Meet Gail Hageman Senior Marketing Technology Manager in the D.C. office of Sutherland Asbill & Brennan LLP.
Gail Hageman has a rare distinction in legal marketing: She has been with the same firm for 20 years. As the Senior Marketing Technology Manager in the D.C. office of Sutherland, she oversees the firm’s CRM interaction, the website and the database that runs it, the extranet and intranet, and all e-communications. Gail’s energy and enthusiasm for what she does is apparent. “I’m always finding some new technology or project to get excited about,” she says.
Gail spent her earlier years at Sutherland as part of the business development team, responding to proposals and preparing bios. Those needs still exist, but as occurred in many other firms, some of those business development people evolved to create a marketing department about 13 years ago. “There was no website at that time. Creating a website was a catalyst and one of the first projects for the marketing department,” says Gail. Now, there are more than 20 people in the marketing department, including the business development component, serving 500 attorneys. Gail has a staff of three, plus one full-time and one part-time intern.
“The best part of the job is that it’s always a learning experience, especially the technology aspect. I like those ‘aha’ moments when you make something easy for an attorney, whether it’s an electronic communication, a niche website, or pulling their contact information together,” Gail says.
As part of a complete rebranding covering everything from coffee mugs to collateral, Sutherland just launched a completely new website last month, including a domain name change to Sutherland.com. Gail emphasized how much of a team effort it was, but acknowleged that technology was a big driver for the 18-month rebranding effort. “[Upgrade of] the website included advanced search engine optimization and better tracking of site visitor statistics and behaviors, which helps us tailor our content. Now we’re the number one search on Google™ for ‘Sutherland.’ We don’t have to come after Kiefer and Donald Sutherland in the ranking anymore,” says Gail, smiling.
“A key tool for our CRM effort is Lexis Nexis® Interaction®, which we use to track metrics on proposals, pitches, targets, and other communications such as alerts, newsletters and event invitations,” Gail says. “We needed a central business contact database. The attorneys were very supportive and it was a firmwide team effort since [attorneys] had to share their contact information. Since we implemented it five years ago, the database has really grown, and it now allows us to share information with thousands of desktops. It really helps us gain visibility.”
When faced with challenges, Gail turns to process development. “When something isn’t working, or the same questions keep coming up, I know it’s time to develop or improve the process. That means a documented process that’s shared with everyone,” she says.
Gail’s office has several process flow charts on the wall that are her “cheat sheet” version of a more detailed and expanded process. “For example, there’s a process for publishing legal alerts from the thought in the attorney’s head to posting it on the site and delivering it to desktops,” she notes.
“I like to look at the big picture. What motivates me is getting things started, and seeing them implemented. It’s such a great feeling of accomplishment,” Gail says.
When asked what was on her agenda, now that the big rebranding project is well on its way, she replied, “I’m going to Disney World. Really!”
Gail has two sons and lives in Arlington, Va.
Profile written by Elaine Clem, principal of Noble Pursuits, a graphic design and branding firm in Alexandria, Va.