The reality is that law firm marketing and business development departments have undergone a marked evolution. The function and personnel of these departments has shifted from jack-of-all-trades administrative assistants, de facto assuming marketing and communication functions, to highly specialized professionals expected to deliver a quantifiable ROI.
Through the course of this shift, increasing segmentation has occurred with generalists joining firms fresh out of college and gravitating toward their natural niche such as competitive intelligence, proposal writing or communications. This is not unlike the vast legion of lawyers who enter the practice of law slotted into one practice group only to shift into a different one that is a better fit, and in turn, thrive.
