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THE UNIVERSITY OF READING
MARKETING LEGAL SERVICES: THE CASE OF INDIA
BIKRAM CHAUDHURY
30TH
SEPTEMBER 2011
PROJECT SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REGULATIONS FOR
THE DEGREE OF MSC IN MARKETING AND INTERNATIONAL MANAGEMENT
Contents
I Acknowledgements…………………………………………………………………......
Executive Summary……………………………………………………………………..
i
II ii
1 An Introduction to Marketing Legal Services…………………………………………..
1.1 Chapter Overview…………………………………………………………………..
1.2 The Indian Legal Services Industry: A Snapshot…………………….…………….
1.3 Marketing Legal Services: What difference can it make?.........................................
1.4 An insight into the Marketing Legal Services in India……………………………..
1.5 Organisation of the Project………………………………………………………....
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2 Towards A Marketing Strategy Framework For Legal Services In India……………….
2.1 Chapter Overview…………………………………………………………………...
2.2 Legal Services Industry on Strategy Continuum and Market Orientation Metric…..
2.3 Indian Legal Fraternity– Key Markets……………………………………………....
2.4 Deriving the Marketing Strategy Framework for the Indian Legal Fraternity……....
2.4.1 Marketing Mix (4Ps) Framework…………………..………………………...
2.4.2 The 7Ps Framework...............................................…………………………...
2.4.3 The Final Equation…………………………………...……………………….
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3 Research Objectives, Approach, Sample Assumptions & Key Findings………………
3.1 Chapter Overview…………………………………………………………………..
3.2 Research Objectives………………………………………….……………………..
3.2.1 To study the contextual relevance of Customer Relationship Management
(“CRM”) in the Indian Legal Fraternity……………….……………………..
3.2.2 To study how a Law Firm can sustain the commitment levels of its
Employees‟ in winning business and strengthening its Brand.....…………….
3.2.3 To study how the professionals in the Indian Legal Fraternity can effectively
communicate their brand to the masses......………………………..................
3.3 Research Approach: Choice of Methodology……………………………………....
3.4 Research Assumptions………………………………………………………….…...
3.5 Key Findings………………………………………………………………………..
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4 CRM - Can It Work For The Indian Legal Fraternity?....................................................
4.1 Chapter Overview………………………………………………………………...…
4.2 CRM @ Work……………………………………………………………………....
4.3 CRM in Professional Services Industry…………………………………………….
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4.4 CRM Trends in Legal Services - An Empirical Assessment…………………….…
4.4.1 CRM Awareness………………………………………………………….…..
4.4.2 CRM Best Practices: The Legal Fraternity v/s the Customers ………….…..
4.4.3 CRM Commitment and Challenges……………………………………..….
4.5 Customised CRM Solution for Legal Services - Is it worth the investment?............
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5 Employees: A Law Firm‟s USP………………………………………………………...
5.1 Chapter Overview…………………………………………………………………...
5.2 Employee Commitment: Why is it important?...........................................................
5.3 Unleashing Employees‟ Potential – Some Key Learnings…………………………
5.4 Internal Marketing in Legal Services: An Empirical Assessment…………………
5.5 Making the Employee Count: The Way Ahead…………………………………...
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6 Marketing Communications: Setting It Right For The Legal Fraternity………………..
6.1 Chapter Overview…………………………………………………………………...
6.2 Ethics in Marketing Communications……………………………………………....
6.3 Surviving the Holocaust…………………………………………………………....
6.4 Communicating with the Market- An Empirical Assessment……………………....
6.4.1 Understanding the Consumer Psyche………………………………………...
6.4.2 Existing Trends in Communicating Legal Services…………………………..
6.5 The Comprehensive Communications Strategy: A Comment……………………...
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7 Conclusion: A Final Comment on the way ahead for Legal Services Marketing in
India..................................................................................................................................
7.1 Chapter Overview…………………………………………………………………...
7.2 Limitations…………………………………………………………………………..
7.3 Project Outcomes - A Summary…………………………………………………….
7.4 Recommendations for Further Research……………………………………………
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8 References ............................…………………………………………………………... 29
9 Appendix A: Glossary of Terms………………………………………………………... 33
10 Appendix B: Rules on Professional Conduct………………….……………………….. 37
11 Appendix C: University of Reading Ethics Approval………………….………………. 45
12 Appendix D: Trends in Business Development: The Case of Legal Services Industry in
India (The Survey).............................................................................................................
46
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I
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This project would not have been possible without the guidance extended by the faculty and
staff at School of Management, Henley Business School. I would like to take this opportunity
to particularly thank my supervisor Jill Nurse, for her constant words of encouragement and
valuable insights on marketing professional services.
I would also like to express my gratitude to Prof. Peter Scott, who helped me with my initial
research on finalising „Marketing Legal Services‟ as my topic for this project and Dr. Chris
Phillips, for familiarising me with the finer nuances of academic writing.
My acknowledgement would not be complete without thanking my friends – Animesh Sinha,
Ankit Khushu, Ananya Alexander and Tanya Narula who have helped me in this endeavour.
Page | ii
II
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Marketing Legal Services in India presents a difficult proposition given the ethical codes that
somewhat entraps it (Sen and Sahu, 2007). However, despite these restrictions it holds
promise and can transform the fortunes of those engaged in delivering the legal services. The
researcher in this Project determined the extent to which marketing can transform the
fortunes of professionals engaged in delivering legal services in India.
The Project developed on a suggestive marketing strategy framework that was conceptualised
on Goldsmith‟s 8Ps and Payne‟s six markets model. It identified certain key aspects of this
framework relating to the elements of „personalisation‟ and „promotions‟ in the customer
market, and the „people‟ element in the internal markets. These elements were then
thoroughly researched during the course of this project.
The research revolved around an empirical survey that focussed on gathering the existing
trends in legal services marketing the results of which were then compared with the doctrinal
data on applicable best practices (derived taking into consideration the ethical constraints in
legal services marketing) from across all industries. The research so conducted found that
most professionals in the legal services are yet to free themselves from ethical captivity and
capitalise on the permissible avenues in their endeavour to secure competitive advantage.
The project is perhaps the first of its kind on marketing legal services in India but is limited in
scope to those certain aspects of the suggestive framework. It also acknowledges limitations
with respect to the methodology employed and makes further recommendations for research
on this subject. It suggests focus area for further research should primarily be on the aspects
of the suggestive marketing strategy framework that haven‟t been explored as yet.
In the considered opinion of the researcher the project offers valuable insights on marketing
legal services and can be a useful tool for those looking to secure a competitive advantage.
Page | 1
CHAPTER 1
AN INTRODUCTION TO MARKETING LEGAL SERVICES
1.1 Chapter Overview
Marketing until recently was an unfamiliar function in the legal services industry (Kalb,
1993; Forsyth, 1992; Morgan, 1991). Earlier Lawyers and Law Firms would out-rightly
dismiss marketing as a forbidden activity associated with advertising and selling (Morgan,
1991). This notion has certainly changed over the years as Lawyers and Law Firms
increasingly embrace marketing as business development and join the bandwagon of firms
from other industries who have already embraced it (Kalb, 1993; Young, 2005). This chapter
serves to introduce the reader with the business project undertaken by the researcher and
develops with a snapshot of the Legal Services industry in India. Next, it familiarises the
reader with the role that marketing can play in Legal services and challenge of marketing
legal services in India. And in the end, it lays down structure of this project.
1.2 The Indian Legal Services Industry: A Snapshot
The boundaries of the Indian Legal Services Industry are not expressly identified and as such
what constitutes its domain remains ambiguous. In an attempt to clear this ambiguity it would
be worthwhile to draw upon the Advocates Act of 1961 or the Act. The Act came in to being
to consolidate and amend the existing laws that governed the Legal Practitioners in the
Country (Advocates Act, 1961). The Act mandates that legal services can be tendered only by
(i) an Advocate, i.e. a person duly qualified under the Act and/or (ii) a Law Firm, which is
essentially an arrangement between two or more advocates to tender legal services to the
society at large (Advocates Act, 1961).
The Act creates an intelligible differentia on the basis of who can tender legal services and
helps demarcating advocates independently practising and those exclusively retained by Law
Firms (together the „Legal Fraternity‟) from the rest of the industry which may include In-
house counsels, academicians, and person(s) working with Legal Process Outsourcing
Companies „popularly LPOs‟ or non-legal consultancy organisations. These persons outside
the Legal Fraternity do not qualify as Advocates under the Act and are not actively engaged
in tendering legal services within its meaning (Advocates Act, 1961).
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1.3 Marketing Legal Services: What difference can it make?
There are over 800,000 professionals in the Indian Legal Fraternity all of whom compete in
an extremely fragmented yet promising market (Sen and Sahu, 2007). Every Advocate and
Law Firm irrespective of its size and stature in the industry salivates for a bigger share in this
market and therefore rigorously competes with the other to meet this objective whilst
ensuring that the dignity of the profession is maintained (Sen and Sahu, 2007; Vora, 2008).
