According to new research by J. Johnson Executive Search, today's current CMOs are in their role an average of 5.8 years.

"That's quite a departure from the headlines nearly a decade ago sounding the alarm for top marketing professionals' job security," said Jennifer Johnson Scalzi, President of J. Johnson Executive Search, Inc., a boutique executive search firm.

• 32% are just in their positions under two years.
• 21% have been in their roles for more than a decade.
• This means that one-fifth of the sitting legal CMOs have successfully weathered the great shift that has been our industry for the last decade.

"The results in the Top 100 are even more surprising. It would seem that this set of large, everchanging, geographically far-flung firms would see more transitions in their top marketing roles," Scalzi said.

6.1 year tenure in AmLaw 100

Average CMO tenure in the Top 100 law firms is holding steady at an average of 6.1 years. This is almost a full two years longer than the average tenure of non-legal CMOs as reported by other industries just about a year ago.

Among the top 200, 132 top marketing personnel belong to the "C-Suite" with marketing-centric titles like Chief Marketing Officer. "There is a much-higher concentration of C-suite titles in the Am Law 100, likely due to this set being the earlier adopters of the role and the Second Hundred now keeping pace,"  Scalzi said.

Only 68 people in the senior-most position in Am Law 200 firms are still at Director levels. 

"The bottom line for current and aspiring CMOs is that this is an attractive industry in which to build a career. It's still growing, there's job stability and the ability to do some real cutting-edge work," Scalzi said.