Marketing and Business Development (MBD) law firm case studies

November 18, 2025|Kim's Blog, Lawyers, Management Skills, Marketing, Relationship Management, Strategy|

Marketing and Business Development (MBD) property firm case studies (2024-2025)

I’ve been remiss in collating recent marketing and business development case studies. The last batch I published was Marketing and BD case studies in legal, accountancy, consultancy (April 2024) and Marketing case studies – Digital thought leadership campaigns (February 2025). So here is a bumper edition which serves as a valuable resource of insight, inspiration and competitor information. This article covers law firm case studies. Shortly I will produce posts for the accountancy and property/real estate sectors. I use these and other case studies to support training programmes for MBD professionals and fee-earners. Marketing and Business Development (MBD) law firm case studies (2024-2025)

Law firm marketing case studies include:

Ashurst (Business development strategy)
Bird & Bird (Cultivate a sales culture through KAM)
Boodle Hatfield (Business Development training)
Ellinsons (Brand)
Forsters (Residential property campaign)
Higgs (LinkedIn first digital strategy)
Hill Dickinson (Sports sponsorship)
Hogan Lovells (Rebrand)
Inksters (Email campaign award)
MacPherson Kelley – Australia (Client research)
RWK (Media relations for the real estate team)
Simmons & Simmons (Thought leadership campaign)
Taylor Wessing (Intapp DealCloud CRM)
Thackray Williams (Branding)
White & Case (Innovation culture and AI)

Law firm marketing and business development case studies

Ashurst – Business Development strategy

Briefing March 2025 (PM Forum members only)

Adam Soames, with almost 30 years’ experience in professional services marketing (including Hogan Lovells), became Ashurst’s Chief Business Development Officer in November 2024.

To develop the BD team as part of Ashurst’ firm-wide 2027 strategy he formulated a three-pronged strategy:

Optimise the client journey
Commercial and industry-centric mindset
Grow NewLaw capabilities

The first strand looks at how the whole firm contributes to the client experience by analysing every step of the client journey (from pitches, staying in touch between matters to handing over clients introduced to other parts of the firm). Mapping the client journey in professional services – Kim Tasso

He is ramping up client listening and feedback programmes. BD team members regularly engage with clients and use external consultants to accelerate the gathering of independent client feedback and insights into the CRM ecosystem. They explore how AI and automation can help in areas such as pitches, directories, white space analysis, relationship intelligence and predictive modelling.

They are developing a firm-wide commercial and industry-centric mindset. This includes accelerating Ashurst’ existing business development training programme to further equip fee-earners with the necessary BD skills to sell their expertise and win business.

The firm has been investing in industry-focused BD professionals who have extensive knowledge of the energy, infrastructure, tech, real estate, private capital and banking sectors. This recruitment drive aims to provide additional expert support to fee-earners to identify and win business.

Grow Ashurst’s NewLaw capabilities — delivered through the firm’s Ashurst Advance division, which celebrated its 10-year anniversary last year. The division provides clients with fully integrated solutions — leveraging the firm’s flexible resourcing, digital solutions, legal managed services and legal operations capabilities — that are tailored to their needs.

This goes hand-in-hand with Ashurst’s investment in risk advisory and consulting services. With teams expanding in Australia, UK and now the Middle East, the firm is advising business leaders who are grappling with business problems at the intersection of legal and risk. This often means supporting leadership teams and boards to implement legal and regulatory obligations for some of their most complex challenges, such as regulatory compliance, sustainability and ESG, cyber readiness and AI, data governance, privacy and financial crime.

While there are many irons in the fire, the ultimate goal is simple: to build and maintain a strong pipeline of business by leveraging the firm’s extensive industry-focused expertise with holistic services to deliver an outstanding client experience.

Bird & Bird – Cultivate a sales culture though KAM

Cultivating a sales culture March 2025 (PM Forum member access only)

A programme established over a decade ago is integral to fostering a sales culture at the firm.

