President's Message
The Chapter is coming off of one of its busiest times of the year and is excited to keep this momentum going as we embark on the adventures that 2014 will bring us. We hosted one of our most successful regional conferences in chapter history, with attendance soaring past 135 people. The two day event was well attended by in-house marketers at all levels and offered a diverse group of programs. It even included a "heated" and engaging debate over lunch about the future of legal marketing led by the talented comedian Mike Dorval. We hope that everyone who attended found the conference to be thought-provoking, content rich and fun. I would like to personally thank all of the people who made the event a success, especially our sponsors.
To ring in the holidays, the Chapter hosted its annual holiday party at Granary Tavern, where attendees enjoyed each other's company over good food and drinks. Many thanks to Katherine Scobbo and Caroline von Flatern for their efforts in planning the event and to Thomson Reuters Client and Market Intelligence for sponsoring the party for a second year in a row. At the event, we announced the four individuals that were selected for the inaugural Future Leaders Fellowship program. We couldn't be more excited about this group and the involvement that they will have with the Chapter this year and years to come. I encourage you to reach out to them to introduce yourself and make them feel welcomed!
We have a busy slate planned for the first part of 2014. While our first luncheon fell victim to a New England snow storm, our three SIGs, including our new Future Leaders SIG, have all met or will be meeting over the next couple of weeks for brown bag luncheons. These groups offer our members the chance to meet with their peers to exchange advice and ideas about targeted professional needs. Our next lunch program is scheduled for February 26th. On March 25th, the popular Your Honor Awards will gather our members and supporters at the Boston College Club to honor and recognize the work our peers have worked on over the past year. It should prove to be one of the Chapter's highlights for the year once again!
In the meantime, I wish everyone the best for 2014 and look forward to the exciting year the Chapter has in store.
Chris
Record Breaking Attendance at November's Regional Conference
This year’s LMA regional conference took place on November 21-22nd at the Revere Hotel in Boston, MA. To jumpstart the event on Thursday evening, a CMO and Directors panel was led by Robin Sparkman, the former Editor-in-Chief of The American Lawyer. The panel was made up of a great mix of professionals ranging in size, focus and strategy. Content, social media, data, and budgets were some of the hot topics covered during this session, and the panel stressed the importance of understanding your audience in order to effectively engage them.
Keynote speaker, Brent Feldman from Hill Holiday, kicked off day two of the conference with a terrific discussion about Forwarding Looking, and the top six things we can do as marketers to be successful in a changing environment. Feldman’s presentation focused on the marketing strategy his client, Dunkin Donuts, uses on a daily basis to help maintain its position as a market leader.
The Forward Looking theme was woven into the conference throughout the day. Session topics ranged from driving sales, to branding yourself; strategic website and video development, to better writing; and value-adds using data, to balancing marketing, business development and client services. The format was primarily made up of panel discussions and hands-on workshops.
A fun highlight was the lunch break, where comedian Mike Dorval popped out of the audience to “mediate” a disagreement between LMA New England Chapter President, Chris Newman, and Liz Cerasuolo, LMA New England Chapter Vice President, regarding the demise of Legal Marketing in the future due to the growth of technology. As Newman put it, he was “served” by Cerasuolo, whose wit and determination won over the crowd. It is important to note however, that Newman had quite the disadvantage telling a group of 200 marketers that our future was doomed!
The Chapter would like to extend a special thanks to all of our sponsors. With the support of companies like Clockwork Design Group, McDougall Interactive Marketing, Grossman Marketing, Manzama, the Artcraft Company, Mass Lawyers Weekly, ALM, Gittings, Best Lawyers, among many others, we were able to host one of our most successful conferences ever.
Check out more conference photos compliments of Gittings.
Interested in winning one of four $25 Dunkin Donuts gift cards we have to give away? Send your favorite top six key points to jjones@alm.com, and tell us why this is important to you and your company. We will draw the winners on February 6th. Thank you to Dunkin Donuts and Hill Holiday for donating the gift cards.
