Greentarget

John Corey

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Professional services firms face an uphill battle to stand out and promote their expertise, as overwhelming amounts of content flood target audience’s inboxes and feeds each day.

How, then, can your firm avoid contributing to the noise — and instead rise above it? The answer lies in bespoke research that informs distinctive, high impact thought leadership campaigns. 

The Power of Research-Backed Thought Leadership

True thought leadership isn’t just about reposting articles or chiming in on the latest news. It’s about unleashing fresh and unique insights and practical guidance that can address the critical issues facing your key audiences. In doing so, you can differentiate the most important practices at your firm and open doors to new business opportunities.

Research-based PR and marketing campaigns offer unique advantages over run-of-the-mill content, enabling your firm to:

  • Go deep on a topic. While most content just skims the surface, well-crafted research reports provide original data and in-depth analysis that clients and prospects value.
  • Fuel content for multiple channels. A single research initiative can drive articles, presentations, infographics, videos, podcasts, and more — creating a content engine that keeps producing long after you launch the report itself.
  • Strengthen relationships with clients and stakeholders. Research gives you insights into the concrete needs and challenges of your internal and external stakeholders. When you understand these deeply, you can deliver clear and actionable guidance that makes a difference.
  • Leverage findings as a catalyst for business development. When you connect the dots between your research findings and your prospects’ needs, you’ll be able to more easily open doors to high-value sales conversations.
  • Establish authority. Staking a claim on key topics and building your position on those topics year after year is an effective strategy to elevate visibility and deepen trust with your audience.

Of course, research-backed campaigns will only drive results if the research they’re based on is both salient and sound. Rather than go it alone, it can be helpful to partner with a firm that specializes in this work.

Greentarget conducts approximately 50 major research-based campaigns for our clients each year. Of those, about half are ongoing campaigns that we iterate over time to help clients build their brand, strengthen their reputation, and drive growth.

Let’s take a look at what it takes to conduct research and market intelligence projects that drive results.

6 Steps to Create Research-Backed Thought Leadership Campaigns

Effective research must be tied to the issues that matter to your audience and help your firm differentiate itself. So what tools and strategies should you use to effectively move from idea to insight? Here’s a look at what it takes to develop research that delivers tangible results.

  1. Identify your audience and brainstorm relevant topics. Conducting research for research’s sake is an exercise in futility. To make an impact, your research must be targeted and purposeful, relevant to thought leaders’ expertise, client needs, and timely news hooks.
  2. Conduct a white space analysis. White spaces are where you have an opportunity to differentiate — where you can bring something new and valuable to the conversation, and your audience. 
  3. Choose the ideal research methodologies for your objectives. Whenever possible, leverage a combination of secondary research (e.g., existing industry reports, academic studies, and publicly available data) and primary research (e.g., quantitative surveys and qualitative interviews or focus groups). 
  4. Execute the research. This step involves developing your research instruments, recruiting participants, and conducting fieldwork. But bear in mind: It takes experience and know-how to gather high-quality data with statistical significance. Partnering with a firm like Greentarget helps ensure you reach the right respondents and maintain methodological rigor.
  5. Analyze findings and develop strategic guidance. After you’ve collected your data, you need to extract meaningful insights from it. Be sure to invite internal stakeholders and subject matter experts back into the process at this stage. They have the insight and expertise to help you interpret the results accurately, contextualize key findings, and identify the most significant implications for your clients.
  6. Create the cornerstone report and supporting content. Package your insights into a report and related content items to distribute to your audience. Make sure all pieces of content are relevant, urgent, novel, and useful to provide maximum value to your audience.

Remember, the goal is to create multiple touchpoints that reinforce your key messages and position your firm as a thought leader in your chosen area. Monitor the performance of different channels and content pieces, and be prepared to adjust your strategy based on what resonates most with your audience. Directing smarter conversations requires powerful insights that are rooted in sound market intelligence. Greentarget can help you find them. So let’s talk.

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Following the widespread racial reckoning of the past few years, legal and executive decision makers are paying closer attention to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) issues than ever before. It’s no surprise, then, that these leaders are looking for useful content to help them navigate an increasingly complex set of DEI-related challenges and initiatives within their organizations–especially given the heightened focus on environmental, social and governance factors. 

But Greentarget’s latest research shows decision makers aren’t finding the depth and breadth of DEI guidance they need from their professional services providers.

