Tenure Is Short For Legal Marketers
The Hartford Business Journal has a good article, "Like Ad Campaigns, Tenure Is Short For Legal Marketers," on the revolving-door scenario for law firm marketers.
"Turnover is quick for legal marketers. Average tenures are hard to specify, but most marketing professionals say the usual job span is a mere two years. Audra Callanan, president of the New England chapter of the Legal Marketing Association, put the tenure track at between one and two years.
Some examples: "DayPitney marketing officer Roberta Montafia left after little more than two years. Shipman & Goodwin’s marketing chief, Tom Diascro, didn’t even make that mark — and that was after leaving a similar post at Tyler Cooper & Alcorn after less than a year. Robinson & Cole’s long-time marketing queen, Linda O’Connell, also left within the last year."
The problem is that law firms don't know what they want. When I applied for a legal marketing job in 1981, my prospective employer asked me to write out what my job description was. They didn’t know what they wanted — I had to tell them.
The situation is worsened by regular changes in leadership in law firms. As a result, a lot of chief marketing officers go from being a movie star to being deadwood in one day.