LMA's Annual International Conference - Less Than 2 Months Away!
The LMA International's annual conference is right around the corner. This year's conference is taking place on April 2-4 in Orlando, Florida, right down the street from Disney World. LMA members from around the world will gather to hear from today's leading experts in legal marketing, sales and finance, while having numerous chances to network and socialize with your friends and colleagues. Members will have a chance to gather with other New England attendees at the Chapter's welcome reception, which will likely take place on April 2. More details to follow.
The Chapter plans on hosting an informal social in April that will allow attendees to share what they learned with members that were not able to make it to Orlando.
Future Leaders SIG Kick-Off Lunch
If you are interested in honing in on the development of your leadership skills and getting practical advice on the best ways to position yourself for opportunities to lead, join former LMANE President Katie Reagan and LMANE Vice President Liz Cerasuolo as they host the first ever Future Leaders SIG meeting. This brown bag luncheon will take place at Jones Day on February 13h. For more details about the program, visit our event page today.
The Future Leaders SIG is open to LMANE members with less than ten years of professional experience. This group is designed to provide professional development, networking opportunities and mentoring connections. It will meet bimonthly for interactive roundtables, speaker series lunches, social hours, book club discussions, and more.
Save-the-Date for the February Luncheon
The Chapter’s next luncheon will take place at 12-1:30 PM at K&L Gates on Wednesday, February 26th. Speaker Paul Kavanaugh from ShiftCentral will focus on leveraging ongoing market intelligence to initiate and sustain thought leadership strategies. Additional details about the program will be circulated to the Chapter in the coming days and can be found on our website.
Your Honor Awards - Mark Your Calendar and Nominate Your Favorites Today
Each year, members and supporters of the Chapter gather at the Your Honor Awards (YHA) to celebrate the work that our peers contributed to the legal industry during the previous year. It's a great opportunity for in-house marketers and their 3rd party partners to showcase the projects they are most proud of, and gives the attendees a unique opportunity to see the marketing initiatives that are considered industry bests.
This year's Your Honor Awards will be hosted at the Boston College Club on Tuesday, March 25th. The Chapter will be implementing some enhancements to help streamline the program and make it an even more enjoyable social gathering for everyone! We are currently seeking submissions highlighting why your firm or client should be profiled as top in class at this year’s YHA ceremony. If you are interested in being considered for these coveted prizes, we encourage you to submit your nomination today. For more details, go to the Chapter website.
Pop-Up Socials - A Fun Way to Socialize with Your Peers
Interested in meeting up with your fellow LMANE peers for a drink or two after work? Check out the Chapter’s website and social media accounts on a regular basis and you could come across a message about a pop-up social the Chapter is hosting! We are aiming to have 4-5 of these socials throughout the year and will be alerting our members about them through Twitter, LinkedIn and the website (emails will not be sent). Be on the lookout for the first one over the next couple of weeks.
Days Away from the Olympics, Thomson Reuters Client and Market Intelligence Takes Gold
We are thrilled to announce that we will be partnering with Thomson Reuters Client and Market Intelligence this coming year. The competitive intelligence service provider, a supporter for a number of years including the sponsor of our past two holiday parties, recently signed on to be our 2014 annual Gold sponsor. This exclusive sponsorship will give our members a chance to cultivate stronger relationships with Thomson's team and to learn how the company's products and services can help make our lives' easier. We look forward to continuing to grow our relationship with Thomson Reuters Client and Market Intelligence and would like to thank its team for its support!
Partner with the Chapter Today - New Annual Sponsorships Available!
LMANE is excited to offer new annual sponsorship packages that provide significant value for our supporters and more opportunities to be featured at our networking and educational events. The various packages offer different levels of participation and ways to reach the Chapter's members. Annual sponsors will also have the potential to receive price breaks with future partnership opportunities, including the regional conference. If you are interested in exploring how your company can work more closely with our Chapter, please contact Chris Newman today or check out the different packages on the Chapter website.
