RubyLawStack.com is a complimentary resource, provided by RubyLaw, a leader in Content Lifecycle Management (CLM) and legal marketing technology, for legal marketers and business developers.
The purpose of RubyLawStack.com is to give marketing and growth specialists an outlet to find additional information, relevant thought capital, and support—particularly in the area legal marketing technology. In today's market, keeping updated and abreast of the latest options, emerging trends, and preferred solutions is a full time job. To alleviate some of the strains, we have compiled materials that we have prepared to benefit marketers at firms of all sizes.
We welcome your presence, and your feedback, as we develop this project further. Please reach us with any questions or comments, and thank you for visiting RubyLawStack.com!
About
For more than 10 years, RubyLaw has brought cutting-edge legal marketing technology and award-winning innovations to law firms everywhere.
This includes the RubyLaw Content Lifecycle Management (CLM) platform, and its component modules RubyLaw Content, which powers websites; RubyLaw Experience, which manages experience data; RubyLaw Proposals, which curates and automates marketing documents; and RubyLaw Integrity, which ensures the integrity of digital content. It also encompasses RubyShield, our secure hosting and support offering which was Legalweek's 2021 Winner for Data & Cybersecurity.
At the same time, we have pioneered and developed critical insights and research initiatives to carry the legal sector forward. Some of these efforts have been conducted in concert with important organizations like the Legal Marketing Association (LMA), and many have been published by leaders and media outlets like International Legal Technology Association (ILTA) and ALM. Others have been conducted independently and in partnership with other legal services providers and industry experts. RubyLawStack.com is a resource to showcase the content that is of the highest-impact, and the most relevant, beneficial, and current.
Specifically, this resource includes:
- Coming Soon! The 2024 Legal Marketing Technology Ecosystem Study, launching in the spring of 2024, for the 6th time and 3rd in partnership with the LMA
- FAQs: 2024 Legal Marketing Technology Ecosystem Study, providing answers to frequently asked questions
- RubyLawStack: Unpacked, our latest video series featuring bite-size "unpacks" of our recent legal marketing technology study
- Read the Report: 2023 Legal Marketing Technology Ecosystem Study, the newest edition of our annual research initiative
- Open Session at the 2023 edition of RubyLaw Symposium, our recent insights webinar featuring a discussion on the 2023 Legal Marketing Technology Study with special guests
- 2023 RubyLaw Legal Marketing Technology Stack Blueprint, the latest visualization of the prevailing systems and solutions utilized by legal marketers and business developers, segmented by revenue
- Map Your Stack, a tool to generate a custom blueprint of your firm's legal marketing tech stack
- Read the Report: 2022 Legal Marketing Technology Ecosystem Study, a report that presents the findings from our annual research study focused on gaps and opportunities for law firms in how, why, and which software they use to market themselves
- Stack Ranking, Part 1, the first in our two-part webinar series on the initial findings of our 2022 study
- Stack Ranking, Part 2, the second in our two-part webinar series, which includes special insights from three experts in legal marketing (both in-house and external)
- 2022 RubyLaw Legal Marketing Technology Stack Blueprint, last year's visualization of the prevailing systems and solutions utilized by legal marketers and business developers, segmented by revenue
- Platforms, Not Platitudes, an insights webinar presenting the findings from the 2021 Legal Marketing Technology Study
- Read the Report: 2021 Legal Marketing Technology Ecosystem Study, our 2021 report presenting the findings from our annual research study, as published in ILTA's Peer to Peer magazine
If you have any questions about this resource, the thought capital shared, or what RubyLaw CLM can do for your firm, please contact us!
Coming Soon!
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about the study
What's in it for me?
Participants who complete the survey (and provide a professional email address) will receive a custom copy of their firm's tech stack based on their submitted results. Your participation will also help us capture and share critical insights that will advance the field of Legal Marketing and the value of being an LMA member.
Are all of the questions required?
No, only select questions are required, and these are to assist us in analyzing the data holistically.
What happens if I don't submit my email address?
If you opt not to share your email address, we will not be able to send you a custom version of your firm's tech stack.
More importantly (to the research), we will not be able to identify your firm and, therefore, will not be able to include your responses in our analysis.
What will RubyLaw do with my email address? Will I be solicited?
RubyLaw will not solicit you, share your email address, or add your email to any subscription lists.
What happens if I don't finish the survey?
If you do not finish the survey, we cannot include your responses in our analysis.
How long will the survey take to complete?
The survey will take 10-15 minutes to complete. You may even be able to complete it faster. The colored bar at the top of the screen indicates how much progress you have already made.
Is the survey confidential?
