A joint study from the Legal Marketing Association (LMA) and Bloomberg Law found that amost half of those surveyed reported that their marketing budgets would increase more than 10 per cent over the next two years. Only 6 per cent said that they would not be increasing marleting spend. Primary reasons firms gave for expanding marketing budgets related to internal pressure to generate revenue, law firm convergence resulting in fewer outside firms used by clients, and keeping pace with other firms that are hiking marketing spend.

Poor image with clients

Despite the increased budgets,  increased marketing spend has not helped the perception of lawyers with clients. The Global Legal Post reported last week that a recent study of the British legal market commissioned by LexisNexis and Judge Business School at Cambridge University revealed 'unambiguous evidence of a significant and persistent disconnect between law firms and their clients.’The biggest disconnect highlighted in the research revealed that clients want solutions while law firms see their role as purely offering advice to be used by the client to create solutions.