This presents a tremendous opportunity to position your firm as an authority on this evolving and complex subject. Crafting thoughtful content that demonstrates your firm’s understanding of DEI pain points and challenges— and how those differ between legal and C-suite executives — can spark conversations with clients seeking to advance their organizations’ DEI agendas. And if your own progress on this front is especially compelling, it can reinforce your authority and even serve as a roadmap for clients to follow.

To that end, here are three content strategies to champion a DEI-focused sea change at your firm and beyond.

1. Collaborate With Diversity Chiefs to Create Your Recruitment and Retention Narrative 

According to the 200 executives we surveyed for Greentarget and Zeughauser Group’s  inaugural State of DEI Content Report, in-house counsel and C-suite executives are seeking actionable guidance on how to recruit and retain diverse talent. In fact, 69% of law firm CMOs said that clients ask for content around this topic more than any other.

However, our research found those same decision makers think their professional services providers have room for improvement when it comes to advancing their own DEI goals.

While CMOs tend to link those internal challenges to a shortage of qualified candidates, diversity officers say firms could move the needle by expanding their recruitment strategies and looking beyond traditional talent pools. Retention plays a significant role in improving DEI metrics — especially at leadership levels. After all, if junior and mid-level associates leave, they never have a chance to advance into managerial and senior positions.

Tell a Better DEI Story

CMOs need to collaborate with diversity officers to advance an authentic and compelling DEI narrative — one that moves beyond optics and percentages.

Like clients, diverse candidates want to see what the numbers say about DEI at your firm. And they want to see more representation of people who look like them in your content. But more than that, they want evidence that your firm is serious about creating and maintaining an inclusive and welcoming culture. Your current employees want this, too.

By working closely with your firm’s chief diversity, equity and inclusion leaders, you can:

  • Uncover and highlight ways your firm is maximizing contributions from individuals in traditionally underrepresented groups — and help them to secure strategic work
  • Elevate diverse subject-matter experts through earned media, thought leadership, and publishing efforts that showcase a range of perspectives in your content
  • Create narratives that foster a stronger ethos of belonging and support

It’s important to avoid a “check-the-box” mentality here. Your content should reflect a genuine commitment to growth. Achieving this kind of authenticity requires you to demonstrate a willingness to listen to people whose lived experiences differ from your own.

Once your firm has walked the walk in this area, you can more effectively help your clients address their own recruitment and retention challenges.

2. Communicate a Broader DEI Value Proposition to Stakeholders

As the chief marketing officer, you shape how your firm is seen by your stakeholders. Through the lens of your organization’s mission and values, you make the case for the value proposition your firm offers to the world. As one GC put it: “Marketing has the credibility and expertise to tell stories about the journey of the underrepresented so that they are in a position to secure more strategic work.” 

Deepening your commitment to DEI while also advising clients on their most pressing DEI priorities bolsters your value and strengthens your position as an authority. 

How? Our 2022 State of Digital & Content Marketing Report shows that corporate legal and C-suite executives look for — and trust — expert advice in the form of articles, webinars/conferences, research reports, and traditional media. Meanwhile, editors and reporters at traditional media outlets want diverse sources to bring richer and more varied perspectives to their journalism. That’s historically been a challenge in areas such as business and financial media, where “expert” voices have typically been white and male. 

Being deliberate about elevating and promoting diverse subject matter authorities in your external comms and content strategy underscores your organization’s breadth of talent and experience. And it’s a powerful way to distinguish your firm in the market.

3. Tailor DEI Content to Your Audience’s Needs

Creating content that’s centered around your own firm’s DEI initiatives is undoubtedly valuable, especially since it’s a way to establish your credible POV. But producing content that addresses the range of pressing DEI topics and issues with which clients are grappling today is arguably what they will find most useful.

Our research shows that key decision-makers unanimously want more content on DEI issues. But understandably, the types of content they’re looking for differ based on the role they hold in their firm.

What the C-Suite Want from DEI Content

Chief executives and management teams think about DEI in broad terms. As such, they tend to view the issue as they would an operating plan — something that requires goals, milestones, and metrics in order to make and measure progress. Since much of their DEI agendas are board-driven, they want advice on developing tangible KPIs so they can report quantitative progress.

You can meet their unmet need by infusing your owned media content strategy with guidance on issues such as how to incorporate DEI as a strategic priority and who should be involved in developing and implementing key initiatives.

What In-House Counsel and Other Departments Need

By contrast, corporate legal officers and other leaders who are responsible for implementing DEI initiatives are looking for detailed, tactical advice to help them carry out their firm’s strategic vision. For example, legal officers want advice from law firms on the “right” way to focus on social justice and speak out on sensitive social issues. 

