What 2024 Trends In Marketing, Comms Hiring Mean For 2025
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As we wrap up 2024, it's time to reflect on key the trends in legal marketing, business development, and communications hiring over the past year and to explore what’s ahead for 2025.
In an article published in Law 360, Associate Director, Ben Curle, shares his insights on the market changes we experienced in 2024 as the hiring market returned to more steady levels, and firms found new ways to attract and retain top talent in a competitive landscape, as well as his predictions for 2025.
Here's a summary of the key points raised in the article:
Key trends in legal marketing & BD in 2024:
1. A return to pre-pandemic hiring levels
The job market normalized after post-pandemic booms in 2022 and 2023, with hiring focused on replacement roles.
Demand was strongest for practice business development positions, especially in corporate practices (driven by M&A activity), litigation, and energy.
2. A competitive, candidate-led talent pool
Despite cooler markets, hiring remained candidate-driven due to limited movement among top talent.
Firms succeeded in attracting candidates by emphasizing culture, career progression, and benefits, rather than just compensation.
3. Challenges in lateral hiring
Firms struggled to recruit senior lateral talent, leading to promotions of less-experienced candidates into senior roles.
Specialist digital and communications positions often went to professionals outside the legal sector.
4. CMO turnover
Am Law 100 firms saw significant CMO changes, mainly in the latter half of 2024. New appointees are expected to reshape teams in 2025.
5. Return-to-office policies
Increasing mandates for four days in the office have influenced candidate preferences, with flexibility often prioritized over salary.
Predictions for 2025
1. Greater focus on client relationships
Firms will prioritize roles with a client-centric focus, often hiring professionals from industries like Big Four accounting firms to strengthen client engagement.
2. Flexible job locations
Firms are expected to expand hiring geographically, leveraging remote work to attract talent from multiple locations.
3. Retention as a priority
Firms will invest in career development and promotions to retain marketing and business development talent hired during the past few years.
4. Increased adoption of AI
AI and tech innovation will play a growing role in marketing and business development. Teams will hire AI specialists to drive client-support advancements.
If you have any comments, questions, or feedback on this article, please feel free to reach out to Ben Curle.
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