The 2025 ACC Chief Legal Officers Survey highlights the evolving challenges and priorities of chief legal officers. For law firms and legal marketers, it’s a clear signal to refine strategies and better align with client needs.
The survey highlights how chief legal officers are taking on broader responsibilities, facing mounting pressure to control costs and dealing with increasingly complex legal and business issues. These trends aren’t just numbers. They show where law firms (and the legal marketers who work at them) should focus to strengthen relationships, refine their approach and bring in more business.
If you’re wondering how to translate this survey into actionable marketing and business development ideas, this article breaks it all down. Here’s how to use these insights to take your firm’s efforts to the next level.
Understand What’s Keeping Chief Legal Officers Up at Night
Effective marketing starts with truly understanding your audience – their challenges, priorities and what keeps them up at night. Chief legal officers and their teams are juggling a lot right now, and your messaging should reflect that you’re aware of their challenges. The survey reveals some of their biggest pain points:
- Expanded Roles: 70% of chief legal officers oversee areas beyond legal, including risk, compliance, privacy and ethics. They’re also advising CEOs and shaping business strategies.
- Rising Litigation Costs: 60% report increased litigation expenses, with 42% handling more cases and 44% managing internal investigations.
- Efficiency Mandates: 41% are under cost-cutting directives, and 35% say operational efficiency is their top priority.
How to Use This: Tailor your content and pitches to address these realities. Instead of generic “we understand your needs” messaging, get specific. For example, highlight how your firm’s expertise in compliance or risk management can ease their burden, or showcase how you’ve helped clients control litigation costs. Make it clear that you understand their world.
Position Your Firm as a True Partner, Not Just a Vendor
Chief legal officers aren’t just seeking legal advice anymore. They’re searching for strategic partners who can align with their business goals and help solve real-world challenges. The survey found that 43% of chief legal officers plan to send more work to outside counsel in 2025, but they’re also being selective. Firms that stand out as collaborative, solution-oriented partners will win more of that work.
Tips for Legal Marketers:
- Shift Your Messaging: Move away from transactional language like “we provide” and “we deliver.” Instead, emphasize collaboration and partnership. Use phrases like “working alongside you” or “solving challenges together.”
- Showcase Success Stories: Use case studies to demonstrate how your firm has partnered with chief legal officers to tackle complex challenges. Focus on outcomes, not just processes.
- Create Client-Focused Content: Develop white papers, webinars and newsletters that address chief legal officers specific challenges, such as managing operational efficiency and navigating regulatory changes. Make your content practical and actionable.
Lean Into Thought Leadership
Chief legal officers are increasingly expected to advise on business strategy, which means they’re looking for trusted sources of insight. Positioning your firm as a go-to resource for industry trends, regulatory updates and actionable best practices can make you indispensable to chief legal officers navigating complex landscapes.
How to Build Thought Leadership:
- Write for Your Audience: Publish articles and insights that address the specific issues chief legal officers are dealing with. For example, you might write about “How to Navigate Regulatory Changes in 2025” or “Practical Tips for Reducing Litigation Costs.”
- Host Webinars and Panels: Bring together legal and industry experts to discuss pressing topics. Invite CLOs to participate or attend, and make sure the discussion offers actionable takeaways.
Personalize Your Approach to Business Development
Chief legal officers are managing tight budgets and are selective about the law firms with which they work. A cookie-cutter pitch won’t cut it. The survey’s findings emphasize the importance of understanding individual client needs and tailoring your approach.
Tips for Personalization:
- Do Your Homework: Before meeting with a client, review their recent activities, such as litigation, M&A or regulatory filings. Use this information to frame your conversation.
- Segment Your Marketing: Not all chief legal officers face the same challenges. Customize your marketing campaigns to tackle specific sectors or challenges, like healthcare compliance hurdles or navigating M&A in the tech space.
- Make It About Them: When crafting pitches or proposals, focus on how your firm can solve their unique challenges. Avoid overloading them with information about your firm’s accolades—make the conversation about their needs.
Embrace Legal Tech as a Marketing Hook
According to the survey, 44% of chief legal officers plan to adopt new legal technology in 2025, prioritizing tools like contract management, document management and workflow automation to drive efficiency. Law firms that can integrate seamlessly with these tools or offer guidance on tech adoption will stand out.
How to Market Legal Tech Expertise:
- Highlight Tech Integration: If your firm uses advanced technology to streamline processes, make that part of your pitch. For example, talk about how your e-discovery platform saves clients time and money.
- Offer Tech-Focused Content: Write articles or host webinars on topics like “Choosing the Right Contract Management Solution” or “How Legal Tech Can Improve Efficiency.”
- Partner with Providers: Collaborate with legal tech companies to offer joint events or resources, positioning your firm as forward-thinking and innovative.
Strengthen Relationships Through Education
With 59% of chief legal officers prioritizing business acumen on their teams, there’s a clear demand for education and training. Providing resources that help chief legal officers and their teams build these skills strengthens relationships and establishes your firm as a go-to advisor.
Ways to Offer Educational Value:
- Host Training Sessions: Offer workshops or webinars on topics like “Understanding Financial Statements” or “How to Use Legal Tech Effectively.”
- Create Practical Guides: Develop downloadable guides on issues like regulatory compliance or litigation readiness.
- Be a Mentor: Encourage your lawyers to build one-on-one relationships with in-house counsel, offering informal coaching or guidance.
Measure and Adjust Your Efforts
The legal industry is constantly evolving, and so are the needs of chief legal officers. The survey’s findings are a great starting point, but it’s crucial to measure how well your marketing and business development efforts resonate and adjust based on what’s working.
How to Stay Agile:
- Track Engagement: Monitor which pieces of content or campaigns resonate most with your audience.
- Seek Feedback: Don’t be afraid to ask clients what they value most in your relationship and where you could improve.
- Refine Your Strategy: Use data and feedback to adjust your approach, focusing on what drives the best results.
Conclusion: Turn Insights into Action
The 2025 ACC Chief Legal Officers Survey makes one thing clear – CLOs have a lot on their plates, and they’re being asked to do more with less. For legal marketers, this isn’t just another industry report; it’s a roadmap for how to stay relevant and actually connect with the people making the decisions.
This isn’t about pushing out more content or sending generic pitches. It’s about showing CLOs that your firm understands what they’re up against and has something useful to offer. Whether that means sharing insights that help them navigate their biggest challenges, personalizing outreach so it actually lands, or making it easier for them to work with your lawyers, the goal is the same – to be helpful, be strategic and make their jobs easier. Do that, and they’ll keep coming back.
Here’s another article breaking down the ACC CLO survey.
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