by Alexander Coxe
Legal marketing and business development professional. Singer. Writer. Actress. Songwriter. Herrick Feinstein’s Logan Tracey, well into her second career, embodies all of the above. Her energy, curiosity and openness made an instant impression when I met her for the first time last year. Then I got her CD. I couldn’t stop listening to it. She loves to tell a story. That is, after all, what we do – trying to demonstrate the relevance and significance of the work that surrounds us by sharing the stories of our lawyers and clients. While you might say Logan Tracey is a natural, as you’ll read below, becoming a law firm BD pro was anything but an ordinary path for Logan.
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Hi Logan! Where are you from?
I grew up in upstate New York in Woodstock and went to school in Ithaca with some time in Connecticut and Russia while at drama school.
Russia?! Where were you doing there?
I was at the St. Petersburg Arts Academy in St. Petersburg Russia for February of 2001. I took all my classes in Russian through a translator — including Russian ballet! It was eye-opening and hard. It was the first time I had left North America and everything was an adventure. The idea behind the trip was to take all of us out of our comfort zones so we bond and grow together as a class. It worked! Maybe we should do that for our practice groups? Add that into the planning for 2017?
What brought you to NYC?
I came to New York City after I graduated from Ithaca College to pursue my acting career. Well, that’s not 100% true. I went to Southern Vermont the summer after I graduated to do a season of Summer Stock Theater. Yes, it was totally in a barn. I moved to Brooklyn in the fall of 2003.
How did you wind up in legal marketing/communications/PR?
I found legal marketing by accident. I didn’t know this was a career or that law firms even needed marketing and business development. I was an actor. I didn’t know anything about corporate anything. I was looking to make a life change and stop working in restaurants while I continued to audition and do commercials, film and theater.
I casually knew someone who “worked at a law firm” as she and I worked on a feature film together. I was in the film (“The Graduates”) and she worked on the marketing team. We briefly met at a wrap-party in Brooklyn and stayed in touch. A few years later we met for drinks and she mentioned she needed a new assistant in her department at her firm and asked if I would be interested. A full time corporate job? No way! Later that year she asked me to come temp as she really needed the help. I acquiesced assuming this would never last. Cut to: four-and-a-half years later, I just started at my second law firm and I love my career in legal marketing.
How have you found LMA?
It’s been completely amazing to join an organization with so many open and kind people. When I joined the organization in 2015, the always wonderful Kelly MacKinnon was the very first person I met at the kick-off party at the Gansevoort on Park Avenue. I just remember her being so warm and friendly and introducing me to others. Coming from a very competitive working atmosphere in the entertainment industry, it was so refreshing to be able to ask a colleague a question and get a real and honest answer. Something practical. Something useful.
What do you to relax and cut loose?
What is an answer that isn’t cliché? “I like to travel, go to the beach and drink wine.” But, I mean, I do like to do those things! I love doing things in our city. I love New York. I think I’ll always just be in love with the city. I will drag my friends to see some weird theater or art installation, try to get seats at a hot new ramen place or take a walk in Prospect Park. I also try to get out east or upstate every few weeks if I am not travelling. All the things you like to do, I like to do them too.
I listen to your record/CD all the time so I already know you are a wonderful singer and songwriter. Tell us a little bit about your musical history.
My musical history is a short tale. I have a background in musical theater but I am not really the typical musical theater type. So, when I was auditioning, it was hard to find the right fit in classic shows. I ended up doing a ton of new musicals with ridiculous titles like Granola! The Musical and Saddam! The Musical as well as some others you will know like playing Sheila in Hair at the Gallery Players and doing a bunch of shows in the New York Fringe Festival.
During my tour of weird downtown hipster musicals, I met the wonderful and talented Michelangelo Sosnowitz working on a show called Crazy Head Space. It was about disorders in the DSM-5. I swear to you, I can’t make this up. Mike did the music for that show and after we closed he asked me to come in and sing on a number of tracks for a new Steve Guttenberg movie called A Novel Romance. I ended up singing on most of the tracks for the film including the opening and closing credits. We did a few other ad campaigns together. From there, Mike and I decided to do a full album produced by his company Lemon Shark Productions. It is called For Sale and you can find it on iTunes, Spotify and wherever else people get music these days. Mike and I are talking about a new EP. Stay tuned for that.
I cannot wait to hear it. OK, so how about some of our other traditional questions. What are your favorite foods?
Hands down, it’s garlic bread. It’s like kryptonite for me. And pasta. And fries. And ramen. And scallion pancakes from Mr. Wonton in Park Slope.
I am afraid I share your tastes! Next Question - Pet peeves?
Aren’t we all trying to just be Zen and accept everyone for who they are flaws and all? I suppose my main pet peeve is that I truly think people have time and money for what they want it for. No one is too busy for anything if they want it badly enough.
I love that attitude and belief – and I think you are right. Thanks for the candor and good cheer!
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