Marketing comes across as a tool that can aid these professionals to meet such objective and
drive competitive advantage in their favour (Kalb, 1993; Young, 2005). This project aims to
evaluate how marketing can benefit the Legal Services in India and is more specifically
limited in scope to the professionals in the Indian Legal Fraternity.
1.4 An insight into the Marketing Legal Services in India
Marketing legal services in India is as challenging a task, if not more, as it is anywhere else in
the world (Sen and Sahu, 2007; Vora, 2008, Cooper, 2010). This to some extent has been
empirically verified by EMR, a marketing recruitment specialist, in a survey carried out in
UK on behalf of Marketing Week (Cooper, 2010). The survey found that marketers ranked
marketing legal services as third in a list of most challenging marketing jobs next only to
marketing tobacco and public sector (Cooper, 2010). It would be erroneous to discredit the
results this survey simply on the issue of jurisdictional differences because of the credence
value of these services i.e. the value derived from these services cannot be determined even
after such services have been consumed (Mixon, 1995; Howden and Pressey, 2008).
However, the complexity in marketing legal services in India does not end with the nature of
services. The professionals in the Indian Legal Fraternity are also required to adhere to a
strict ethical code of conduct formulated by the Bar Council of India, a statutory body
constituted under the Act to ensure the sanctity of the Legal Profession (Advocates Act,
1961; Sen and Sahu, 2007). For instance, a professional in this fraternity owes a duty not only
to its client or customer but also to its opponent and fellow colleagues in the fraternity1
(Advocates Act, 1961).
1 See Appendix B - Rules on Professional Standards also available at the Bar Council of India Website.
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1.5 Organisation of the Project
This project aims to overcome the challenge of marketing Legal Services in India in the
chapters that follow:- Chapter 1, the „An Introduction to Marketing Legal Services‟ which this
section is a part of, serves to introduce the reader to the project and familiarises it with the
organisation of the Project; Chapter 2, „Towards a Marketing Strategy Framework for Legal
Services in India‟, explores a marketing strategy framework that can be applied more
specifically to the Indian Legal Fraternity; Chapter 3, „Research Objectives, Approach,
Sample Assumptions, and Key Findings’, states the objectives, methodology and assumptions
relied upon, and the characteristics of the sample surveyed; Chapter 4, „CRM – Can it Really
work for the Indian Legal Fraternity?‟, investigates and studies the contextual relevance of
CRM to Lawyers and Law Firms in India; Chapter 5, „Employees: A Law Firm‟s USP‟,
studies the extent to which Law Firms consider their employees as their most potent
differentiating element and how they can continue to capitalise on them as a part of its
business development strategy; Chapter 6, „Marketing Communications: Setting it right for
the Indian Legal Fraternity‟, evaluates how the Legal Fraternity can effectively communicate
their services and brand to its target audience; Chapter 7, „Conclusion: A Final Comment On
The Road Ahead For Marketing Legal Services‟, are the researcher‟s final comments on the
Project.
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CHAPTER 2
TOWARDS A MARKETING STRATEGY FRAMEWORK FOR LEGAL SERVICES
IN INDIA
2.1 Chapter Overview
The key to any successful marketing strategy can be traced to the framework on which it rests
(Cravens, Piercy, and Baldauf, 2009). A structured marketing strategy framework will not
only allow the marketer to capitalise on the firm‟s resources and capabilities but also allow
such marketer to tailor marketing strategy in accordance with the extrinsic institutional
environment and industry forces (Porter, 1985; Peng, 2009). This chapter aims to develop a
unique marketing strategy framework for legal services for it falls well outside the traditional
sphere of Marketing (Morgan, 1991). In doing so, it identifies the orientation of the Legal
Fraternity as a whole and where would the fraternity fits on marketing strategy continuum.
Next, it examines the Legal Fraternity‟s key markets and finally concludes with the derivation
of such unique marketing strategy framework.
2.2 Legal Services Industry on Strategy Continuum and Market Orientation Metric
The Strategic Continuum metric is the measurement of a Firms‟ relative position on a two
dimensional continuum which has transactional marketing on one end and relationship
marketing on other (Grönroos, 1995). Likewise, market orientation metric is the measurement
of the Firms‟ orientation on 3 behavioural coordinates – customer orientation, competitor
orientation and inter-functional orientation which in turn determines its long term focus and
profitability (Narver and Slater, 1990).
The Legal Fraternity as a whole finds itself on the relationship marketing end of the
continuum as against transactional marketing whereas on the market orientation metric it
finds itself drifting away from the customer orientation parameter see figures 2.2.1(denoted
by star shape figure) and 2.2.2 (denoted by a small circular figure) respectively. The
positioning of the Legal Fraternity in the market orientation metric is therefore below the
ideal positioning conceptualised in the original metric.
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This positioning can be justified on careful analysis of the kind of services the Legal
Fraternity provides. As noted earlier, the Fraternity provides services which have a high
credence value implying a fiduciary relationship between the customer and service provider
(who may either be an advocate or a law firm), wherein the service provider also acts as the
sole determinant of its customers‟ needs and desires (Howden and Pressey, 2008).
The determination of the Legal Fraternity on these metrics is helpful in the further analysis
undertaken in this chapter towards developing the unique marketing strategy for the Indian
Legal Fraternity.
2.3 Indian Legal Fraternity – Key Markets
In the traditional sphere of marketing, a key market refers to the customer market representing
the target audience of the firm (Payne, 1993). However, the emergence of Relationship
Marketing or RM towards the end of the 20th
century has questioned this restrictive and
ambiguous definition of a key market (Payne, 1993; Payne, Ballantyne and Christopher, 2005;
Grönroos, 1994). Payne (1993) clears this ambiguity by including as many as six different
Figure 2.2.2 Market orientation
Relationship Marketing Transactional Marketing
Figure 2.2.1 The Strategy continuum
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markets in his six markets model. These have been identified as - customer markets, referral
markets, employee recruitment markets, supplier markets, influencer markets and internal
markets (Payne, 1993). The model focuses on the role of stakeholder relationships in
marketing and how it drives marketing strategies in securing competitive advantage (Payne,
1993).
The model suggests that a firm must endeavour to adopt a separate specialised strategy for
each of these markets as against a generic strategy for all of the above markets (Payne, 1993).
For instance, in Customer markets the focus is on retaining existing customers whilst gaining
new ones by delivering a superior value (Payne, 1993). Similarly, in referral markets, the firm
must endeavour to create a value proposition for their referees like intermediaries in return for
businesses they get for the firm (Payne, 1993). The model mandates these marketing
endeavours must be replicated in the other four markets as well (Payne, 1993).
This model makes a noteworthy contribution towards the development of unique marketing
strategy framework for Indian Legal Fraternity. The model is useful in identifying the
Fraternity‟s key markets which needs a marketers‟ attention. The supplier market, however,
may be excepted from the Fraternity‟s key markets given its negligible role in services of this
nature.
2.4 Deriving the Marketing Strategy Framework for the Indian Legal Services Industry
The six market model does not prescribe as to how a specialised marketing strategy for these
key markets may be derived (Payne, Ballantyne and Christopher, 2005). This mandates an
academic review of some well known marketing frameworks that can aid the process of
developing a unique marketing strategy to capitalise on industry‟s key markets as identified
above.
2.4.1 Marketing Mix (4Ps) Framework
Considered as the bedrock of marketing, the marketing mix has over the years been a
dominant theme not only in marketing literature but also in practice (Constantinides, 2006).
The mix was first conceptualised by Borden and in its original form had 12 controllable
elements but it was later reduced by McCarthy to a 4Ps framework (Constantinides, 2006;
Magrath, 1986). The marketing mix was an instant hit with the academicians and industry
experts for it simplified the marketing to a mix of the product (includes both goods and
services), price, place and promotion strategies (Constantinides, 2006).
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The mix framework suggests that in order to be a profitable business, a firm must always
endeavour to make a product offering that is consistent with the needs of its target audience,
available at a price that does not undermine its value proposition, and at a place which is
easily accessible to such target audience (Kotler and Armstrong, 2010). Lastly, the
framework mandates the firm to employ a promotions strategy that creates both awareness
and purchase desire (Kotler and Armstrong, 2010). The key to organisational success and
profitability therefore lies in the ability to discover the right mix for itself.
However, the marketing mix framework is not without its limitations (Constantinides, 2006;
Magrath, 1986; Grönroos, 1994). Critics argue that its overtly simplified approach to
marketing cannot keep to age with complexities of the contemporary market that takes the
marketing function beyond the 4Ps (Constantinides, 2006; Magrath, 1986; Grönroos, 1994).
For instance the mix does not address the issue of marketing the intangible component for the
services firms and of stakeholder relationships in driving competitive advantage (Magrath,
1986).
