Fox Rothschild (Courtesy photo)

Just days after hiring a new chief marketing officer, Fox Rothschild has found itself with a vacancy in the role once again.

Fox, an Am Law 100 firm based in Philadelphia, has been without a CMO since May, when Trish Lilley left for Stroock & Stroock & Lavan.

Fox Rothschild managing partner Mark Morris confirmed that the firm had hired Jodie Collins to serve as its CMO. She accepted the position and was employed at Fox for a few days earlier this month, he said, but she has since left the firm.

Collins had been the CMO at Manatt, Phelps & Phillips for over a decade until December, according to her LinkedIn profile.

Efforts to reach Collins for comment this week were unsuccessful. According to Morris, Collins left because she decided she did not want to relocate to Philadelphia from New York.

“We had discussed that with her, to try to make sure that wouldn't be an issue and she didn't think it would be … once she got here and it became a reality, she decided she didn't want to leave New York,” Morris said.

Sources also said Fox Rothschild made an offer to at least one other candidate for the CMO position last year, but the offer was not accepted. Morris said the firm did talk with other candidates before hiring Collins, but he did not say whether any other offers were extended.

Morris said Fox Rothschild did not immediately launch an in-depth CMO search after Lilley's departure but later expanded the scope of the search when ”we decided we wanted a more robust group of candidates.”

The firm advertised the position as Philadelphia-based, he said, because that is where most of the existing marketing staff is based. However, Morris said, “I guess I could be open to revisiting that, depending on what we do going forward.”

Law firm CMOs have shown a tendency for frequent movement across the industry, and these positions sometimes take a long time to fill. Drinker Biddle & Reath held its chief marketing position vacant for two years before hiring New York-based Kristin Coda last year as its chief marketing and business development officer.

Also this year, Blank Rome lost its Washington, D.C.-based chief business development and marketing officer, Hans Haglund, who took a role at Eversheds Sutherland as chief commercial officer.

Blank Rome said in a statement: “We appreciate Hans' five years of service to our law firm and wish him all the best in his new role.”

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