The 29th Annual Marketing Partner Forum

Please join us for lunch on the Ocean Front Lawn as we kick off our 2022 program.

Long before recent events brought social inequity to the fore, influential groups such as the Business Roundtable called upon corporate entities “to create value for all [company] stakeholders” (customers, employees, suppliers, shareholders, and communities) in an increasingly fractious and volatile political climate. In 2022, after a year wherein many organizations embraced corporate sustainability, social impact, or environmental, social, and governance (“ESG”) initiatives, the legal services sector is poised to offer meaningful change for clients committed to noble and intentional “purpose.” This workshop asks participants to examine the social, strategic, and fiscal impact of CSR investments across their firm. Are legal services providers maximizing the synergies between new business development and CSR/ESG in a landscape rife with opportunity?

Facilitators:
Pamela Cone, Founder & Chief Executive Officer, Amity Advisory
Jazz Hampton, Chief Executive Officer & General Counsel, TurnSignl
John Page, Senior Vice President, Chief Corporate Social Responsibility Officer & Chief Legal Officer, Golden State Foods
Kristin L. Parker, Environmental Sustainability Partner, Chapman & Cutler LLP
Peter D. Robertson, Of Counsel, Squire Patton Boggs

Industry or sector strategy has been a popular trend in legal services. According to Thomson Reuters Strategic Insights data, resource allocation and budgetary investment around sectors and industries affords tangible market impact—including robust favorability drivers and realization rates—on both a regional and international scale. Since the pandemic’s onset, however, new market research suggests a decidedly uneven ROI for the nearly 66% of Am Law 100 firms deploying this nascent service model—a reality forcing many to recalibrate their approach. How are firms assessing their go-to-market strategy in an evolving client environment? What lessons do data and client feedback tell us about competing at home and abroad?

Moderator:
Tom Snavely, Principal Consultant – Advisory Services, Market Insights & Thought Leadership, Thomson Reuters

Facilitators:
Beth Cuzzone, Global Practice Group Leader, Marketing & Business Development Solutions, Intapp
Betsy Donovan, Head of US Marketing & Business Development, Withers Bergman LLP
Catherine Zinn, Chief Client Officer, Baker Botts, LLP

Business development upskilling within the law firm Associate and Of Counsel ranks is a crucial driver for success. Indeed, as client-facing assets, both demographics have tremendous potential to leverage client relationships and bring forth exciting business opportunities that might overwise fall through the cracks. At some firms, professional development teams assume primary responsibility for cultivating a “rainmaker” mindset. Conversely, other firms may look toward marketing leaders or outside consultants to effectuate career success. This workshop offers a practical dive into law firm associate behavior, professional growth, and coaching techniques. What processes work best at unlocking business development potential for junior members of the firm? How can firms better encourage and accelerate associate-driven business opportunities from “lead” to formal engagement?

Facilitators:
Silvia L. Coulter, Principal, Business Development Practice Leader, LawVision Group, LLC
Carrie Hanna, Chief Strategy Officer, Gunster
Brent Turner, Director, Strategic Insights & Market Intelligence, Thomson Reuters
Gillian Ward, Global Chief Marketing Officer, Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLP

Long before recent events brought social inequity to the fore, influential groups such as the Business Roundtable called upon corporate entities “to create value for all [company] stakeholders” (customers, employees, suppliers, shareholders, and communities) in an increasingly fractious and volatile political climate. In 2022, after a year wherein many organizations embraced corporate sustainability, social impact, or environmental, social, and governance (“ESG”) initiatives, the legal services sector is poised to offer meaningful change for clients committed to noble and intentional “purpose.” This workshop asks participants to examine the social, strategic, and fiscal impact of CSR investments across their firm. Are legal services providers maximizing the synergies between new business development and CSR/ESG in a landscape rife with opportunity?

Facilitators:
Pamela Cone, Founder & Chief Executive Officer, Amity Advisory
Jazz Hampton, Chief Executive Officer & General Counsel, TurnSignl
John Page, Senior Vice President, Chief Corporate Social Responsibility Officer & Chief Legal Officer, Golden State Foods
Kristin L. Parker, Environmental Sustainability Partner, Chapman & Cutler LLP
Peter D. Robertson, Of Counsel, Squire Patton Boggs

Industry or sector strategy has been a popular trend in legal services. According to Thomson Reuters Strategic Insights data, resource allocation and budgetary investment around sectors and industries affords tangible market impact—including robust favorability drivers and realization rates—on both a regional and international scale. Since the pandemic’s onset, however, new market research suggests a decidedly uneven ROI for the nearly 66% of Am Law 100 firms deploying this nascent service model—a reality forcing many to recalibrate their approach. How are firms assessing their go-to-market strategy in an evolving client environment? What lessons do data and client feedback tell us about competing at home and abroad?

