Law Firm Directories: Should they be Part of Your Law Firm Marketing Approach?
If you have been following this blog for any length of time, you know its purpose is to help keep attorneys and law firms informed about current trends in law firm marketing. More specifically, its purpose is to discuss what works and what does not work when it comes to law firm marketing.
With that in mind, today’s topic is law firm directories. And should they be part of your law firm marketing approach?
What is interesting is that when I ask attorneys in private practice why they use directories (such as Chambers, Findlaw, and Martindale-Hubbell) as part of their law firm marketing strategy, I often hear words like “time-honored”, “credibility” and “investment”.
The question I feel compelled to ask, however, is “What return do you get on that law firm marketing investment?”
According to a survey by Acritas Resarch in 2007, less than 3% of in-house corporate legal departments select law firms for their outsourced work based on law directories. Peter Columbus, director of Business Development for Kay Scholer, had this to say about law directories. “When I go to client offices, I don’t see any lawyer directories on their shelves. I don't think any corporation chooses a law firm based on a paid directory listing. ”
While a posting at What About Clients had this to say about Martindale-Hubbell:
Martindale-Hubbell is no joke. It has a fine, time-honored and even classy reputation, and a history of good work and real utility in the profession. Our firm, Hull McGuire, has actively and earnestly participated in the M-H ratings processes for years; we are happy with the ratings our lawyers received. But, in good times or bad times, the current cost to list firm attorneys for any size firm, with or without multiple offices, is prohibitive and should be resisted on principle given other alternatives.
In Sum
As you consider whether to participate in one or more of the 950+ law firm directories and rankings, be sure to ask yourself what the return is on your law firm marketing investment.
If the cost is high and the return is low (less than 3% as Acritas Research reports), your law firm marketing dollar may be better spent in other areas.
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