Recent research by Thomson Reuters (2023) highlights that key account management (KAM) in the legal sector is emerging as a crucial driver for business development, with firms that implement these strategies seeing a notable increase in client retention and revenue growth.

Define clear sales goals and objectives

A sales-oriented culture begins with clearly defined goals and objectives. These need to be communicated effectively across the firm.

The Growth Account Plans for key clients place a strong emphasis on ownership and accountability while also setting clear targets and ambitions. The firm continuously evaluates the internal factors driving growth and potential declines to ensure they stay on course. Additionally, they integrate the voice of the client insights into plans.

Foster a client-centric mindset

At the heart of a sales-oriented culture is a client-centric mindset. This involves understanding the needs and pain points of clients and tailoring service offerings to meet these demands. They encourage teams to build strong relationships with clients by listening actively, providing personalised solutions and consistently exceeding expectations.

Research by McKinsey & Company (2020) highlights that organisations with a client-centric approach see a 60% increase in profitability compared to those without. Facilitating diagnostic analyses and roundtable discussions with relationship partners and clients and aligning firm strengths and capabilities will enhance reputation as pragmatic and client-centric, without appearing overly focused on sales.

Implement comprehensive training programmes

Investing in training and development is paramount for fostering a sales-oriented culture. Equip teams with the requisite skills and knowledge to excel. These initiatives should encompass various facets of sales, such as client relationship management, active listening, influencing skills and effective networking.

Bird & Bird launched the Activator Programme – designed not only for relationship partners but also extended to marketing and business development teams.

Encourage collaboration and teamwork

Encourage teamwork by creating opportunities for cross-sector and practice collaboration and knowledge sharing. This can lead to innovative solutions and a unified approach towards achieving sales goals.

Client teams are aligned to a particular sector and practice to encourage cross-selling while enriching the team’s specific market knowledge. This builds the team’s confidence in advising and consulting with lawyers from a client-centric point of view. This culture also encourages innovative ideas in bringing value propositions to clients through the firm’s expertise.

Measure and monitor progress

Use key performance indicators (KPIs) to track the effectiveness of the client programme and sales strategies. Analyse the data to identify areas of improvement and make necessary adjustments. Continuous monitoring can help you stay agile and responsive to changing market dynamics.

Research by Deloitte (2020) emphasises the importance of real-time data monitoring for driving business agility and improving decision-making.

Communicate success stories

Sharing success stories can inspire and motivate your team. Highlight instances where your client programme has led to significant wins and milestones or where your client teams have gone above and beyond to deliver exceptional client service. Celebrate these successes to reinforce the desired sales-oriented behaviours and foster a positive and competitive spirit.

Through client managers and executives, the firm continuously shares successes of the client programme to foster a collaborative environment and team recognition.

Create a feedback loop

Encourage clients to provide feedback on their experiences and use this information to refine the client programme and sales strategies. Through client listening programme, the firm gathers timely feedback from clients and drives actions to demonstrate commitment to their needs and satisfaction. By acting on the feedback provided, we enhance our service offerings but also build stronger, more loyal client relationships.

Lead by example

Leaders should model the behaviours and attitudes they wish to see in their teams. Demonstrating a strong commitment to client satisfaction, a focus on achieving ambition and targets, and a willingness to adapt and innovate can inspire and influence the entire organisation.

Boodle Hatfield – Business Development training

BD training for the TikTok generation: Boodle Hatfield launches 15-minute courses – The Lawyer | Legal insight, benchmarking data and jobs September 2024

Boodle Hatfield LLP revamped its soft skills training format from traditional hour-long business development sessions to short-burst group 15 minute calls done over several weeks.

“By keeping the messages concise and practical, even the most BD-savvy partners learnt something new that they applied immediately,” BD director Lucy Rao told The Lawyer.

Ellisons – Brand campaign

In Your Corner – Ellisons launches bold new brand campaign – PSM – The Professionals May 2025

Law firm Ellisons launched a new brand campaign that highlights the firm’s independence, client-first values and deep roots across Essex and Suffolk.

