Specialist law firm technology partner, Pinnacle, has today released its latest review, highlighting international trends in the industry’s proposal management practices and insights from top global law firms.

Following the success of its last two reports looking into law firm proposal management process in the UK, the company, has widened its scope to understand the challenges and opportunities that U.S. headquartered firms face when tackling proposals.

The key themes are drawn from the views of Chief Marketing Officers from across the Am Law 200 which combined have over a $6.2bn revenue and more than 8,800 employees.

David Lumsden, Pinnacle CEO, says, “The review is a sign of how committed we are to working closely with the leading CMOs in the states. We have a great brand in the UK, and one that is increasingly attractive to American leaders within law firms. I’d like to thank all those that committed their time to sharing their thoughts with us so that we could provide such a great insight with everyone.

“Those interviewed shine a light on the processes top law firms have in place today, highlighting the importance of analytics amongst other things which guide them skillfully, and help them to win new business. Through adopting automated pitching systems law firms’ business development professionals are now liberated to focus on fine-tuning other elements of the pitching process. “

Leaders, such as Jon Brewer of Orrick, Herrington and Sutcliffe, speak of the advances that technology provides to law firms, he says, “The firm that reacts the quickest and resonates is the one that gets the work.”

Cynthia Howard, Chief Marketing Officer at Greenspoon Marder, highlights the leading role of analytics in the work of a CMO and the pitching process, she says, “Through data analytics one of our attorneys who were under the radar suddenly became the number one viewed attorney on our website. I initially thought it was from recruiters and he must’ve been planning to leave but it transpired he was actually in the middle of all of the global deals for PPE. Once we realized this, we were able to beef up his bio, amp up his site, put materials together for him to make it easier for him to complete these deals, and help him with pitches and proposals. It’s just turned into a great success story.”

David Lumsden, Pinnacle CEO, adds, “The competitive landscape is changing among U.S. law firms. Those which have hired the best talent, have great processes and use the best technology buy themselves the time to make the right decisions about which clients to work for and which to pursue. The appetite for change is particularly notable in the second hundred of the Am Law 200 firms. Firms who fail to attract top talent and back it will lose out to competitors.

We’re looking forward to increasing the depth of our coverage over the course of the months and years and serving those firms with a variety of different products, services and consultancy, that we have in the Pinnacle house.”

Interviewees featured include:

• Gillian Ward, Chief Marketing Officer, BCLP
• Julia Bennett, Chief Marketing Officer, Brown Rudnick
• Roy Sexton, Director of Marketing, Clark Hill
• Renee Miller-Mizia, Chief Marketing Officer, Dechert
• Brandon Lulis, Chief Marketing and Business Development Officer, Dickinson Wright
• Liz Lockett, Chief Business Development and Marketing Officer, Ice Miller
• Jon Brewer, Global Head of Marketing, Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe
• Mike Mellor, Chief Marketing and Business Development Officer, Pryor Cashman
• Sadie Baron, Chief Marketing Officer, Reed Smith
• Chris Hinze, Chief Marketing and Business Development Officer, Steptoe and Johnson
• Cynthia Howard, Chief Marketing Officer, Greenspoon Marder

The review was written by Simon Marshall, Founder of TBD Marketing, on behalf of Pinnacle. He brings over 20 years of experience researching and marketing the legal sector.