When I was a second year student on Law Review, one of the third year editors told me that the reward for doing good work was more work. Because we were performing a volunteer service, without compensation, the comment was meant to be ironic, as the "more work" more closely resembled punishment than reward.
Of course, in the real world of law practice, where lawyers usually are paid for their services, getting "more work" is the goal, and many turn to marketing as the means to achieve it. Law firms today employ professional marketing staff, some lawyers participate in marketing committees, and some lawyers and firms hire outside marketing consultants. Legal marketing seminars abound, and the twitterverse and blogosphere are awash with legal marketing advice. (I suppose this entry may even fall into that category.)
With so much time and attention being paid to marketing, it may be too easy to forget the wisdom of my senior editor's comment that more work is the reward for good work. While marketing is a necessary component of much legal practice today (some might say a necessary evil), it is at best the third step of a multi-step process. The first two steps are developing a quality "product," (i.e., high quality legal skills), and providing quality service. In the category of product development, lawyers need to set the bar high for excellence, demand only the highest quality work from themselves and their colleagues, and continuously hone their skills. In many cases, this also means developing one or more areas of specialized expertise, and pursuing the goal of being the best in those fields. In the category of client service, lawyers need to be highly responsive and accessible to clients, to listen to their clients' concerns, and to strive to meet their clients' legitimate expectations.
My wife and I recently attended the memorial service for the founder of a very successful company. The program for the service included copies of the late founder's quotes. Two seemingly conflicting quotes were set out side by side. One read: "It's the product, stupid." The other read: "It's the customer, stupid." Both are right. All the marketing and salesmanship in the world will do no good if the legal skills and customer service are not first rate. Excellence in these areas is what our clients expect from us, and we should strive to deliver no less. And when we consistently meet that expectation, the marketing begins to take care of itself.
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