News Article

Published in the February 11, 2003 edition of
The Law Marketing Portal and featured here with permission.

Innovators Win the Excellence in Legal Marketing Awards

By Larry Bodine
The Law Marketing Portal

Marketing Partner of the Year

Pressly M. Millen has been chair of the client development committee for three years at Womble Carlyle. Under his leadership, the firm created one of the first law firm sales forces, and broadcast drive-time radio advertising in Washington D.C. (featuring Winston, their Spokesdog). Millen did all this while maintaining a full-time litigation practice, with clients such as GE Capital and Microsoft.

Millen led a year-long effort to build support for and then launch a dedicated, full-time direct sales organization. It is staffed entirely with experienced non-lawyer sales professionals, led by Steve Bell. Overcoming obstacles posed by culture, financial constraints, ethical concerns and marketplace pressures, he created in mid-2001 what is reputed to be the first-ever Director of Sales position in a U.S. law firm.

"Our core principal is that we don't take our model from other law firms -- we take it from other professional services firms like investment banking, accounting and consulting, because they are ahead of us in marketing," Millen said. "If somebody says 'no other law firm is doing that,' we consider it a positive. If someone says 'there are 15 other firms that are doing it, why aren't we?' we say we don't want to travel with the pack, we want to be out ahead."

Based on good results, the sales force was doubled in 2002 and is expected to grow further during 2003.

In another move to break out of the clutter of law firm advertising, Millen personally championed the firm's move into advertising on commercial news-talk AM radio station during the morning drive time in major markets. "You can imagine it took some selling internally to have a "Spokesdog" -- but our point was to stand out from the crowd," Millen said.

The firm created several of 30- and 60-second humorous radio spots featuring a talking version of the firm's bulldog mascot, "Winston".

After a successful debut in the Washington, D.C. marketing in mid-2001, the campaign expanded to Atlanta and Raleigh, N.C. in 2002.

"You can't be afraid to push your partners out of their comfort zone," Millen said. You also need to have people on the marketing and sales staff who aren't afraid to upset apple carts either. You've got to be an evangelist for type of things you want to do. You must be willing to jawbone naysayers and ultimately to ignore them."