In the House With….Melanie Green
Law firm marketing is more than just appetizers.
In 1977, in Bates v. State Bar of Arizona, the United States Supreme Court upheld the right for attorneys to advertise their services. Saying that this type of advertising would be protected under the First Amendment, the Court believed getting this information to consumers would make legal services more accessible to the general public and improve the overall administration of justice.
I remember learning about that case in my communications law class at ASU. I didn’t think much of it at the time, but over the years this precedent-setting case opened the door for the team at HMA Public Relations to provide public relations and marketing communications support to law firms across the Southwest.
Over the years, our work has evolved from simply distributing news releases regarding partner announcements to a more comprehensive and strategic approach to raising awareness regarding the attorneys and their practice areas.
In this week’s episode of Copper State of Mind, we were joined by Melanie Green, chief marketing and business development officer at Fish & Richardson, a premier intellectual property and litigation law firm.
“When I first started in law firm marketing, we were planning seminars and client dinners. I often felt that the success of my efforts was based on how good the appetizers were,” she joked.
These days, law firm marketing departments are staffed by savvy business professionals with expertise in marketing, sales, public relations, collateral development, graphic design, issues management, special events management, among a host of other internal communications efforts.
“Our in-house team, along with strategic partnerships with marketing communications firms, business coaches, web developers, among others, allows us the opportunity to work with our attorneys to establish new and enhance existing relationships, positioning our firm and our attorneys as thought-leaders and knowledgeable resources not only within our specific practices areas, but within certain industries as well.”
Other professional services firms, such as accountants, architects, builders, etc. can similarly structure an in-house team with support from external strategic partners. Listen in to learn more about the marketing function can benefit your organization.
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