Finding a Competitive Advantage

Law firms increasingly struggle for competitive advantage in crowded marketplaces, both local and global. An oversupply of lawyers and the commoditization of legal services generally have fueled law firm mergers, especially since the late 1990s, until, finally, some have reached a gigantic scale, unimaginable even a few years ago. The channels of communication between law firms and their marketplaces opened with Bates v. State Bar of Arizona are now flooded with messages of almost every kind: print, radio and television advertising; informational, recruitment and advertising mailings; Web sites, brochures, event sponsorships, marquee events, community and public relations programs.

In this clutter and chaos, a firm’s attention on its clients is often connected to their lifetime value as measured in economic benefit to the firm. Marketing programs and staff are called on to demonstrate their return on investment (ROI). Strategies must be measurable and show that they generate the awareness and inquiries that end up as open matters and billable hours. Firms of all sizes, geographies and practices may soon recognize their need to have some thing that sets them apart from every other firm. Many may begin developing a service, element or program to attempt to differentiate themselves from all other contenders for the legal representation of clients.