Many people often describe their day as following up, ticking things off their task list and keeping people on track. This is now par for the course and managing up, down and sideways on all tasks is critical to success.

Managers who have the mix of title and people management experience:

• Managers who have people management experience, along with the title for several years, are highly sought after people right now and firms pay generously for the holy grail of both.

Kate Harry is a Recruiting Manager with J. Johnson Executive Search, Inc. She can be reached at kate@jjohnsonexecsearch.com

Investment in Marketing on the Rise in Small and Midsized US Law Firms, According to New Survey

Investment in Marketing on the Rise in Small and Midsized US Law Firms, According to New Survey

75% of law firms surveyed report investment in marketing and business development is significant element of overall growth strategy

NEW YORK – April 2, 2014 – Small and midsized law firms in the United States have concluded that a professional marketing and business development function is now a mandatory strategic tool in order for their firms to succeed, according to a new survey conducted jointly by ALM Legal Intelligence and J. Johnson Executive Search, Inc.

The survey — “Small Firms, Big Marketing” — provides an overview of marketing trends of small and midsize law firms (40 – 200 attorneys) and highlights what marketing departments are doing to help their firms gain a competitive advantage in today’s marketplace.

“Partners at small and midsize law firms recognize the importance of pro-active external marketing, and one notable way they are responding is by investing in marketing professionals,” said Jennifer Scalzi, president of J. Johnson Executive Search. “Two in three respondents told us that the marketing team is a critical or an important factor in their firm’s success in winning new business. Small law firms are nimble and creative, and have recognized the value of integrating their marketing functions in order to get a stronger foothold in the marketplace.”

“Law firms are putting their money where their mouths are,” said Kevin Iredell, vice president of ALM Legal Intelligence. “The survey found that 44 percent of firms increased their spending on non-staff marketing expenses in 2013 and 65 percent are projecting marketing spending increases in 2014. Moreover, dedicated marketing functions are now the norm, with nine in 10 respondents reporting they have staff dedicated to marketing at their firms.”

Other highlights of the survey include the following:

• More direct access to key influencers and decision makers — For virtually all of the responding firms (81 percent), marketing professionals are in a single organization with one leader. Similar to the traditional structures in large firms, close to half report to the COO or Executive Director; another 43 percent report to the firm’s managing partner or chairman; and about 19 percent have their head of marketing reporting into an executive or management board.
• Winning new business through deliberate processes — More than 75 percent have defined marketing processes and procedures in place for winning new business. An additional 54 percent also have defined practices for building business, soliciting client feedback, and marketing research efforts. One in 3 respondents confirms that competitive intelligence is viewed as a critical piece of running the firm.
• Tracking marketing efforts are showing a range of successful results — Measuring return on investment with marketing efforts pays dividends in a variety of ways: not only winning new business — an average of 40 new clients were attributed to coordinated marketing initiatives — but in “softer” ways, such as client retention and increased awareness in the marketplace.

The full text of the “Small Firms, Big Marketing” is available at http://almlegalintel.com/Surveys/smallfirmsbigmarketing.

ALM Legal Intelligence offers detailed business information for and about the legal industry, focused on the top U.S. and international law firms. The division’s online research web service, http://www.almlegalintelligence.com, provides subscribers with direct, on-demand access to ALM Legal Intelligence’s extensive database of surveys, rankings and lists related to law firms and the legal industry. ALM Legal Intelligence is a division of ALM.

About ALM

ALM is a global leader in specialized business news and information. Trusted reporting delivered through innovative technology is the hallmark of ALM’s award-winning media properties, which include Law.com (www.law.com), The American Lawyer, Corporate Counsel, The National Law Journal and The New York Law Journal. Headquartered in New York City with 16 offices worldwide, ALM brands have been serving their markets since 1843. For more information, visit www.alm.com.

About J. Johnson Executive Search, Inc.

Founded in 2011, J. Johnson Executive Search, Inc. (JJES) is the leading executive search firm focused solely on the marketing and business development functions within professional services organizations. JJES uses a discreet, relationship-based model to match highly motivated, career-oriented professionals with the marketing and business development departments of professional services firms worldwide. JJES partners with clients to identify the best talent for a specific business need. As sought-after consultants in the field of professional services marketing, JJES has personal knowledge of the cultures of the marketplace and the capabilities of potential candidates, enabling the firm to provide an optimal solution to recruitment challenges. Strategic alliances allow JJES to utilize a global reach into critical international markets. To learn more about JJES visit www.jjohnsonexecsearch.com.

