I love when someone asks, “What does the Marketing Department in a law firm do?”

We do everything under the five (or are we up to six or seven yet) P’s of Marketing umbrella.

In short, we’re the “Make it Work” department.

My department maintains a task list that we update every couple weeks. It’s amazing how many items are on that list, and how many items get done in the course of a two week period, and all the things we do that never make the list. It’s overwhelming, really, and sometimes I just want to wave that list around and shout, “See??? This is why …,” and you can fill in the blank with just about anything.

During one day recently we were:

  • designing marketing collateral for a client pitch, and getting ready to kick-off a website redesign project.
  • preparing for an RFI that had a 24-business hour turnaround, and Chambers submissions.
  • creating ads for charitable programs, and ads for our local business journal.

Some days it feels as if all we’re doing is rearranging the decks on the Titanic as it sinks, and other days we get a glimmer of the magic that comes out of our efforts. The problem is that too often my team and I are already on to the next “Make it Work” moment to bear witness to the results of our past accomplishments:

  • We got the call and made the interview for the RFI, and some due diligence on our part uncovered some great information for the prep meeting.
  • An ad we submitted honoring the client resulted in two new matters, including one for another department.
  • The sponsorship for that organization that hosts some pretty cool events has lead to a referral for an incredible opportunity … through the invite alone.
  • That Chambers submission uncovered some information that we’we already been able to repurpose.

Some days I’m kicking myself because something almost fell through the cracks. I have yet to have something fall all the way through–yet–but it has gotten too close for my comfort (and I’m pretty comfortable with the edges). But that’s par for the course of this “Make it Work” department as well.

The scores of projects my department is overseeing collectively have hundreds of tasks under them, and there are new items being added on daily, and others that get checked off completed, or are moved to a “in process/back burner” position. We’re playing with different software to help us stay on top of things and organized, which has turned into a different project in and of itself.

So when I’m asked about my “super power,” or what differentiates me, or my greatest talent, the first thing that pops into my mind is “multi-task organized.” I assure you, I would much rather it be “play a musical instrument,” or the “ability to solve a Rubic’s Cube.” But the ability to be nimble and jump from one task to the next is vital in my world.

Don’t get me wrong, there are days where I pray for peace and quiet. And when those days come, I have no idea what to do with myself. Turns out I work best with a heavy dose of adrenaline and deadlines looming.

On most days, I simply wake up incredibly early, get to the gym, get ready for work, get the kids to school, process and respond to the dozens of emails that are already in my in-box when I walk into the office at 8:10 a.m., figure out what the one or two things I HAVE to get done today–no matter what–are, and be prepared for the ride of my life because one phone call or e-mail can completely upend my best plan of action. Each and every day.

As for that interview? The attorneys brought it and we were formally engaged earlier this week. Now, off to get that client alert out the door. Or begin the on-boarding process for the new partner. Or that e-mail I need to draft about next week’s lunch meeting. Or perhaps I should just take a shower and start to get ready for my day.

Have a wonderful and safe last unofficial weekend of summer.