2.4.2 The 7Ps Framework
The 7Ps Framework developed by Booms and Bitner is an extension of the Marketing Mix or
the 4Ps framework designed to cater the marketing needs of a Services Firm (Magrath, 1986;
Constantinides, 2006). It introduces 3Ps – People, Processes and Physical evidence to the
existing strategic factors (Magrath, 1986). These 3 elements are critical to services firms for it
allows such firms to address the issue of marketing the intangible component and deal with its
susceptibility to imitation by other service firms in the same industry (Magrath, 1986).
The additional 3Ps allow the services firms to build its own differentiating marketing strategy
and drive competitive advantage which could not have been achieved through a 4P Mix
Proposition (Magrath, 1986). The „people‟ element, for instance, allows the firm to boast of
skilled employees who in turn will ensure superior customer service and experience (King and
Grace, 2008). Similarly, focus on processes like six-sigma allows these firms to ensure the
quality of the services are sustained and that such quality does not deteriorate with time
(Magrath, 1986). The third element- physical evidence refers to the office premises and
infrastructure, these assume particular significance for they are visible and communicate the
well being of the firm (Magrath, 1986).
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The 7Ps framework is thus a more comprehensive framework than the 4Ps marketing mix but
like its predecessor it too ignores the role of stakeholder relationships in marketing (Magrath,
1986; Constantinides, 2006).
2.4.3 The Final Equation
From the analysis of the aforementioned frameworks it is apparent that both Marketing Mix
and Services Marketing mix lack the personalisation element. The simple solution therefore
lies in including an additional P (personalisation) emphasising on the role of stakeholder
relationships in marketing. The cue for this personalisation element may be taken from
Goldsmith‟s (1999) approach to marketing.
The resultant Final Equation (shown in Figure. 2.4.3.1) represents the researcher‟s perception
of an ideal marketing strategy framework to market Legal services in India. It is essentially
an application of 8Ps to derive specialised strategies for the Fraternity‟s key markets. It must
here be pointed that this framework is contentious since it is merely a framework and adding
the requisite number of Ps to already existing itself present the solution to this challenge.
However, despite this limiting factor it serves as guiding a framework that can help the
professionals in the fraternity towards securing a competitive advantage.
Customer Market, Referral Market, Recruitment Market, Influencer Market & Internal Market
1 Additional P (Personalisation)
3 Service Ps (People, Process and Physical
Evidence)
Marketing Mix (Product, Price Place, Promotio
ns)
Figure 2.4.3.1
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CHAPTER 3
RESEARCH OBJECTIVES, APPROACH, SAMPLE ASSUMPTIONS & KEY
FINDINGS
3.1 Chapter Overview
Coping with the challenge of marketing the legal services presents the legal fraternity with a
difficult proposition. The researcher, in the previous chapter (Chapter 2) somewhat finds the
impetus for the project in form of a Final Equation (Goldsmith‟s 8Ps Marketing framework in
the Legal Fraternity‟s key markets). This equation may help the professionals from the
fraternity to drive competitive advantage in their favour. In this backdrop it becomes
imperative to state the objectives which will be studied in the course of this project. This
chapter states these objectives, the approach adopted and the assumptions relied upon to
investigate them. Further, this chapter also identifies the characteristics of the sample
surveyed.
3.2 Research Objectives
The research objectives for this Project as may be gauged from the chapter overview builds
on the Final Equation. The Project limits itself further to some aspects of this equation which
relate to elements of „personalisation‟ and „promotions‟ in customer markets and the „people‟
element in the internal market. These objectives are more appropriately dealt in the
subsections below:
3.2.1 To study the contextual relevance of Customer Relationship Management
(“CRM”) in the Indian Legal Fraternity
CRM or Customer Relationship Management is essentially an IT powered business
development practice that aims to drives competitive advantage through customer value and
satisfaction (Kotler and Armstrong, 2010). Often regarded as an offshoot of RM, CRM has
become immensely popular in the IT Age (Tamošiūnienė and Jasilionienė, 2007). However,
the origins of CRM ideology can be traced to the earliest markets where goods were often
loaned to special customers on credit (Tamošiūnienė and Jasilionienė, 2007). In this project,
the researcher does not only examine whether the professionals in Indian Legal Fraternity
necessarily need an IT powered CRM solution but also the extent to which they embrace the
CRM ideology. In doing so, it studies the awareness levels amongst the professionals in the
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fraternity with respects CRM and the activities that the Legal Fraternity engages in delighting
its customers.
3.2.2 To study how a Law Firm can sustain the commitment levels of its Employees’ in
winning business and strengthening its Brand.
Today, employees are as important as customers in the scheme of a firms‟ business (Jackson,
1988). This is more so in firms offering professional services like those offered by the Law
Firms, where they sell not their services but their people (Cooper, 2010; Magrath, 1986).
Employees of a Law Firm are thus the differentiating elements of their respective firms and
come across as their Unique Selling Proposition or USP (Cooper, 2010; Young, 2005). This
project measures the extent to which Law Firms in India recognise that their employees are
their USP and engage in activities that helps them unleash their true potential. It also studies
how a Law Firm in India can sustain and maximise the commitment levels of its employees
towards meeting its ultimate objective of gaining a competitive advantage over others in the
Legal Fraternity.
3.2.3 To study how the professionals in the Indian Legal Fraternity can effectively
communicate their brand to the masses.
The professionals in the Indian Legal Fraternity are required under the letter of law to comply
with a certain ethical code of conduct which bars them from advertising or engaging in any
activity that in effect implies soliciting for customers (Advocates Act, 1961). The Project thus
aims to identify a communications strategy that can help the professionals in the Legal
Fraternity to effectively communicate their brand to their target audience. The Project studies
existing trends within the Legal Fraternity with respect to marketing communications and
explores other permissible avenues to effectively communicate its services and the brand.
3.3 Research Approach: Choice of Methodology
The project employs a blend of empirical and doctrinal methods to investigate the
aforementioned research objectives. The rationale for such a blend of empirical and doctrinal
can be traced to section 1.4 of this project wherein researcher introduces the reader to the
challenge of marketing legal services in India. These problems have limited the availability of
authoritative secondary materials on the subject and have therefore made empirical research
of a qualitative nature necessary (Kolbe, 1993; Bryman and Bell, 2007). The empirical
Page | 11
research allows the researcher to identify business development practices that the fraternity
embraces and what it should embrace in a contemporary market. The empirical research for
this project revolves around a survey Trends in Business Development: The Case of Legal
Services Industry in India (the Survey)2. The empirical research so conducted conforms to the
University of Reading‟s Ethical Guidelines3.
The secondary research employed in this project is with the intent to (i) validate the empirical
findings to the extent possible; and (ii) compare and contrast the practices between the Indian
Legal Fraternity and the best practices from across all industries that the Legal Fraternity can
embrace given the ethical considerations. Secondary Research materials so collected were
primarily gathered from published print and electronic materials.
3.4 Research Assumptions
The online survey undertaken as the part of this project found <188> takers of whom only
<158> completed the survey. It must here be noted that to ensure accuracy and to maintain
the accuracy of any subsequent analysis only completed surveys have been considered. In the
pie chart below (Fig 3.4.1) researcher has identified the affiliation of these survey takers with
the Indian legal services industry.
2 See Appendix D - Trends in Business Development: The Case of Legal Services Industry in India
3 See Appendix C - Ethics Approval Form
Advocates and other persons in Law Firm, 42
(9 Partners, 4 Mid Managers, 19Associate/
Senior Associates, 7 Law Student/ Trainee; and 2 Suport services)
Advocates with Independent
Practice, 14
Persons with an LPO, 37(7 Senior Managers, 4
Mid-Managers, 16Associate/
Senior Associates, 3 Law Student/ Trainee;
and 7 Suport services)
In-house Counsels, 16
Consumers, 19
Prospective Consumers, 33
Figure 3.4.1 Summary Reprsentation of the Survey Takers
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The researcher makes two primary assumptions with regards to this sample. First, it assumes
that there were no miscreants and that each survey respondent attempted the survey just once.
Second, it assumes that the survey respondents who completed the survey paint the complete
picture of the perspectives held by that affiliate group.
3.5 Key Findings
The researcher has also attempted to identify the behavioural trends exhibited by some of
these respondents. This has been done with the help of an optional section „Something about
you‟ on the Survey. The empirical data so collected has been presented in (Table 3.2.1).
Table 3.5.1- Sample Characteristics by Affiliation
Law Firm Employees
Independent Advocates
LPO Employees
In-house Counsels
Consumers
Prospective Consumers
Overall
Read Newspapers
95.1% (39/41)
100% (9/9)
77.1% (27/35)
83.3% (5/6)
94.4% (17/18)
82.8% (24/29)
87.7% (121/138)
Watch TV News
85.4% (35/41)
100% (9/9)
91.4% (32/35)
83.3% (5/6)
94.4% (17/18)
82.8% (24/29)
88.4% (122/138)
Social Network*
97.6% (40/41)
66.7% (6/9)
94.3% (33/35)
66.7% (4/6)
94.4% (17/18)
96.6% (28/29)
92.8% (128/138)
Fancy social gatherings
85.4% (15/41)
66.7% (6/9)
94.3% (33/35)
33.3% (2/6)
88.9% (16/18)
72.4% (21/29)
81.9% (39/138)
Blog 36.6% (15/41)
22.2% (2/9)
17.1% (6/35)
0.0% (0/6)
16.7% (3/18)
44.8% (13/29)
28.3% (113/138)
Social Network**
52.6% (20/38)
14.3% (1/7)
65.7% (23/35)
44.4% (4/9)
63.2% (12/19)
60% (18/30)
56.5% (78/138)
Social Network* - access social networking sites (at-least once in a day). Social Network**- share annoying or intimate moments on social networks.
