2018 Legal Marketing Association Conference News: Welcome to New Orleans

Poston Communications is once again proudly serving as the 2018 Legal Marketing Association Annual Conference Daily Conference News sponsor, publisher and editor.

The conference will bring more than 1,500 legal marketing professionals to New Orleans. In the city that’s been 24/7 since 1718, conference attendees will start their day with an email reporting on the prior, current and next day’s events. Find important tips, pictures and stories from conference events and “off the agenda” happenings and highlights from social media.

Check out postoncommunications.com/lma where we’ll post the Daily Conference Newsletter. The content will also be shared on the conference website as well as across LMA’s and Poston Communications’ social media channels.

The conference, which marks its 33rd anniversary in 2018, continues to grow each year and is steeped in tradition and excellence as the premier event for the legal marketing industry.

Speaking of anniversaries, New Orleans is celebrating its 300th in 2018. Not many American cities can claim to have their own language with words, expressions and pronunciations you won’t hear anywhere else in the world.

Check out the glossary below to help you converse like a true New Orleanian Big Easy The official nickname for New Orleans after a contest was run years ago Beignet (ben yay’) Lighter than a doughnut, and square (no holes), sprinkled with powdered sugar Lagniappe (lan’ yap) Something extra that you didn’t pay for – thrown in to sweeten the deal – like a baker’s dozen Laissez les bons temps rouler (Lay Zay Lay Bon Tom Roolay) French for “Let the good times roll” Praline (Praw’ leen) Brown sugar pecan-filled candy patty (Very sweet and so delicious you can’t eat just one!) Tchoupitoulas Street (Chop a two’ les) One of the trickiest street names to pronounce – and spell! Vieux Carré (Vooo ka ray’) (View ka ray’) French for “Old Quarter,” this is a term used for the French Quarter, including world-famous Bourbon Street Vignette (Vin yet’) A sketch or illustration of a person, place or thing See more unique New Orleans terms here and here.

►► What’s Happening at #LMA18 Today

 

Sunday, April 8

• Pre-conference program registration opens at 8:00 am tomorrow (Monday, April 9) in the
  Elite Foyer
  
• Plan your Monday evening and maximize your networking!

5:00 – 6:00 pm

Exhibit Hall Sneak-Peek First-Timers’ Meet-Up CMO Summit Reception

6:00 – 7:30 pm

Welcome Reception in the Exhibit Hall

7:30 – 8:30 pm

LMA Regional Receptions

• Dress Reminder! Business casual — and we recommend dressing in layers given the change in temperature of the session rooms, foyer and rest of the hotel.
• Don’t forget to download the conference app to build your agenda, connect with attendees and much more. Here’s how:
  1. DOWNLOAD.
     Search for LMA Annual Conference in the App Store or Google Play, or visit https://crowd.cc/lma18.  
  2. VERIFY.
     Enter the app password: LMA2018
  3. SIGN IN.
     Tap the upper left-hand corner ‘three bars’ and click ‘Log in.’
  4. ENTER YOUR INFO.
     You will be prompted to enter your full name and email address. 
  5. VERIFY YOUR ACCOUNT.
     You will receive an email with your verification code. Enter the code and tap ‘Verify.’

►► Q&A With the Conference Co-Chairs

Brian C. Dare Director, Sales and Client Development Foley Gardere

Katherine D’Urso Chief Client Development Officer WilmerHale

This is our industry’s most significant event of the year, and one that we have found enriching to our own careers. Thanks to the efforts of our outstanding Annual Conference Advisory Committee, chairing the conference has been especially rewarding. We focused from the start on leaving each of you feeling more energized, inspired and prepared for all that awaits you back at your firms. We utilized LMA’s Body of Knowledge model in crafting the agenda and packed each area with substantive content, from big ideas to specific tools and takeaways you can use immediately. This year’s conference offers a range of content and opportunities that will enable all attendees to tailor their experiences to their own interests and goals.

Making the conference all the more memorable, we are gathered in New Orleans during its 300th anniversary year — one of the world’s most unique cities and the ideal backdrop to learn, discover and share with one another. It’s a city that shines with resilience, diversity and authenticity — much like our legal marketing community.

The conference will offer exciting opportunities for you to meet with industry colleagues, make new connections and share ideas that will help shape the future of LMA.  So we invite you to take full advantage of your time here to enjoy the festive atmosphere and engage with our strong community!

 

►► Pre-Conference Program Preview

One of the highlights of the LMA Annual Conference is reconnecting with peers and making new friendships.

