The 30th Annual Marketing Partner Forum

Please join us for lunch on the Palos Verdes Terrace as we kick off our Diamond Anniversary program.

As many firms look to retrench in the face of an economic downturn, marketing and business development leaders are deploying comprehensive profitability analyses to determine where best to invest, pull back, or reallocate spend. Truly, amid such rampant recessionary fears, recognizing what financial metrics are—or are not—relevant in the current climate is an essential, perhaps existential, task. This workshop invites collaborative exploration of financial performance and reporting across the marketing and business development organization(s). What must Chief Marketing Officers or law firm business development committees measure to quantify success?

Facilitators:
Deborah Ruffins, Chief Marketing Officer, Perkins Coie LLP
Madhav Srinivasan, Chief Financial Officer, Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP

Hybrid work arrangements have only accentuated the role of law firm business intelligence (“BI”) in fostering strategic growth. Aided by myriad technologies and sophisticated data professionals, marketing and business development leaders have an exciting, but no less challenging, opportunity to enhance global brand and allow legal personnel to compete in fertile markets. Inspired by the immense sacred tree (Yggdrasil or “The World Tree”) connecting the Nine Worlds of Norse cosmology, this workshop invites participants to define a more dynamic and cohesive “BI” blueprint across large and/or global organizations. How can business development leaders collaborate on resource allocation and investment? What initiatives are most effective at encouraging adoption across the partnership? Where might technology partners or intrapreneurship yield meaningful returns?

Facilitators:
Lavinia Calvert, General Manager, Marketing and Business Development Solutions, Intapp, Inc.
Bruce MacEwen, President, Adam Smith, Esq.
Eleanor Smith, Chief Client Officer, Barnes & Thornburg LLP

For indigenous tribes of North America, totem animals are an important facet of ancient mystical cosmology. Among the most revered in Native American culture are bears, reclusive and imposing creatures from whence tribal nations derive strength, courage, and strong-willed, independent spirit. Thanks to their collaborative and communal nature, beavers are also sacred, frequently offering lessons on resourcefulness, creativity, persistence, and harmony at odds with their more aloof counterpart. This striking juxtaposition finds a modern corollary in the growing prominence of law firm sales teams and the evolving Chief Marketing Officer remit. With global business continuing to retrench, how are firms engineering effective sales teams to complement the firm’s marketing and business development department or activities? What role, if any, should the CMO/CBDO play in recruiting and managing sales talent? What requisite skills must today’s CMO/CBMDO embrace to ensure the successful partnership—or integration—with a sales team? Join us for a lively and interactive workshop on achieving sustainable success.

Facilitators:
Steven M. Bell, Partner, LawVision Group, LLC
Silvia L. Coulter, Principal, Business Development Practice Leader, LawVision Group, LLC
Robert Randolph, Director of Business Development, Ice Miller LLP

With the modern workforce continuing to diversify across ideological, geographical, ethnic, gender, and generational lines, return-to-office blueprints—even if only two or three days a week—remain a challenge for many law firm leaders. Ever mindful of weighing individual concerns against broader organizational priorities (including the growing phenomenon of “quiet quitting”), firm executives must evince empathetic leadership in moving the organization forward and ensuring that the “stickiness” of culture remains intact. This discussion ponders modern people management strategy in a hybrid environment. How are firms engineering the human side of pandemic-era work with so many disparate voices in the fold?

Facilitators:
Robert Q. Lee, Managing Partner, Orlando, Brennan, Manna & Diamond
Peter B. McGlynn, Partner & Trial Department Chair, Bernkopf Goodman LLP

As many firms look to retrench in the face of an economic downturn, marketing and business development leaders are deploying comprehensive profitability analyses to determine where best to invest, pull back, or reallocate spend. Truly, amid such rampant recessionary fears, recognizing what financial metrics are—or are not—relevant in the current climate is an essential, perhaps existential, task. This workshop invites collaborative exploration of financial performance and reporting across the marketing and business development organization(s). What must Chief Marketing Officers or law firm business development committees measure to quantify success?

