The Stackpile

Nowhere is the transformation of advertising in the legal marketplace more evident than in Chicago, where a law firm’s racy billboard proclaiming “Life’s short. Get a divorce.” caused such a commotion that the city took it down after one week. The billboard, which featured a partially-clothed man and woman, drew scores of complaints but was evidently good for business. Social commentaries aside, the billboard underscores just how far the legal profession has come from a marketing perspective. Lawyers are blogging, webcasting, and brand building like never before.

Perhaps that is because, according to a recent study, only 30% of clients are happy with their law firms. Loyalty, like a partner’s practice these days, is portable. And with people being marketed to everywhere they go, word of mouth, business cards, and golf balls with the firm’s name on them are no longer cutting it. So law firms are acting more like businesses and less like, well, law firms. Here are the days of client-teams, marketing departments, and tag lines. Firms are dropping names off their letterhead for branding purposes and working with advertising agencies to develop websites that are as well designed as they are technologically sophisticated. And, like all good things, success begets success. When one thing works, firms are replicating it and wanting more—a new web-site becomes a new print campaign becomes, well, billboard advertising.

Which brings me back to the billboard and my thoughts: I came to the same conclusion that I suspect a lot of people in the legal profession did: what is good for business may not be good for the profession. Any time someone goes too far with something these days, there is a backlash. Just ask Don Imus.

Posted by Rebecca on May 31st, 2007
Filed under Advertising, Legal, Marketing, Media | No Comments »