Thank you to author Amanda Bekric, Marketing Coordinator at Dady & Gardner, P.A., LMA MN LSC Chair, and 2025 LMA Midwest Regional Conference planning committee member.
Session Title: Tech Hacks for Legal Marketing: Doing More with What You Have
Panelists:
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Anne Heathcock, Heathcock Marketing Consulting
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Amy Wisinski, Heathcock Marketing Consulting
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Rachel Shields Williams, Sidley Austin LLP (2026 LMA President-Elect)
As legal marketers, we often hear the phrase “do more with less.” At the 2025 LMA Midwest Conference, this message came to life during the session “Tech Hacks for Legal Marketing: Doing More with What You Have,” led by Anne Heathcock, Amy Wisinski, and Rachel Shields Williams.
The presenters encouraged us to shift our mindset from chasing the next new platform to maximizing the value of the technology we already own. Their approach was practical and refreshingly candid: before adding new tools, look for ways to reimagine, reconfigure, and retrofit the ones already in your tech stack.
As Rachel aptly reminded us:
“Don’t fall in love with the tech. Fall in love with solving the problem.”
This session tied directly to the Technology Management and Communications domains of the LMA Body of Knowledge, emphasizing operational efficiency, collaboration, and adaptability in modern marketing teams.
The Framework: Three Steps to Optimizing Existing Tools
Identify the problem you’re trying to solve. Begin by clarifying whether the issue is a process, technology, or cultural problem.
Evaluate and retrofit your existing tools. Assess what’s already available. Often, platforms like your CRM, Outlook, or Excel can be adjusted or automated.
Know when to adapt—or pivot. When a retrofit starts creating more friction than it solves, it’s time to reassess.
Throughout the session, attendees were encouraged to approach every problem with curiosity—pause, ask questions, and view technology as a partner in problem-solving rather than viewing it as an end in itself.
4 Practical Tech Hacks
1. Outlook Rules: Declutter and Prioritize Your Inbox
Anne and Amy demonstrated how simple Outlook rules can create an organized email system that helps you focus on what matters most. You can automatically prioritize emails from clients, team members, and firm leaders, while routing newsletters, association updates, and volunteer messages to folders for later review.
How to set Outlook Rules:
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Right-click an email and select Rules → Create Rule.
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Choose your conditions (sender, subject, keyword).
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Set your action (move, mark as read, forward, etc.).
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Confirm and run the rule.
By implementing customized rules, you instantly reduce noise, minimize distraction, and reclaim valuable time in your day.
2. GenAI for Excel: Simplify Data Management
Many of us rely on Excel for list-building, but troubleshooting formulas or comparing data sets can be time-consuming. GenAI tools like ChatGPT can create formulas, run comparisons, and clean lists automatically when prompted clearly.
Below is an example of how we can use GenAI for event list building:
3. GenAI for Equitable Reviews
Leaders can train AI to evaluate tone, identify bias, and ensure uniformity across staff reviews by feeding the AI examples of their writing style and providing clear prompts.
While technology can assist, it is also important to note that feedback should never be a surprise—ongoing dialogue makes formal reviews more constructive.
4. Collaborate and Share Across Functions
Before seeking new tools, ask what others in your firm or industry are using. Collaboration across departments can uncover hidden efficiencies and creative uses of tools like Power Automate or Zapier.
Key Questions to Bring Back to Your Firm
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What problem are we truly trying to solve?
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Are our current tools capable of solving it more efficiently?
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Where can we create automation or apply AI ethically?
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When should we retrofit—and when should we pivot?
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How can we ensure our processes are equitable and transparent?
Broader Application
Technology is only as powerful as the strategy guiding it. Whether through CRM tagging, AI-assisted list cleaning, or workflow automation, the goal remains to support the business of law more effectively and intentionally.
Final Thought
Approach technology with curiosity, not fear. Don’t fall in love with the tool—fall in love with solving the problem. Efficiency isn’t about more tech—it’s about more purpose.
In a landscape where shiny new platforms often steal the spotlight, this session was a powerful reminder that innovation doesn’t always mean acquisition. Sometimes, the most impactful change comes from rethinking what tools and resources are already in front of us. By reframing our relationship with technology—from passive user to active problem-solver, we can unlock new potential in familiar tools.
Legal marketers are uniquely positioned to lead this shift. We understand the nuances of our firms, the constraints of our ever shrinking budgets, and the importance of strategic alignment. When we apply tech with intention, we don’t just “do more with less”—we do more with clarity, creativity, and confidence.
Authored by: Amanda Bekric, Marketing Coordinator at Dady & Gardner, P.A., LMA MN LSC Chair, and 2025 LMA Midwest Regional Conference planning committee member.