Facilitators:
Deborah Ruffins, Chief Marketing Officer, Perkins Coie LLP
Madhav Srinivasan, Chief Financial Officer, Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP

Hybrid work arrangements have only accentuated the role of law firm business intelligence (“BI”) in fostering strategic growth. Aided by myriad technologies and sophisticated data professionals, marketing and business development leaders have an exciting, but no less challenging, opportunity to enhance global brand and allow legal personnel to compete in fertile markets. Inspired by the immense sacred tree (Yggdrasil or “The World Tree”) connecting the Nine Worlds of Norse cosmology, this workshop invites participants to define a more dynamic and cohesive “BI” blueprint across large and/or global organizations. How can business development leaders collaborate on resource allocation and investment? What initiatives are most effective at encouraging adoption across the partnership? Where might technology partners or intrapreneurship yield meaningful returns?

Facilitators:
Lavinia Calvert, General Manager, Marketing and Business Development Solutions, Intapp, Inc.
Bruce MacEwen, President, Adam Smith, Esq.
Eleanor Smith, Chief Client Officer, Barnes & Thornburg LLP

For indigenous tribes of North America, totem animals are an important facet of ancient mystical cosmology. Among the most revered in Native American culture are bears, reclusive and imposing creatures from whence tribal nations derive strength, courage, and strong-willed, independent spirit. Thanks to their collaborative and communal nature, beavers are also sacred, frequently offering lessons on resourcefulness, creativity, persistence, and harmony at odds with their more aloof counterpart. This striking juxtaposition finds a modern corollary in the growing prominence of law firm sales teams and the evolving Chief Marketing Officer remit. With global business continuing to retrench, how are firms engineering effective sales teams to complement the firm’s marketing and business development department or activities? What role, if any, should the CMO/CBDO play in recruiting and managing sales talent? What requisite skills must today’s CMO/CBMDO embrace to ensure the successful partnership—or integration—with a sales team? Join us for a lively and interactive workshop on achieving sustainable success.

Facilitators:
Steven M. Bell, Partner, LawVision Group, LLC
Silvia L. Coulter, Principal, Business Development Practice Leader, LawVision Group, LLC
Robert Randolph, Director of Business Development, Ice Miller LLP

In Roman mythology, Janus is the god of gates, doorways, and the liminal realm of transitions. Often depicted with two heads representing myriad dualities such as past and future or war and peace, Janus’s modern corollary exists within a world still unfolding and defined by economic ennui. For small and midsize law firm leaders, a rapidly segmenting legal industry has created intriguing opportunities to explore the merits of larger corporate mergers. Guided by strong entrepreneurial instincts (and a fiercely independent spirit), firm executives must assess a litany of concerns, including loss of control, loss of identity, senior partner de-equitization, staff and leadership departures, or pronounced cultural discord. This workshop offers an interactive look at the long and winding journey toward law firm expansion. How do senior leaders measure progress from “blind date” to formal marriage?

Presenters:
Scott D. Anderson, Managing Partner, Verrill Dana LLP 
Peter B. McGlynn, Partner & Trial Department Chair, Bernkopf Goodman LLP

Senior marketing and business development leaders are in high demand across the industry. Embraced, not unlike Hapi, ancient Egyptian god of the Nile inundation, as heralds of prosperity, fertility, and the bountiful harvest, senior marketing and business development leaders are expected to provide veteran leadership amid increasingly hostile headwinds. In an era where escalating talent wars require—for some—divine intervention, whither compensation for accomplished marketing and business development chiefs? Please join us for a comprehensive look at CMO and senior marketer salary trends within midsize and large organizations.

