Career Journal: Does Having a J.D. Help a Career in Legal Marketing?

A J.D. in Legal Marketing

Given the prominence of the CMO role, it is a bit surprising to see attorneys interested in a career in legal marketing. Certainly, some associates who have become less enamored with the practice of law see this as an attractive alternative. That is a perfectly legitimate career consideration as some lawyers have made the transition successfully. In fact, many marketing positions, especially those at the individual contributor level, are staffed by attorneys. Undoubtedly, new marketing managers who are embedded within practice groups for example, are well-positioned to gain early trust and creditability with attorneys if they themselves have a J.D.

Yet, that's where the leverage of being an attorney seems to stop.

When I start a new search for a Chief Marketing Officer for a law firm, I always ask my clients the same question; “Do you want candidates to have a J.D.?” Inevitably, the answer is “no.” Why, then, do I ask the question? Can I not infer from these consistent responses that having a J.D. is not part of the mix? Not only is this the case for my clients, but evidently, it is true for many other law firms as well. By my count, about 90% of the senior marketing leaders of the top 25 law firms do not have a J.D. Yet I bring up the question early in the search process because I need to be prepared should that question come up later, especially as candidates enter second or third rounds of meetings involving a gauntlet of interviews with attorneys. While it typically does come up, ultimately it's determined not to be a major factor. It may count for something but it is never the single determinant, even if the contest comes down to the wire between an attorney and non-attorney.

How Important Is It?

Jim Durham, who starts as Chief Marketing and Business Development Officer at McGuireWoods this month and is an attorney, agrees.

“It's never the lead in the conversation, but it does come up.” He suggests that it does so more as a point of interest as opposed to a qualifier or differentiator. “If you have practiced law at a high level, it can be a plus factor; otherwise having the J.D. can actually be a negative, especially if you've never practiced before,” he added.

While I have seen candidates without law degrees face some tough questions about their lack of legal expertise, I truly believe that this is a classic “devil's advocacy” stance geared to test other characteristics of the executive, not dismiss his or her candidacy on that account.

Clearly, the role of CMO in law firms is changing. Increasingly, marketing leaders are expected to play a more significant role in direct business development versus fulfilling traditional “marcom” responsibilities. Implicit in that responsibility is the need to provide one-on-one coaching to attorneys to enhance their business development skills. Moreover, interaction with clients (e.g., client satisfaction surveying or account management issues) now can fall within a CMO's purview. Anyone who has coached another person at something knows that it is easier to do so if you've actually “sat in their shoes.” Certainly, attorney candidates will try to play that empathy card, at times. But Joe Calve, Chief Marketing Officer at Proskauer Rose and an attorney, offers the following perspective; “They are more interested in whether you can do the job, not if you once did theirs,” he said. Doing the job entails a lot more than one-on-one coaching or client interface. It involves leading a team often of 50 or more people, managing processes, and executing against a budget and revenue goals. Many attorneys simply do not have that line management experience. Therein lies the diminished value of having a JD when being considered for a CMO position versus those who do not.

Experience Tells the Tale

Calve's experiences support this. “It's not a big deal. It rarely comes up,” he said. Calve, who worked in a senior management role for several years at American Lawyer Media (now Incisive Media, the publisher of this newsletter) says that experience is viewed with much more interest than the fact that he is an attorney. “The JD is really not a big deal. My skills in marketing are the focus.”

Durham agrees and goes a step further: “Some attorneys actually tacitly look down at lawyers who are great at sales, believing that they may be not the best lawyers.” It's not true, of course, but it's the perception.”

The marketing skills that Durham and Calve acquired came from other industries with reputations for strong marketing prowess. Often, my clients want to see that experience from a service industry that has a reputation as a “best-in-class” breeding ground for marketing talent. The legal industry, at least for now, does not. Therefore, experience from the financial services, management consulting, technology services, and related professional services professions, has strong appeal. Moreover, many marketing executives in these services industry got their start in the consumer space, where companies such as GE, Pepsi, and MasterCard have a reputation for developing world-class marketing executives. Still others cut their teeth in the “agency” world with some of the best PR/marketing firms on Madison Avenue and beyond. Those legal marketing executives with J.Ds are prudent enough to recognize this and put their own legal credentials in perspective.