LMA Regional Conference Takeaways 2022: Part 1- Mid-Atlantic Conference

LMA conference season is upon us - and this year it’s quite intense after so many cancelations during the pandemic. But the amount of “Up In the Air”-type travel is more than made up for by getting to see so many LMA friends and colleagues after a long 2 years away. First stop was the Mid-Atlantic conference in Washington DC. Of course, it was full of friends, fun and festivities. 

But, most important, let’s not forget the education. As a perpetual, life-long student (if I could get paid just to go to school full-time, I would), even after 20 years in legal marketing, I'm still a huge fan of attending sessions because I always learn something new from the amazingly intelligent and experienced members of our industry. So I thought I would share some of the info and lessons learned for the folks who might not have been able to attend or who missed a select session. 

James BarclayPassle and Phill McGowan of Reed Smith offered a case study with some amazing tips about how an agile approach to marketing can help to efficiently achieve important goals. They went through several steps to prepare for the launch of a new service. One big tip: you need get ahead of the game and start several months before the launch. Creating a plethora of content is also incredibly important when creating a new service line because when people begin a search for it, they will have the answers to their questions at their fingertips. 

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This mass content creation is also incredibly beneficial for SEO. Selectively scattering keywords that your clients will likely be searching for throughout your content will allow you to share the information they need – while also potentially boosting your site’s search engine rankings to drive more traffic. 

It was also great being able to present at the conference with the Social Media Butterfly Stefanie Marrone, and Matthew Pascocello of the American University Washington College of Law on “How to Start a Successful Law Firm Alumni Relations Program.” Stefanie, who has started alumni relations programs for multiple top law firms, and Matthew, who assists in the Alumni Relations Program at American University, both shared insights on how critical alumni are to the ongoing success of firms, colleges and other organizations and how they can increase referrals and business development. 

If you are interested in hearing more about how to start alumni relations programs or improve your existing program, Stefanie Marrone and I will be hosting a free webinar on November 9th. If you would like to attend this free webinar, click here to register.

Finally, it wouldn’t be an LMA conference without a general counsel panel sharing informed opinions on today's business environment and the direction things are heading to provide guidance into what organizations are looking for when hiring firms and what it takes to win more business.

Overall, it has been a fun and eventful condensed conference season so far. I am looking forward to the Northeast LMA Conference this week and Toronto later in the month. Stay tuned for more LMA ideas and insights.