Facilitators:
Iris Jones, Chief Marketing & Client Development Officer, Akerman LLP
Brenda Plowman, Chief Marketing Officer, Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP

As proud members of a moral and ethical vanguard, law firms are embracing polarizing roles as active, often emboldened, corporate citizens. Compelled, in part, by client expectations and strategic vision, choosing to take a stand in the racial justice movement, fight for marriage equality, or saga over women’s reproductive rights is a significant and highly consequential decision across the firm and in the court of public opinion. This roundtable invites participants to share candid thoughts on the remit and ability of marketing and communications leaders to navigate treacherous shores of ardent social activism and tactical abstention.

Moderator:
Jennifer Schaller, Managing Director, The National Law Review

Panelists:
Gretchen L. Milbrath, Director of Business Development & Marketing, Winthrop & Weinstine, P.A.
Emily Rogers, Chief Marketing and Business Development Officer, Norton Rose Fulbright US LLP

In a digital age awash in social media, apps, and websites, businesses are finding it increasingly challenging to communicate effectively with clients. Indeed, against the cacophonous scourge of information overload, many marketing leaders seek novel ways of building an effective narrative to entice (and enthrall) their audience. Fortunately, new academic research into haptics—the science of how touch impacts emotions, perceptions and memories—suggests a largely untapped path forward in the modern customer journey. For many professional services providers, despite the ostensive incongruity with traditional product output, sensory marketing is an intriguing concept worth exploring across digital frontiers. Inspired by Indra, the lord of heaven in Hindu mythology who imbued man with five senses, this conversation solicits creative discourse around the possibility and promise of haptic technology in a mercurial market.

Facilitators:
Lorrie Thomas Ross, Chief Executive Officer and The Marketing Therapist®, Web Marketing Therapy, Inc.

When it comes to legal marketing spend, bigger isn’t always better. Indeed, in a fiercely competitive landscape, small to mid-size law firms are capable of outmaneuvering larger, wealthier brethren through shrewd and creative means belying their modest budgets. This session highlights strategic techniques for maximizing market impact and building a top-tier brand. What challenges and opportunities—whether within or without—has the pandemic presented to the firm? How are leaders leveraging in-house resources or cultivating business development skills across the organization? What key partnerships or technology providers can help facilitate growth?

Presenters:
Tara A. Archer-Glasgow, Partner; Chair, Litigation & Intellectual Property Practices; Co-Chair, Marketing & Business Development Committee, Higgs & Johnson
Chris Fritsch, President & Client Success Consultant, CLIENTSFirst Consulting
Amy R. Patton, Partner & Co-Chair, Marketing & Business Development Committee, Payne & Fears LLP

Please join us for cocktails and canapés as we reflect upon the day’s discussions. Spouses and significant others are welcome.

Please join peers and industry colleagues on the Palos Verdes Terrace.

For an industry accustomed to weathering storms, the legal profession’s resiliency in the wake of recent challenges has been nothing short of remarkable. Indeed, financial performance aside, the continued evolution of a sector long perceived as anachronistic has yielded significant—and at times extraordinary—transformations around technology, talent, service delivery, and growth. Against the backdrop of prolific geopolitical unrest, this presentation builds upon exclusive Thomson Reuters Institute survey data and proprietary research on the current and future state of legal marketing and business development. How equipped are firms and legal marketing personnel to embrace a new risk environment?

Presenters:
Silvia L. Coulter, Principal, Business Development Practice Leader, LawVision Group, LLC
Brent Turner, Director, Advisory Services, Thomson Reuters Institute

It goes without saying that Chief Legal Officers and General Counsel have long viewed enterprise risk management as a core job responsibility. Yet, even before COVID-19 reset the calculus for modern business, an emphasis on health, well-being, and (pro)active corporate citizenship thrust many legal leaders into less conventional roles as change drivers around culture and organizational creativity. This conversation examines the ongoing evolution of Chief Legal Officer and General Counsel roles today. In an era of increasingly lean staff and support structures, do Chief Legal Officers and General Counsel have the requisite resources to succeed? Or might outside counsel be well-positioned to assist?

Moderator:
Amy Yeung, Vice President & Deputy General Counsel, Sallie Mae

Please join peers and industry colleagues on the Palos Verdes Terrace.