The value of these lasting relationships can be seen in the work that has gone into interactive pre-conference programs by three legal marketing veterans:

Q. What do you enjoy most about the conference?

A. I truly look forward to the opportunity to participate in this workshop-oriented program with my peers. Dawn Longfield and I are co-chairing the CMO Summit this year.

It’s such a great room of industry peers, and many are repeat attendees. It’s one of the highlights of the conference for me.

Q. How are you preparing for the presentation?

A. This year, Dawn and I have been fortunate to work with Susan Saltonstall Duncan and Rainmaking Oasis to help shape the program and participation of the attendees.

We’ve had a number of planning calls, and it’s been really fun and interesting to have this opportunity to collaborate. We’re excited to present a highly interactive program.

Q. Why is succession planning a particularly important topic for CMOs and first-chair marketers?

A. This is such an in-the-moment subject, perhaps more so than in previous years. There is a high percentage of lawyers who are reaching retirement age. We know that in law firms more than 60 percent of equity partners are in their late 50s or 60s and often contribute a significant amount to their firm’s revenue.

With the evolution of the CMO role over the last 20 years, succession planning presents a real opportunity to have a seat at the table and effectively lead or participate in the process.

 

Kristen Leis Chief Marketing and Business Development Officer Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP

Q. What do you enjoy most about the conference?

A. This is my 20-year anniversary working as a legal marketing and business development professional. So many things have evolved in our industry sector since 1998, but the one thing that has stayed constant is the quality of its members. I enjoy catching up with friends from over the years and meeting new friends.

We are such a passionate, dedicated and open group that the only way someone attending the conference would NOT walk away without at least a dozen ideas and enthusiasm would be if they sat in their hotel room binge-watching Netflix during the conference.

Q. How are you and your panel preparing for the presentation?

A. With Deborah Farone as our moderator and co-panelists Trish Lilley and Jeff Beradi, there is a lot of creative energy in prepping for this program. Attendees will not observe a panel of talking heads. We have a program planned that promises to be interactive, informative and interesting.

Q. What do you see as key factors for a successful career in legal marketing?

A. A former boss prided himself on only hiring team members who played sports throughout their lives. Yes, he liked the obvious characteristics athletes possess, such as knowing how to work together as a team and having a primal desire to win, but he also acknowledged something perhaps even more critical – that these team members knew how to lose and how to manage psychological stress.

The relationship between resilience and performance can’t be underscored enough. A positive, results-oriented personality goes a long way.

Keith N. Wewe Vice President, Strategy and Solutions Content Pilot LLC

Q. What do you enjoy most about the annual conference?

A. That’s easy – the people. After 16 years of back-to-back conferences, this event serves not only as an opportunity for me to learn about new ideas, it’s a homecoming that allows me to learn these things from my LMA family of choice – whom I trust, admire and love.

Q. How are you preparing for the presentation?

A. I’m talking to clients, friends (and complete strangers) about their greatest proposal stories. I want to humanize the topic. Oh, and I’m practicing in front of my bathroom mirror.

Q. Why is the TED Talks-style format an effective way to deliver a message on killer proposals?

A. Because it’s an unexpected format for the topic. Who knew a chat about proposals can be passionate, spontaneous and emotional? Well, I certainly did.

 

►► Who You Will Meet at the Conference

 

►► Things to Know for Monday

Lagniappe Lounge This new feature offers attendees the opportunity to participate in 20-minute, interactive product demos that are educational and highlight how a product/service is benefitting the industry. Discover the possibilities of new products and services to stay on the cutting edge of legal marketing and business development and engage with experts in a Q&A session. Click here for locations and times.

Your Chance to Win an Apple Watch On your chair at lunch on Tuesday, April 10, you’ll find a fun word puzzle to complete between chatting with friends, checking in on emails from home, and eating. Submit your completed puzzle for a chance to win an Apple Watch (instructions included on the puzzle itself) at the Registration Desk. The game is courtesy of our lunch sponsors, JD Supra.

Register for a Free Yoga Session Thomson Reuters Legal Business Development Solutions is hosting a complimentary yoga session at 7:00 am on Wednesday, April 11, in Elite B – next to the exhibit hall. Space is limited! Visit booth 305 on Monday after the hall opens and any time on Tuesday to register.

►►Join us at #LMA18 on social media

Share scenes and selfies with @lmaintl on Twitter and Instagram using the hashtag #LMA18.