Body of Knowledge

Created by the Legal Marketing Association

The Body of Knowledge (BoK) is a foundational resource for professional development in marketing that defines the core skills necessary for legal marketers to succeed. The BoK defines essential and accepted domains, competencies and associated skill sets within the legal marketing profession at every level. It helps legal marketers hone their skills, assists legal marketing managers to develop themselves and their teams, provides a universal benchmark against which legal marketers can be assessed, and guides LMA in delivering the right educational programming for marketers of all levels.

 

Harness the Power of Your Team with the CMO BoK Toolkit

From recruitment to promotion and beyond, the BoK can help you power your team’s professional growth. Download this new, complimentary CMO BoK Toolkit — specifically designed for CMOs and senior marketers — that outlines how to leverage the BoK to recruit, manage, develop and support your team.

Download the Toolkit

Plus! Hear directly from the LMA’s Educational Advisory Council (EAC) about how you can use the BoK to support yourself or your team, covering everything from driving growth, enhancing your team, career development and more!

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The Evolution of the BoK (Third Edition Available!)

Published in 2016, the original BoK was created in collaboration with LMA’s Education Advisory Council (EAC) and various legal marketing specialists and experts. The EAC is a cross section of LMA members who serve as educational ambassadors to help guide educational strategy and best practices. In 2023, the EAC, under the guidance of LMA’s education director, thoroughly reviewed each domain, competency and skill. This thoughtful and critical review sets the gold standard for firms and legal marketers. The current version of the BoK features more advanced skills across all domains, new competencies within the Client Services, Communications, and Technology Management domains, the expansion of competitive and business intelligence skills, and an increased focus on fostering diversity, equity, and inclusion throughout all areas of the BoK.

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View the BoK

LMA membership is required to view the digital version of the BoK. Printed copies of the document are available for purchase by both LMA members ($79) and prospective LMA members ($179). Prospective members must create a guest account and log in to purchase.

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Test Your Skills With the BoK Assessment Tool

Test your Body of Knowledge (BoK) core skills! Take the intro quiz to get started, and then continue with the six domains. Determine your current knowledge level and where to focus your educational and professional development efforts. Plus, this tool also gives you personalized recommendations on next steps based on your results. The full quizzes are an LMA member benefit.

Take the Quiz

Assess Your Skills With the Competency Analysis Tool

To better assist you in charting your own development path, LMA has created a competency analysis tool (CAT) for each domain within the BoK. The CAT can be used to assess staff’s or your personal professional development opportunities.

Click on each domain icon below to view and print the CAT.

 

Business Development

 

Business Development encompasses driving new business, market share and profitable revenue for the law firm — directly and indirectly —  through client and prospect outreach, lawyer coaching and mentoring, and market intelligence. 

Business of Law

 

Business of Law includes understanding the legal sector, evaluating firm financial and operational performance, building strategies to leverage market opportunities and implementing practices that maximize performance.

Client Services

 

Client Services consist of developing and delivering strategies, techniques, processes and standards around the client experience.

Communications

 

Communications entails developing internal and external strategies to articulate a firm's value proposition, create plans to protect reputation and implement those strategies through various communications disciplines.

Marketing Management & Leadership

 

Marketing Management and Leadership consists of establishing and effectively managing a highly functioning marketing organization through people, processes and technologies that foster collaboration and drive overall business objectives.

Technology Management

 

Technology Management includes strategic analysis, needs assessment, identification, implementation and effective management of the technologies and technology staff that enable marketing and business development initiatives.

Tell Us What You Think

Once you've had a chance to review the BoK, and apply its contents, let us know your thoughts through our brief survey.

BoK Survey