Congratulations to our 2014 Future Leader Fellows
Congratulations to the Fellows selected for our 2014 Future Leaders Program:
- Ashley Morris, Business Development Coordinator, K&L Gates LLP
- Danielle Diforio, Clockwork Design Group, Inc.
- Jennifer Miller, Assistant to the Administrator, Looney & Grossman LLP
- Cassie Bent, Business Development Specialist, Mintz Levin
LMANE introduced the Future Leaders Fellowship program to identify and recruit upandcoming leaders of the organization. Our selected Fellows exhibited a passion to pursue a career in or related to law firm marketing, and eagerness to engage with peers in our community. The benefit is one year of free membership as an Individual to LMA International and the New England Chapter. Fellows participate on LMA Chapter Committees and regularly attend our Future Leaders Special Interest Group (SIG) brown bag lunches, which are open to all LMA members. Thank you to all who submitted nominations.
Chapter President, Chris Newman and 2012 President, Katie Reagan, with our 2014 Future Leader Fellows.
Our Latest Member Spotlights
This month, we profile one of our veteran members, Maureen Grenier, who has been with Mirick O’Connell for 15 years, and Jennifer Miller, one of our brand new members through the Future Leaders Fellowship Program. Read these engaging Q&A’s to learn about how Jennifer had 400 people under her in her first job, and what Maureen got paid $0.75 an hour to do.
Welcome New Members
Please extend a warm welcome to the members who have joined our chapter in the past month:
- Chris McIntosh, Publisher, Boston Business Journal
- Micah Ascano, Consultant, Artifex Legal Consulting
- Joseph Waldbaum, Owner, Joseph Waldbaum, Esq
- Abigail Munafo, Marketing Communications Assistant, Burns & Levinson LLP
- Danielle McCauley, Client Relationship Coordinator, Ropes & Gray
- Ceit Geva, Marketing Assistant, Fish & Richardson P.C.
- Megan Sheridan, Marketing Coordinator, Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner, LLP
- Wendy Decker, Proskauer Rose LLP
- Megahn Sant'anna, Proskauer Rose LLP
- Carol Frances, Marketing Director, CzepigaDalyPope LLC
- Natacha Vautier, Marketing / Business Development Assistant, Wolf, Greenfield & Sacks, P.C.
- Elise DeOrio, Associate Marketing Director, Hinckley Allen
- Gina Fajardo, Marketing Director, Hinckley Allen
Membership Renewal
A reminder to our members and friends – your LMA Membership is renewable annually as of January 1st. Visit the LMA Website today to renew and update your contact information.
Job Bank Highlights
Business Development Manager, Litigation (Boston or New York, NY) - Mintz Levin
Business Development Specialist (Boston) - Mintz Levin
Marketing and Business Development Coordinator - Bowditch & Dewey LLP
Client Relations Manager - Fisher & Phillips LLP
Business Development Manager (Litigation) - Foley Hoag
Marketing Specialist - Brown Rudnick
For a full list of current opportunities, see our Job Bank.
Conference Committee Needs Volunteers!
We are currently in the process of forming the 2014 regional conference planning committee. Members of this committee will work closely with the conference chairs on developing the conference theme, program topics and identifying speakers and sponsors. If you are interested in joining the Chapter's regional conference planning committee, please contact Liz Cerasuolo.
Stay Connected - Check-out the Chapter's Latest Happenings
Interested in staying on top of the latest happenings within the Chapter? Be sure to follow us on Twitter @LMA_NE and LinkedIn. Or visit the Chapter's website, a valuable resource dedicated to keeping our members informed on the developments with LMA and our chapter. We welcome all of our members to share their ideas for posts -- please contact Jen Jones or Chris Newman.
Please send any contributions for the LMA New England Chapter newsletter to Jen Jones at ALM Media.