Other DEI topics that resonate with in-house counsel include:

  • How to create affinity and/or peer mentoring groups to foster a deeper sense of belonging and grow diverse leaders
  • Ways to broaden recruitment practices to attract a wider pool of qualified candidates
  • How to clear the path for members of underrepresented groups to share their ideas and feedback
  • Strategies to increase buy-in and support from mid-level managers and employees across the organization

Despite these different priorities, C-suite and legal department leaders alike need to understand this important truth: Using a business case alone to justify DEI initiatives can actually erode their effectiveness by undermining underrepresented groups’ sense of belonging. Therefore, it’s also important to reinforce the moral aspect of diversity, equity, and inclusion.

In other words, your content strategy should emphasize that caring about DEI is not just good for business. It’s the right thing to do.

Start a Smarter DEI-Focused Conversation

Creating a truly equitable and inclusive workplace — and communicating about it effectively — can be a challenging and messy process. And we all know that real, meaningful change doesn’t happen overnight.

You, your firm, and your clients will undoubtedly face difficult conversations and navigate challenging circumstances along the way. The team at Greentarget can help you participate skillfully as you seek to direct a smarter DEI-focused conversation at your firm and beyond. Just reach out — we’d love to hear from you.

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If you’re a business leader, the Great Resignation poses a significant threat to your firm’s wellbeing in 2022. We believe the best way to address that threat is to start treating your talent with the same emphasis you historically place on attracting and serving clients.

As unprecedented numbers of experienced professionals re-evaluate their careers and exit their industries altogether, you’re faced with a significant challenge. How do you attract and retain the employees who will drive your business forward? If you’re in the legal industry, you’re likely aware that associate turnover at the nation’s largest law firms increased to nearly 25% in 2021 – up from 18% in 2019 – an alarming number that likely explains the historic rise in associate salaries, that also is an imminent talent and financial risk to firms in 2022.

We’re seeing similar attrition in other segments of professional and financial services, as well – and this isn’t just a problem for your HR and marketing teams to solve. As a business leader, you’ll need to personally make sure your firm is the kind of place where the most talented people want to spend their time and devote their efforts. In fact, you’d be wise to prioritize this issue ahead of client growth for the foreseeable future.

Here’s how to make your firm an employer of choice amid one of the most competitive and challenging hiring landscapes we’ve ever witnessed.

Define and Communicate Your Firm’s Behaviors

Although often conflated, your organizational values and culture are not one and the same. Values are what you say. Culture is what you do. Behavior is the connective tissue that links your stated values to the boots-on-the-ground reality of what it’s like to work at your firm. When your values inform and influence behavior on a consistent basis, you have a healthy culture that’s worth joining. 

It takes intentional effort to create a values-infused culture. Here are two ways to get started.

1. Talk to your talent 

It sounds simple, but very few professional services organizations communicate with their own people with consistency and intent. If you’re like most professional services organizations, you interview your clients on a regular basis. And that makes sense — you want to know that your relationships are healthy and that your account teams are delivering the value you’ve promised. 

But are you regularly conducting similar interviews with your employees – beyond an annual performance review or other HR-led initiatives? Understanding your culture begins by collecting qualitative insights from across your organization. Imagine what you could learn if you created a safe atmosphere for employees to answer questions like:

  • How would you describe our culture to your family?
  • Does the way we approach our day-to-day work match our values?
  • Do you believe our core values are an accurate reflection of how we behave as an organization?
  • Is this an environment where you feel confident that you can reach your individual goals?
  • Why do you think we exist as an organization?

Of course, these conversations will only be useful if your employees are candid with you. To earn their trust, leaders should demonstrate vulnerability and a genuine desire to listen and show that they’re willing to invest the time to shape and own this process. That’s the best way for it to truly have an impact.  

2. Articulate the Specific Behaviors You Expect at Your Firm

After you obtain a clear understanding of your current culture, spell out the specific behaviors that will create the type of environment you want your firm to embody. Your mission statement should drive your organizational values, and your values should then influence and inform the behaviors you expect.

For example, Greentarget’s mission is to drive smarter conversations for our clients. In pursuit of that mission, we value being authentic, working hard, embracing curiosity that drives creative thinking, embracing the stretch and growing as individuals and as a team. But without specific behaviors that bring those values to life, what we value are just words on a page. To really bring this to life, we identified the concrete actions we need to take to solidify our culture. These include:

  • Drawing on colleagues
  • Asking insightful questions
  • Focusing on the details 
  • Responding with “yes…and”
  • Bringing fresh thinking 
  • Staying informed 
  • Building personal connections
  • Embracing inclusivity 
  • Recharging strategically 
  • Getting uncomfortable 
  • Asking “how can I help?”

