Perkins Coie Names New Chief Marketing Officer

Perkins Coie has announced the addition of a former Hogan Lovells strategy leader as its new chief marketing officer as Big Law firms increase investments in marketing staff.

Deborah Ruffins joins Perkins Coie as its new CMO, where she will be responsible for leading all of its marketing and business development initiatives and functions.

The firm’s previous marketing leader Kip Guthrie departed the firm last year and launched The Guthrie Group, a law firm consultancy in Los Angeles, according to his LinkedIn profile.

Ruffins is the latest CMO hire among Big Law firms in recent months. Late last year Nixon Peabody brought on Danielle Wuschke Paige as its new chief marketing and growth officer. Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner, Baker McKenzie, and Shearman & Sterling also brought on new marketing leaders within the last year.

At Hogan Lovells, Ruffins was global head of strategic initiatives, and launched the firm’s go-to-market priorities. She also previously led practice marketing and business development efforts at the firm.

“Deb has broad experience as a leader of business development and marketing teams for professional services firms,” said Perkins Coie’s firmwide managing partner William Malley in a statement.

“Her outstanding skills, experience, and understanding of the changing legal industry will help advance the firm’s commitment to exceptional client service,” he added.

Malley, the former managing partner of the firm’s Washington D.C. office, took over as the head of the Seattle-founded firm last July.

Prior to joining Hogan Lovells in 2015, Ruffins served as the Americas business development director and the firmwide director of business development at the now-defunct Bingham McCutchen.

She also had successive tenures in leadership positions on the business development and marketing teams at Deloitte, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Buck Consultants, and Accenture before joining the law firm world in 2013.

“It’s an incredible opportunity to join a firm like Perkins Coie that has such a strong reputation and collaborative culture, along with a roster of world-class clients across the world,” Ruffins said in a statement.

“I look forward to working with everyone at the firm to advance our marketing and business development efforts and raise the firm’s visibility as a trusted advisor to the world’s most innovative companies and industry leaders.”