Most midsize law firms are actively hunting for new clients. But a recently released survey shows that many lack a vital component that can drive success in client acquisition—a plan.
As part of its annual rankings, Best Law Firms collects data from thousands of law firms around the United States, including information about their marketing efforts. Firms are asked whether they have developed written marketing strategies for their firms, how they track return on marketing investment, the types of marketing they employ, and the messaging they use to attract clients.
Among law firms in the 20-150-lawyer range, the data shows investment in marketing differs widely between plaintiffs-side and defense-oriented corporate firms and that the majority of firms are neglecting to create a written strategy to help them attract new clients.
Consumer Firms Are Investing More
According to the Best Law Firms’ data, midsize plaintiffs firms are spending greater sums on marketing and planning and are documenting their business development strategies more thoroughly than their corporate law counterparts. Midsize firms that focus on general consumer clients reported an annual average marketing budget of $157,000.
Among those firms, 48 percent said they have a written marketing and business and development strategy in place and another 10 percent were in the process of creating a plan. Around 40 percent of midsize plaintiffs firms said they did not have a plan in place and did not anticipate creating one.
By comparison, only one-third of midsize firms who focus on business or corporate clients have a written marketing strategy. Another 16 percent said they would like a written strategic plan, but haven’t gotten around to creating one. And more than half of corporate firms—53 percent—said they don’t have a plan and have no plans to create one.
The average marketing spend at corporate law firms is also nearly four times smaller than that of plaintiffs-side firms, according to Best Law Firms data. On average, corporate law firms in the 20-150-lawyer range had an annual marketing budget of just $40,000. This figure also pales in comparison to large corporate law firm competitors. On average, larger firms are investing in one marketing professional for every six partners, according to another recent study, compared to one for every 11 or 12 partners at midsize law firms.
Marketing Methods
Discussing marketing plans is particularly apt at this time of the year. Eight in 10 U.S. law firms set their annual marketing budgets in November, December, and January, the Best Law Firms survey shows. Half of those firms are handling marketing internally and depend on one person to do the work. About 10 percent hire an outside agency to handle all of their marketing. And a little more than a quarter take a hybrid approach, deploying both outside agencies and in-house teams.
How are firms marketing themselves? Many are embracing digital marketing opportunities as they search for new clients, the data shows. Nearly 60 percent said they are now relying on their website to help with the process, 45 percent said they also use social media, and one-third said they are marketing via search engine optimization.
Yet even in this digital age, the most popular forms of marketing involve the human touch. Three-quarters of firms said their go-to new client acquisition strategy remains word-of-mouth. And 51 percent said they are using events and speaking engagements to reach clients.
How Firms Pitch Themselves
Firms were also asked by Best Law Firms about their messaging and how they would describe themselves to a potential client as part of a hypothetical pitch. Most firms surveyed said they would focus on their experience and their ability to tailor services to the unique needs of clients. They said they would position themselves as a trusted business adviser that provides discerning and proactive legal advice and is committed to understanding client business objectives.
Many of the firms surveyed said they would discuss their commitment to diversity and inclusion. In this way, they said they could mirror the values of potential clients who have diversity requirements for outside counsel.
Others said they would highlight practice niches and industry-specific work. And a number of them said they would focus on their ability to offer cutting-edge technology solutions. Touting innovation-driven legal strategies, they said, would attract clients who are seeking efficiency and are interested in lowering costs.
Failing to Measure ROI
Midsize firms have work to do to measure the return on their marketing efforts, as well. Less than half of firms said they have systems and technology in place to measure ROI, about one-fifth said they do not measure return on investment but would like to, and one-third do not measure ROI and are not interested in doing so.
As Best Law Firm notes in its report, “Without a plan of action and a way to evaluate results, firms make the task of finding new clients far more difficult. This is a particular issue because most of the law firms surveyed said they are looking to bring aboard more clients.” Indeed, 99 percent of firms, large and small, answered “yes” to the question “is your firm actively trying to engage new clients?”
Best Law Firms Legal Market Report 2025 includes additional information about competitive strategies, clients, geographic expansion, generative AI, non-lawyer staffing levels, the gender makeup of firms, and DEI programs. You can click here for a full report on the numbers.
Do you have questions, feedback, or topics you would like The Edge to cover? Send a note to david@good2bsocial.com.