New England Chapter Nor'Easter Newsletter

New England Chapter Nor'Easter Newsletter - December Edition

By Archive User posted 12-10-2015 11:01

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President’s Letter

This fall was an exciting season for the LMA New England Chapter. In October we were honored to have the Dean of Suffolk Law School, Andrew Perlman, present on the interrelationship of technology, client service, and the business of the legal practice. Dean Perlman talked about the importance of innovation within law firms and how we can play a role in the advancement of the legal industry. We hope to collaborate with Suffolk Law and Dean Perlman again in the future.

Our Chapter is also coming off of another successful Regional Conference. The Conference kicked off with an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at crisis communications. Friday’s keynote address was a highlight of the conference, with an entertaining and inspirational message from the CMO of the Boston Red Sox, Adam Grossman. Whether you are marketing a major league sports franchise or a multi-disciplinary law firm, the mission is surprisingly similar: create a vision, build relationships, communicate authentically and listen to your audience. The rest of the day was packed with engaging breakout sessions, an interactive exhibit hall and networking among friends.

Our December Nor’Easter features numerous initiatives that are in full swing, so scroll down and mark your calendars. The deadline to submit nominations for our Future Leaders Fellowship Program is tomorrow, December 2. The annual LMANE Holiday Party will be held on December 16 and registration is free for members until December 8! Last, but never least, the LMANE Your Honor Awards Call for Entries has been announced. Start thinking about your award winning projects because submissions are due on February 3.

2015 has been a remarkable year for our chapter and I want to thank you for supporting the Legal Marketing Association. Your interest and engagement is what keeps this group growing at a rapid pace. Our chapter’s membership is at an all-time high with many new faces in the audience. If you are looking for ways to get involved in the LMA, scroll down for details. LMA has helped to shape my career path and provided lifelong friends, and I know it can do the same for you.

I look forward to getting to know each of you at an upcoming event. Until then, happy holidays.

Cheers!

Shelley Swanson
2015 LMANE Chapter President

Join us for the LMA NE Holiday Party!

Future Leaders Fellowship Program: Call for Nominations

The LMA New England Chapter Board is pleased to once again offer a Future Leaders Fellowship Program to recruit up-and-coming New England Chapter leaders. We are seeking nominees who exhibit a passion to pursue a career in or related to law firm marketing and who are eager to engage with peers in our community. The benefit is one year of free membership to LMA International and the New England Chapter. You will also have the opportunity to bring valuable insight, ideas and information back to your firm, hone leadership skills and forge relationships that will provide ongoing enrichment throughout your career. Candidates should be employed in a New England office of a law firm or service provider, and ideally have less than ten years of professional experience. Click here to download full details and nomination instructions.

Current LMA members, be sure to share this information with your colleagues and encourage them to apply. (No need to wait for someone else to nominate you!)

Nominations are due by Wednesday, December 2nd. Please contact Katie Rutter, 2016 New England Chapter President, at katie@krutterconsulting.com with questions or to request more information about the program.

Another Successful LMA Regional Conference in the Books

Legal marketers are constantly challenged with finding creative and innovative ways to help their attorneys and firms stand out among the competition, succeed at winning new business, and become industry trendsetters. This year, over 180 legal marketing professionals, speakers and sponsors attended the LMA New England Annual Conference, hosted at the Hyatt Boston on November 12-13, to learn how to channel their inner superhero to find their “WOW Factor.”

This year, our Chapter created its first ever conference app, which featured the conference agenda, speaker and sponsor information, event-related social media, hotel and registration information, handout requests, and a QR code game which entered participants for a chance to win great giveaways. Over 139 people downloaded the app.

We kicked-off the conference Thursday night with “Crisis Communications: Out of Great Adversity Comes Great Opportunity!” Hank Shafran and Jennifer Karin moderated a panel of professionals who provided specific pointers on how to best handle crisis communications matters within and outside of a firm. Patty Wen of the Boston Globe, Doug Banks of the Boston Business Journal, Ralph Martin of Northeastern University, and Marty Murphy of Foley Hoag all shared anecdotes and best practices for creating a communications plan and ways to use a crisis as an opportunity to strengthen your firm.

On Friday morning, we welcomed our keynote speaker, Adam Grossman, CMO for the Boston Red Sox. Adam’s dynamic presentation focused on the fact that whether we’re marketing a baseball team or a law firm, at the end of the day, “we are all salespeople.” He highlighted the importance of articulating a vision, creating an emotional connection, building and nurturing relationships, communicating authentically and clearly, and listening. Adam took questions from the audience and handed out a variety of Red Sox memorabilia. And, he even rewarded one lucky Q&A participant with a trip for him and his daughter to visit Fenway as his guest - - way to go Scott Katz!

Breakout sessions included topics on drafting unique RFPs, creating a communications program, client feedback programs, coaching lawyers, crafting content, tracking business development, leveraging lateral integration, evaluating and quantifying business intelligence tools…and so much more!!

We hope you all enjoyed the conference and found some actionable items to take away.

In an effort to evaluate the quality of our Regional Conference, we encourage you to complete the Post-Conference Survey. Your feedback will help us improve our conferences in the future. Thanks in advance for your participation!

We Want You!

