Legal marketing salary survey addresses compensation in changing job market

Johnson Executive Search (JJES) has partnered with ALM's Legal Intelligence division (ALI) to address compensation in the ever-changing field of law firm marketing and business development. The "Legal Marketing, Business Development and Communications Compensation Report" compiles the most accurate and current salary and bonus information intended to provide benchmarks for firms to employ in today's aggressive hiring market. The data was compiled through an online questionnaire and by conducting one-on-one interviews over the course of a six-week span during the summer of 2015. "With nearly 500 responses from knowledgeable industry professionals, this report represents an invaluable competitive intelligence tool and resource for any firm fully committed to acquiring the best talent available in the marketplace and gaining a strategic leg up on their rivals," said Craig Savitzky, research manager at ALM Media. "I know of no other such study out there that is comparably comprehensive in scope." In a tight market, where an all-out talent war is common, the survey found that compensation is often the competitive advantage. "In our work with managing partners, COOs and CMOs, we regularly encounter requests for meaningful data to validate hiring and staffing decisions," said Jennifer Johnson Scalzi, president of JJES. "In response, we were pleased to partner with ALM Legal Intelligence to deliver our salary survey. What we found supports the conversations taking place between law firm leaders and their top marketing executives right now, including how to address the war for talent, the need for competitive salaries and where the opportunities lie." Some of the key findings from the survey include: - Firm size is not always a clear indicator of the most lucrative opportunity. Mid-size firms with headcounts of 400-699 prove to have both higher aggregate salaries and bonuses than their supersized counterparts (1,000 and up) at the highest positions. - The sample at large was strikingly gender imbalanced with over three-fourths of survey-takers presenting as female. Transcending the gender gap in the workplace, 72 percent of Directors identified as female. - Of the sample, Senior Managers receive over double the average Manager bonus. - Region is a major driver in the realm of total compensation within the marketing arena. The usual global cities New York, San Francisco, and Los Angeles dominate the field while the Midwest (excluding Chicago) and Miami sit at the bottom. - CMO job seekers may want to consider a move to the nation's capital as Washington, D.C. recorded the highest base salaries at an average of $300,000. The study is available at http://at.alm.com/LegalSalarySurvey. Published: Tue, Nov 17, 2015