Moderator:
Tom Snavely, Principal Consultant – Advisory Services, Market Insights & Thought Leadership, Thomson Reuters

Facilitators:
Valerie K. Brennan, Chief Marketing Officer, Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP
Beth Cuzzone, Global Practice Group Leader, Marketing & Business Development Solutions, Intapp
Betsy Donovan, Head of US Marketing & Business Development, Withers Bergman LLP
Catherine Zinn, Chief Client Officer, Baker Botts, LLP

Business development upskilling within the law firm Associate and Of Counsel ranks is a crucial driver for success. Indeed, as client-facing assets, both demographics have tremendous potential to leverage client relationships and bring forth exciting business opportunities that might overwise fall through the cracks. At some firms, professional development teams assume primary responsibility for cultivating a “rainmaker” mindset. Conversely, other firms may look toward marketing leaders or outside consultants to effectuate career success. This workshop offers a practical dive into law firm associate behavior, professional growth, and coaching techniques. What processes work best at unlocking business development potential for junior members of the firm? How can firms better encourage and accelerate associate-driven business opportunities from “lead” to formal engagement?

Facilitators:
Silvia L. Coulter, Principal, Business Development Practice Leader, LawVision Group, LLC
Carrie Hanna, Chief Strategy Officer, Gunster
Brent Turner, Director, Strategic Insights & Market Intelligence, Thomson Reuters
Gillian Ward, Global Chief Marketing Officer, Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLP

With the pandemic laying bare areas of growth and opportunity for law firm marketing chiefs, assessing the limitations of one’s current departmental structure is both a prudent and timely business exercise. Client needs requiring specialty skill sets or more intentional collaboration suggest that traditional departmental silos are increasingly atavistic—perhaps more so than ever—and ill-equipped for a market transformed. This conversation invites law firm marketing leaders to envision a more malleable operational model for their firm. What skills or roles should be (de)prioritized in the near or distant future?

Facilitators:
Laura Galeano, Chief Marketing Officer, Bilzin Sumberg Baena Price & Axelrod LLP
Lynn Tellefsen, Chief Marketing Officer, Wilentz, Goldman & Spitzer, P.A.

As hybrid work arrangements continue to surge, the heightened significance of interactive websites and a robust digital footprint presents a fantastic opportunity for law firm leaders. Savvy CMOs recognize that industry-wide practices once governing law firm web presence no longer pass muster in an era of speed, accessibility, and efficiency. Moreover, with both high- and low-end competition still eating away at the proverbial pie, it is increasingly likely that firms failing to reimagine their digital client journey risk far more than the immediate, upfront costs associated with infrastructure investment. This roundtable offers guidance on the new law firm website parameters. What considerations must every law firm executive adopt to maintain and enhance market presence?

Facilitators:
Yolanda Cartusciello, Partner, PP&C Consulting
Kalev Peekna, Chief Strategist, One North

An unfortunate consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic has been the collateral damage wrought on marketing department budgets and leaders alike. Even in the best of times, marketing is seen as a non-essential business function within certain firm corridors. Yet the fact remains that many marketing and client service departments drastically enhanced their productivity throughout 2020 and 2021—often despite exigent austerity. This workshop invites law firm marketing and business development executives to define and quantify the impact of their departmental value to the broader partnership. How can CMOs socialize the indispensable role of marketing amidst fiscal and operational scrutiny?

Facilitators:
Erin Corbin Meszaros, Chief Business Development & Client Service Officer, Eversheds Sutherland (US) LLP
Norm Mullock, Vice President, Strategy, Wilson Allen

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

Building or revamping a corporate legal function is no small feat—especially in a global pandemic. Each department has its own set of priorities or needs when it comes to talent acquisition and output. But in a tenuous global economy and era of modest spend, how resourceful must General Counsel and Chief Legal Officers be to sufficiently service their clients? This conversation offers a candid look at the evolving corporate legal department organizational chart. How are in-house leaders addressing talent needs or skillset gaps within their own team? Where do legal operations personnel, data scientists, or technology specialists sit within the COVID-era business model? And what opportunities exist for law firms and technology partners to ensure their clients’ success?