Each cell that corresponds to the survey taker and the behaviour exhibited has two entries -
the first entry is percentage representation of the behaviour exhibited whereas the second
entry shows the actuals on the basis of which the percentage figure was arrived at. The
variance in entries corresponding to Social Network** and the remaining behavioural trends
can be attributed to the fact that these learnings were derived from an optional section on the
survey which spread to two questions. It is pertinent to note that the results obtained do not
suggest any surprising trends or reveal any particular noteworthy trend by the affiliation of
survey taker. Nevertheless, it indicates that the sample is well read, socially aware and to a
large extent obsessed with the social networking sites. It was found that almost 92.8% i.e.
128/138 who answered the question acknowledged that they access social networking sites at
least once in a day. And another 56.5% i.e. 78/138 respondents are likely to share annoying
or intimate moments on a social networking site.
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CHAPTER 4
CRM - CAN IT WORK FOR THE INDIAN LEGAL FRATERNITY?
4.1 Chapter Overview
CRM has over the recent years emerged as contentious subject with critics suggesting that not
all firms who implement CRM stand to benefit from it (Tamošiūnienė and Jasilionienė, 2007;
Mukerjee and Singh, 2009). This chapter explores the role of CRM as business development
strategy in cotemporary management and focuses on the project‟s 1st research objective i.e. to
study the contextual relevance of CRM in the Legal Fraternity. The Chapter develops by –
drawing upon the role of CRM in practice. Next, it examines how CRM can aid Firms in the
professional services industry. It then presents the findings of the Survey and examines how
professionals from the Legal Fraternity measure with their counterparts in the LPO‟s on
embracing CRM in the scheme of business development. Finally, it concludes by debating its
relevance in the Indian Legal Fraternity.
4.2 CRM @ Work
Studies indicate that almost 80% of the firms who implement a CRM are yet to reap its
dividends (Tamošiūnienė and Jasilionienė, 2007; Mukerjee and Singh, 2009). These findings
are indeed startling given the buzz that surrounds CRM. An IBM study attributes these
intriguing findings to herd behaviour (Mukerjee and Singh, 2009). It suggests that most firms
just follow the herd in implementing CRM without customising it as per its own needs
(Mukerjee and Singh, 2009). Despite this buzz firms‟ increasingly tend to embrace CRM for
studies have also found that if CRM is successfully implemented it can stand to increase their
profitability by at least 25% (Goodfellow, 2005).
In this regard one may draw upon from the Qatar based, Mannai Automotive Group. The
Group used a CRM software, SalesLogix, to maintain a detailed profile of any person who
walks into their store as a prospect (Kotler and Armstrong, 2010). This allows them to ensure
that the group does not lose out on a potential sale because of its failure to follow-up on such
prospect (Kotler and Armstrong, 2010). It also used this CRM solution to ensure that its
customers remain satisfied with the purchase and to effectively manage its new product and
special offer campaigns (Kotler and Armstrong, 2010). This illustration reaffirms that CRM
Page | 14
remains critical to contemporary marketing management and a firm can score significantly
over its rivals by implementing it.
4.3 CRM in Professional Services Industry
The dynamics of a professional services industry are in sharp contrast to what is experienced
by the Mannai Group (Young, 2005). Firms in this industry more often than not need comply
with certain etiquettes which perhaps did not apply to the Mannai Group (Young, 2005;
Kotler and Armstrong, 2010). Yet there is no reason to believe that firms operating in the
professional services industry would not stand to gain from CRM. For instance, firms in the
professional services industry can too benefit from a repository of its key accounts that
maintains all the necessary information with respects to such accounts (Byrne, 2010). The
information so maintained can be used at later stage in all its communications with the
customers and to up-sell or cross-sell services (Byrne, 2010; Young, 2005).
This will help the Firm not only ensure that the customer remains satisfied with the quality of
services provided but also to ensure that the firm is in a better position against its competitors
to cash-in on any future business that such customer generates (Byrne, 2010; Young, 2005;
Payne 1993). Consequently, CRM can be extremely beneficial for the firms in the
professional services industry. Its increasing popularity in the industry is also evident from
the Forrester survey that found 89% percent of all Firms in the Financial Services industry
without a customised CRM solution had plans to implement it in its scheme of business
development (Culbert, 2004).
4.4 CRM Trends in Legal Services - An Empirical Assessment
From the discussion above it is apparent that a customised CRM solution can benefit even the
professionals in the Indian Legal Fraternity. It thus becomes imperative to empirically assess
the extent to which the fraternity embraces the CRM ideology. It must also be pointed out
that in research undertaken CRM and RM were synonymously used to avoid confusing the
survey taker. Therefore in this section only CRM shall also be considered to mean RM
endeavours. On the subject of CRM the survey primarily examines the awareness levels
amongst the professionals of the Legal Fraternity with respects to CRM. It also examines
what are customers‟ and Fraternity‟s perceptions of best practices on managing relationships
and challenges that the fraternity faces in the enforcement of an IT powered CRM solution.
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4.4.1 CRM Awareness
Survey reveals that CRM in the Indian Legal Fraternity is still in an infant state. The survey
findings indicated that many in the Fraternity who took the survey did not understand
underpinning construct of CRM philosophy. It was found that a large proportion (41.1%;
23/56) of the respondents from the fraternity were unaware of CRM as a business
development strategy despite embracing it in some manner. Even those who claimed that they
were aware but denied in engaging in a CRM activity (27.1%, 9/33) failed to spot the CRM
practices they themselves or the firms they worked for had engaged in. It was only when the
researcher presented an outline of various practices that come under the purview of CRM, a
significant number of respondents (94.6%, 53/56) agreed that they had engaged in CRM and
that it was a worthwhile exercise. They also revealed that it had contributed towards client
retention (92.5%, 49/53), client acquisition (75.5%, 40/53) and brand equity (45.3%, 24/53).
In contrast the respondents who worked in an LPO scored higher than their counterparts in
the fraternity on the awareness levels. The survey findings reflect that over eighty percent
(83.7%, 31/37) of the respondents from LPOs were truly aware of the underpinning construct
of CRM demonstrating their maturity on the subject over their counterparts from the Legal
Fraternity.
4.4.2 CRM Best Practices: The Legal Fraternity v/s the Customers
In Figure 4.4.2.1 below the researcher compares the Fraternity‟s perception with that of its
customers‟ (includes consumers, in-house counsels and prospective consumers).
Quick Response
Times
Most Favoured
Pricing
Regular Follow-ups
Personalised Messaging
Newsletters
Fraternity's Perceptions 3.79 3.52 3.46 2.66 2.09
Customer's Perceptions 3.6 3.32 3.37 2.71 2.17
0
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
3
3.5
4
Rat
ing S
core
card
Figure 4.4.2.1 Best CRM Practices
Page | 16
These perceptions are somewhat biased for they are measured on the practices identified by
the researcher. These practices were ranked on a 4 point rating scale and it was found that
both the fraternity and the customers concurred on having Quick Response Times i.e.
ensuring prompt resolution to customer queries as the best CRM practice. They also
concurred on recognising personalised messaging and sending newsletters as least important
aspects of CRM. However, they differed on the importance accorded to most favoured
pricing and regular follow-ups. The fraternity recognises most favoured pricing structure as
more important as against the customer who preferred receiving regular follow-ups.
4.4.3 CRM Commitment and Challenges
The Survey also probed the respondents from the Legal Fraternity and the LPOs over their
commitment levels and the challenges they faced in incorporating CRM as a part of their
business development strategy. The survey found that respondents from LPOs were more
committed to CRM than their counterparts from the Legal Fraternity. Over 75% of
respondents from LPOs (78.4%, 29/37) indicated that their organisation had a customised IT
solution helping them in their endeavour to incorporate CRM. This figure was significantly
lower for respondents from the legal fraternity (35.7%, 20/56).
