12th New York Local Group CMO Forum Recap: Where Innovation, Strategic Marketing and Technology Intersect
Against the bustling backdrop of New York City, the Legal Marketing Association’s Northeast Chapter (LMANE)’s New York Local Group hosted its 12th Annual CMO Forum on May 15. LMA New York’s Programming Committee, chaired by Ellen Auwarter, Vice Chair Syndia Torres-Pena, in conjunction with CMO SIG Co-Chairs Despina Kartson, Chief Marketing Officer at BakerHostetler, and Nicole Petrie, former Chief Marketing Officer at Schulte Roth & Zabel CEO & Founder of Petrie Global Advisors, produced the high-energy, forward-looking discussion on the ever-deepening relationship between marketing, innovation and technology in the legal industry.
Although the forum featured a panel of CMOs, the program was designed to benefit legal marketers at all levels. The insights shared – ranging from technology integration to strategic growth – offered valuable takeaways for professionals across roles, from specialists and managers to those preparing for future leadership positions.
LMA New York Local Group LSC Chair Lee Peretz, Director of Marketing & Business Development at Farrell Fritz, P.C., introduced the distinguished lineup of senior legal marketing leaders and one seasoned tech veteran, the event delivered candid insights, bold predictions and specific actionable strategies for driving growth in an increasingly complex digital landscape.
A Powerhouse Lineup
Moderated by Michael Coston, former CMO and founder of Coston Consulting, the panel featured:
- Shade Vaughn, Chief Innovation and Growth Officer, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP
- Amanda N. Loesch, Chief Marketing Officer, Day Pitney LLP
- Kevin Iredell, Chief Marketing and Business Development Officer, Hughes Hubbard & Reed LLP
- Oz Benamram, Founder, SKILLS.law; formerly CKIO/CKO at Simpson Thacher and White & Case
Rethinking Roles, Rebuilding Foundations
The forum opened with a milestone announcement as Vaughn shared his recent promotion to Chief Innovation and Growth Officer, emphasizing that this title change reflects a growing recognition that marketing must drive not just brand awareness, but firm-wide growth through innovation and technology.
While only three weeks into his exciting new role, Iredell echoed this sentiment, observing, “Technology is in everything we do.” But the panel was quick to point out that innovation isn't only about tools – it’s about mindset, collaboration and strategy.
Benamram set the tone with a call for reinvention: “Firms have huge change ahead of them with rethinking of the business model and staffing. But legal marketers are gifted storytellers – they are the heroes who convert information into business opportunity.”
The Tech Stack Transformation
The conversation turned tactical as the panelists detailed their firm’s technology journeys. Loesch shared how her firm executed a comprehensive 18-month overhaul of its tech stack, shifting from a reactive model to a proactive, data-informed strategy. Integration was key: email, website, social media, CRM – all connected in a cohesive ecosystem that connects, identifies patterns and communicates engagement data, featuring platforms like HubSpot, Nexl, Saturno and more.
Vaughn shared his own firm’s journey – a 2.5-year transformation from InterAction and Vuture to Salesforce, with platforms like Aptivio and Introhive enriching client intelligence. The goal? “A single source of truth” for revenue-driving decisions, allowing the team to identify not only whom to contact, but also when and why based on signals from the analysis of news, public filings and internal engagement.
Strategy: Powered by Data, Driven by Relationships
Guiding the conversation as it sped up, Coston noted that smaller firms may not have large tech stacks, but the issues and advice were similar.
Panelists emphasized that while data is plentiful, extracting usable insights remains a challenge. “We have the data,” said Iredell, “the challenge is accessing and consuming it easily and quickly.”
Loesch added that technology must serve relationships, not replace them. "It should help, not create homework," she noted.
Getting Started
Coston noted the conversation centered around moving quickly, but wanted to make sure the audience had advice on getting started. Turning to Iredell, who, being new to his current role, Coston asked what he might be looking at in his assessment phase. The answer? He looks for hungry appetite, potential buy-in and clear success metrics.
Vaughn volunteered his firm’s branding of the importance of pace as “rapid relevance” – using data to respond quickly to market shifts and client interests, from search term analysis to anticipating demand in emerging areas like evergreen funds.
Benamram urged a listening tour and allowing for processing time. “Once you’ve heard their pain points, let them accept and own them for two months,” he recommended. “Only then will they be ready to accept a new proposal.”
The CMO-CIO Partnership: A Growth Imperative
One of the strongest themes of the day was the evolving, essential relationship between marketing and IT. Benamram urged marketers to “understand the motivations” of their IT counterparts: “Their goal is stability. Ours is growth and visibility. Help the CTO tell their story and tout them as a key part of everyone’s success – build trust, be a partner.”
Iredell likewise emphasized celebrating joint successes, while Loesch noted that marketers and tech leaders interpret data differently – open dialogue and shared understanding are crucial to optimization. She also recommended not to underestimate the power and complication of unwinding legacy systems. Shade underscored the immense value of his team’s dedicated marketing technologist, who bridged the gap and brought visions to life.
Building the Future: Challenges and Crystal Balls
Looking ahead, the panel predicted dramatic shifts over the next three to five years:
- Loesch sees an integrated future, “limited only by our ideas.”
- Vaughan believes top-tier lawyers will always command strong relationships – the role of marketing and tech is to elevate and sustain those positions. Legal marketing teams need to be positioned to help them.
- Benamram foresees a world where public knowledge becomes ubiquitous, and firms are differentiated by proprietary insights and experience.
- Iredell predicted vendor consolidation and a ‘Gladwellian’ tipping point: “Sophisticated firms that don’t harness internal knowledge and data risk being left behind.”
Final Thoughts: From Insight to Action
The forum wrapped with practical advice:
- Loesch encouraged attendees to “rip off bite-sized chunks” – taking a phased approach to transformation. Understand the needs and frustrations of partners and be sure to bring in skeptics early. Create client team workspaces to foster collaboration.
- Benamram shared the importance of listening tours to gain buy-in and helpdesks for implementation.
- Vaughn highlighted “Moneyball” thinking – using signals to create a world that anticipates client needs rather than reacting too late and spamming them with client alerts.
- Iredell advised, “Go find more clients like the ones you love.”
Conclusion
As law firms face increasing complexity and pressure to grow, the intersection of marketing, innovation and technology has never been more critical. This year’s CMO Forum proved that the future belongs to those who listen deeply, act boldly, and leverage tech and data to tell stories that matter – to clients, leadership and the marketplace.
Editor’s Note: This LMANE event summary was drafted with the assistance of AI.