Moderator:
Joshua Davis, Director, Goulston & Storrs PC

Panelists:
Sophia Lee, Chief Legal Officer, Altus Power America, Inc.
John Page, Senior Vice President, Chief Corporate Social Responsibility Officer & Chief Legal Officer, Golden State Foods
Alan K. Tse, Global Chief Legal Officer & Corporate Secretary, Jones Lang LaSalle

Leading transformation in risk-averse cultures is daunting for even the most seasoned professional. Each year, law firm leaders and marketing and business development executives have the ongoing opportunity—if not unenviable task—of introducing new ideas to a partnership of lawyers notoriously adverse to change. And while some firms embrace disruption as a key growth lever, others adopt a more skeptical tone, preferring iteration to innovation despite the sea change impacting the profession. This January, the Thomson Reuters Institute is proud to welcome renowned digital futurist and bestselling author Brian Solis for a timely and compelling address on engineering growth and challenging rigid paradigms in the modern workspace. Leveraging his experience as Global Innovation Evangelist at Salesforce and work as a digital anthropologist, Mr. Solis invites business leaders to shift their perspectives and “learn to unlearn” what it means to drive disruption, inspire others, and build consensus across the enterprise.

Presenter:
Brian Solis, Digital Futurist & Bestselling Author

Please join us for lunch on the Ocean Front Lawn.

Suffice it to say, the past twenty-four months have proven especially challenging for many junior law firm partners. Thanks to a global pandemic, many individuals struggled to establish a core book of business or build upon personal brands within an ever-evolving remote work environment and tepid business climate. Recent Harvard Law School research further attests to a generational shift among legal professionals toward greater work-life balance, alternative career pathways, and improved social awareness on the part of one’s employer, colleagues, or self. Viewed through a comprehensive lens, such headwinds augur a potential headache for law firm leaders and professional development peers. This session examines junior partner performance and professional development strategies for the modern COVID era. How does one address common professional, practical, and philosophical sentiments endemic to this key demographic?

Moderator:
Jonathan Fitzgarrald, Managing Partner, Equinox Strategy Partners

Panelists:
Adam Bass, President & Chief Executive Officer, Buchalter
Amanda Bruno, Chief Business Development Officer, Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP
Peter McGlynn, Partner & Trial Department Chair, Bernkopf Goodman LLP
Naim S. Surgeon, Partner, Stroock & Stroock & Lavan LLP

At a given organization, the myriad, often diffuse outreach by partners, associates, marketing, or financial professionals yields important data points around which savvy law firms measure value and client impact. Thanks to third-party providers and in-house systems, tracking and consolidating business intelligence has never been easier. Yet are law firms truly harnessing their data capabilities? This master class addresses two core objectives: how to aggregate datapoints that determine client engagement and how to quantify meaningful value at a matter or institutional level. Our facilitators will share essential guidance on how top organizations are mastering industry-leading, data-driven growth through scalable and collaborative means.

Moderator:
Chris Fritsch, Business Development Consultant & Founder, CLIENTSFirst Consulting

Panelists:
Cindy Thurston Bare, Senior Director, Firm Intelligence Advisors, Litera
Peter Geovanes, Head of Data Strategy, AI & Analytics, Winston & Strawn LLP
Lisa Simon, Chief Marketing & Business Development Officer, Lewis Roca Rothgerber Christie LLP
Paula Zirinsky, Consultant, Paula Zirinsky LLC

Beyond the immediate hurdles expected in law firm combinations, leading firms engage in multi-year strategic planning to maximize business growth. Whether through small acquisitions or massive corporate tie-ups, marketing and client service leaders, given the unique headwinds of late, are focused on flexible, scalable, and sustainable revenue roadmaps accounting for (pan-)industry disruption. What lessons can leaders who successfully navigated—or are currently experiencing—organizational transformation share about their revenue strategy? Where and how do our panelists see compelling opportunity with respect to new market presence or practice area(s)?

