"Firms are experiencing margin compression, with expense growth outpacing revenue growth at a rate we haven't seen since (the high-tech bust) in 2001," said Cindy Tambourine of the Law Firm Group of Citi Private Bank, in the May/June issue of Law Firm Inc.

Marketing and business development professionals are under tremendous pressure to generate returns on their investments.

How much of your marketing budget is dedicated to an advertising campaign, from creative to media placement? Yes, an ad campaign strengthens your firm's image in the marketplace, and that's vital. But what measurable return does it yield in terms of actual business generated? It's tough to determine that.

Consider allocating 10 percent of that advertising budget to interviewing 10 of your firm's largest clients. The cost of a Strategic Client Interview program doesn't come close to the cost of an ad campaign. The value of Strategic Client Interviews, in terms of keeping clients loyal to your firm and expanding business with them, can by far exceed the value of advertising.

"Talk to your clients," Aric Press, editor- in- chief of The American Lawyer magazine, advised readers in his May column. "As the economy sours there's really only one set of economies that count, those of law firm customers. To vary the old joke, it's a recession when the client across the street goes bust; it's a depression when it's one of yours.

"Clients are preparing for the storm, often in ways that will be, or could be, lawyer-intensive," Press said. "Knowing their issues and their strategies for meeting them ought to provide a reasonable guide to what your firm can expect from them. And getting a read on their business ought to give lawyers a head start toward winning more work from them."

Strategic Client Interviews will give your firm a valuable read on your clients' business. Listen to what the vice president and general counsel of a comprehensive healthcare system said in a Strategic Client Interview: "I could have sat down with the attorneys to talk about the relationship, but neither side of the discussion would have been as well thought out as your interview. It's a valuable exercise for the firm to have had the foresight to go through."