Busy Managers: how do you set them up for success?

By Kate Harry

Legal marketing Managers can be some of our busiest people.  Reading their Job Descriptions can be like a ‘wish list’ rather than a reality.  So when new Managers are on-boarded, how do they approach this wish list and keep everyone happy?  How do their Directors manage them to not be overwhelmed and to also get some quick wins to impress at the outset?  And how do the partners help this person to compartmentalize the urgent priorities versus everything else that needs to be done?

The answer lies in the careful management of expectations in both the short term and long term for everyone involved; and it needs to start as soon as the new Manager starts discussing the opportunity with your firm:

• During the interview process be honest and real with them about the role.  Tell them how busy the role is and what a typical day and week will look like for them.  Many people thrive in busy environments and like the challenges that come with this.  You are looking for their eyes to light up and them to smile and relate to this busy environment when you discuss it with them.  Get them talking about how they manage up and down during these times and ask them about their success stories in getting things executed in these environments.

• Speak to your team about your new Manager’s workload and get them to understand the pressures they will be under.  If this person will be managing people, talk to them about how you see these junior staff utilizing this person and then also how they can assist their new Manager.  (And in talking to your team, use this opportunity to check in with them about their day and week; your team will appreciate your interest and perspectives will be shared and understood, which will help you manage your new Manager!)

• Speak to the partners who will be relying on this person the most and make them see that, in the same way they must balance their time between their clients, your new Manager will do the same.  Whether it’s a balancing act of responsibilities, time spent between individual partners, or even dividing time between offices if the role has a more regional focus, give them an insight into what your new Manager will be dealing with in the first 30 days and then also the first six months.

• In checking in with all of these people, do ask what each one wants.  There will be many cross-overs and then the harder issues can be worked on to prioritize where time is spent in the first few months.  After three to four months these priorities will change and checking in with all the key players and re-setting expectations is just as critical as it was the first time around.  But asking what each person wants from this new Manager makes everyone involved feel like they are part of the solution, even if there are some initial bumps along the way.

• Empower your new Manager to make the necessary changes to get their job done and to change things for the better.  Depending on the level of your new Manager this will take different forms.  But if you want your new Manager to make a difference in their role (either from the last person who did this role or to be impactful in a new growth role) they will need to know they can move things forward while trying new things; but they need your confirmation to do this.

Getting all of this right is not easy and won’t happen in the first five minutes.  But the key is to keep working at this and making sure your team is happy and your new Manager still smiles when you ask them about their day six months into the role.  Help them be successful and in turn they will make you successful.

 

 

 

Congressional proposals set to substantially affect law firms and their partnership structures

By J. Johnson Executive Search
January 6, 2014

Two proposals are currently before congress to substantially change how law firms report their taxable income. The effect of these could mean that law firms would have a significant tax liability (paid by partners individually) as law firms shift from the current cash method to the proposal accrual method.

The two proposals behind this shift are the Baucas and Camp proposals, both which propose shifts which will affect law firms in 2014, if enacted. While the proposals are not aimed at law firms, they form part of an affected group:

“A critical consequence of these proposals is the acceleration of taxable income that likely will result when a law firm converts from the cash to accrual method of accounting for tax purposes (hereinafter referred to as the cash method and accrual method respectively). Under the cash method, law firms generally report income when cash is received. But under the accrual method, taxable income may need to be reported much earlier under a host of special rules (described in more detail below.) Most importantly, amounts in accounts receivable (A/R) and work in process will likely shift and become reportable as income for US federal tax purposes.” (PwC, December 2013: read the complete paper here)

The proposed change to an accrual method is set to affect law firm partnerships in many ways, including partners reporting requirements, the law firms’ relationships with their partners, the impact of new and retiring partners into the partnership, whether partnership agreements need amending to comply with the proposals, whether additional borrowing needs to occur, and the various new and intricate rules and processes which will need to be complied with.

Law firms have the opportunity to contribute to this discussion by commenting on the Baucas and Camp proposals (Senator Baucas is looking for feedback by January 17, 2014; the Camp proposal does not have a deadline set for feedback).

We think this will hold significant ramifications for the marketing and business development teams in law firms in the way they craft RFP responses and develop new go-to-market strategies that sync with the law firm’s new business policies. This topic must be watched; the firms whose marketing teams are armed with ideas on tackling this new business model with its clients will undoubtedly be those who weather this huge shift the best; this is not something to wait on the accounting department to rule on. This could mean a fundamental shift in the way US law firms do business and a drastic change for the associated marketplace which, in turn, is an epic marketing challenge.