Yes, all responses and results will be held in confidence. We will not disclose the names of firms or survey participants.
What happens if I don't see a tool our firm uses listed?
That's okay! Most questions have an "Other" option, which you may select and include your response. So, if you don't see your solution, feel free to select "Other" and write it in!
What if more than one person from a/my firm participates?
We would love that! One of the most interesting findings from past years is that different team members often have different perspectives, vantage points, and exposure to the technologies in a firm's stack. We will provide individuals who complete the survey with a blueprint (PDF) that reflects their respective answers.
However, in cases where there are discrepancies, we will cross-reference responses and create a singular version for a firm, contacting participants, if necessary, to confirm the accuracy of our interpretation.
What if I don't know the answer to a question?
Don't worry! With the exception of select required questions, most are optional. You can skip them. You can also provide information or context by choosing "Other" and including details there, as applicable.
What if I work at a small firm and we don't use most of the tools?
A major focus of this year's initiative is to uncover more insights about smaller firms and use this research to help them accelerate progress and close gaps.
Even if your firm is not using many of the tools showcased in the stack, your participation is valuable. We have also included more options that may speak to current systems, tools, and processes adopted by smaller firms.
How long will the survey be open?
The survey will remain open for about 30 days.
When will I receive my custom blueprint?
Once you complete the survey, you should receive an automatic email. This will confirm that we have received your responses. You should receive a PDF of your firm's custom blueprint within 5-7 days of completing the survey (and hopefully sooner).
I am/my company is a service provider. Can I/we participate?
While we do remove any responses from service providers to the survey itself (because the results are focused exclusively on law firms), service providers can participate. The best way to get involved is to encourage your clients and users to take the survey. This will ensure that your organization's software is accounted for and reflected in the survey results.
How can I ensure my company's product for the legal marketing sector is listed in the survey?
We have attempted to include the most prevalent systems and tools in this year's survey, soliciting input from legal marketers, service providers, and results from past years. However, we know that there are some solutions that remain unknown to us and/or are not yet represented.
The best way to ensure that your solution is added is either by contacting the RubyLaw team, or by encouraging your clients and users to take the survey.
Unfortunately, once the survey is launched we cannot add any new solutions to the existing options fields. But, most questions have an "Other" field, in which clients and users can write in the name of your solution. This way, your organization can be represented.
Will all systems and tools listed in the survey or added by respondents be included in this year's blueprint?
As in years past, only systems and tools that receive 5% or more share in a particular sub-category are featured.
RubyLawStack: Unpacked
We're excited to introduce RubyLawStack: Unpacked, our latest video series focused on the legal marketing technology stack. Not everyone has the time to take a deep dive into the 2023 Legal Marketing Technology Study or view the Open Session from RubyLaw Symposium.
RubyLawStack: Unpacked extracts the highlights and presents them in bite-sized bits. Each video looks at particular systems and tools in the legal marketing technology stack, and unpacks relevant insights.
For those that don't have time, note that the videos are mostly less than 2 minutes long, giving our audience high value in a very short window.
Visit the RubyLawStack: Unpacked Video Library, or click the button below.
Read the Report: 2023 Legal Marketing Technology Ecosystem Study
We're thrilled to be partnering with the authority in legal marketing, the Legal Marketing Association (LMA), for the second consecutive year, as we bring new insights on legal marketing technology to the sector.
This year's effort builds on past successes, and incorporates new questions around the impact of emerging technologies on law firms, as well as status updates on the current state of the most prevalent systems and tools in use by legal marketers and business developers.
During the open session at the 2023 edition of RubyLaw Symposium, our annual client summit, we shared initial insights from this year's study. (Please see below for more details, including a replay of that program.)
We are now excited to share the complete report, which includes an overview of the study and findings, general observations, and category-specific insights. It also includes the reveal of Adoption Ratio, a benchmarking tool that provides a reliable means for comparison—within this and future years’ studies—along with key takeaways.
The report also includes important exhibits, providing breakdowns on particular tools used by firms, along with trends on Artificial Intelligence (AI), and other important topics.
Review a copy of The 2023 Legal Marketing Technology Study, or click the button below.
Open Session 2023 edition of RubyLaw Symposium
On Friday, September 29, RubyLaw hosted an open session during RubyLaw Symposium, our annual client summit, during which we revealed findings from our annual legal marketing technology ecosystem study.
In addition to sharing our findings, we invited the following experts to share their opinions and perspectives:
- Jacqueline Maderang of Bracewell
- Walter McCorkle of Bradley
- Thomas LaFleur of Miles & Stockbridge
- Jason Kennedy of Calibrate
Our discussion ranged from reactions to revelations from the study to practical applications of the knowledge to firms of all sizes.