The ‘In Your Corner’ campaign positions the firm as a partner-led, locally focused law firm trusted by generations of individuals, families and businesses.

Managing Partner Guy Longhurst said: “While others answer to shareholders or private equity, we remain focused on our clients”. Matthew Rowe, Head of Marketing, added: “We saw an opportunity to say something bold and authentic about who we are and to remind clients why independence and community connection still matter. From the initial idea to the final creative execution, the entire campaign has been developed and delivered by our in-house marketing team”

Forsters – Residential real estate campaign

A campaign of quirks: Forsters brings property to life March 2025 (PM Forum members only)

Natalie Carter, BD & Marketing Manager at Forsters (a London-based law firm specializing in residential and rural property), outlines the launch of a campaign titled “From City to Country: The Quirks and Perks of Buying a Luxury English Home”.

The campaign addresses the often-overlooked complexities of property law in England and Wales, presenting the firm in an engaging and accessible manner. Forsters seeks to clarify the legal peculiarities associated with various property types while simultaneously enhancing their brand visibility and client engagement.

The campaign was designed to unify the Residential and Rural Property teams under a single marketing initiative to reduce client confusion. To promote the full spectrum of residential property types advised on, from the luxury London flat to the landed estate in the country

Objectives included showcasing the teams’ expertise, demonstrating local knowledge beyond London, and aligning with the firm’s vibrant brand values for High Net Worth (HNW) individuals. And to give potential clients and intermediaries an insight into the personalities behind the campaign and the lawyers they could instruct

The campaign used a mix of content formats, including short-form content, FAQs, infographics, and longer reports and press articles, to cater to diverse client preferences. Highlights from a client listening exercise described the firm and fee earners as dynamic, energetic, enthusiastic and fun

Creative consultancy Branding, Marketing and Communications | Frank Bright & Abel was engaged to enhance the campaign’s voice and visuals, ensuring they reflected the quirky nature of English property law. The firm opted for a more casual and lyrical tone of voice using intriguing and often humour-led headline messaging

Challenges included effectively communicating legal complexities to a diverse audience and encouraging team engagement with the campaign. This included educating teams to use the content to generate touchpoints with connections new and old – often more time-consuming than the development of the campaign itself

Higgs – LinkedIn-first communications

People, not platforms: how we made LinkedIn work for us at Higgs – PSM – The Professionals April 2025

The law firm Higgs LLP and its people are prolific on LinkedIn, using the platform to showcase its values. The firm’s Head of Digital Marketing Michelle Hughes explains the impact.

In early 2023, LinkedIn was there in the background. But it wasn’t working as well as it could. It’s a networking tool. And people don’t network with brands – they network with other people.

The firm took the time to do it properly. To build a digital marketing strategy rooted in: brilliant people, deep expertise, and a culture that puts trust and real voices at the centre of everything.

They made a conscious choice to focus on LinkedIn as its primary social media platform. In a small team, it helped to concentrate efforts strategically.

Two years on, seven of the team are listed in the LinkedIn Legal Influencer Top 100. More than any other law firm. It’s a reflection of how well the approach is working in terms of culture, reputation and new business.

They took a people-first approach. Not everyone was instantly on board – some were hesitant so the MBD team:

Explained if you wouldn’t say it at a networking event, don’t say it on LinkedIn
Offered support, not pressure
Listened, encouraged and offered content ideas
Responded to questions

The firm has received direct enquiries from posts. Fees have been generated from people through DMs. Invitations to speak at events, contribute to articles and join podcasts were also received. And the firm has become better known.

There were unexpected benefits for recruitment. Candidates already have a sense about the firm. New starters feel empowered to post too.

One of the key reasons it has worked is culture. People Director, Sophie Wardell, has played a huge part leading from the front, showing that you can be yourself online.

