Law firm budgets are under increasing scrutiny as firms face pressure to maximize efficiency, adapt to changing market conditions, and deliver more value to clients.  For CMOs, understanding and aligning the marketing budget with the firm's broader strategic goals is critical. A well-aligned budget ensures that marketing efforts directly support the firm’s growth objectives, enhance client engagement, and improve ROI for marketing activities. In this episode of the CMO Series Podcast, Alistair Bone sits down with Tim Mullane, Chief Marketing and Business Development Officer at Wilson Elser, to understand how to align a firm’s budget with its growth strategy.  Tim and Ali Cover: The current trends impacting law firm budgets, and why CMOs should prioritize this issue What causes budget misalignment in law firms, and examples of the consequences when it happens How marketers can effectively align their budgets with their firm's strategic goals How to successfully amend budgets once new priorities are set The concept of “winners” in a budget allocation context and how to identify them The timeframes law firms should consider when setting budgets and how to evaluate the effectiveness of their strategies  The most important aspect marketers should consider when ensuring their budget aligns with their strategy