View a replay of the open session during the 2023 edition of RubyLaw Symposium, or click the button below.
Download the 2023 Legal Marketing Technology Stack Blueprint
We have recently completed and released the latest version of the RubyLaw Legal Marketing Technology Stack Blueprint.
This year's visualization provides the most comprehensive and inclusive documentation of the systems and tools deployed by law firms of all sizes. It includes an "all-sector" version, showing the overall picture of systems and tools used by all law firms, as well as revenue-segmented versions to help legal marketers and business developers to assess their firm's selections and standing in comparison to other firms of a similar revenue.
It also includes a sample stack and a blank stack, allowing teams to map their own current or future stacks. Plus, it includes links for teams to be able to request a personalized version of their firm's stack via the "Map Your Stack" initiative, as detailed below.
Download a copy of the RubyLaw Legal Marketing Technology Stack Blueprint, or click the button below.
Map Your Stack
Map Your Stack is on ongoing initiative and complimentary service that enables law firms, and members of their Marketing, Business Development, Knowledge Management, and IT teams to visualize the systems and tools currently deployed by their organizations.
Building on the existing RubyLaw Marketing Technology Stack Blueprint efforts, which present and organize the prevailing software solutions by category from across the legal sector, Map Your Stack offers individuals at law firms a chance to have a digital copy of their team's respective martech stack.
You may be wondering, "What would this look like?" Here is a visualization of a sample stack.
You may also be wondering, "How might we use this?" The most common application of the blueprint is to see, in organized fashion, which systems and tools are currently in use at your firm. This helpful reference can then be shared with colleagues internally when discussions about existing pain points and future opportunities arise. More, combined with the RubyLaw Marketing Technology Stack Blueprint, within which you can find a blank version of the blueprint, your team can map out an aspirational martech stack, i.e., filled with the systems and tools that you intend to adopt in the coming 12-24 months.
If you have other ideas about how to use it and/or improve it, please let us know!
To receive your copy, please complete a brief questionnaire about your current martech stack (or click the button below). We'll send back a PDF of your firm's legal marketing technology ecosystem within a few days.
Read the Report: 2022 Legal Marketing Technology Ecosystem Study
As law firms continue to modernize, legal marketers and business developers, in turn, are becoming increasingly reliant on technology. However, the time required to gain awareness, make intelligent purchasing decisions about systems, successfully roll out and adopt software, and use it to achieve competitive gains is as considerable as the amount required to perform general marketing and business development activities.
This constraint poses a unique dilemma: When and how can legal marketers manage their education about the landscape of marketing technology while also performing their core job functions?
The 2022 Legal Marketing Technology Study aims to bridge the divide by providing law firms with a convenient, accurate resource to serve as a guide, cheat sheet, and visual reference point. It allows firms to assess the prevailing systems and tools used by legal marketers at firms of all sizes.
As the sector’s leading Content Lifecycle Management (CLM) platform and a solution that powers websites, automates proposal document creation, and manages experience content, RubyLaw has a unique perspective and vested interest in understanding how to best support law firms and their dependence on technology to go to market. Our interest has only increased as we launched RubyLaw Express, a streamlined version of RubyLaw tailored for growth-minded firms with limited budgets, taking smaller teams’ needs and aspirations into greater account.
We invite you to read to complete report, which distills our findings down to three key insights, and provides the data behind our perspectives—as well as the inputs for this year's RubyLaw Marketing Technology Stack Blueprint. You can also check out an excerpt, which was published in the LMA's Strategies & Voices.
Review a copy of The 2022 Legal Marketing Technology Study, or click the button below.
View the Webinar Series
In addition to our report, we produced two high-impact webinars revealing our key findings from The 2022 Legal Marketing Technology Study. The first, conducted on July 14, 2022, covered the initial findings; the second, held on September 30, 2022, took a deeper dive and included perspectives from three legal marketing experts, as well as Jaron Rubenstein, President & Founder of RubyLaw.
Stack Ranking, Part 1
On July 14, 2022, RubyLaw hosted an exclusive webinar focused on the results of The 2022 Legal Marketing Technology Study. 2022 Legal Marketing Tech Study—the first in our two-part series.
The program agenda included sharing the findings that led to the 2022 RubyLaw Legal Marketing Tech Stack Blueprint, as well as the caveats and conditions influencing the report.
The 35-minute program is hosted by Alexander Kotler, and features Jaron Rubenstein, President & Founder of RubyLaw, who provides expert analysis on the findings of our study.
View a replay of Stack Ranking, Part 1, or click the button below.