There was some internal scepticism. But the team has been open and used data to show what’s working: “It works when you stop worrying about impressions and start focusing on conversations”. The firm has plans to explore other platforms – maybe TikTok.

Hill Dickinson – Sports sponsorship

Hill Dickinson announced as official stadium naming rights partner for new Everton stadium July 2025 (PM Forum members only)

Everton Football Club announced Hill Dickinson as the official naming rights partner for the club’s new stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock that will see the iconic 52,000 capacity venue named Hill Dickinson Stadium.

It is one of the largest stadium naming rights deals in Europe – uniting two Liverpool institutions. Hill Dickinson will work closely with Everton in the community with the Hill Dickinson Foundation.

Hogan Lovells – Rebrand

Hogan Lovells reaffirms client commitment with the launch of new brand promise – PSM – The Professionals September 2024

Global law firm Hogan Lovells has reaffirmed its client commitment with the launch of new brand promise – Vital for Change – recognising the firm’s unique role in helping clients to make transformative change in their sectors.

CEO Miguel Zaldivar said: “Our deep understanding of highly regulated sectors gives clients a unique perspective and the upper hand in a complex world. We see opportunities where others see challenges; enabling clients to master change and stay ahead. Our brand starts with this vision. ‘Vital for Change’ represents our commitment to our clients, our people and our society.”

Burkhart Goebel, partner and chair of the firm’s Brand Governance Committee, added: “It has been more than eight years since we reassessed our brand and messaging. The world is a very different place, and we are a very different firm. Our clients’ needs are evolving, and so are our ambitions.

“Vital for Change” is who we are, it’s a purposeful promise that we deliver to clients across sectors and borders, each and every day. We are the lever of change our clients need to realize their ambitions and new innovations. We’re pleased to bring this evolution to the market today across our digital-first visuals and throughout all of our messaging.”

Inksters – Award for email recruitment campaign

Post | LinkedIn April 2025

Inksters received the award for the Best Legal Email message campaign at the Internet Advertising Competition (IAC) 2025. The IAC is a prestigious international competition dedicated to recognising excellence in online advertising across various industries and formats. Entries are evaluated based on factors that include: creativity and innovation, impact on the audience, design and usability, quality of copywriting and effective use of technology

The email campaign was via Scottish Legal News and Legal Matters Scotland. One to attract potential freelance consultants to a Plug & Play Law model. It has run since December 2024 and uses technology where interested parties can complete a questionnaire online that will instantly identify how suitable they are for the Plug & Play law model.

It has resulted in 87 solicitors, to date, expressing an interest. Inksters devised the award-winning campaign without the assistance of a marketing agency. The Glasgow based strategic design agency, Need Thinking, created the graphics for the campaign.

Macpherson Kelley – Australian law firm client research

The trust sellers – Helping marketing professionals move beyond the leap of faith July 2025 (PM Forum members only)

Greg Silse of Client Culture conducted a three-year case study that delivered 10% year-on-year revenue increases – using a framework called Amplifier to convert subjective claims into objective, transparent evidence.

The approach combines significantly higher NPS scores, specific client testimonials addressing pain points and systematic proof of how feedback drives consistency and improvement. Client satisfaction benchmarks – How do you measure up? There are three approaches firms can take: Guardian, Collector and Amplifier.

Australian law firm Macpherson Kelley adopted the Amplifier approach and embarked on a profound cultural transformation. This involved clients completing monthly feedback surveys – they achieved an impressive 40% response rate over three years.

54% of clients provided specific praise for individual staff members and teams. The COO presented results to principal lawyers. Positive feedback was regularly shared across the firm. Team based service awards were celebrated. Every employee has access to the feedback platform.

The three areas clients consistently valued: setting expectations thoroughly at the start of a matter, clearly communicating practical and useful advice and being highly responsive.

NPS scores have improved from 68 to 80. Staff retention stands at over 80%.