Law firm alumni relations networks have historically functioned as levers for talent recruitment, lateral pipelines, brand advocacy, and public relations. More recently, savvy firms have also begun harnessing alumni networks to cultivate new business opportunities or retain lucrative work. This conversation offers a practical look at strategic success and exciting opportunity within multidimensional alumni relations programs. How are firms suturing human capital strategy with marketing and business development teams to win in a dynamic business age?

Moderator:
Stefanie Marrone, Fractional Marketing Director & Social Media, Marketing and Business Development Strategist, Stefanie Marrone Consulting/The Social Media Butterfly

Panelists:
Jessica Bolf, Senior Director of Alliances, Introhive
David Chun, Founder & Chief Executive Officer, Equilar, Inc.
Theresa DeLoach, Managing Director, Strategic Alumni Engagement & Client Relations, Goodwin Procter LLP

The most successful law firm marketing and business development leaders are known for their relationships across the broader partnership. Whether at the executive committee or practice group leader level, savvy Chief Marketing Officers understand how to connect, collaborate, and strategically support firm partners to foster influence and greater awareness around their department’s achievements. Harkening to the flames of Kagutsuchi, the Japanese god of fire, or his Greek counterpart Hephaestus, this session offers candid guidance on the craft of building sustainable rapport across offices, departments, and geographies. Emphasis will be given to ways in which marketing and business development teams can create valuable feedback loops, engender necessary support, and be seen as a strategic resource.

Moderator:
David S. Schaefer, Managing Director, Calibrate Strategies

Panelists:
John C. Albrighton, Marketing & Business Development Director, Neal, Gerber & Eisenberg LLP
Jeff Berardi, Partner, Baretz+Brunelle LLC
Ashley Horne, Chief Marketing Officer, Womble Bond Dickinson (US) LLP

Amid market consolidation and lateral activity, law firm leaders are occasionally tasked with engineering successful law firm rebrands or dramatic organizational change. Less a sprint than a journey, this process requires extensive research and collaborative planning both within and outside one’s enterprise walls. Much like the Egyptian sun god Ra, whose celestial voyage in his solar barque brought light (and life) to two horizons, the ability of marketing and firm executives to deftly guide the firm’s journey from dusk till dawn is not without its challenges. Please join us for a candid roundtable on best practices and lessons learned in leading a bold transformation.

Panelists:
Patty Azimi, Director of Client Strategy, Index Solutions Inc.

History is filled with fabled mercenaries and nomadic warriors who helped shape the world of empire. From the Hellenic Ten Thousand to the American “Flying Tigers,” the acquisition of elite talent remains a popular stratagem in an increasingly fraught, global battlefield. At small to midsize law firms, selective lateral hiring is a core catalyst for growth. But even the most optimistic leader might concede that risks far outweigh rewards when it comes to employing the right individual. This panel offers candid guidance on navigating senior associate, equity, or non-equity partner hires. How have firms engineered sustained success despite daunting odds? What role do business development personnel play in helping assess, hire, and successfully onboard talent?

Panelists:
Michael Ellenhorn, Founder & Chief Executive Officer, Decipher
Eric J. Monzo, Partner, Executive Committee Member, & Marketing Committee Chair, Morris James LLP

Leading with confidence, compassion, conviction, and clarity are crucial traits for modern business leaders. Whether at growing technology startups or more mature corporate entities, recognizing the strengths and weaknesses of one’s leadership style are crucial to succeeding in an increasingly dynamic business climate. This year, in keeping with our program theme of transformative journeys, the Thomson Reuters Institute is honored to host New York Times bestselling author and executive coach Kim Scott for a timely and compelling talk on adaptive leadership and new management philosophies to help improve workplace relationships and drive results. Building upon her groundbreaking monograph Radical Candor, Ms. Scott share her latest research on being a more effective—and respected—boss in both large and small organizations.

