Strategic Advisor or Service Provider? The Role of Marketing and Business Development in Influencing Attorney Behavior
As marketing and BD professionals, we’ve all been there: your team spends weeks developing an industry-focused business development strategy. You identify market opportunities, outline a content plan, coordinate client outreach and prepare recommendations for cross-selling across practice groups.
Then the plan stalls. A partner suddenly needs pitch materials for an opportunity no one knew existed. Another attorney asks for a last-minute client alert. Someone else needs edits to a PowerPoint presentation scheduled for the next morning.
By the end of the week, your team has spent most of its time responding to urgent requests instead of advancing the broader strategy it was hired to implement. Sound familiar?
Firms say they want strategic growth: stronger visibility, deeper client relationships, more cross-selling, better industry positioning and measurable BD results. Yet some marketing and BD teams still spend most of their time responding to attorney requests rather than collaborating with attorneys to develop targeted BD strategies. That raises the question: are legal marketers strategic advisors or still primarily internal service providers?
Why Legal Marketing Has Historically Been Reactive
Historically, law firm marketing has been reactive. Attorneys generated business through referrals, reputation and personal networks, while marketing teams supported those efforts with pitches, directory submissions, events and various publications. In many firms, responsiveness became the main measure of success, even when it undermined long-term planning and reinforced the idea that attorneys direct marketing rather than collaborate on a strategy.
Today, clients expect more, competition is tighter and firms are investing in client experience, analytics and AI. That requires marketing and BD professionals to operate as business partners, not just support staff.
The Authority Gap
The problem is that some firms haven’t fully adjusted to match those expectations. Marketing teams are expected to encourage participation in initiatives beyond their control: attorneys may ignore CRM tools, resist cross-selling or demand more visibility, while delaying approvals or deliverables (a tale as old as time in legal marketing).
This situation is all too common for many legal marketers: being tasked with responsibility without having authority. However, it would be unfair to label attorneys as simply resistant to change. Lawyers are trained to prioritize precision and risk management, and client demands often push long-term marketing lower on the list. In a lot of firms, the issue is structural rather than a matter of personal resistance.
What Actually Creates Influence
The most effective legal marketers know that influence rarely comes from hierarchy alone. It comes from credibility, especially when they help attorneys become more effective in front of clients.
They Understand the Business of Law - Attorneys are more likely to trust marketers who understand client pressures, industry trends, competitive developments and revenue drivers.
They Bring Data, Not Just Ideas – Data moves marketing discussions from preference to strategy by connecting recommendations to measurable outcomes, such as industry opportunity, content engagement and client growth.
They Anticipate Problems Before Attorneys See Them - BD professionals add value when they proactively spot risks and opportunities, such as leadership changes, competitor activity or underdeveloped client relationships.
These shifts are changing the role of legal marketing from a support function into a business function.
The Firms Pulling Ahead
Some firms are evolving faster than others. The firms gaining an advantage are the ones where attorneys and business professionals operate as strategic partners. These firms involve marketing members in planning, emphasize client experience, use data to guide growth and encourage coordinated BD efforts.
In these environments, marketing goes beyond executing requests after decisions are made. It’s helping shape the decisions themselves. Some examples include coordinated industry campaigns and client feedback programs led by the marketing and BD teams. In these instances, marketers influence decision-making and these responsibilities demonstrate a much more strategic role within the firm.
The question is no longer whether marketing and BD professionals can impact attorney behavior, many already do, but whether firms are ready to acknowledge that influence as part of their strategy. Firms that continue treating marketing solely as a responsive service function might struggle in a field that increasingly rewards coordination, differentiation and translating strategy into action.