Take time to define and communicate the mission, values, and behaviors that will attract the best and brightest talent. Compile persuasive stories about your employees’ achievements and successes. While a competitive salary might be the element that gets a prospective employee’s attention, an authentic, purpose-driven work environment is what will inspire them to stay. Purpose-driven team members seek out and stay with organizations where they feel they have strong relationships, are making an impact and see the opportunities for growth.

And keep in mind this isn’t a “one and done” exercise. There’s a reason author and consultant Patrick Lencioni fondly refers to the CEO as the “Chief Reminding Officer.” Great leaders articulate the behaviors they expect, emulate those behaviors themselves and then remind, remind, remind until they’re sick of hearing themselves talk about it. (And even then, they keep going).

Take on New Clients Based on Whether They’re a Good Fit for Your Team

Your internal culture is important. But it’s not the only factor determining whether your employees remain happy and fulfilled at work. Your clients also play a significant role in shaping your team’s day-to-day experience. 

That’s why it’s so important to consider client engagements carefully. No one wants to work with a client who is harsh, demanding and capricious. Difficult clients deplete your employees’ motivation and hinder the creativity necessary to do great work. 

Likewise, you should be careful to take on clients whose values align with your own. For example, if one of your core values is authenticity, don’t take on a client who pushes your team to misrepresent the truth or uses passive-aggressive behavior to bully your team. That only undermines your firm’s stated ideals and communicates the wrong message to your employees. 

Greentarget evaluates new client engagements using a quadrant that plots them based on financial opportunity and cultural alignment. Even if the potential client could bring significant revenue to the firm, we turn down the work if there are signs of low cultural alignment. We’ve assessed what we’ve learned over the years about strong client relationships, and we use this list to assess “fit” using more than our gut instinct.

There is plenty of client work to be had — especially in today’s climate. Be choosy about whom you welcome into the fold. Engage clients who are a pleasure to work with and who will treat your employees with respect. These engagements foster the best collaboration between your team and their clients, which in turn will keep them motivated, engaged and loyal.

A client once told us: “I want to be the account that your team is clamouring to join. The one that people talk about around the lunch table with appreciation. That’s how I know I’ll get your best and most creative work.” What does that type of client look like for your organization?

Prioritize Talent to Realize Greater Success

The only way you’ll meet your growth targets is if you have the talent to support your business objectives. And it will take more than pay and incentives to overcome the challenges brought on by the Great Resignation.

The good news is your culture can become a differentiating factor that attracts and retains the employees you need to drive your organization forward. A leading technology-focused professional services firm with an enviable culture and impressive DE&I track record recently added “Culture” to the head of communications’ title and responsibility. This individual is now focused both internally and externally on continually demonstrating and celebrating the firm’s most important cultural assets, initiatives and successes. This is an excellent example aligning culture and brand. 

You too can prioritize culture and employee experience over client growth, thereby creating the conditions that will ultimately lead to higher levels of success. And rest assured – if you take care of the talent, the revenue will follow.

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New complexities in the age of “cancel culture” are no longer just a challenge for celebrities. Increasingly, professional services firms face a new reality as online communities and individual actors use the power of social media to whip up public outcry because of the people or organizations firms represent.

These actors can be tenacious, even vicious. If they access your client list and accompanying email addresses, they will use that information to exert incredible pressure, sometimes going as far as demanding you fire your client or face their wrath.

In this evolving court of public opinion, you may feel the pressure to drop individuals and corporations who are controversial. And if you’re like us, you’re struggling with questions regarding the bastions of our liberal society — namely, free speech and the right to fair representation under the law — in the face of attacks that modern communications have made more intense. It takes deep pockets and a whole lot of courage to stand firm — to say nothing of the soul-searching that’s often necessary to make sure doing so is the right thing for your organization.

Here’s how to mitigate your risk of exposure and respond appropriately if and when you come under attack.

Refine (or Define) Your Firm’s Organizational Values 

On the social media battlefield, your organizational values are your first line of defense. But what does your firm truly stand for? 

Don’t roll your eyes just yet. Think about how common it is for firms facing criticism to release a statement claiming “this is not in line with our values.” Does that ring true if, in fact, it’s clear that their modus operandi is to prioritize top-line revenue above all else?