On the issue of challenges or concerns that the Legal Fraternity and LPOs faced with respects
CRM the results are shown in Figure 4.4.3.1
These results were arrived using a 4 point rating scale on some well known challenges that
most firms face in implementing a CRM solution (Tamošiūnienė and Jasilionienė, 2007;
CostConstant
Human VigilExtensive IT
SupportLatency
Legal Fraternity 2.89 3.07 3.23 2.82
LPOs 2.54 2.97 2.97 1.92
0
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
3
3.5
Rat
ing
Sco
reca
rd
Figure 4.4.3.1 Challenges in CRM Implementation
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Mukerjee and Singh, 2009). The survey found that both the Legal Fraternity and the LPOs to
a large extent concur on their rankings of these challenges but show a significant variance on
levels of impact that they may have on implementation. The rating score accorded to latency
(i.e. results may not instantly be visible) becomes noteworthy in this regard (i.e. the results of
CRM are not instantly visible). The results indicate a high level of variance between the legal
Fraternity and the LPOs on the issue of latency
4.5 Customised CRM Solution for Legal Services - Is it worth the investment?
The empirical assessment on the existing Legal Fraternity is not far behind their LPO
counterparts in incorporating CRM ideology as a part of its business development strategy.
This raises a very pertinent question as to whether the professionals in the Legal Fraternity
should invest in a CRM solution. There can be no doubt that the Legal Fraternity like other
firms in professional services industry the legal fraternity will too stands to gain from a
personalised CRM solution. It will bring the necessary sophistication that the Legal Fraternity
desires in managing its key accounts (Garg and Riskin, 2010).
The answer therefore is contingent on the resources that the Law Firm or the Advocate has at
its disposal (Bramall and McNidder, 2011). For instance a large Law Firm or well established
advocate with adequate resources should definitely look to embrace a customised CRM
solution whereas a small Law Firm or a budding advocate who do not have the necessary
resources to implement a customised CRM solution should in the meantime persist with their
existing endeavours on effectively retaining its key clients. In this regard the small firms may
consider MS office applications as a suitable cheaper alternative to manage its key accounts.
However, such is the rivalry in the Legal Fraternity for a bigger share in the customer pie
that it may not be long when everyone in the Fraternity acquires an IT powered CRM
solution. But until that time anyone who invests in CRM a solution and manages to
successfully implement it, will have a definite competitive advantage over its rivals.
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CHAPTER 5
EMPLOYEES: A LAW FIRM’s USP
5.1 Chapter Overview
The success of any services Firm lies in its ability to market the „intangible‟ (Cooper, 2010;
Magrath, 1986). This chapter studies employees as a key constituent of this intangible
component whilst focussing on its 2nd
research objective – the extent to which Law Firms‟
can sustain the commitment levels of its Employees‟ in winning business and strengthening
its Brand. The Chapter develops with an assessment of the relationship between employee
commitment and performance. It then explores how firms can capitalise on the potential of
these employees. Next, it presents a summary of the Survey findings on the subject of
employee marketing. And finally, it concludes with a comment on how Law Firms in India
can continue to sustain high levels of commitment its employees.
5.2 Employee Commitment: Why is it important?
The success of any firm irrespective of the industry in which it operates rest on the shoulders
of its employees (King, 2006; Coleman, 1989). They are shouldered with the responsibility of
not only ensuring the efficient functioning of their respective firms‟ but also strengthening its
brand (Jackson, 1988). However, their performance or productivity varies with their
commitment levels towards the organisation, i.e. the degree to which an employee is attached
to his or her organisation (King and Grace, 2008).
Higher the level of the commitment the more likely it is that the employee will share a
closely knit bond with the organisation and endorse the firms‟ goals and values as its own
(King and Grace, 2008). Conversely, an employee with a lower level of commitment will not
share any bond with the firm and will seek to leave the organisation at the earliest opportunity
(King and Grace, 2008).
Raising employee commitment has become all the more important with the emergence of
social media (Bernoff and Schadller, 2010). In this regard it may be worthwhile to draw upon
the key findings presented in table 3.5.1 of this project which indicated that an overwhelming
majority of Law Firm employees access social networking sites at least once a day and
significantly large proportions of them are likely to share intimate or annoying moments on a
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social networking sites. Thus an employee through its use of social media can also influence
public opinion about its firm.
It follows from this discussion that there exists a direct relationship between employee
commitment and its performance and brand equity of the firm. This relationship warrants that
firms desirous of competitive advantage must nurture its employees as an end in itself rather
than as a means to an end (King and Grace, 2008).
5.3 Unleashing Employees’ Potential – Some Key Learnings
Unleashing an employees‟ potential by raising their commitment levels presents a difficult
proposition for most firms (Punjaisri and Wilson, 2007). This is because every employee is a
different individual and as such has his or her own set of expectations from the firms
(Punjaisri and Wilson, 2007). Research indicates that an employees‟ commitment is linked to
a number of factors which include empowerment, the perquisites that a firm grants them as a
part of their compensation package and organisation culture (Punjaisri and Wilson, 2007;
Bhattacharya, 2011). Research has shown that employee plays a pivotal role unleashing the
potential of the employees.
A firm therefore needs to address all these concerns in order to raise the commitment levels
of its employees and accordingly unleash their potential. In this regard, the firm may draw
upon from Google, which has an infallible record as one of the world‟s best employers
(Fortune, 2008). Google is probably a benchmark for others to follow with respects to the
internal marketing, which not only meets but also exceeds the expectations of its employees
(HRfocus, 2008). For instance, Google has a personalised development programme for all its
employees and offers them free food, laundry, a climbing wall, on-site health care amongst
others to ensure that its employees enjoys its stay at with the company and to keep monotony
at bay (Fortune, 2008; HRfocus, 2008).
5.4 Internal Marketing in Legal Services: An Empirical Assessment
Realistically, even a well established Law Firm may not be able to replicate Google in all its
internal marketing endeavours. However, these firms should strive to incorporate the intent in
the same intensity as Google. It should work towards ensuring that its employees are
empowered, rewarded, and cared for. For instance on the issue of employee empowerment
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even issuing business cards, letter heads can substantially empower the employees (Conroy,
2004).
The Survey primarily focused on measuring the levels of marketing endeavours undertaken
by both Law Firms and LPOs and their respective success rates as a part of their business
development strategy.
The Manhattan graph (Figure 5.4.1) shows how the Law Firms measured against an LPO on
two parameters Realisation and Transformation. Realisation refers to the extent that Law
Firm or LPO has recognised the role played by its employees in winning business and
strengthening the brand. This is determined through an acid test which only considered the
active endeavours (like perks and other schemes) undertaken by the Law Firm or the LPOs
towards raising their employee commitment rather than a passive realisation.
On the other hand Transformation referred to the extent that the Law Firm or LPO has
succeeded in raising the commitment levels through its active endeavours. The survey found
that the Realisation and Transformation manhattans for amongst LPOs (97.1%; 36/37),
(81.1%; 30/37) were far greater than those of the Law Firms (69.0%; 29/42), (64.3%; 24/42).
The survey also found that team outings was the most popular of these endeavours and is
diligently pursued by both Law Firms and LPOs towards increasing employee commitment.
Over ninety percent (92.3%; 60/65) of the respondents (who worked either in a Law Firm or
a LPO which recognised the role of their employees in business development) indicated their
employers‟ preference for team outings as a decisive factor in raising employee commitment.
Realisation Transformation
Law Firms 69 64.3
LPOs 97.3 81.1
0102030405060708090
100
Per
centa
ge
Val
ue
Figure 5.4.1 Internal Marketing: Law Firm V/s LPOs
Page | 21
5.5 Making the Employee Count: The Way Ahead
Any firm and not just Law Firms that desires competitive advantage, needs to assess what its
employees think about the firm. This assumes particular importance in Law Firms for its
employees act as the interface between the customer and firm (Young, 2005). The empirical
assessment on this issue reveals that some Law Firms in India recognise that its employees
are critical to its scheme of business development. They are seen to actively engage in
activities that enthuses a sense of pride and loyalty amongst its employees. Other Law Firms
will too need to follow the suit and ensure that it does not lose its star employees over its
sluggishness.
Therefore, the way ahead towards making your employee count is to continue to engage in
such activities. However, in order to sustain the levels of employee commitment and to
prolong the dividends, the firms must be on a constant lookout for activities that raise
employee commitment and not just rely on routine activities.
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CHAPTER 6
MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS: SETTING IT RIGHT FOR THE LEGAL
FRATERNITY
6.1 Chapter Overview
Communications are a critical aspect of any Firms‟ marketing strategy (Morgan, 1991;
Young, 2005). However, developing a communications strategy for the legal fraternity is an
arduous task in light of the ethical code which the fraternity needs to comply with (Advocates
Act, 1961; Sen and Sahu, 2007; Vora, 2008). This Chapter studies the impact of marketing
communications in business development and focuses on the 3rd
research objective – How the
professionals in the Indian Legal Fraternity can effectively communicate their brand to the
masses. The Chapter develops by assessing the impact of ethical code on its communication
strategies and explores the possible avenues available to legal fraternity to communicate its
brand. Next, it presents the survey findings on existing communication trends. And finally, it
concludes with a discussion on the way forward for the legal fraternity with respects its
communication strategy.
