Are you getting excited? The Legal Marketing Association’s Annual Conference kicks off in just one week. I know many of you are going through the online materials, flipping through the agenda, trying to decide which sessions to attend. Just remember, there’s MORE at LMA. The MORE sessions (Mentoring Opportunities with Real-life Experts) are round-table discussions facilitated by leading LMA members. As a member of the conference committee, I had the pleasure, with Catherine Alman MacDonagh, to help coordinate these sessions and I hope you check them out:

Wednesday, April 6, 2011 – Conference Day Two

10:45a.m.-12:00 p.m.

  • ABA 20/20 Commission and State Bar Developments
  • Avoiding Ethical Pitfalls – Examining Ethics-related and Regulation Issues
    • What are the top legal ethics mistakes that fall through the cracks? Are you aware of the importance of conflict checks? What are the ethics involved in social media, multi-jurisdictional practices, and offices that cross state boundaries? Join this roundtable discussion to find out, in addition to discussing recent court decisions in legal ethics cases and what they mean for you.
    • Facilitator: Russell Lawson, Sands Anderson
  • Branching Out – Explore Legal Marketing Career Paths
    • Uncover potential legal marketing career paths, and take this opportunity to meet a mentor/match make with LMA’s finest to help you transition into your new position/career.
    • Facilitator: Roberta Montafia
  • Confessions of a Legal Marketer – the Clean Slate Table
    • Own up to your legal marketing mistakes in a ‘safe’ environment – hear others ‘horror stories’ to know that you’re not alone and it’s OK to move on.
    • Facilitator Megan McKeon, McDonnell Boehnen Hulbert & Berghoff LLP
  • Ways in which to Collaborate with the ACC Value Challenge
    • Explore the value proposition of value based billing and AFAs, and ways in which your firm can become a supporting organization of the ACC Value Challenge.
    • Facilitator: Felice Wagner, Sutherland
  • Convergence of Knowledge Management and Business Intelligence
    • As content continues to grow exponentially in the public domain and is increasingly merged with proprietary content, a need to effectively harness, manage, and act on this information will gain greater importance.  More and more, legal professionals that perform the function of business intelligence and business development are being asked to find actionable insights from a wide array of different sources. Knowledge Management can, and will, play an increasing role in ensuring that these folks are finding the actionable information that they need to achieve their business and practice objectives.
    • Facilitator: Peter J. Ozolin, Manzama

1:45-3:00 p.m.

  • Top Tips for Marketing on a Shoe String
    • How do you continue to market without a budget? It is possible. Participate in this roundtable to share and learn marketing and business development ideas with little to no budget that bring big rewards.
    • Facilitator: Adam Stock, Allen Matkins Leck Gamble Mallory & Natsis LLP
  • What’s next for the Legal industry?
    • The recession is almost over, now what? What practices are now on the rise? If the pyramid is out, and everything in the legal industry is shifting, what business models are now at play? This thought-provoking discussion will get you thinking about the implications surrounding the 21st century legal business model.
    • Facilitator: Maggie Watkins, Best Best & Krieger LLP
  • How do you Transition a Lawyer from a Hot Practice when their Practice has run cold?
    • Learn ways in which you, as a legal marketer, can play a part in allocating resources appropriately, so when a practice group runs cold, you’re prepared to help identify and transition a partner, using their current expertise to identify and renew their practice.
    • Facilitator: Tracy LaLonde, Akina
  • Adding a Value Proposition to your Marketing Department
    • As the structure of today’s law firms changes, so too does the look and feel of today’s legal marketing departments, and the way in which marketing and business development work together. Learn how you can add service standards to your marketing department, by recognizing your firm’s culture and how you should work within it as opposed to allowing it to impede you and your priority projects.
    • Facilitator: Kevin McMurdo, Perkins Coie
  • Quick Facilitation Tips to make you more Effective in your Day
    • There are many quick tips and ideas you should be adding to your tool box to make you more effective in your day to day functions and to increase your success rate with selling ideas. Learn them here!
    • Facilitator Beth Cuzzone, Goulston & Storrs
  • Ways in which to have Better Relationships with your Vendors
    • Vendors can be your best resources. Do you have the relationship you need for maximum support and access to critical information? How do you even frame a conversation with a vendor to ensure you get what you want from it?
    • Facilitator: Tim Corcoran, Thomson Reuters