Before you can assess your risk and develop an authentic crisis communication strategy, the first step is to reevaluate and redefine your firm’s values. Who do you aspire to be? Is it time to evolve your position in order to be relevant in today’s world? Or do your values compel you to hold fast to a particular ideal, even in the face of criticism? Do your business practices demonstrate concern for prominent social issues such as racial justice, climate change, economic disparity, gender equality, and voting rights? And are you communicating effectively about the issues that matter to your firm and to society at large with confidence?

Once you’ve answered these questions, you can effectively assess your risk in light of your defined values.

Analyze Your Risk in 3 Key Areas

There are three unique areas of vulnerability for professional services firms — your talent, your clients, and your history. You’ll need to identify possible risks of exposure within each area.

Talent 

If your partners are involved in the political arena, are outspoken in ways that don’t align with your firm’s overarching values, or choose to represent problematic clients, those decisions can tarnish your firm’s reputation and test the bounds of your partnership agreements. To mitigate this risk, assess whether your talent pool is aligned around common values. In our experience, the best way to do this is to talk about those values as frequently as possible, solicit feedback from across the organization on the strength and accuracy of those values and ask your teams to share the ways in which they’ve relied on those values to make tough decisions. (And if your team can’t cite examples, it’s probably an indication that your values need to be revisited).

Clients 

Take a close look at your client rosters to identify any controversial individuals or companies in your fold. Do you have a firm handle on who your organization represents? Is there a clear process to make decisions on new engagements that have the potential to draw scrutiny? Do your newly-refined values guide you toward continuing to represent them? If so, proceed — but be sure to include specific clients like these in scenario planning so you’re ready to respond to outside criticism. If your values don’t align with continuing to represent that client, it’s time to make some hard decisions.

History 

Your past representations may also come to light when your firm faces scrutiny from a social advocacy group. These relationships leave fingerprints on your firm’s public image and likely will not simply fade with time. If your past decisions don’t align with your current values or today’s social context, they could come back to haunt you. It’s worth the time and effort to do the hard work of assessing past representations that may not reflect positively on your firm without proper explanation. Be prepared to face scrutiny for these engagements and be willing to explain why the organization’s decision to represent certain clients from the past was the right (or wrong) one.

Once you have a handle on the vulnerabilities that exist within your organization, it’s time to do a deep dive into possible scenarios that could arise using a simple scenario planning framework.

Conduct Worst-Case Scenario Planning 

How will you respond if the vulnerabilities you’ve identified in your talent, client, and history become a public issue that reflects negatively on the organization? The last thing you want to do is panic and react in a way that makes a bad situation even worse. 

Instead, take the time to conduct thorough scenario planning in advance to help you craft appropriate responses to a variety of hypothetical crises. Bring your C-suite, key partners, and members of your communication team together to develop a playbook for each scenario. The best strategy to mitigate reputational threats around talent, clients and history is to invest the time to prepare in advance.

Together, we suggest working through the following steps:

  • Plot the likely scenarios based on vulnerabilities identified in your talent pool, client list, and history. What decisions would you need to make in this situation? What actions would you need to take? 
  • Identify and prioritize the impacted audiences. Who will be most affected if an imagined crisis becomes reality? Clients? Partners? Employees? Among the audiences you identify, who is the highest priority? What perceptions need to be anticipated and addressed? 
  • Develop the messages each audience needs to hear. Now is the time to craft standby messaging that can be used in various scenarios and targeted to key audiences. Your messages will be stronger, clearer, and more strategic if you draft them now, rather than when you’re in the midst of the storm where emotions tend to cloud decision making and limit the possibilities.
  • Identify and prepare the right spokesperson(s). Choose the right media spokesperson (usually someone other than your CEO) to represent you — someone who is calm under pressure and has the credibility to represent the organization well. Allow them to practice delivering difficult messaging before a crisis actually hits. And only leverage your CEO when the issue(s) truly rise to the level of the C-suite. Remember that leveraging your CEO as the organization’s spokesperson is a message in and of itself.
  • Deliver key messages via the appropriate channels (internal and external). If possible, identify internal and external audiences who can help evaluate your messaging and give you honest feedback on how it lands. Social media in particular is a preferred communications medium among these online communities but is often not the most advantageous delivery mechanism for your organization. You may need to recast the communications approach to traditional media, for example, to help level the playing field.
  • Measure the impact so you can reassess and adapt as needed. Even in a hypothetical situation, practice adapting your messaging based on the feedback you receive from target audiences. Establishing effective feedback loops is critical to help you make the decision to shift course when necessary.