Moderator:
Michael Ellenhorn, Founder & Chief Executive Officer, Decipher

Panelists:
Jennifer Castleberry, Chief Marketing & Business Development Officer, Foster Garvey PC
Jason Noble, President & Chief Executive Officer, ikaun
Anne K. Schuster, Chief Marketing Officer, Thompson Coburn LLP
Lee Watts, Chief Marketing Officer, Smith, Gambrell & Russell LLP

On occasion, a seemingly innocuous new business opportunity or client matter invites reputational risk and inherent tension for the firm. Under such circumstances, and with senior leadership forced to react, marketing and communications teams lead the charge in controlling public narratives or mitigating strife within and outside the organization. Like it or not, a firm’s reputation is only as strong as the integrity of its clients. And senior marketing leaders, well-aware of this truth, recognize that adopting a proactive stance throughout the client conflicts or intake process can help circumvent potential challenges down the road. This session offers essential guidance on managing “toxic” clients for the firm. How are firms reconciling new business development with philosophical or reputational concerns?

Moderator:
Nicky McHugh, Senior Vice President, The RepTrak Company

Panelists:
Craig W. Budner, Global Strategic Growth Partner, K&L Gates LLP
John Hellerman, President & Founder, Hellerman Communications
Chris Hinze, Chief Marketing & Business Development Officer, Steptoe & Johnson LLP
Gina N. Shishima, Ph.D., Chief Strategy and Operations Partner, United States, Norton Rose Fulbright US LLP

Since its inception, the Mansfield Rule has ostensibly helped firms advance DEI initiatives and meet client expectations on any number of given matters. Alongside the managing partner or executive board, many law firm marketing leaders play a crucial role in helping ensure Mansfield Rule certification vis-à-vis ongoing metrics reporting and strategic communications highlighting a vibrant talent pipeline. Yet for all the energies devoted to this noble initiative, are firms truly satisfied with their current ROI? Can more be done—whether internally or externally—to help maximize the Mansfield Rule’s impact across the enterprise? This roundtable invites participants to weigh in on the overall effectiveness of Mansfield Rule certification from a talent management and business development perspective.

Moderator:
Nita Cumello, Global Client Director, Thomson Reuters

Panelists:
K. Martine Cumbermack, Partner & Co-Chair, Diversity Committee, Swift, Currie, McGhee  Hiers, LLP
L. Suzan Kedron, Partner; Business Development Chair, Dallas office & Chair, Diversity and Inclusion Committee, Jackson Walker LLP
Terra Liddell, Chief Marketing Officer, Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner, LLP
Daniel R. Owen, Chief Strategy & Marketing Officer, Robins Kaplan LLP

The role of law firm Chief Innovation Officers is a significant development in professional services. Hailing from both within and outside the industry, Chief Innovation Officers (“CINO”) are frequently tasked with differentiating their employer in the market, “operationalizing” new processes and strategies, or reimagining client service across the firm. Technology and Marketing teams are crucial partners in effectuating CINO priorities. Their expertise around client account management and the modern customer journey can yield sustained, meaningful success. Leveraging insights from across sectors, this conversation explores the intersection between process improvement and experiential design for the modern professional services organization. How can marketing chiefs and heads of innovation collaborate to transform the enterprise? Where and why can even the most thoughtful or progressive firm augment its client journey?

Moderator:
Maggie Watkins, Senior Client Services Director, Womble Bond Dickinson (US) LLP

Panelists:
Jeff Grossman, Chief of Strategy & Legal Practice Officer, Cooley LLP
Bill Koch, Chief Knowledge Officer, Womble Bond Dickinson (US) LLP
Amy Shepherd, Chief Marketing & Business Development Officer, Ballard Spahr LLP

Whether in large or small corporate settings, data science—and business intelligence more broadly—is seen as a crucial pillar around which business and legal professionals measure productivity in a high-stakes environment. Savvy firms search constantly for novel approaches to leveraging proprietary data most effectively, including engagement with trusted technology partners across the profession. This year’s Partner Talks offer compelling guidance from three prominent industry providers on the state of law firm data and technology resources today. Please join us for a series of twenty-minute talks presented in consecutive fashion.

Partner Talk #1:

Law 4.0: Exploring the Role of Data in the Firm of the Future
The Fourth Industrial Revolution is blurring the lines between all things physical and technical. In the legal profession, such kinesis is fueling the emergence of Law 4.0—defined as a futureproof mindset where digital transformation and data-driven insights help marketers excel at their craft. This presentation explores the increased opportunities legal industry professionals must embrace as the divide between physical and digital further dissolves.

