Calibrate’s recent white paper on Am Law 200 marketing and business development functions puts evidence behind a problem many law firm CMOs already recognise: Marketing and Business Development (MBD) teams are working hard, but the operating model is not always designed to deliver the growth outcomes leadership now expects.

The key point is structural. Many MBD teams are still built around responsiveness: answering partner requests, producing materials, supporting pitches, managing submissions, coordinating events and keeping the machine moving.

All of that work matters. It is also the work that has historically built trust with partners. But it does not, on its own, create a modern growth engine.

The challenge for CMOs

Expectations have changed faster than the model. Firm leadership increasingly wants market insight, clearer prioritisation, better client development, cross-practice growth and measurable revenue contribution. These strategic, growth driving initiatives are delayed or cancelled becauseMBD capacity is still absorbed by reactive work, internal coordination, and requests that may be urgent but not strategic.

That creates a difficult tension. If MBD says yes to everything, it remains valued in the short term but cannot justify itself long term. If it tries to become more strategic without changing the system around it, senior people become the bottleneck. The result is lots of activity, but not always enough visible impact.

The takeaway for CMOs is that this is an operating model question, not just a marketing question.

Where change is needed

Firms need clearer answers to some hard questions. What work should MBD stop doing? Which practices, sectors or client groups should get priority support? What should be handled through process, templates or technology rather than senior intervention? How should revenue enablement be defined and measured? Where does the firm need specialist capability rather than generalist support?

The role of thought leadership in cross-selling & client value

Thought leadership has an important role in this, but only if it is treated as part of the growth system rather than as a content exercise. Done well, it makes expertise more visible to clients, but also inside the firm. That internal visibility matters. 

Lawyers are much more likely to introduce a colleague to a client when they understand what that colleague knows, where they add value, and how they think about the issues clients are facing.

In that sense, thought leadership can support cross-selling in a very practical way. It gives BD teams and lawyers better signals about who has relevant expertise, where client conversations might overlap, and when there is a credible reason to bring another lawyer into the discussion. 

The value is not simply more content in the market. It is a stronger internal growth system: one that helps lawyers know who they could cross-sell with, and gives them the confidence to do it.

The takeaway for CMOs

The broader point is that CMOs need to protect strategic capacity. That means building systems that make good work repeatable, measurable and scalable. It means moving away from inbox-led triage and towards clearer priorities, better workflows and stronger accountability.

The firms that make progress will not be the ones that simply ask MBD to do more. They will be the ones that decide what matters most, design around it, and give their teams the authority and infrastructure to deliver it.