Don’t Waste a Good Crisis

Activist groups know how to use the super-charged political environment we all live in to their advantage. But you can use the threat of a hypothetical crisis to your firm’s advantage as well. After all, sometimes it takes an emergency (even a hypothetical one) to inspire organizations like yours to do the hard work that will end up enhancing your reputation in the long run.  

By strengthening your values, aligning your business decisions around your overarching principles, and crafting compelling messages for a variety of scenarios, you can win the hearts and minds of the audiences that really matter to you — your employees, your clients, and the various other stakeholders who contribute to your success.

Invest the time now to prepare for scrutiny from these online communities before you land in their crosshairs. You’ll be better prepared, you’ll likely uncover reputational vulnerabilities that you didn’t know existed previously, and your organization will emerge stronger and more aligned with its values as a result. 

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After a sharp, pandemic-induced slowdown, law firm M&A activity is heating up fast. Completed mergers tallied by Fairfax Associates in the first half of 2021 were on par with 2020, but several transformative deals announced in the second quarter – Crowell & Moring and Brinks Gilson, Holland & Knight and Thompson & Knight, to name a few — promise to reshape certain markets and are a harbinger of more activity to come. Altman Weil predicts we may see more than 100 new mergers or acquisitions by the end of 2021.

If you’re one of those 100 — or if you’re planning on a deal in 2022 — your merger has the potential to dramatically transform your firm’s culture and scope.  Even smaller, tuck-in acquisitions can significantly impact how you serve clients and develop business.  Meanwhile, the ongoing global health crisis and America’s racial reckoning, the greatest drivers of change in our age, continue to present challenges, particularly regarding how your clients expect their outside counsel to operate and how your employees think about their workplace. You need a thoughtful, proactive communication plan to demonstrate how the combined firm will meet the needs of these stakeholders in a rapidly evolving environment.

Instead of trying to convince everyone that the combining firms are perfect cultural fits – which by now has become a default headline message for every merger announcement — the most important thing you can do at the outset of a deal is instill confidence that the combination will deliver in important ways for your key stakeholders: clients and employees, first and foremost.  Luckily, we all learned a few things about communicating with clients and colleagues during the pandemic.

Here’s what you should keep top-of-mind as you get started:

1 – Don’t Abandon Zoom Yet

We heard it several times during a June 8 panel we moderated with current and former Fortune 500 GCs: We’re not going back to the way it was before. Remote communication is here to stay so make it work for you. Plan to get your clients on video immediately after your announcement, introduce them to your new colleagues – associates and counsels as well as partners – and if you can, showcase the broader diversity on the team. Offer remote training with new partners that strengthen important areas your clients care about.  Traveling from client to client to tout the benefits of your combination is time consuming and expensive – and it is no longer necessary.

Remote communication can help in other ways, too. R. Cameron Garrison, CEO of Lathrop GPM, which was formed days before the pandemic took hold in the US, said that doing business remotely and the need to communicate digitally put everyone on equal footing. “All of a sudden we weren’t thinking of two organizations trying to come together,” Garrison said about the mindset of the firm’s lawyers when the pandemic hit. “All of a sudden the entire framework shifted to ‘we.’ How are ‘we’ going to navigate this?”

2 – Demonstrate Depth and Progress

Clients want progress on DE&I.  And we know that they want more targeted, next level analysis in your more routine communications (alerts, newsletters, webinars, etc.). Deliver the same degree of detail to demonstrate how your combination helps you make progress in the areas clients really care about.  Start by answering these questions:

  • What is your overall vision and strategic plan for the new firm and how will it enhance client service? In other words, how does one + one = three, five or even more?
  • How does the newly combined firm stack up on DE&I metrics, and what action will the combined firm take to make tangible progress towards DE&I goals?
  • Will the combination allow your employees to flourish and grow in new ways? How will it enable you to attract new talent and retain the partners and associates you have?
  • What are some of the unique ways the combined firm will better serve large, institutional clients or an emerging sector? 
  • What areas of strength or niche capabilities will each party offer the other’s clients? 
  • Being transparent with clients and employees alike about your business case will help build excitement and goodwill —invaluable assets during integration.

3 – Get Creative About Culture

In normal times, post-merger integration involved a lot of travel. Leaders from each firm visited office locations to meet as many partners and associates as possible. Meetings, town halls, and cocktail hours provided opportunities for face-to-face networking. These in-person interactions helped create trust and rapport.

