A new survey by the BTI Consulting Group out of Boston reports that 60% of theAmLaw 100 law firms budgeted an average of $9 million (or 2.2% of gross revenues) last year on marketing. That comes to $56,000 per partner or $14,000 per lawyer, according to an article about the survey by Zusha Elinson that appears on Law.com.

The increase in business development specifically is what struck me. First, the Chairman Gregory Jordan with Reed Smith reports that “it’s less about advertising and more about client-specific business development.”

Secondly, the article reports that the AmLaw second hundred law firms put “more emphasis on individual clients,” while the first one hundred looks to “broader markets and opportunities.” That according to Elinson indicates that smaller firms are spending “more money on business development…”

The question smaller firms need to ask themselves is whether they are committing sufficient resources to business development in order to keep up.