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President's Message

A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to attend the LMA Leadership conference that was held in Chicago with the international committee chairs, senior leadership, and incoming chapter presidents.  To kick off the conference, each attendee was asked to summarize why he/she got involved with LMA and identify the most valuable benefit of being a member of the association. Each story was slightly different but not surprisingly, common themes quickly emerged as each person went around the room and talked about what mattered most. The majority of the responses put the spotlight on longstanding friendships, vibrant networking opportunities, unparalleled information sharing, and model peer-to-peer support.  Simply put, LMA created a community that the attendees could depend on.

 I highlight this experience because, to me, it’s the foundation of what this chapter means to our members. As we transition to 2014, the chapter’s leadership team, in conjunction with our committee chairs and volunteers, will be exploring and implementing several enhancements to our services that will better position us to grow our community. First up is bringing back both our newsletter that will highlight the latest happenings in the chapter and our monthly member spotlights featuring new and legacy members.  From there, we will be dedicating resources to manage our website and grow our social media presence through Twitter and LinkedIn to make sure we have regular communications with our chapter members. Finally, we intend to investigate hosting a blog on our website that will give our members a chance to write thought-leadership pieces and access information from industry leaders.

 For this year’s dynamic “forward-thinking” regional conference that is only weeks away, we looked for ways to enhance your experience for learning and executing the strategies presented at the conference. To this point, this will be the first time that we will offer a smartphone app where you will be able to access the agenda, speaker bios, and program materials, connect with other attendees, and exchange contact information, among many other cool features.  This new addition will give our attendees a better experience and connection with the speakers, content, and other members in attendance.

 And this is only the beginning. Other noteworthy developments in the works are the creations of our Future Leaders SIG, which will launch on January 1 and will focus on the development of leadership skills with our members, and our Future Leaders Fellowship Program. The fellowship program is an initiative designed to award four memberships to individuals not currently members that will help promote their growth into the next generation of leaders for both the chapter and their respective companies and firms. We are very excited to bring these new opportunities to our membership and are confident that you will all benefit from them. 

 These improvements are a small sample of what is on the horizon for the chapter in 2014.  I welcome everyone to brainstorm about ways we can make LMA a stronger part of your community and encourage you to share your feedback with me and other board members and program chairs. Ultimately, our goal is to make this chapter a model for the other chapters around the country and I am confident that with our members’ support and ideas, we can accomplish this objective.

 I look forward to seeing most of you at the regional conference and if not there, at the well-attended holiday party taking place on December 16 at the award-winning Granary Tavern. Until then, enjoy the November/December newsletter!

 Chris

Don’t Miss This Year’s Regional Conference Taking Place on November 21 & 22

This year’s regional conference taking place at the newly renovated Revere Hotel is less than three weeks away!  Building on Harvard Law Professor David Wilkins’ keynote speech at the LMA National Conference, a theme expanded in the June 2013 edition of LMA’s Strategies magazine, our conference will focus on how to stay ahead of the curve in our rapidly evolving roles as legal marketers and business development personnel.  

 To jumpstart the event, our Thursday night program will be led by the highly regarded Robin Sparkman, Editor-in-Chief of The American Lawyer, who will be moderating a panel made up of all-star regional, national, and global business development and marketing leaders. Join us as these CMOs and directors share their approaches to longevity in their roles and key initiatives and strategies to drive results.

 The next morning, our keynote speaker, Brent Feldman from Hill Holliday, will focus his interactive presentation on “marketing at the speed of retail.” Brent will talk about his client Dunkin’ Brands, their durability in a very competitive landscape, and their ability to grow and maintain a solid identity.  He will also highlight the marketing challenges that his clients face every day, the rapidly evolving role of service marketing, and more. This session will kick off many of our forward-thinking program topics throughout the day!

 For the first time ever (even before the LMA National Conference!), attendees will have the opportunity to download and utilize a specially designed smartphone app made specifically for our conference. Through this app, which is being designed by Concep, attendees can access speaker bios, program materials, the agenda, connect with other attendees through a messaging service, exchange contact information, among several other innovative features.  Be on the lookout for more information concerning the app prior to the conference.

 Don’t miss out on this chance to be a part of a conference that can put you on the path to success for many years to come. Visit the official conference website for complete event details and registration information.

 The chapter would like to extend a big thank you to all of our sponsors that are supporting this year’s conference, especially our silver and bronze sponsors that include Mass Lawyers Weekly, The Artcraft Company, McDougall Interactive Marketing, ALM, Best Lawyers, Manzama, Gittings, Clockwork Design Group, Grossman Marketing Group, and Concep.  Without your support, we would not be able to bring the conference to life.

Annual Holiday Party – Save the Date

Be sure to mark your calendar for our annual holiday party that will take place on Monday, December 16 at the popular Granary Tavern located right near Faneuil Hall. Come celebrate the holiday season with your LMA friends in this award-winning bar.  More details to follow.  

 We would like to thank Thomson Reuters Monitor Suite for once again sponsoring the chapter’s party.  This marks the second year in a row Thomson has partnered with LMA New England to ring in the holidays.

 2014 Board of Directors Announced

The votes are in, and the chapter is pleased to announce the members of the 2014 Board of Directors for the New England Chapter of the Legal Marketing Association.

President: Christopher Newman, Cooley LLP

President-Elect (2015): Shelley Swanson, SRBC

Vice President: Liz Cerasuolo, Fish & Richardson P.C.