Presenter:
Kim Scott, Author, Just Work & Radical Candor; Co-Founder, Radical Candor

In The Arabian Nights, Scheherazade, learned daughter of the vizier of the court of Shahryar and new bride to the Persian ruler, mesmerizes her husband (and ultimately staves off death) with wondrous tales spanning one thousand and one (sleepless) nights. For law firms, offering clients a steady stream of compelling content is a similar tactic, albeit with slightly less dire (but no less critical) stakes. Now, with recent events shifting client proclivities toward more digital, on-demand consumption of content, scrutiny around content planning and the existing marketing technology stack is a valuable business exercise. This session offers a rigorous examination of modern content creation and technology platforms across the profession. How are law firms (re)evaluating the way clients consume and access insights? Where and how might marketing technology be reimagined to best suit client needs?

Panelists:
Adrian Lürssen, Co-Founder & Vice President, Strategic Development, JD Supra
John W. Sterling, Chief Strategy and Practice Development Officer, Chapman and Cutler LLP

Aztec mythology speaks of the legend of the five suns and creation of the modern world. Each sun’s rise coincides with a period of metamorphosis and growth. For the contemporary legal services market, recessionary fears and a decline in legal work have led forward-looking firms to pursue partnerships in emerging markets and developing countries. Indeed, despite economic forecasts to the contrary, opportunities for work in Latin America, Africa, Asia, and Eastern Europe exist for firms bold enough to navigate risk in their quest for profitability. Please join us as our distinguished panel considers firmwide strategy and global execution amid ubiquitous geopolitical unrest.

Please join us for a series of compelling, executive-level presentations from some of our conference partners.

Partner Talk #1:
Money on the Table: The Cost of Outdated Business Development Systems
In a recent industry study, 87% of firms report that their business development and marketing teams are under-resourced. When law firms cannot find (or choose not to budget for) the talent to enable revenue generators, their BD systems become inefficient and ineffective. Over the last two years, unprecedented client demand has deprioritized business development. But as markets soften, firms will need to refocus on entrepreneurialism to stay competitive. Those who modernize their BD systems and technologies will pull ahead. This program will lay out the framework and benefits available from a modern approach to business development.

Presenter:
David Ackert, M.A., President, Ackert

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Partner Talk #2:
Pursue the Grail: Engineering Recruitment Strategy of Marketing and Business Development Professionals
When it comes to sophisticated recruitment strategies, law firms typically fall short in their pursuit of top business developers and marketing talent. Recent years have underscored how recruitment strategy gaps contribute to open roles taking too long to fill or job postings failing to attract qualified candidates with the right technical skills or cultural fit. Add to this tableau growing concerns over escalating salary expectations and demands, and it’s easy to see why many firms—and by extension, top business development and marketing professionals—cast a jaundiced eye upon often transactional, even thoughtless, approaches to talent acquisition. This presentation offers a paradigm shift on how to engage, entice, and secure top business development and marketing personnel. How might firms embrace a more personalized and purposeful strategy in our modern business landscape?

Presenter:
Kate Harry Shipham, Principal, KHS People LLC

Many civilizations attribute the gift of writing to that of sacred deities. Thoth was the Egyptian god of wisdom and scribe to the gods; Hermes (or Mercury to the Romans) was viewed as the creator of the Greek alphabet; Odin invented the runes in Norse mythology; and Itzamná, the Mayan ruler of heaven, was said to have brought writing to Mesoamerica. In modern times, social media is de rigueur with regard to mass communication, content consumption, and the populist archive of history; and at small to midsize firms, recognizing how best to leverage this asset can unlock the cipher of success. This presentation examines the latest social media strategies leveraged by leading firms. How and where are small to midsize legal service providers getting the most bang for their buck?

Please join us for cocktails and canapés on the Palos Verdes Meadows. Spouses and significant others are welcome.

Please join us for breakfast on the Palos Verdes Terrace.

