The skills and attributes you need in your toolbox.

• Author: Smuts, Jennifer
• Position: Message from the Editors

She Said ...

The legal marketing profession is full of opportunity. It's interesting to see the varied talent seep into legal marketing departments across the country. From strategy consultants to fresh-faced college graduates, the attributes these individuals bring into the profession range greatly.

So often legal marketing departments are limited by their bandwidth, so how does a director or CMO appropriately staff the department to provide the most value to the firm? When I begin to hire a team of marketers I keep that noun top of mind ... TEAM! While I appreciate and respect the focused talent of a designer or researcher, I have to be sure these individuals appreciate and accept the opportunity to wear multiple hats day-to-day. The term "jack-of-all-trades" may fit; however, I prefer to think that the exposure to the varied roles keeps the team engaged. Preferences are inevitable--for example, a technical-minded coordinator may ultimately become responsible for Web site updates, but that person must also know how to update Martindale-Hubbell entries and compile targeted data from the database.

I don't believe that anyone can just walk into a job and start to implement what they know. Fitting in, learning firm culture, prioritization and team communication must all be established through months of training. Marketing departments are judged by their successes and failures, so this type of environment is not for the faint of heart. I think it's important to come to the table with a skill to contribute, character to balance the team and a willingness to accept the challenge to further develop in various marketing roles (sounds like the legal marketing serenity prayer!).

--Jennifer Smuts 215/564-8399, jsmuts@woodcock.com

He Said ...

Legal marketing is getting tougher all the time. Clients are demanding more of lawyers and, therefore, lawyers are demanding more of marketers. When I look for future stars, I don't look for technical marketing skills. I can teach those. I look for more foundational things:

* Are you a persuasive writer and speaker?

Lawyers advocate for a living and they respect other good advocates. Marshalling relevant facts and building them into a compelling case...