The pandemic put those tactics on hold. But one firm got creative and rented an RV to send its leadership team on the road. The team visited each office location and invited employees to connect in safe, socially distanced ways, providing a memorable and shared experience.

Also effective (if less dramatic), a Fortune 20 GC participant in the recent panel spoke about his legal department’s “camera-on” culture and how it provides the perfect opportunity to get to know associates, diverse lawyers and others working on their business.

As you prepare to ink a deal in the second half of 2021 or early 2022, look for out-of-the-box approaches like this to foster relationships between new colleagues and with clients, and forge a culture about which everyone can get excited.

Professional services firms don’t get too many newsworthy, all-eyes-on-you moments. A merger or acquisition is one of the few pivotal events that guarantees all your key stakeholders will be paying attention.

Lean into the communication tactics you developed during the pandemic. Amid ever-shifting circumstances, you learned that it’s impossible to over-communicate. Frequent, smart, transparent communication is key in a crisis — it’s also the cornerstone of effective change management. 

And don’t forget that this is your chance to build an exciting new culture around your M&A business case. Through effective external and internal communication, you can inspire your stakeholders and signal that your new direction is strategic, visionary, and purposeful. 

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Distinguished GC panel weighs in on preferred communications between firms and clients, fulfillment of DE&I commitments, and the continuation of virtual engagement post-pandemic.

After the once-in-a-century inflection point of a global pandemic, the legal industry — and all of corporate America — faces another major transition as COVID-19 fades and the “new normal” sets in.

With offices reopening across the country, what lessons will the legal industry retain from the pandemic and what trends from the last 15 months will remain? Just as significantly, what will be the lasting legacy of a national racial reckoning that largely coincided with the worst global health crisis in generations?

These questions were the focus of a distinguished panel of current and former general counsel held on June 8, 2021. Sponsored by The Mid-Atlantic Chapter of the Legal Marketing Association, the remote gathering was moderated by John Corey, President & Founding Partner of Greentarget, and Mary K. Young, partner at Zeughauser Group. The participants were:

  • Rachel Adams, former Vice President, Deputy General Counsel, Lenovo
  • Alex Dimitrief, Partner, Zeughauser Group and former General Counsel, General Electric
  • Peter Muñiz, Vice President and Deputy General Counsel, The Home Depot

Often focused on offering guidance for law firms, the conversation was broken into two main categories: How the interactions and communications between firms and clients will look coming out of the pandemic and how the legal industry should continue its renewed focus on diversity, equity and inclusion. The main takeaways from the conversation include:

  • Video and remote conferencing is here to stay, and law firms should make the most of it.
  • Law firm communications (alerts, webinar invites, etc.) still aren’t targeted enough as clients seek next-level analysis.
  • Firms need to be careful return-to-office plans don’t put disproportionate pressure on working women.
  • Firms need to make good on their public DE&I promises.
  • Marketers can play important roles as change agents within their firms.

The following includes highlights of the conversation with edits for clarity and length.

We are Living the “New Normal”

Q: How much of the pivot to remote and virtual communications since the start of the pandemic will remain – and how can law firms continue to improve and leverage this development?

Rachel: I see more and more communications using technology and video conferencing. Why should I get on an airplane, waste an evening traveling, stay at a hotel, have a three- or four-hour meeting and then turn back around? I think we’ve learned in the past year-plus how productive we’ve been working remotely.

Alex: Law firms ought to realize that they’re more likely to get client participation if they can just log onto an hour-long webinar. Anything that helps people save time is a plus — and I think law firms that have embraced the new normal and make interactive technologies work are going to win the day.

Peter: Throughout the pandemic, our company has been a video-on company and rarely on a video call does someone make it so you can’t see their face. But that’s not the case with some of our outside counsel and it definitely stands out. That’s an example of why it’s important to be sensitive to the client culture and adapting to it is something law firms need to consider.

Q: Beyond video conferencing, how can law firms do a better job communicating?

Alex: I’m really disappointed when I get a client alert that says, “News Flash – the Coronavirus Raises Issues of Force Majeure and Material Adverse Events.” Well, no kidding. Everyone knows that. You’ve got to remember that you’ve got a sophisticated audience looking for next-level analysis.

Rachel: We get flooded with emails, webinars, research, etc., but if law firms can target and educate themselves on what our big issues may be, then what they’re sending us can cut through the noise. It’s also about understanding what our drama is and what our daily demons are with limited budgets and limited head count.

Q: How do you see the use of in-person meetings changing, and is there opportunity for law firms in the change?