Stack Ranking, Part 2
On September 30, RubyLaw hosted an exclusive webinar focused on the results of the 2022 Legal Marketing Tech Study—the second in our two-part series.
Beyond sharing insights and observations from The Legal Marketing Technology Study '22, we conducted a panel that featured:
- Jaron Rubenstein, President & Founder at RubyLaw
- Roy Sexton, Director of Marketing at Clark Hill and President-Elect to the 2022 LMA Board of Directors
- Drew Hawkins, Director of Digital Marketing at Womble Bond Dickinson
- Gordon Braun-Woodbury, Head of Consulting – Operational Excellence at Calibrate
Our guests responded and reacted to our findings, providing unique perspectives from inside law firm Marketing departments, as well as from the service provider angle.
View a replay of Stack Ranking, Part 2, or click the button below.
Download the 2022 Legal Marketing Technology Stack Blueprint
In late 2018, after attending a presentation by Scott Brinker, aka Chief Martec and a leading thinker on marketing technology, the RubyLaw team decided to apply and adapt his perspectives to the legal marketing field.
We focused our efforts on creating a blueprint to help law firms of all sizes think strategically about how to organize and deploy marketing technology.
By early 2019, we released the first version: a visualization of the legal marketing technology ecosystem. We adopted the categories that Scott Brinker popularized, including: Advertising & Promotion, Content & Experience, Social & Relationships, Sales, Data, and Management, and we applied them to legal.
We then examined technology systems used by firms of all sizes, and published the blueprint with the idea being that firms could document the current state of their technology and then be aspirational about the future, adopting new systems to accomplish new objectives, meet certain needs, and fill gaping holes. Next, we articulated our point of view: that it’s critical to select systems of appropriate size and power while avoiding misfits. Just as no one wants to wear a pair of shoes two sizes too big, choosing powerful, “best-in-class” systems that your firm can’t use optimally (or—the opposite—trying to squeeze into a too basic of a solution when you’re a global enterprise) is wasteful. Instead, we suggested focusing on making smart, efficient decisions that align with firm culture, team capabilities, budget, and relative complexity. We believe these ideas still hold although, tech stacks are not meant to be fixed in time. Rather, they must evolve to continue supporting the ever-changing nature of business and life itself.
In 2022, we took our efforts to the next level, partnering with the Legal Marketing Association (LMA) to survey legal marketers and business developers from firms of all sizes, and evolve the blueprint to most accurately reflect the current legal marketing technology ecosystem.
Download a copy of the RubyLaw Legal Marketing Tech Stack Blueprint, or click the button below.
View the 2021 Webinar: Platforms, not Platitudes
On September 23, 2021, we led a session, Platforms, not Platitudes, focused on delivering high-impact insights to legal marketers.
The premise was simple: Firms the cutting edge don’t need websites, or mobile apps, or dashboards. They don't need to obey oft-spoken cliches and platitudes about “data being the next” or “content being king,” etc.
What they need are platforms. With a platform, marketing teams can elevate a firm’s outward presence, deliver key messages across multiple channels, work more efficiently and effectively from disparate locations, analyze performance, make data-driven decisions, and drive business results.
In addition to sharing our insights, we invited a panel of experts to join us. Hosted by Alexander Kotler, our session featured:
- Jaron Rubenstein, Presider & Founder at RubyLaw
- Liz Boehm, Director of Client & Business Development at Benesch
- Aja Hendrix, Marketing Technology Manager at Pillsbury
- Harry Marks, Senior Manager, Marketing Technology at Fenwick
View a replay of Platforms, not Platitudes.
Read the Report: 2021Legal Marketing Technology Ecosystem Study, as featured in ILTA's P2P
Before partnering with the LMA in 2022, we collaborated with Calibrate to identify gaps and opportunities for firms of all sizes, maturities, and complexities. Our effort in 2021 was published by the International Legal Technology Association (ILTA), and this is what we found:
Compared to other sectors, legal—and specifically the marketing and business development domain—is lagging, as firms fail to invest in critical systems that can drive greater efficiencies and reinforce under-resourced teams.
Perhaps it's no surprise, but our findings reveal a substantial gap in technological adoption between large and small firms, with glaring holes where key systems should be. In places where complementary systems should or could be paired, they are not, suggesting a lack of budget, internal support, or purchasing power. Equally, the use of pre-integrated or modular systems is under-represented, meaning that marketing and business development teams miss out on convenient synergies that can easily propel them forward.
Read The Legal Marketing Technology Ecosystem: Identifying Gaps and Opportunities for Firms of All Sizes, our report in ILTA's P2P magazine.