Presenter:
Emile Van Den Berg, Chief Executive Officer, Upper Sigma

Partner Talk #2:
It’s 10pm, Do You Know Where Your Prospective Clients Are?
Under the shadow of the Great Resignation, organizations are struggling to find efficient and cost-effective ways of dealing with increased client data decay.  With frequent customer moves and an influx of new hires, time spent identifying valuable connections means time lost conducting business. Continuous data updates also mean a loss of your employee’s valuable time on unvaluable tasks.  This session explores time and cost-saving hybrid technical solutions that will yield greater accuracy to your CRM’s data.

Presenter:
Scott Winter, Vice President, Client Development, Index Solutions

Partner Talk #3:
Ushering the Legal Industry into the World of Relationship Intelligence
Relationship intelligence is a core pillar for sustainable law firm success. Helping fill gaps in most law firm CRM systems, relationship intelligence affords enhanced visibility into key accounts, mastery of impactful communication strategies, awareness of what clients are or are not responding to positively, or even a firm’s overall level of client influence. This presentation offers key guidance for law firms looking to take client data to the next level. How adept is your firm at Relationship Intelligence? Where can firms bolster client experience before it’s too late? And how can firms completing a merger seamlessly engage clients and partners through organizational transformation?

Presenter:
Jeffery Parrish, Head of Industry Strategy, Introhive

Please join us for cocktails and canapés on the Oceanfront Lawn. Spouses and
significant others welcome.

Please join us for breakfast on the Oceanfront Lawn.

According to new Pew Research, 28.6 million Baby Boomers—those born between 1946 and 1964—retired in the third quarter of 2020—a 3.2 million increase over the same quarter in 2019. In the legal profession, with the anticipated exodus of senior partners still largely unrealized, shrewd firms are partnering directly with clients to affect a seamless transition and preserve long-standing, institutional relationships. This conversation solicits insights from in-house counsel and law firm professionals on the art of strategic planning. How empowered should clients feel to discuss a change in their legal representation? What conversations or key considerations must marketing and business development leaders deploy to ensure a warm handoff?

Moderator:
Jan Anne Dubin, Chief Executive Officer & Founder, Jan Anne Dubin Consulting

Panelists:
Matt Burnstein, Partner & Chair, Waller Lansden Dortch & Davis, LLP
Christopher P. Ende, Chief Value Officer, Goulston & Storrs P.C.
Jaimala K. Pai, Vice President, General Counsel & Corporate Secretary, ACIST Medical Systems
Daniel Weintraub, Managing Director, Chief Administrative & Legal Officer, Audax Management Company

As New Law and Big Four multinationals continue their onward push, firms large and small find themselves frequently competing upstream to win legal work and maintain market share. Indeed, according to recent Thomson Reuters intelligence, countless hours spent on administrative tasks (e.g. billing & document management), as opposed to practicing law, continues to plague many solo practitioners and boutique firms in need of expansive technological and infrastructure investments. Similarly, large- and medium-sized firm leaders lament the formidable efficiency and price point advantage of their ALSP and Big Four brethren at a moment when the ABA’s passage of Resolution 115 and rise of state-sponsored “regulatory sandbox[es]” suggest even greater industry upheaval to come. This discussion offers a practical take on strategic growth for large and small organizations. Where and how might firms have a tangible advantage over their larger peers?

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

Panelists:
Tim Brown, Partner, Reynolds Porter Chamberlain LLP & Chair, TerraLex
Terri Pepper Gavulic, Chief Executive Officer, TerraLex
Brett Krantz, Partner, Kohrman Jackson & Krantz LLP & Chair, Meritas
J.C. Roper, Partner, Drew Eckl Farnham LLP

Each year, the global proliferation of legal tech startups affords law firms and corporate clientele ample opportunity to engage with or deploy an exciting array of inspiring change agents capable of reimaging the profession. As key business decision makers, law firm marketing chiefs routinely select talented business partners capable of reimagining their firm’s client experience and overall growth trajectory amid vociferous competition. This year’s program concludes with an immersive exhibition of some of the industry’s most promising visionaries and disruptors. Join us and meet the newest generation of technology entrepreneurs poised to transform legal services.

Moderator:
Joe Raczynski, Technologist & Futurist, Thomson Reuters

Panelists:
Jazz Hampton, Chief Executive Officer & General Counsel, TurnSignl
Allison Nussbaum, Vice President, Client Value, Pitchly
Evan Parker, Ph.D., Founder, Parker Analytics LLC

Please join us for a casual brunch as we conclude this year’s program. Spouses and significant others welcome.