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Business development, Law Firm Management and Marketing, Strategy

5 pieces of year-beginning advice from 5 top legal marketers – a/k/a the “5x5s”

12/22/2014 by Deborah McMurray

There is a blizzard of year-end advice and year-in-review recaps on blogs, news reports, Twitter and other media.  I am fatigued by looking back, so I offer these 5x5s that were presented at the November 7, 2014 LMA Texas Regional Conference by five senior legal marketing and business development authorities. Consider them critical pieces of year-beginning advice for all professional staff in law firms.

I moderated this panel of experts – everyone of us started our careers in the trenches somewhere. None of us began our careers in legal marketing, so the lessons we shared reflect the professional knee-scrapes, mistakes, successes, irritations and joys accumulated over our respective careers.

Our panelists included:

  1. Gillian Ward, Chief Marketing Officer, Baker Botts
  2. Amy Miller, Director of Marketing and Client Relations, Cox Smith
  3. Shawn Adams, Chief Strategy and Marketing Officer, Gardere
  4. Murray Coffey, Chief Marketing Officer, Haynes and Boone
  5. Deborah McMurray (moderator), CEO and Strategy Architect, Content Pilot

And here is our advice:

Gillian Ward:

  1. Find a marketing and a lawyer mentor.
  2. Read the newspapers.
  3. Be visible.
  4. Be proactive.
  5. Take ownership of your work.

Amy Miller:

  1. It’s okay to say “I don’t know” as long as you follow it with “let me find out.”
  2. Admit mistakes, anticipate questions and be ready to recommend a next step.
  3. Be careful not to just “flip emails” by forwarding without adding context – always take initiative.
  4. Take responsibility for your own professional development.
  5. Understand that your priority may not always the priority of your supervisor.

Shawn Adams:

  1. Mistakes are going to happen. What you do to quickly remedy a mistake and learn from it is what counts.
  2. Be willing and confident to share your ideas with lawyers and your team.
  3. In meetings, always take notes. Never be the one with a blank piece of paper.
  4. Flexibility is key in our roles – being able to quickly change direction is key to successfully moving the ball.
  5. Negative water cooler talk adds no value. Once a firm or department decision is made, be a positive influencer, no matter the situation.

Murray Coffey:

  1. Seek clarity.
  2. Volunteer.
  3. Make mistakes.
  4. Check your email before you go to bed and on the weekends.
  5. Put your family first.

Deborah McMurray:

  1. Live above the line. Write RESPONSIBILITY above the line – and all other words (rationalizing, blaming, finger-pointing, procrastinating, whining, etc.) go below the line.
  2. Work at least a 50-hour week. To excel in legal marketing, it’s not a 9-5 job.
  3. Be smart first. This is advice to the very attractive people – being a quick study, intelligent and articulate will get you promoted faster and farther.
  4. Be genuine and nice.  Only authentic and good people deserve to be trusted.  Marketers who are trusted get promoted.
  5. Always be excellent. Never settle for “good enough.”

 

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