RWK – Media relations for the real estate team

Increasing the profile of a real estate team at a top 100 law firm – Welch PR March 2024

In March 2024, Antonia Welch – Legal PR – Welch PR was asked to raise the profile of the London real estate team at RWK Goodman, a top 100 law firm. Historically, the team had enjoyed a steady stream of press coverage but a merger had disrupted PR efforts and the media coverage had come to a halt.

The brief was to secure coverage in the EG (formerly known as the Estates Gazette) and Property Week, the UK’s two leading real estate titles.

She began by giving the team an in-depth reminder of the PR process and what was needed to secure media coverage. A brainstorming session identified 15 topical PR themes. The strongest themes where then pitched to the target titles. In addition, press briefings were organised with the legal and professional editors at the target titles.

In five months, the following opportunities were secured:

Three byline articles in the EG and Property Week
Partner comments in three news stories in Property Week
A partner interviewed on an episode of the EG’s popular property podcast series (see link)

These results were secured after just one initial face-to-face meeting thereby ensuring that fee-earning time spent on PR was kept to a minimum.

The team reported that the coverage impressed existing and prospective clients, making it easier to win work. Alongside this, the coverage led to greater engagement on LinkedIn and increased website traffic. The coverage was also re-purposed and used in marketing initiatives such as pitches and legal directory submissions.

Simmons & Simmons – Fantastical Futures campaign

From Hollywood to the boardroom – PM Forum July 2025 (PM Forum members only)

The award-winning thought leadership campaign explores the dystopian futures businesses might face. Alice Nutbrown (Brand and Campaigns Manager) explored why the firm looked to science fiction and Hollywood for inspiration.

The cinematic campaign positioned the firm as a forward-thinking leader in the legal sector. Instead of static reports and lengthy White Papers, the firm delivered an immersive experience inspired by storytelling techniques of blockbuster films to spark conversations about the future of business and law.

The campaign aimed to elevate the firm’s annual year ahead predictions campaign. Inspiration struck during a general counsel dinner where they discussed how elements of sci-fi movies were beginning to creep into real life.

The marketing team identified four key storylines. They then conducted a global survey of 500 senior in-house lawyers across five regions. The results were presented on a digital platform resembling a movie streaming site with AI generated visuals and “series-style” articles. There were “talking heads” video content with sector leaders, teaser trailers for social media and a film clapperboard in promotional materials.

The firm added credibility by adding practical advice to anticipate and address the challenges ahead. Collaboration was required across global teams, legal engineers, MBD, secretaries and board members. The firm partnered with Growth consultancy obsessed with your client success – Momentum ITSMA to conduct the global survey and they used a skilled copywriter.

The campaign hub was hosted on the Content Creation Platform – Interactive Content 100% on Brand – Foleon and saw average dwell time double. LinkedIn impressions increased by over 50% from the previous year, with click-through rates also doubling. The campaign also generated media coverage in outlets including Law.com, the Financial Times and Artificial Lawyer. The campaign was shortlisted for a B2B marketing Drum Award.

Taylor Wessing – Using Intapp DealCloud CRM

How Taylor Wessing drives revenue growth with Intapp DealCloud September 2024

Global law firm Taylor Wessing built a data-driven culture supporting revenue growth, collaboration and efficiency using Intapp DealCloud.

After his appointment as Director of Business Development, Marketing and Communications at Taylor Wessing, Mike Beswick made it a priority to invest in technology to enhance client service and connectivity.

He knew that Taylor Wessing’s CRM wasn’t sufficiently meeting the firm’s needs, and that the firm would need advanced tools to help it increase profitable revenue and market share, target client opportunities and make stronger connections.

“Our original CRM didn’t integrate with all our systems, so we couldn’t easily access all the information we needed to efficiently collaborate,” explained Beswick. “And, although we had been very successful making decisions based on attitude and anecdote, I knew we could enhance our success by complementing our informed instinct with the analysis of data.”

Beswick continued: “We needed a business intelligence system where our lawyers could easily track their clients and prospects, access data and analysis and grow client opportunities.” But Beswick also knew that Taylor Wessing’s leaders might be hesitant to invest in new technology — especially considering the timing of the proposal.

