Chicago - Legal Marketing & BD Salary Guide

​​​Welcome to Ambition’s Legal Marketing & BD salary guide, specifically for Law firms in Chicago.

The salary data in this guide is drawn from the salaries of roles we have actively recruited for this year as well as from market data. You will notice that the salary bandings are relatively broad, reflecting the differences in firm sizes and their respective pay scales.

For more tailored advice, whether for yourself or your team, please contact us directly.

Market update

Hiring across marketing and business development teams remained very strong in 2025, driven by both newly created roles and replacement hires.

Demand was particularly high at the mid-management level, with steady movement from professionals making lateral moves as well as those seeking their first step into management, though the pool of candidates ready for promotion continued to tighten. For individuals at this level, the market offered a wide range of opportunities, making 2025 an excellent year to explore new roles.

Changes in senior leadership at many firms throughout 2025 and late 2024 also led to the creation of new positions aligned with leadership’s evolving strategic vision. Within general practice BD roles, there was a clear increase in focus on client development and relationship management, either as centralized functions or as part of broader BD responsibilities.

In addition, demand for external communications, brand, and client intelligence roles rose above 2024 levels, representing one of the few areas where law firms actively sought talent from outside the legal sector.

At the senior end of the market, there was significant movement at the Associate Director and Director levels. While many opportunities were concentrated in corporate and transactional practices, there was also strong demand for senior marketing and BD professionals supporting litigation teams.

Firms also became more location-agnostic in their hiring approach, recruiting across multiple markets to expand their candidate pools and access a wider range of talent.

The Chicago market was a real highlight for us in 2025, representing our highest percentage growth in role volume compared with 2024.

It was also notable for the diverse mix of roles across practice areas, with transactional and regulatory engagements appearing in relatively equal measure.

In addition, Chicago emerged as a key location for a range of centralized functions, including Communications, Client Relationship Management, Events, and Proposals/Bids, with firms actively seeking talent based in the city.

Unsurprisingly, Business Development roles made up our highest volume of positions, particularly at the manager and senior management levels.

In line with national trends, the M&BD market proved highly attractive for job seekers, while remaining challenging for hiring managers to navigate due to competition for talent. Office attendance trends in Chicago also led a number of firms to move toward a four-day in office work week during 2025, or to establish this as policy beginning in early 2026.

While this shift generated limited pushback, it has created an environment in which firms offering greater flexibility are able to differentiate themselves in the market.

With respect to central function roles, these were most commonly aligned with teams supporting the U.S. market as a whole or operating within global functions. This was particularly evident in the Bids/Proposals and Communications spaces, where roles were less focused on the Chicago market specifically and instead operated on a national or global scale from the Chicago office

The team at Ambition is always happy to answer any questions you may have about the market so please don’t hesitate to contact us if we can be of assistance.

Chicago Legal Marketing & BD Salary Guide 2026

Download a PDF Salary Guide

​Legal Business Development & Marketing Salaries in Chicago

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Legal Communications Salaries in Chicago

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Legal Events Salaries in Chicago

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Legal Bids/Pitches Salaries in Chicago

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Notes on salary table:

• The above salaries are based on remuneration in global law firms. Titles and levels vary from firm to firm.

• ​The salary ranges given are only approximate guides. For tailored salary advice, please contact us directly.

• ​12-month base salaries are assumed.

• ​All other benefits and bonuses are in addition to these figures.

• ​Bonus ranges can vary significantly from firm to firm and will be influenced by market conditions, and business & individual performances.

• For more tailored salary advice, please get in touch with ben.curle@ambitionsearch.com or call Ben on 212 540 9207.