Title: Director of Client Services and Development
Firm: Day Ketterer Ltd.
Education: B.A. Political Science, Belmont Abbey College, Belmont, N.C.
Where did you grow up? I grew up in East Lansing, Mich. (Go Spartans!)
What was your first job? My first job was as a file clerk at a law school.
What would you be doing if you weren't in your current job? I would own a stationery store. I have a serious paper and invitation fixation.
What is currently on your iPod? Black Keys, Maroon Five, Adele, Mumford and Sons and Eminem
Where is your favorite place to go to relax? A run in the park, sitting on the beach anywhere in Michigan, or over martinis with the girlfriends.
What is your favorite TV show? Favorite movie? Favorite TV shows include Mad Men, Seinfield, and New Girl. I am also a closet Dexter watcher. It’s hard to pick just one, but some of my favorite movies include Breakfast at Tiffany’s, The Bourne trilogy, The Avengers (and anything else Marvel Comic related) and Fried Green Tomatoes.
What is your favorite cuisine? During the summer, it’s anything my husband and I cook up with ingredients from the Countryside Farmers Market in the Cuyahoga National Park. In the off-season, we are lucky to have so many great restaurants in Northeast Ohio; it’s hard to pick just one, although my southern side sometimes craves the buttermilk fried chicken from Edgar’s!
If you were stranded on a desert island, who or what would you want to have with you? Besides my family and books, I would like a set of tools to fix the boat or plane that left us stranded on the island.
Who are the most important people in your life? My husband, Mark, and my family, which is spread out across the globe from Chicago to Kyiv, Ukraine, including four nieces and a nephew.
What is the first thing you read in the morning? My alarm clock. Then it’s on to email and my calendar.
How did you get into legal marketing? A former co-worker from my days in advertising and public relations at Hyatt Hotels in Chicago recommended me for a marketing position at the law firm formerly known as Rudnick & Wolfe. I grew up in a family of lawyers and law professors so it felt like a natural fit. The rest is history.
What is the best thing about your job? I thrive on change and challenge, and I have plenty of both in my current position. I thoroughly enjoy that every day is different. I am a one-woman department in a firm of 40 attorneys and three offices so I have to be a jack-of-all trades each day. I am constantly being challenged to improve our marketing as the firm grows and enters new markets and practice areas. I also find the interaction with our clients very rewarding. Additionally, I am fortunate to have a very marketing-minded and creative managing partner and marketing committee chair to support my efforts within the firm. I know from experience this is not always the case in professional services marketing.
What advice would you offer a new entrant to the world of legal marketing? A wise managing partner once reminded me, “Lawyers didn’t go to law school to become marketers.” You have to seek out those attorneys within the firm who enjoy and understand marketing and enlist their assistance to lead by example. As it is with all things in life, a good sense of humor and the ability to laugh at yourself often is particularly helpful in this field.