Research shows that law firms that commit the most resources to marketing are among the most profitable in the country.

These firms understand that marketing is much more than glossy brochures -- it has a fundamental impact on the way they run their businesses and permeates every aspect of their day-to-day life.

Surprisingly, there are now some pioneering in-house legal departments which have also embraced the marketing ethos.At a recent conference on 'Successfully managing the in-house legal department', I was asked to present a paper on internal marketing.

As a professional marketer, I was determined to follow my training rigorously by undertaking some market research into questions such as whether in-house legal departments really understand marketing principles and apply them in a planned and structured manner.

And, if so, why and how? I was sceptical as there are plenty in the hardened commercial world of private practice who still doubt its value.Marketing is about anticipating and meeting client needs profitably.

So for a start, the profitability issue appears a rather difficult concept to translate meaningfully into the context of an internal legal department.

The marketing mix of getting the right product to the right place, with the right promotion, at the right price, and with the right people, process and physical evidence -- seems even harder to apply.One interviewee was Brian Clark, formerly head of corporate and commercial department at a major City firm and now director of European legal affairs at IMG.

IMG is the leading international group -- headed by Mark McCormack -- with divisions focusing on sports management, sports television programming and rights distribution, and the representation and performance of classical music.

The legal department comprises 12 lawyers in Europe, most of whom are in London and who trained at leading firms such as Norton Rose, Baker & McKenzie, Clifford Chance, Herbert Smith, Freshfields and Allen & Overy.Mr Clark joked: 'When you lead a legal team at an organisation where the chairman wrote a book entitled The terrible truth about lawyers, you need a deep commitment to internal marketing.' He takes comfort from the fact that, paradoxically, IMG corporate policy requires legal department approval for all contracts before they are signed, and the certainty that his in-house lawyers have a deep and unrivalled knowledge of the specialist areas of business within which IMG operates.The need for internal marketing of the legal department is perhaps not evident in an organisation where there is such a corporate policy.

IMG's stock in trade is the acquisition, creation and exploitation of intangible rights such as the international television rights to the Premier League, a golf tournament or sponsorship of a round-the-world yacht race, which may involve expenditures of many millions of dollars.Mr Clark continues: 'As our sign-off is needed on all contracts, we have to work hard not to be perceived as a barrier or a necessary evil.

We could get complacent.

However, we choose to position and present ourselves as the people who are there to help facilitate the deals.'In order to deliver a service that fulfils this aim, his team has to be highly responsive.

They have to get on planes at short notice, work exceptionally long hours in distant places, support those in different time zones and be available to deal with the headline-hitting situations that are so common in the high profile sports and media world.In terms of adding value to the service, the team filters the vast amount of information coming in from a variety of sources and summarises the key developments (for example, in competition law) in terms that relate to the end-users of the information.There is an informal but effective client management system in place too.

With over 700 executive clients in Europe potentially needing support, the team has to 'segment' its market to know which clients are going to need particular attention and support.

This means his team has to undertake thorough research to understand fully their clients' roles and workloads in order that their needs can be prioritised.It also means that when new executives are appointed, the team has to persuade them to invest the necessary time to familiarise themselves with legal procedures and precedents and to develop a working relationship with their legal teams -- even if they are geographically remote.The team produces checklists and pro forma agreements, tailored to the various languages and situations that the end-users encounter, which act as both advertisements for the department to encourage contact and provide a 'do-it-yourself' service for those in extreme circumstances -- a need identified through discussions with its clients.Being such a small group, Mr Clark's team does not have much time for formal marketing procedures.

Team members are committed to regular and structured internal communication with one another, to ensure that every lawyer conveys the key issues and changes to the executives it deals with on a day-to-day basis during the course of usual business.Yet the internal communication spreads beyond the legal team.

Mr Clark ensures that the role of the legal department is communicated and understood throughout the organisation: 'We are here to provide an internal legal service, maximise the effectiveness of external lawyers, ensure value for money, and create a safety net to minimise corporate risks,' he says.One important internal message is the fact that the legal team saves money.In conclusion, he says: 'By focusing on the client's needs in the context of our strategic role, we consistently aim to convert an obligation to deal with a monopoly supplier into a pleasure to do business -- it's a people thing and about unobtrusive relationship management -- just like in private practice.'Rupert Bondy is Associate General Counsel at SmithKline Beecham, which has around 120 lawyers worldwide , split equally between the United States and Europe.

He agrees with the sentiments of Mr Clark.

'Like the major City practices, we believe that the best form of marketing is to provide a very high level of client service.' he says.

'We provide a real added value service that is in no way bureaucratic or obstructive -- this takes constant and dedicated effort.''We are fortunate in that we benefit from a virtuous circle -- historically, the high client satisfaction means we have been invited to participate in most management teams, which in turn gives us high visibility and enables us to make an even greater contribution to management and strategic decisions.'Mr Bondy continued: 'We do a limited amount of internal marketing through our company intranet, newsletters and internal communications.'The legal department is also alert to opportunities for internal marketing.

'Each year during the formal annual planning and budgeting process, we ensure that our key successes are highlighted.

We also produce a series of internal publications which are targeted at the very specific needs of different types of 'clients', he says.'For example, our IP Group produces a biannual newsletter called Intellectual Property Watch.

We produce Safety Alerts, reviewing environment and health and safety law, and there are one-off communications summarising developments in, for example, litigation with new products from the industry (problems experienced by major global competitors have a way of grabbing readers' attention).

These newsletters have a variety of aims -- to educate readers, to colour their business decisions, to help them get their contracts right, to maximise profit and to minimise risk -- but, of course, they also serve an internal marketing purpose.''The legal department also has a substantial section on the company's intranet.

At a basic level we have organisation charts to show users which members of the legal team advise on different areas.

The company's "corporate code" -- setting out our policies on a variety of matters such as conflicts of interest, share dealing, workforce diversity and official tenders -- is included too.

We are also placing all our newsletters on-line so they are instantly accessible and searchable.'Similarly, we are looking at putting on downloadable standard forms and precedents.

There are links to external websites that contain legal information that might be useful.

But we also reproduce, after some editing, the answers to the most common questions we are asked in a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) section -- such as "What is due diligence?".

This saves us time from repeating ourselves continuously, builds a central knowledge base and enables the users to become more self sufficient.'Moving back to the strategic role played by the in-house legal department, he explains: 'Every organisation has to resolve a series of "make or buy" decisions.

We look at legal costs holistically -- the total spent by the company regardless of whether this is on the in-house department or external lawyers.

It enables us to service the organisation's needs better and more efficiently.''We are like IMG, as the business is heavily contract-driven and the law is a critical part of the business process.

It is an exciting life for a lawyer here -- it is a heavily regulated and complex industry which is also quite transactional.

Therefore, business and strategic decisions often turn on legal input, and so you are frequently at the centre of the action.

The added value we bring can be measured in billions of dollars.'These pr inciples could give other firms clarity of thought on their role, a deep appreciation of their clients' needs, a real understanding of the marketing ethos and an ability to communicate in a concise and meaningful way.So if these two organisations -- where legal and contract skills are intrinsic to the organisation's success -- are actively marketing their teams, imagine how much more important it is to those organisations where the legal department is more peripheral to the core business.

The implications for those remaining private practices that are still sceptical about marketing are also clear.