Chief Financial Officer: Stephen Burke, Proskauer Rose LLP

Chief Information/Technology Officer: Jen Jones, ALM

Chief Financial Officer-Elect (2015): Jenna MacNeill, Brown Rudnick LLP

Members-at-Large

Katie Rutter, Katie Rutter Consulting

Caroline Von Flatern, Sherin and Lodgen LLP

Cristina Brennan, Wolf Greenfield

Tina Rutherford, K&L Gates LLP

We thank all of our candidates for their interest, and we look forward to your continued participation in LMA activities.

We also want to give a huge nod of appreciation and gratitude to this year’s board, many of whom are continuing in leadership roles. Without these tireless volunteers, we wouldn’t have an organization that runs as smoothly as it does.

President-Elect: Christopher Newman, Cooley

Immediate Past President: Katie Reagan, Jones Day

Vice President: Jennifer Jones, ALM

Chief Financial Officer: Kate Boucher, Melick, Porter & Shea, LLP

Chief Financial Officer-Elect: Steve Burke, Proskauer 

Chief Information Officer: Cristina Brennan, Wolf Greenfield

Member-at-Large: Scott Katz, Bernkopf Goodman

Member-at-Large: Jenna DiGregorio, Brown Rudnick

Member-at-Large: Tina Rutherford, K&L Gates

We also extend our appreciation to all of our committee chairs and event volunteers.

Future Leaders Fellowship Program – Nominations Due December 4

Your Chapter Board has created a new 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, as well as 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 have less than ten years of professional experience. Click here to download full details and nomination instructions, and be sure to pass along to all of your upstart colleagues! Nominations are due by December 4.

Introducing Our Newest SIG for 2014 – Future Leaders

Launching in January, the Future Leaders SIG (special interest group) will be open to law firm marketing professionals with less than ten years of professional experience.  This group is designed to provide professional development, networking opportunities and mentoring connections. The group will meet bimonthly for interactive roundtables, speaker series lunches, social hours, book club discussions, and more.

 Future Leaders SIG is open to all LMA-New England Chapter members. If you are interested in the Future Leaders SIG, but are not an LMA member, consider applying for a free membership through our Future Leaders Fellowship program.

 Please contact Liz Cerasuolo, Director of Communications at Fish & Richardson, or Katie Reagan, Business Development & Communications Manager at Jones Day, to be added to the Future Leaders SIG group or for more information.

 Don’t forget that the chapter also offers two other SIGs that focus on social media and small firm/solo marketing. If you are interested in getting involved with these groups, please contact the chairs listed below. There is no fee to attend these programs; however, please note that SIG events are open to LMA members only.

 The Social Media SIG is for LMA NE members who have an interest in using social media and online networking platforms to enhance marketing and business development efforts for their firm as well as their attorneys. The next brown-bag lunch gathering will be held in January 2014. To be included in the email list and for more information in the meantime, contact Cristina Brennan at Wolf Greenfield.
 
The Small Firm/Solo Marketer SIG is for in-house marketers at firms of fewer than 100 attorneys or with two or fewer marketing personnel. The SIG’s next brown-bag lunch meeting will be on Wednesday, November 13 at Hamel, Marcin, Dunn, Reardon & Shea, P.C., 24 Federal Street | 11th Floor. RSVP to Kate Boucher. The topic will be “Strategies for Developing Annual Marketing Plans.” Discussion topics will include:

• Aligning practice and attorney action plans with the firm’s vision and strategy
• Setting goals and benchmarks
• Identifying existing opportunities
• Focusing on high-yield marketing efforts
• Tracking results and ROI

Missed October’s Luncheon?  Program Materials Available Online

If you missed our great lunch program “Creating Content that Works” presented by Doug Stern and Robert Algeri, you can access the presentation materials on the chapter website. Key takeaways from the luncheon included how to gather, write, and deploy content that motivates clients/prospects and best practices for organizing your content priorities according to your time, budget, and other constraints. 

We would like to extend our gratitude to Doug and Robert for their presentation last month!

Your Honor Awards Is On the Horizon

Information is coming soon about a March date and submission deadline for the 2014 YHA. Stay tuned!

Our Latest Member Spotlight – William Sleight

After a brief hiatus, Member Spotlights has returned in full fashion.  This month, we profile one of our newest members, Willie Sleight, who joined Hirsch Roberts Weinstein LLP as a marketing and communications coordinator after graduating from Ithaca College in 2012.  Read this engaging Q&A and learn about Willie’s secret talent, how he got into legal marketing, and the board game you want to avoid playing him in when the lights go out!  

Welcome New Members

Please extend a warm welcome to the members who have recently joined our chapter.

 Job Bank Highlights

• Director of Business Development – Day Pitney
• Business Development Coordinator – Edwards Wildman Palmer LLP
• Marketing Coordinator – Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner, LLP (Boston)
• Marketing Specialist – Cooley Manion Jones LLP

 For a full list of current opportunities, see our Job Bank.

Members on the Move

Congratulations to our members who have recently moved to new firms and taken on new roles! 

• Heather Wolcott, Director of Business Development at Brown Rudnick LLP
• Elyse Desmarais, Marketing Specialist, Cooley Manion Jones LLP
• Clodagh Boyle, Director of Marketing, Cooley Manion Jones LLP
• Heather Barry, Regional Business Development Manager, Nixon Peabody LLP

Make a Difference – Volunteer Today!

If you are interested in getting more involved with LMA New England, we have plenty of opportunities for volunteers to actively contribute to the chapter on all levels. Contact Chris Newman or Jen Jones to discuss how we can get you involved today!

Please send any contributions for the LMA New England Chapter newsletter to Jen Jones at ALM Media.