Having spent 20 years as Cooley's head of global business development, I have some well-informed ideas about how to optimize law firm marketing and business development. During my tenure at Cooley, I led a 17-person, market-facing team that contributed significantly to their $1.7 billion increase in annual revenue. For most of my time at the firm, I reported to the chief marketing officer (CMO), with whom I got along great. However, my experiences there and in subsequent law firm consulting assignments since leaving two years ago, have convinced me that law firm marketing and business development should be organized under a chief revenue officer (CRO). Firms that do this well will outperform their peers.

A CRO would report to the CEO or other top executive and be responsible for overseeing all revenue-generating functions within the firm. Their primary goal would be to maximize revenue growth and profitability. The CRO would be responsible for leading and coordinating all revenue-related activities across the firm, with a focus on developing and executing strategies to drive sustainable revenue growth. The marketing and business development leaders would report to the CRO. This new organizational structure would enable law firms to adapt to evolving market dynamics and client expectations.