6.2 Ethics in Marketing Communications
Under the Bar Council Rules, professionals in the Legal Fraternity are entrusted with a duty
to each other that prohibits them from advertising or engaging in any activity which implies
soliciting for work (Advocates Act, 1961; Sen and Sahu, 2007; Vora, 2008). This duty is
stated in Rule 36 of the Bar Council Rules and reads as follows:
“An advocate shall not solicit work or advertise, either directly or
indirectly, whether by circulars, advertisements, touts, personal
communications, interviews not warranted by personal relations, furnishing
or inspiring newspaper comments or producing his photographs to be
published in connection with cases in which he has been engaged or
concerned. His sign-board or name-plate should be of a reasonable size.
The sign-board or name-plate or stationery should not indicate that he is or
has been President or Member of a Bar Council or of any Association or
that he has been associated with any person or organisation or with any
particular cause or matter or that he specialises in any particular type of
worker or that he has been a Judge or an Advocate General.”
In addition to a complete bar on advertising and on solicitation for work the rule also indicates
a certain guideline on the size and content of the signboard and/or a nameplate that can be
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displayed outside the office premises. The rule comes across as an ethical bomb surviving
which is no less than surviving a nuclear holocaust.
6.3 Surviving the Holocaust
Surviving this holocaust will require the professionals from the Legal Fraternity to explore
and capitalise on the other permissible channels of communication. Some of these
permissible channels include Public Relations or PR, websites and promotional events; whose
roles in effectively communicating the brand and the services have previously been
undermined by the marketers let alone the professionals from the fraternity (Stapely, 2003;
Kotler and Armstrong, 2010; Kalb, 1993). However, in the current setting the professionals in
the Legal Fraternity can only stand to gain on the lost ground by building their
communications strategies on these channels (Stapely, 2003; Kalb, 1993).
An effective PR strategy, for instance, will allow Legal Fraternity to attract media glare and
create favourable public opinion (Stapely, 2003). It also serves to diffuse any negative public
opinion (Stapely, 2003). Likewise, website is another powerful communications tool that can
help the fraternity in creating awareness about the services that it offers (Bramall, 2011). It
not only makes all the information that a customer seeks readily available at its own
convenience but also by doing so it lends some credibility to the Advocate or the Law Firms
who hosts such website (Bramall, 2011). Another tool that professionals in the Legal
Fraternity may want to consider in its scheme of business development is promotional events
like conferences and seminars. These events should ideally be employed in focused on
promoting specialty services.
6.4 Communicating with the Market- An Empirical Assessment
Capitalising on these permissible modes will solely depend on the willingness and the
resources that Advocate or Law Firm have at its disposal. In the Survey the researcher
examined the extent to which the Legal Fraternity capitalises on these alternate permissible
modes and measured them against their counterparts from LPOs. It also individually assessed
its customers‟ decision making process to help determine the impact that a communications
strategy has or may have in creating awareness and winning business.
6.4.1 Understanding the Customer Psyche
Selecting a service provider for legal services given their credence value is a rational process.
The customer may take into consideration referrals, prior experience, employees, office
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infrastructure and location, brochures, websites, directory listings and service pricing whilst
making a decision on the service provider that best suits his or her needs.
The survey probed the customers to weigh the importance of each these parameters on a 4
point rating scale, the findings of which are presented in Figure 6.4.1.1. A closer analysis of
the findings indicate quite a few irregularities on the decision making process of the
consumers, in-house counsels and prospective consumers.
For the purposes of brevity the student-researcher brings out only the noteworthy
irregularities which arise with respects to office infrastructure and location, and service
pricing. The survey indicates that there is an increasing tendency among the consumers of
legal services to select a service provider on the basis of office infrastructure and location as
against in-house counsels or prospective consumers. Similarly, with respects to service
Referals Prior Exp EmployeesOffice Infra &
Loc.Brochures Websites Dir Listings
Service Pricing
Consumer 2.32 2.63 2.37 3.68 2.26 2.42 2.74 3.74
In-House Counsels 2.63 3 2.94 2.56 2.06 2.56 2.13 2.75
Prospective Consumers 2.97 3.58 2.67 2.52 2 2.61 2.21 3.15
Overall 2.75 3.18 2.63 2.89 2.11 2.54 2.34 3.25
0
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
3
3.5
4
Rat
ing
S
core
card
Figure 6.4.1.1 A Customer's Decision Making Process
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pricing it appears that the in-house counsels do not concur with consumers and prospective
consumers in considering it as a very significant factor in the decision making process. The
student-researcher believes that the variance on the issue of Office location and infrastructure
can be attributed to convenience whereas the variance on service pricing can be attributed to
the fact that in-house counsel makes the decision on behalf of the firm it represents and as
such its emphasis is more on quality rather than on the price of the service.
These irregularities are to a large extent reconciled on the issue of selecting a service-
provider on basis of promotional materials like brochures, websites and directory listings. A
similar trend is also seen when selecting and that engages in pro-bono activities. The survey
found that an increasingly large number of customers (Consumer: 84.2%, 16/19; In-House
Counsels: 93.8%, 15/16 and Prospective Consumers 75.8%, 25/33) would prefer a service
provider that engages in pro-bono activities over one who does not.
6.4.2 Existing Trends in Communicating Legal Services
Communicating services and brand is a perhaps the biggest challenge that the Legal
Fraternity faces today. The survey probes how the professionals in the Indian Legal Fraternity
communicate their brand and the services to masses and how these practices measure up
against their counterparts from LPOs. The Survey findings indicate that the Legal Fraternity
stills remain captivated in the ethical web and are yet to capitalise on the permissible avenues
of communicating legal services.
The survey found that none of 14 independent advocates who took the survey had a website
to the effect and relied mostly directory listings (85.7%, 12/14), participation in promotional
events (64.3%, 9/14) and service brochures (35.7%, 5/14) to create awareness about their
services and the brand. In addition, to these practices a few of them (28.6%, 4/14) relied on
social gatherings and word of mouth for promoting their individual brand and services. Also
none of these advocates has varied their communications strategy with speciality targeted.
Compared to Advocates the Law Firms found themselves on a somewhat better footing. The
respondents from Law Firms indicate that these firms primarily relied on directory listings
(73.8%, 31/42), promotional events (73.8%, 31/42), service brochures (71.4%, 30/42) and
websites (69%, 29/42) for communicating with their target audience. The finding on websites
is particularly interesting since it was found that some of the top Law Firms in the country
Page | 26
did not have websites. Also, quite a few respondents (64.3%, 27/42) from Law Firms
indicated that their firms varied their communications strategy with the specialty targeted.
These findings confirm the dismal state of the legal fraternity with respects to communicating
its services which is in sharp contrast to the LPOs. The respondents from LPOs indicated
that their organisations had a very sophisticated approach towards their communication
strategy. Their approach can be gauged from their use of the communication channels which
primarily involved websites (94.6%, 35/37); promotional events (91.9%, 34/37); directory
listings (81.1%, 30/37). The survey also found that the LPOs had almost no inclination
towards the use of service brochures (10.8%; 4/37) as a communication strategy. On the issue
communicating speciality services the respondents (78.4, 29/37) from LPOs indicated that
their organisations varied their approach with the specialty.
6.5 The Comprehensive Communications Strategy: A Comment
The empirical assessment reaffirms the difficulty the professionals in Indian Legal Fraternity
face with respects to communicating its brand and services to the society at large. This is
further complicate since the nature of the services that a desire is created only when the need
arises and not otherwise i.e. there cannot be an impulsive buying with respects to legal
services. A comprehensive communications strategy for legal services therefore is one that
not only creates awareness about services but also one that can sustain that awareness and
create desire when the need of the customer arises.
Such strategy would revolve around the use of permissible channels of PR and promotional
events and websites but should vary with target audience. For instance when target audience
is a construction company, the communications strategy should focus on promotional events
like seminars on construction laws which can demonstrate the Law Firm or the Advocates
expertise on the subject. Similarly, when target audience is a consumer, the communication
strategy should rely upon the word of mouth.
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CHAPTER 7
CONCLUSION: A FINAL COMMENT ON THE WAY AHEAD FOR LEGAL
SERVICES MARKETING IN INDIA
7.1 Chapter Overview
In the preceding chapters the researcher studied how marketing can benefit the professionals
in the Indian Legal Fraternity to secure a competitive advantage. This Chapter presents his
concluding remarks on the subject of Legal Services Marketing in India. It develops by
acknowledging the limitations of the research undertaken. It then outlines of the outcomes of
the research summarising the findings and arguments extended towards the objective of
helping the professionals in the legal fraternity secure a competitive advantage. The Chapter
also makes recommendations for future research on the subject.
7.2 Limitations
Despite the best endeavours of the researcher this project is not without limitations. These
limitations can be gauged from the methodology employed and the assumptions drawn in
sections 3.3 and 3.4 of this project respectively. This is because the empirical research was
primarily conducted on an online forum where it is always difficult to determine whether the
respondent answered the question after interpreting it in the manner it was intended to be
interpreted. The online medium also meant that the Survey could not be safeguarded from
miscreants. Additionally, the relatively small sample size and qualitative nature of this
research makes it susceptible to bias and researcher‟s prejudiced views on the subject.