Would you like to take on more of a leadership role within the Legal Marketing Association New England Chapter (LMANE)? Do you have an interest in developing deeper relationships with fellow LMANE members or further developing skills and knowledge to take back to your firm? If so, consider contributing your skills to one of the committees below that best fit your interests:

Communications/Technology
Programming
Membership
Digital Marketing and Social Media
Special Events
Regional Conference Committee
Community Service
City Groups (Hartford and Portland)

Please contact Katie Rutter, 2016 New England Chapter President, at katie@krutterconsulting.com if you are interested in joining a committee or with questions. Thank you.

The 2016 LMA New England Your Honor Awards Call for Entries

Our Very Own Academy Awards
Celebrating Professional Achievements in 2014-2015

Deadline for Submission: February 3, 2016, 12:00 p.m. ET

Take advantage of the opportunity to showcase your firm’s marketing prowess by submitting a project to this year’s LMA New England Your Honor Awards program. We’re looking to honor the best and the brightest in our region at our awards ceremony in March 2016.

Don’t miss this occasion to show your firm what your marketing team is made of! Click here to review the program details and download the entry form.

Questions? Contact YHA Co-Chairs: Jennifer Scalzi or Jennifer Nash

Become an Annual Sponsor of LMANE

Sponsoring the LMA New England Chapter provides one of the best opportunities to align your company with influential legal marketers. It enables you to cost-effectively reach decision makers across New England who purchase products and services like yours. All Annual Sponsor packages are designed to provide you with frequent, quality interactions.

Full sponsorship details are available online. Contact Shelley Swanson to discuss partnering with LMANE in 2016. (Note, all sponsorship packages are limited to availability.)

Small Firm SIG News

On October 17^th, the Small Firm SIG hosted a luncheon on building and monitoring budgets. Kate Boucher, a former Small Firm SIG co-chair now with a larger firm, was a guest attendee offering insight on how she handled budgeting at her old firm and how it differs from what she’s doing at a larger firm.

If you’re a LMA New England member at a firm with less than 100 attorneys and no more than 2 marketers, the Small Firm SIG is a member benefit not to be missed. For the 2016 Calendar Year, contact co-chairs Caroline Von Flatern or Katherine Cavanaugh to be placed on the event mailing list.

Leave Room in Your 2016 Budget for LMA Membership!

Already a member?

Memberships lapse at the end of the calendar year. Plan now to save room for 2016 membership renewal. Membership has many benefits and the New England Chapter continually outdoes itself year after year with both networking opportunities and educational programming.

Is next year the year you become more involved in LMA New England’s Chapter Leadership?

Not yet a member?

Join now and you automatically become a member from November 2105 through December 2016. That’s 14 months for the price of 12! Joining now also means you have the opportunity to take advantage of free attendance at what’s sure to be a popular Holiday Party in December.

Learn more about LMA New England and check out more member benefits here.

If you have any questions regarding LMA New England Membership, please contact Joanne Thorud or Katherine Cavanaugh

Member Spotlight

Meet Vanessa Schaeffer of Clockwork Design Group, who is the creative mind behind this year's conference logo and our Chapter brand identity.

Vanessa Schaefer
President & Creative Director
Clockwork Design Group

Member News, Promotions & Moves and New Members

Congratulations to our members on their new positions and promotions:

Linda Pepe, formerly with Burns & Levinson, is now Director of Business Development at Murtha Cullina
Caroline Von Flatern, formerly with Ropes & Gray is now Business Development and Marketing Manager at Sherin & Lodgen
Jahna Barber, formerly with Sherin & Lodgen is now Business Development Manager at Foley Hoag
Tracy Holt, formerly of Finnegan Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunn is now Business Development & Marketing Manager at Mintz Levin
Natacha Vautier, formerly of Wolf Greenfield, is now Business Development Coordinator at Lathrop & Gage, LLP
Willie Sleight, formerly of Hirsch Roberts Weinstein has joined Jones Day in their New York City office
Ashley Morris of K&L Gates has been promoted to Business Development Manager
Jen Jones, formerly of ALM, is now Director of Business Development for NYSE Governance Services

If you, or someone you know, has been promoted or received a new job, be sure to let Katherine Cavanaugh or Joanne Thorud know so they can be acknowledged in our next newsletter! If you’ve changed positions, be sure to update your LMA profile.

Our Newest LMA New England Members

LMA New England Chapter continues to grow! Please welcome our new members who joined us this Fall:

Crista Crum, Communications Coordinator, Verrill Dana
Jason Healy, Consultant, J2H Marketing
Sarah Bennett, Library Services, Foley Hoag
Karen Horan, Director of Administration, Keegan Werlin, LLP
Frankie Householder, Marketing/Business Development Assistant, Wolf Greenfield & Sacks, PC
Chinda Trate, Marketing Operations Assistant, Dechert, LLP
Kate Tompkins, Business Development Manager-Intellectual Property Division, Lathrop & Gage LLP

Remember that if you leave your job, your former firm/company is able to transfer your membership to another individual for a nominal fee while you also maintain your membership through the end of 2015 at no additional cost to you. Rules differ for memberships contracted as a group.

Looking for New Professional Opportunities? Explore the Latest Job Bank Highlights

Many new job postings have been added over recent months! Visit the job bank to see all current openings.