Stretch yourself in 2014

By Kate Harry, J. Johnson Executive Search

January 2, 2014

 

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”

Mark Twain

It is the start of a brand new year.  2014.  What does this year mean to you?  As legal marketers are getting busier and busier, now is the perfect (only!) time to reflect to do things better, right and easier for the year ahead.

Here are some thoughts to get you started and to think objectively about your professional self.  What is working well and what needs your attention in 2014:

• What are your work goals for the year ahead?  What is achievable versus what ‘stretch’ goals do you want to set yourself?  I’m a firm believer in always pushing yourself outside of your comfort zone to see what you can achieve (you might just be surprised!).  Set yourself three goals which you know, with a bit of hard work and determination, you can achieve at work.  And then set yourself one or two stretch goals and see how close you get to achieving these.  Pushing yourself to continue to do better, despite the busyness, chaotic and stressful lives we lead, can inspire you to achieve more than you thought you would.  And it is these goals that are the sweetest of victories!

• What did you think you would be doing / achieving right now, but have not?  This is not an easy question to answer and it requires you to be brutally honest with yourself.  Stop and think about where you are and whether it is on track with your career goals and trajectory.  Some people don’t always know where they want to be in 2 years time or even 5 years time.  That’s ok, but think objectively about your years of experience versus what you’re doing.  Address the gaps and challenges this year one step at a time, rather than putting them off.  Make this year the one that you address the things you’ve been putting off.

• What do you want to change at work this year?  Think about what you want to change this year to make your working day, and for those around you, a better one.  It might be looking at some of your relationships with key attorneys or partners and developing these further.  Or, if you are a mentor or manager, you might have been putting this role on the backburner because you’ve been so focused on your own work.  Developing (and spending the time in doing so) those around you will help you in the long term just as much as it helps them; so invest in this in 2014.

• What personal goals do you want to set yourself in 2014?  These are just as important as the work goals you will set.  Common personal goals are vowing to lead healthier lifestyles, achieving that sometimes unascertainable perfect work / life balance or being a better husband / wife / parent.  Reflect on what is important to you in your personal life and when you feel the balance tipping because work is taking over too much, re-adjust a little to ensure you’re meeting your personal goals as well as your work goals; its ok to put yourself first every once in a while!

Being an optimist, I see the opportunity of a brand new year to take a fresh look at the world and set myself goals to ensure I’m being the best I can be at work, at home and with my friends and family.  But don’t just do life; set goals and really live life and see what you can achieve by stretching yourself and getting the most out of your circumstances and position.  You may just surprise yourself with what you can achieve.  And then, most importantly, sit back next new years eve and think about all that you did achieve in 2014!

Opportunities in Asia

Law firms in Asia are, more so than ever before, looking to bolster their business development and marketing teams with highly qualified and driven talent who understand their market and business objectives.  “Since 2012 our database of candidates seeking roles in Asia (from both within and outside the region) has doubled and we are pleased to have become the “go to recruiter” for roles at all levels…” reports Graham Seldon of Seldon Gill, our alliance partner firm in Australia.

 The geographical closeness of Australia to its Asia partners have seen Seldon Gill have a significant increase in activity over the last 12 months with its Asia-based clients.  Seldon Gill places candidates in Hong Kong and Singapore, as well as other locations in South East Asia, including Bangkok, Jakarta and Tokyo.

And, Asia has become a far more popular market for Americans and Australians to seek oversees experience.  With the multitude and magnitude of mergers in recent years between Australian and Asian based law firms, this trend makes even more sense to quality international-based legal marketing talent.

Similar to US firms, law firms in Asia always need sophisticated business development and marketing talent.  Currently, Business Development Managers (BDM) who can have strategic input but who also can get the work done, are the most highly sought after professionals.  These BDM positions in Asia currently have regional and client relationship management responsibilities, and international candidates are seen as hot contenders for these positions as they have seen several years now of exposure to being true strategic advisors to their partnerships, often in sector or industry specific roles; so the regional and client focus is a natural extension of this.

Legal marketing in Asia seems to be “…a new frontier and an exciting place to develop skills…” (Graham Seldon).  We watch with curiosity as this market continues to boom and what differences (and similarities) there are in this market compared to the US.