Last week, we hosted our annual CMO Series Live event for the fourth year running. It was a day filled with meaningful conversations, insights and building connections. We kicked off the day with a future-forward conversation about the current position of the market and the direction it’s heading in. 

A decade of market data tells a confronting story. Big law is fracturing into distinct clusters, the distance between them is growing, and the strategic choices facing every firm have never been more consequential.  

‘The Landscape Shift: Where Law Firms Stand and Where They’re Heading’  focused on exploring the increasingly competitive BigLaw landscape. The session touched upon growth strategies, market consolidation, lateral hiring, client centricity, and the evolving strategic role of marketing leaders. We heard from David McClune, Chief Marketing & Business Development Officer at Davis Polk & Wardwell, Karen Morton, Chief Marketing Officer at Cleary Gottlieb, Laura Nicholls, Chief Client Officer at Clifford Chance, and Kerri Vermeylen, Chief Marketing Officer at Sidley Austin, who gave us an honest picture of where the market stands. 

The gap at the top is growing faster

During the session, data spanning 2014 to 2024 was brought up to discuss how the AM Law 200 has reorganised itself into distinct performance clusters. It was only a decade ago that firms were investing in scale. Today, a small group has achieved what was once considered impossible, massive scale alongside exceptional profitability. 

Big law is probably the most competitive, intensely competitive business model in the world. 

Differentiation comes down to being specific and personal

High‑quality legal work is expected. The firms finding traction are the ones building explicit service standards, creating structured listening conversations with clients, and bringing that insight back into the firm. Client experience is the real differentiator. In order for it to truly be a differentiation, leaders need to define what the client experience looks like in their firm, rather than assuming.

Client centricity really comes into its own now  but it's not enough to just say you're client-centric. Define what it means within your firm and be the advocates for that approach.  

The CMO era is here claim the power or lose the moment

CMOs today are shaping business plans, guiding lateral due diligence, influencing office strategy and building the data foundations firms run on. The panel highlighted that lateral hiring is the biggest investment firms make. However, half of lateral hires are missing their targets, making marketing and BD to become the centre of making the investment into lateral hiring work. 

The leaders who have made it work have made it clear to know your numbers, understand the business as a whole, and show up as a true partner at the table.

Get plugged into your firm's data strategy and help shape it in a way that lets you actually derive value from how that client data is structured.

The message from this panel was clear. The firms pulling ahead aren’t reinventing the playbook , they are executing it with precise intention, better data and a sharper sense of direction. 

For all CMOs, remember in order to make that shift, you need to get specific, get fluent in the numbers, and be the one who brings real clarity into the room.