According to new Thomson Reuters Market Insights research, 21% of Stand-out lawyers (predominantly partners) and 46% of law firm associates are “unsure, somewhat likely, or highly likely” to depart their firm within the next two years—perhaps the strongest indicator yet of extraordinary change unfolding across the profession. Such marked turnover has obvious ramifications for key client accounts and client relationships, and many astute firm leaders recognize the importance of expanding client relationships across multiple lawyers and business professionals to preserve an ideal and sustainable customer experience. This session examines the nuances of effective cross-selling in the modern law firm. Leveraging insights from corporate clients, law firm leaders, and industry partners, our panel delivers key considerations for scalable success.

Moderator:
Janet Stanton, Partner, Adam Smith, Esq.

Panelists:
Samir (Sam) A. Gandhi, Partner; Global Practice Leader, Capital Markets; Executive Committee member; Co-Managing Partner, New York office; Co-Chair, Marketing & Practice Development Committee, Sidley Austin LLP
Gloria J. Lee, Client Relations Partner, Rutan & Tucker LLP
James T. (Tim) Shearin, Member & Chairman Emeritus, Pullman & Comley LLC

Talent management in a pandemic era persists through divergent and dynamic means. When not defining hybrid working models or (re)calibrating office strategy, many marketing and business development chiefs find themselves grappling with increasingly complex compensation questions involving top or rising talent. In a nod to Pixiu, the mythical Chinese hybrid creature who brought wealth and good fortune to its bearer, this workshop asks not what (or whom) each firm can afford to pay, but what makes sense for a given department? What impact will an anticipated revenue decline have on departmental staffing models? How are CMOs incorporating notions of “culture” and “value” within compensation planning? Is the current industry arms race truly sustainable? And perhaps, most intriguingly, are heightened attrition levels emblematic of short-term social disruption or much broader, institutional change?

Panelists:
Marci Taylor, Principal, Law Firm Advisory Services, Withum Smith+Brown, PC

Sri Lanka’s sacred city of Rajarata (“The Land of Kings”) is home to one of the world’s oldest artifacts, an ancient “stargate” carved into rock near three Buddhist temples. Scholars, locals, and tourists remain mystified by the stargate’s purpose, but popular legend holds that this 6500-year-old sculpture depicts a wheel of the universe through which divine entities explored new realms. For legal services providers, similar urges of wanderlust may be sated in the form of digital expansion. Once the stuff of science fiction and fantasy, decentralized virtual planes contain discrete economies and world-building potential rife with possibility and promise. This discussion explores the scale and impact of the metaverse’s allure on modern commerce. How and where might this latest evolutionary leap influence the next generation of legal clients?

Every civilization holds myths about the end of days. In the legal services profession, the decision to exit a certain market—or even sunset a dwindling practice—can be an unwelcome but no less pivotal play in a longer, more lucrative game of thrones. As key figures in ensuring minimal disruption to firm operations and client accounts, marketing and communications teams shoulder a heavy burden with tangible, real-world consequences to the firm’s bottom line. What approaches have proven most effective in collaborating with firm peers and preserving client relationships? How can firms control the narrative on communications and brand perception in the global public square?

Panelists:
Connor Kinnear, Chief Marketing Officer, Passle

The defeat of King Phillip II’s Spanish Armada in 1588 by Queen Elizabeth I’s smaller, more agile English fleet is not only rife with Biblical significance, but one of the most important military victories in British history as well. That the Duke of Medina Sidonia’s imposing (if ponderous) Spanish galleons could be outmaneuvered by the tactical brilliance of Sir Francis Drake is a valuable lesson for small to midsize law firms looking to ward off larger competitors and capture legal work. This interactive session shares strategic guidance on creative and convincing ways to compete with hourly rates. Is bigger truly better or merely more expensive when it comes to legal services?

Panelists:
Justin Ergler, Director, Alternative Fee Intelligence and Analytics & Global External Legal Relations, GSK

Please join us for cocktails (and potential dolphin viewing) on the Palos Verdes Terrace. Spouses and significant others welcome.