Alex: There are going to be some things that are so important, so material that people are going to want in-person interaction, but that will be the exception. When a client wants to sit in the room to gauge credibility and confidence and advice, that’s a good thing — and firms ought to embrace it. But I wouldn’t insist upon it.

Rachel: If we are going to sit down with our outside counsel and discuss a substantive matter, we’re going to also ask you to provide training to our in-house lawyers while you’re there. That’s an opportunity for you to get to know us better because, if we’re going to have an in-person meeting, we want to get additional value out of the relationship.

Peter: There is something to be said for human contact, but it’s going to be a very targeted approach going forward. From a marketing standpoint, law firms should see the advantages of these new forums and how to truly engage with clients effectively and efficiently. In so doing, their networks are literally going to expand because they’re getting exposed to more members of our teams.

Q: How should law firms think about their own in-house talent given the new normal?

Peter: They need to consider how they evolve their own work cultures so they can maximize their human capital. How are they going to really leverage this new work environment and how can they evolve it to retain and attract the talent that’s necessary for them to excel and to meet our needs should be big considerations.

Alex: Law firm leaders must establish credible and compelling criteria for requiring lawyers to come to the office. The last time I checked, they exceled over the last year and a half working remotely. So, this theme that you need people in the office to demonstrate client commitment rings a little hollow. That said, I understand the considerations around firm culture, for training and other opportunities.

Firms Making Progress on DE&I? “Too Early to Tell.”

Q: Have law firms improved on their commitments to deliver on DE&I over the past year?

Rachel: As an African American woman, I think everybody stepped up communications. I don’t want to say they had to, but they had to — as being silent was not the right thing to do. But at some point, we’re going to start asking for numbers. You can give us all the commitments that you want, but who’s coming out on pitches? Who’s working on our files? Who’s doing the work? We want to understand not just your verbal commitments but your actions.

Peter: Firms have enhanced their level of self-awareness and they understand that there has been a seismic shift. But are they moving the needle? I think it’s too early to tell. They’re engaging with clients in a more collaborative fashion, they want to benchmark and share best practices – and that’s all good. But over time, we will see whether there’s measurable improvement.

Alex: This issue is largely about talent pipelines and whether firms hire from a broader spectrum of law schools than before, whether they can put less focus on grades and more focus on overall qualifications and how they treat diverse lawyers and promote their careers in an appropriate way. Honestly, I don’t know a topic that we’ve talked about more in recent decades and achieved less.

Q: What responsibility do clients have to help improve law firm diversity?

Peter: If you come to me to pitch for business, or if you’re an existing firm and the team that you construct does not reflect my values, you’re not going to be doing much business with me going forward. But I communicate that clearly so it’s not a trap. It’s important for in-house counsel to clearly set expectations.

Rachel: We’re very upfront on what are expectations are for diverse teams and law firms that are coming in to pitch us and law firms that are doing work for us; if you can’t meet certain requirements, you won’t do business with us.

Alex: This often comes down to how to handle a client who says, “Hey, I need to see DE&I,” and then balks at a diverse team on a big case, preferring the white males who have worked for them in the past. I hear leaders of law firms talk about how they’re frustrated by these hypocritical clients, and what I’d say to law firms is, “It’s time to call them on it.”

Q: Are there related issues when it comes to DE&I and the return to the office?

Rachel: Firms are going to have to be flexible. The burdens on female lawyers, both in-house and at outside firms, when it comes to raising children over the past year-plus should be on leaders’ minds when enacting rules about being in the office.

Alex: The worst thing that could happen is for a firm to say that everyone is free to work remotely and still view time in the office as proxy for commitment to clients, commitment to the firm, etc. In that scenario, lawyers who believed they had the flexibility to work at home could be told “You didn’t really demonstrate the commitment” when they’re up for partner. And that could disproportionately affect females.

Peter: If law firms want to be employers of choice, they must adapt and not make excuses or avoid embracing flexibility. All the myths about whether you could trust employees to work remotely? We’re past that. We have successfully run multi-billion-dollar businesses remotely.

Q: Can law firm marketers play a role in new thinking about the office and DE&I?

Rachel: Lawyers are set in their ways and comfortable bringing the same people to pitch meetings. But they need to understand whom they’re meeting with and what those parties increasingly look for. Marketing teams can help provide this valuable insight and tailor teams for pitches.

Peter: Marketers can help shape the voice of the law firm because they know their audiences. Understanding me and my values and my commitment to whatever issue we’re talking about is absolutely critical if you’re pitching me or engaging me on a substantive issue.

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