Press Room

New York, NY – November 12, 2018 – ALM Legal Intelligence has released The Law Firm Revenue Enabler Compensation Report and Data Slicer. The report provides intelligence on trends in law firm marketing and business development departments while the Excel-based Data Slicer enables firms and users to benchmark compensation for a wide range of job titles, functions, and geographies for marketing and business development roles.

This year’s report and tool are drawn from a survey of more than 880 marketing and business development professionals from across North America conducted by ALM Legal Intelligence and Calibrate Legal, Inc. during June and July 2018.   

“The last decade has brought substantial changes to the business of law and firms alike,” said Patrick Fuller, Vice President, ALM Legal Intelligence. “More than ever, firms are trying to reduce operational costs to accomplish more with less, resulting in increased pressure on revenue enablers to both sustain existing revenue and facilitate new revenue growth.”

Highlights from the report include:

• Budgets are increasing: 49% of firms said their marketing and business development budgets (which average 2.1% of total firm revenue) are increasing.
• Diversity: women hold 71% of C-level marketing and business development positions and 72% of director positions.
• C-level Compensation: chief marketing and business development professionals earn $400,000 dollars on average.
• Director and Manager Compensation: directors in marketing and business development departments earn an average of $276,000 in New York City.
• Job Satisfaction: 67% of coordinators, analysts, and specialists report they are content within their current role, although many are concerned about the lack of opportunities for advancement.

“The responses to this survey solidified the notion that marketing and business development professionals are key components in law firms who are working steadfastly to gain market share and remain relevant and successful,” said Jennifer Scalzi, CEO, Calibrate Legal Inc. “The firms who have not invested in a solid infrastructure, both in terms of human capital and the associated systems and tools, are going to be at risk for ongoing viability.”

Some key findings of the report indicate that most “1st Chair” marketing and business development leaders report directly to their firm’s managing partner, that career progression is not clearly defined within most firms, and that total compensation varies widely between firms. The study also found that marketing and business development departments are hiring most quickly in middle management and business development roles.

“There are many factors contributing to law firm’s increasing emphasis on marketing and business development,” said Nicholas Bruch, Principal Analyst, ALM Legal Intelligence. “Firms are facing very difficult market conditions. Demand growth is slow, competition levels are high, and corporate clients have made it clear they want their legal service providers to think differently. All of these forces have made the business of winning new work and keeping existing clients more important than ever. The data from this year’s study reveals that firms are rethinking their approach to business development. It also shows that they are willing to pay significant salaries to individuals who they believe can help their firm grow.”

For more information or to obtain the full version of the report visit: at.alm.com/compensationstudy2018

Legal Compass subscribers can download both the full report PDF and Excel-based Data Slicer here, or by logging in to Legal Compass.

About ALM Intelligence

ALM Intelligence, a division of ALM Media LLC, supports legal, consulting, and benefits decision-makers seeking guidance on critical business challenges. Our proprietary market reports and analysis, rating guides, prospecting tools, surveys, and rankings, inform and empower business leaders to meet business challenges with confidence. Please visit www.alm.com/intelligence for more information.

About ALM

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