Leadership for Lawyers

LMA Leadership Matters Conference, Nov 1-2, 2007

The Legal Marketing Association is holding its first conference for senior marketers focused on leadership in law firms.   On one hand, I am very excited to have an opportunity to speak with fellow marketers on the topic of leadership in law firms, on the other hand, our panel will be following a presentation by poet David Whyte, who will be talking about Courageous Conversations.   David is an insightful and talented poet, and a gifted speaker.  It will be worth the price of registration just to hear David.

Title:        Leadership Matters: Creating and Cultivating Leadership
Date:        November 1 - 2
Location:  Chicago, IL
Details:     Click Here  and Registration Form

Speakers: 

Dr. Richard (Rick) Bommelje, President, International Listening Institute

David Whyte, Author, Poet and Corporate Consultant, Many Rivers Company (see post)

Panel Discussions:
Motivating Change and Leading the Marketing Department

Roberta Montafia, Moderator
Panelists: Catherine MacDonagh, Director of Business Development, Day Pitney and Beth Cuzzone, Director of Business Development, Goulston & Storrs

Leadership by Our Lawyers

David Freeedman, President, David Freeman Consulting, Moderator
Panelists: Mark Beese, Director of Marketing, Holland & Hart, Francis Dunne, Senior Counsel, Dykema and Rick Anderson, Principal & Patent Group Practice Leader, Fish Richardson PC

Branding Through Client Partnerships Workshop

The Public Relations Society of America's annual western conference will feature several presentations on best practices in public relations and marketing on October 17, 2007 in Denver.  I will present a workshop on "Branding through Client Partnerships" and will discuss the Holland & Hart/Frontier Airlines partnership, as well as Holland & Hart's "Clients on a Rock" advertising program.   Watch the PRSA web site this summer for registration details. 

PR News featured the program in a recent Case Study when it awarded the firm the 2007 PR News Legal Award.

Getting a Seat at the Table Panel Discussion

The Rocky Mountain Chapter of the Legal Marketing Association's October 2007 program will be on "Getting a Seat at the Table".   If you are in Denver on October 9th, I hope that you will be able to join us.  I will moderate a panel of managing partners and marketing directors to discuss the politics and realities of involving marketing professionals in the management and leadership of law firms.  This is a topic that I am passionate about.  I plan on having a frank and spirited discussion not only on the challenges facing professional marketers, but also on practical ways firms can open the boardroom doors to professional managers, including those in HR, Recruiting, Finance, and Operations.  Watch the Rocky Mountain LMA site for details over the summer. 

What's the Big Idea? Conference

The PM Forum in London is holding a conference on 13 and 14 September on thought leadership.  I will be speaking on the connection between great ideas and great marketing on Thursday.  On Friday I'll be leading a workshop on the practical matter of communicating ideas.  For more information, visit the conference page, or click here for a PDF of the programme. 

Marketing Best Practices Webinar June 19, 2007

I will be speaking at an IOMA webinar on marketing best practices on June 19th.  Kevin McMurdo, CMO of Perkins Coie and Norm Rubenstein, Principal of the Zeughauser Group will join me.  We will have a 90 minute discussion on trends and best practices in law firm marketing. 

It  should be an interesting conversation.  Kevin McMurdo's firm, Perkins Coie, is a leader in business development and law firm sales.  Kevin's team has also produces compelling and client-focused advertising. Norm is the former CMO of Orrick, and the creator of the ubiquitous "O" campaign.  He was recently inducted in the Legal Marketing Association Hall of Fame.  Norm consults with law firms, including many of the largest global firms, on marketing/business development department structure, business development efforts and branding campaigns.  Both are former presidents of the Legal Marketing Association. 

For more information about the webinar, go to IOMA.

Using Appreciative Intelligence to Work Smarter

I co-authored an article on Appreciative Intelligence (AI) and its role in entrepreneurial law firm ventures, along with Tojo Thatchenkerry and Carol Metzker.   Tojo and Carol recently authored a book on AI (see Appreciative Intelligence post)  It can be found in this issue of The Complete Lawyer.  The entire issue is dedicated to leadership in law firms.   Make sure you check out "A Blueprint for Self Leadership" by Stephanie West Allen and Jeffrey Schwartz and a description of the "Leadership for Lawyers" course at Santa Clara University.  This is a very full and interesting issue of TCL. 

Restoration

Sorry for the blog sabbatical.  We suffered a hard drive crash, and it has taken a while to get our system back up.  Thanks to the help from a few friends, we're 90% restored.   More soon.