7.3 Project Outcomes - A Summary
The Project studied certain key aspects of marketing that can drive competitive advantage. In
doing so it studied the challenge in marketing legal services and how the fraternity coped
with such challenge. It found that the existing practices amongst the professionals from the
fraternity with regards to its business development practices were primitive and required
attention. It suggested that the fraternity should consider acting upon the recommendations
extended towards (a) sustaining profitable customer relationships through CRM or by
adopting the RM ideology in a methodical manner, (b) engaging in activities that enthuse
pride and loyalty towards ones organisation and (c) developing a communication strategy that
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creates awareness and favourable desire towards engaging such service provider when the
need arises.
7.4 Recommendations for Further Research
The researcher now takes the liberty to make recommendations for further research on the
subject of Legal Services Marketing in India. The researcher believes that further research
should primarily focus on (a) the aspects of the Final Equation that have not been explored in
the Project like studying the influence of people and personalisation elements in recruitment
market, product and pricing elements in customer market, etc.; and (b) a further validation on
kind of benefits that can be achieved through a CRM solution this can be done by empirically
assessing the extent to which professional in the Legal Fraternity benefits from cross-selling
and/or up-selling its services. This would help to further validate whether CRM can drive
competitive advantage in ones favour.
In addition to the recommendations focal subject areas for further research, the researcher
would also suggest recommendations to the methodology that is employed in collecting
empirical data. The researcher would recommend data is collected through an area specific
field study to get a broader demographic representation and learn demographic trends if any
on the subject. It will also eliminate any ambiguity that the respondent may have while
answering a survey question.
The researcher is confident that these recommendations would lead to a more comprehensive
solution to the challenge of marketing legal services and reveal some other key factors which
may further accelerate the drive to competitive advantage.
Page | 29
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APPENDIX A
GLOSSARY OF TERMS
Advocate
- (also a Lawyer or Legal Practitioner) refers to
any person duly qualified to practice law in
India and enrolled as an Advocate with Bar
Council
Advocates Act - An Act enacted by the parliament of India that
amends and consolidates the existing laws
relating to legal services.
Bar Council - A statutory body created under the mandate of
Advocate‟s Act of 1961 to ensure the sanctity
of the Legal Profession.
Credence Goods - Refers to those goods and services whose value
cannot be determined even after such good has
been consumed.
CRM - Acronym for Customer Relationship
Management.
Cross-selling - A sales technique that focuses on selling
additional products or service.
Customer Markets - Refers to the market for firm‟s customers.
Customer Relationship Management - A business development practice backed by an
IT solution that aims to drives competitive
advantage through customer value and
satisfaction.
Final Equation - Marketing Strategy framework designed by the
researcher to effectively market legal services.
It takes cue from Goldsmith‟ 8Ps and Payne‟s
six markets model. The model however omits
the supplier markets from the domain of this
framework. The framework suggests that any
marketing activity in the Legal Fraternity
should derive itself from the 8Ps should address
the remaining 5 markets.
Influencer Markets - Refers to the range of markets that can
influence a customer.
Internal Markets - Refers to the markets that exist within the firm
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that focuses employees and on intra-firm
relationships.
IT - Acronym for Information Technology
Law Firm - A firm with two or more advocates who by an
arrangement between themselves agree to
tender legal services to the society at large.
Legal Fraternity - Conjunctive reference to advocates and
independently practising and those exclusively
retained by Law Firms.
Market Orientation - Is the measurement of a Firms‟ orientation on 3
behavioural coordinates – customer orientation,
competitor orientation and inter-functional
orientation which in turn determines its long
term focus and profitability.
Marketing Mix - A marketing strategy that was initially
conceptualised by Neil Border but later became
popular Jerome McCarthy‟s 4Ps framework.
The framework suggests that marketing is a
mix of product, price, place and promotional
strategies.
Most Favoured Pricing - A pricing arrangement that promises the
customer that firm does not have a more
favourable pricing structure for any of its other
customers.
Newsletters - A campaign management strategy that focuses
on updating the customer regularly with
developments that take place in the firm.
People - Personnel or employees of the firm. They
assume particular importance in the
professional services industry as they as the
firm‟s differentiating agents
Personalisation - Relationship Marketing element introduced by
Goldsmith to the existing 7Ps Framework. It
emphasises on the role of stakeholder
relationships in marketing.
Personalised Messaging - Refers to ploy of personalised messages in
order to build and sustain relationships.
Physical Evidence Refers to tangible elements like office premises
and infrastructure. They considered to e a
significant element since unlike other factors
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they can be noticed.
Place - Channels through which product can be made
available to the customer.
Price - Amount that the customer will have to pay to
purchase the product.
Process - Any practices that are employed to ensure the
quality of the services is sustained and that such
quality does not deteriorate with time.
Product - Refers to both good and services. It is the final
offering that the firm makes to its target
audience.
Promotion - Communications that create awareness and a
desire amongst the target audience to purchase
the product.
Public Relations - A communications strategy revolves around
effective handling of the media to create
favourable and diffuse any negative public
opinion.
Quick Resolution Times - A mechanism that ensures a speedy resolution
to customer queries.
Realisation - A term developed by the researcher to measure
the extent to which a Law Firm or LPO has
recognised the role played by its employees in
winning business and strengthening the brand.
Recruitment Markets - Refers to the market of a firm‟s prospective
employees.
Referral Markets - Refers to market all of the firm‟s referees
which include amongst others intermediaries.
Relationship Marketing - A reflection of a paradigm shift in marketing
philosophy which contends that the key to
competitive advantage lies in one‟s ability to
build and sustain relationships
RM - Acronym for Relationship Marketing
SalesLogix - A CRM software that is effective in
maintaining a repository of customer
information and in generating leads.
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Seven Ps Framework - Conceptualised by Booms and Bitner. The
Seven Ps adds 3 additional Ps – People, Process
and Physical evidence to the Marketing Mix
Framework.
Six Markets Model - A relationship marketing model conceptualised
by Adrian Payne identified six key markets
which any marketing activity must address.
These include – customer markets, referral
markets, supplier markets, recruitment markets
influencer markets, and internal markets.
Strategy Continuum - Conceptualised by Grönroos it is the
measurement of a Firms‟ relative position on a
two dimensional continuum which has
transactional marketing on one end and
relationship marketing on other.
Supplier Markets - Refers to the market for all of the firm‟s
suppliers.
Survey - Refers to the survey Trends in Business
Development: The Case of Legal Services
Industry in India
The Act - Refers to the Advocates Act of 1961.
Transformation - A term developed by the researcher to measure
the extent to which a Law Firm or LPO have
succeeded in raising the commitment levels of
its employees.
Up-selling
- A Sales technique that focuses on selling
enhancement to a good or service.
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APPENDIX B
RULES ON PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS4
Advocates, in addition to being professionals, are also officers of the courts and play a vital
role in the administration of justice. Accordingly, the set of rules that govern their
professional conduct arise out of the duty that they owe the court, the client, their opponents
and other advocates.
Rules on the professional standards that an advocate needs to maintain are mentioned in
Chapter II, Part VI of the Bar Council of India Rules. These rules have been placed there
under section 49(1)(c) of the Advocates Act, 1961.
RULES ON AN ADVOCATE’S DUTY TOWARDS THE COURT
1. Act in a dignified manner
During the presentation of his case and also while acting before a court, an advocate should
act in a dignified manner. He should at all times conduct himself with self-respect. However,
whenever there is proper ground for serious complaint against a judicial officer, the advocate
has a right and duty to submit his grievance to proper authorities.
2. Respect the court
An advocate should always show respect towards the court. An advocate has to bear in mind
that the dignity and respect maintained towards judicial office is essential for the survival of a
free community.
3. Not communicate in private
An advocate should not communicate in private to a judge with regard to any matter pending
before the judge or any other judge. An advocate should not influence the decision of a court
in any matter using illegal or improper means such as coercion, bribe etc.
4 NOTE: This Appendix has been reproduced from the Bar Council Website. Available at:
<http://www.barcouncilofindia.org/about/professional-standards/rules-on-professional-standards/> [Accessed 27
September 2011].
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4. Refuse to act in an illegal manner towards the opposition
An advocate should refuse to act in an illegal or improper manner towards the opposing
counsel or the opposing parties. He shall also use his best efforts to restrain and prevent his
client from acting in any illegal, improper manner or use unfair practices in any mater
towards the judiciary, opposing counsel or the opposing parties.
5. Refuse to represent clients who insist on unfair means
An advocate shall refuse to represent any client who insists on using unfair or improper
means. An advocate shall excise his own judgment in such matters. He shall not blindly
follow the instructions of the client. He shall be dignified in use of his language in
correspondence and during arguments in court. He shall not scandalously damage the
reputation of the parties on false grounds during pleadings. He shall not use unparliamentary
language during arguments in the court.