“It was early 2020, during the height of the pandemic,” Beswick explained. “It wasn’t a great time to be asking businesses to sign big cheques and purchase new tools. But I and my team felt investing in technology was critical to our firm’s growth.”

DealCloud’s features help better track activities, identify more opportunities, encourage collaboration and take efficiency to the next level via automation.

Thackray Williams – Branding

Why you need an ‘uncorporate’ corporate brand – PSM – The Professionals July 2025

Conveying a human side to professional services businesses is crucial for building trust, relatability and long-term client relationships, qualities especially important in sectors like law, where complexity and formality often create distance. Ascend Studio | London | Branding, Logo design, Graphic Design, Web. worked with Thackray Williams and is a good example of human-centred branding.

Ascend unearthed a core truth: Thackray’s greatest strength lay in its people. The rebrand embraced this – including the strapline ‘Law firms don’t solve problems, people do’ – transforming the firm’s identity into one that highlights empathy, clarity and connection. Hand-cut paper illustrations were introduced to soften and personalise complex legal topics, making them more accessible and emotionally resonant.

“The real opportunity for professional services lies in becoming more relatable and more memorable. Not by abandoning professionalism, but by redefining what it looks like in a modern world.”

Weightmans – Awards

Weightmans scoops two national awards for See the Possibility – PSM – The Professionals November 2024 Weightmans — Aurora

Weightmans won two awards at The Drum Awards for its 2023 “See the Possibility” marketing campaign. Alongside its brand and creative agency, Aurora, it triumphed in the B2B category, taking home Best Limited Budget campaign and Best Social Media campaign.

There was a series of compelling mini campaigns throughout the year aimed at bringing the firm’s purpose to life, and central to its vision of being a top 30 law firm.

White & Case – Innovation culture and AI

Innovation in the Services Industry: Inside $3B White & Case – InnoLead April 2025

White & Case is one of the oldest and largest law firms in the United States. Founded in 1901, the $3.2 billion firm now has more than 2,400 lawyers in 44 offices across 30 countries.

The firm also has a reputation for innovation, having built specialized teams of data technologists, project managers, and lawyers to deploy AI-enabled technologies. Last year, the firm won an “Innovation in Generative AI Strategy” award for the legal field. It recently hired Isabel Parker (previously with Deloitte) to serve the role as Chief Innovation Officer.

Her teams, which include data, knowledge, research, practice technology, innovation and AI, support lawyers in delivering value to our clients in new ways.

“There can be no sustained organizational change without cultural change. If innovation is seen to be the responsibility of just one person or team — the Innovation Officer, or the Development team — it will fail. To be successful, our Innovation team will need to foster a culture of innovation across the firm, giving lawyers the opportunity to innovate for their practices and clients”.

GenAI is only one part of the innovation toolkit and is central to the firm’s innovation strategy for the year. The firm makes measured investments in both “build” and “buy” areas. Clients are at the heart of its AI and innovation strategy.

At Deloitte, Parker was part of the team that developed a GenAI product to support Deloitte Legal in streamlining activities related to large-scale contract review — document drafting, comparison against playbooks, comparison and summarization. The product delivered significant savings in terms of efficiency and quality and is used as part of the Deloitte Legal toolkit for delivery.

The firm has long-established relationships with a select number of legal tech strategic partners, who it considers to be best-in-class. Its strategy is to make measured investments in both build and buy areas — this will include an ongoing assessment of promising startups.

Ethical considerations are central to the firm’s approach. Data privacy and security, transparency, recognition of bias concerns and ethical obligations extending beyond the firm.

The firm constantly looks outside its own industry for inspiration and education.

One of the pillars of its AI and innovation strategy is education and training — so important to drive cultural change. Rolling out a range of options, including digital delivery of tailored learning pathways, hands-on innovation sessions, labs with clients, innovation secondments and certified programs in collaboration with academia.