6. Appear in proper dress code
An advocate should appear in court at all times only in the dress prescribed under the Bar
Council of India Rules and his appearance should always be presentable.
7. Refuse to appear in front of relations
An advocate should not enter appearance, act, plead or practice in any way before a judicial
authority if the sole or any member of the bench is related to the advocate as father,
grandfather, son, grandson, uncle, brother, nephew, first cousin, husband, wife, mother,
daughter, sister, aunt, niece, father-in-law, mother-in-law, son-in-law, brother-in-law
daughter-in-law or sister-in-law.
8. Not to wear bands or gowns in public places
An advocate should not wear bands or gowns in public places other than in courts, except on
such ceremonial occasions and at such places as the Bar Council of India or as the court may
prescribe.
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9. Not represent establishments of which he is a member
An advocate should not appear in or before any judicial authority, for or against any
establishment if he is a member of the management of the establishment. This rule does not
apply to a member appearing as “amicus curiae” or without a fee on behalf of the Bar
Council, Incorporated Law Society or a Bar Association.
10. Not appear in matters of pecuniary interest
An advocate should not act or plead in any matter in which he has financial interests. For
instance, he should not act in a bankruptcy petition when he is also a creditor of the bankrupt.
He should also not accept a brief from a company of which he is a Director.
11. Not stand as surety for client
An advocate should not stand as a surety, or certify the soundness of a surety that his client
requires for the purpose of any legal proceedings.
RULES ON AN ADVOCATE’S DUTY TOWARDS THE CLIENT
1. Bound to accept briefs
An advocate is bound to accept any brief in the courts or tribunals or before any other
authority in or before which he proposes to practise. He should levy fees which is at par with
the fees collected by fellow advocates of his standing at the Bar and the nature of the case.
Special circumstances may justify his refusal to accept a particular brief.
2. Not withdraw from service
An advocate should not ordinarily withdraw from serving a client once he has agreed to serve
them. He can withdraw only if he has a sufficient cause and by giving reasonable and
sufficient notice to the client. Upon withdrawal, he shall refund such part of the fee that has
not accrued to the client.
3. Not appear in matters where he himself is a witness
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An advocate should not accept a brief or appear in a case in which he himself is a witness. If
he has a reason to believe that in due course of events he will be a witness, then he should not
continue to appear for the client. He should retire from the case without jeopardising his
client‟s interests.
4. Full and frank disclosure to client
An advocate should, at the commencement of his engagement and during the continuance
thereof, make all such full and frank disclosure to his client relating to his connection with
the parties and any interest in or about the controversy as are likely to affect his client‟s
judgement in either engaging him or continuing the engagement.
5. Uphold interest of the client
It shall be the duty of an advocate fearlessly to uphold the interests of his client by all fair and
honourable means. An advocate shall do so without regard to any unpleasant consequences to
himself or any other. He shall defend a person accused of a crime regardless of his personal
opinion as to the guilt of the accused. An advocate should always remember that his loyalty is
to the law, which requires that no man should be punished without adequate evidence.
6. Not suppress material or evidence
An advocate appearing for the prosecution of a criminal trial should conduct the proceedings
in a manner that it does not lead to conviction of the innocent. An advocate shall by no means
suppress any material or evidence, which shall prove the innocence of the accused.
7. Not disclose the communications between client and himself
An advocate should not by any means, directly or indirectly, disclose the communications
made by his client to him. He also shall not disclose the advice given by him in the
proceedings. However, he is liable to disclose if it violates Section 126 of the Indian
Evidence Act, 1872.
8. An advocate should not be a party to stir up or instigate litigation.
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9. An advocate should not act on the instructions of any person other than his client or
the client’s authorised agent.
10. Not charge depending on success of matters
An advocate should not charge for his services depending on the success of the matter
undertaken. He also shall not charge for his services as a percentage of the amount or
property received after the success of the matter.
11. Not receive interest in actionable claim
An advocate should not trade or agree to receive any share or interest in any actionable claim.
Nothing in this rule shall apply to stock, shares and debentures of government securities, or to
any instruments, which are, for the time being, by law or custom, negotiable or to any
mercantile document of title to goods.
12. Not bid or purchase property arising of legal proceeding
An advocate should not by any means bid for, or purchase, either in his own name or in any
other name, for his own benefit or for the benefit of any other person, any property sold in
any legal proceeding in which he was in any way professionally engaged. However, it does
not prevent an advocate from bidding for or purchasing for his client any property on behalf
of the client provided the Advocate is expressly authorised in writing in this behalf.
13. Not bid or transfer property arising of legal proceeding
An advocate should not by any means bid in court auction or acquire by way of sale, gift,
exchange or any other mode of transfer (either in his own name or in any other name for his
own benefit or for the benefit of any other person), any property which is the subject matter
of any suit, appeal or other proceedings in which he is in any way professionally engaged.
14. Not adjust fees against personal liability
An advocate should not adjust fee payable to him by his client against his own personal
liability to the client, which does not arise in the course of his employment as an advocate.
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15.An advocate should not misuse or takes advantage of the confidence reposed in him
by his client.
16.Keep proper accounts
An advocate should always keep accounts of the clients‟ money entrusted to him. The
accounts should show the amounts received from the client or on his behalf. The account
should show along with the expenses incurred for him and the deductions made on account of
fees with respective dates and all other necessary particulars.
17. Divert money from accounts
An advocate should mention in his accounts whether any monies received by him from the
client are on account of fees or expenses during the course of any proceeding or opinion. He
shall not divert any part of the amounts received for expenses as fees without written
instruction from the client.
18. Intimate the client on amounts
Where any amount is received or given to him on behalf of his client, the advocate must
without any delay intimate the client of the fact of such receipt.
19. Adjust fees after termination of proceedings
An advocate shall after the termination of proceedings, be at liberty to adjust the fees due to
him from the account of the client. The balance in the account can be the amount paid by the
client or an amount that has come in that proceeding. Any amount left after the deduction of
the fees and expenses from the account must be returned to the client.
20. Provide copy of accounts
An advocate must provide the client with the copy of the client‟s account maintained by him
on demand, provided that the necessary copying charge is paid.
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21. An advocate shall not enter into arrangements whereby funds in his hands are
converted into loans.
22. Not lend money to his client
An advocate shall not lend money to his client for the purpose of any action or legal
proceedings in which he is engaged by such client. An advocate cannot be held guilty for a
breach of this rule, if in the course of a pending suit or proceeding, and without any
arrangement with the client in respect of the same, the advocate feels compelled by reason of
the rule of the Court to make a payment to the Court on account of the client for the progress
of the suit or proceeding.
23. Not appear for opposite parties
An advocate who has advised a party in connection with the institution of a suit, appeal or
other matter or has drawn pleadings, or acted for a party, shall not act, appear or plead for the
opposite party in the same matter.
RULES ON ADVOCATE’S DUTY TO OPPONENTS
1. Not to negotiate directly with opposing party
An advocate shall not in any way communicate or negotiate or call for settlement upon the
subject matter of controversy with any party represented by an advocate except through the
advocate representing the parties.
2. Carry out legitimate promises made
An advocate shall do his best to carry out all legitimate promises made to the opposite party
even though not reduced to writing or enforceable under the rules of the Court.
RULES ON AN ADVOCATE’S DUTY TOWARDS FELLOW ADVOCATES
1. Not advertise or solicit work
Page | 44
An advocate shall not solicit work or advertise in any manner. He shall not promote himself
by circulars, advertisements, touts, personal communications, interviews other than through
personal relations, furnishing or inspiring newspaper comments or producing his photographs
to be published in connection with cases in which he has been engaged or concerned.
2. Sign-board and Name-plate
An advocate‟s sign-board or name-plate should be of a reasonable size. The sign-board or
name-plate or stationery should not indicate that he is or has been President or Member of a
Bar Council or of any Association or that he has been associated with any person or
organisation or with any particular cause or matter or that he specialises in any particular type
of work or that he has been a Judge or an Advocate General.
3. Not promote unauthorized practice of law
An advocate shall not permit his professional services or his name to be used for promoting
or starting any unauthorised practice of law.
4. An advocate shall not accept a fee less than the fee, which can be taxed under rules
when the client is able to pay more.
5. Consent of fellow advocate to appear
An advocate should not appear in any matter where another advocate has filed a vakalt or
memo for the same party. However, the advocate can take the consent of the other advocate
for appearing.
In case, an advocate is not able to present the consent of the advocate who has filed the
matter for the same party, then he should apply to the court for appearance. He shall in such
application mention the reason as to why he could not obtain such consent. He shall appear
only after obtaining the permission of the Court.
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APPENDIX C
ETHICS APPROVAL FORM
Appendix A - Ethics Approval Form.doc
Page | 46
Appendix D
TRENDS IN BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT: THE CASE OF LEGAL SERVICES
INDUSTRY IN INDIA
Survey_Business Development Trends_The Case of India.pdf
