Info TBD

Domains: Marketing Management and Leadership, Business Development

You coach partners every day. Let's talk about how you coach your team. As BD and marketing professionals, we often coach attorneys on their business development strategies, helping them refine messaging, build client relationships, and show up with confidence. But when it comes to leading our own teams, many of us forget: coaching isn't just for growing the business with the lawyers. In this session, we'll explore coaching as a core leadership skill that applies up, down, and across the org chart. Drawing on trusted methodologies, practical tools, and little neuroscience, we'll unpack what it looks like to lead with a coaching mindset that drives performance, builds trust, and unlocks your team's full potential. Whether you're managing a small team or influencing firm leaders, this session will help you coach more effectively, not just for business development, but for team development.

Learning Outcomes:

• Adapt coaching styles for lawyers and BD/Marketing teams
• Deliver feedback that is actionable and meaningful to your team
• Describe how to cultivate high performing teams

Presenters:
Azeema Mohadieen Batchelor, Chief Marketing and Business Development Officer, Dinsmore and Shohl
Rachael Bosch, CEO and Founder, Fringe Professional Development

Domain: Business Development

Pitching litigation work is an entirely different ball game from selling transactional services - and too often, BD professionals rely on the same approach for both. Litigation work is unpredictable, high-stakes, and time-pressured. This session will unpack what makes winning litigation business unique and how BD and marketing leaders can better support their litigators in the pursuit of growth. Through practical insights and real examples, attendees will learn how to refine messages that resonate with decision-makers, position litigators as strategic problem-solvers, and quantify success in a space where metrics look different. Whether your firm handles commercial disputes, class actions, or complex investigations, attendees will walk away ready to translate litigation strategy into stronger business development outcomes.

Learning Outcomes:

• Identify the differences: How BD for litigation differs fundamentally from transactional pursuits - and what that means for your strategy.
• Build an early warning system: Leverage case filings, litigation alerts, dockets, market data, and regulatory/industry triggers to identify and act on opportunities early and in real time.
• Strengthen relationships: How to help litigators build credibility and stay top of mind with in-house counsel.
• Convert wins into growth: Translating trial results and thought leadership into ongoing business momentum.

Presenters:
Theresa DeLoach-Mailvert, Global Director, Marketing and Client Development, Litigation, Dechert LLP
Bianca Lissandrello, Senior Manager, Entertainment & Media, Paul Hastings

Domains: Communications, Client Services

In an era where AI-powered research tools, accelerated decision cycles, and information overload shape how corporate counsel evaluate outside advisors, law firm thought leadership must evolve. This session goes beyond anecdotes and assumptions, presenting fresh data and real-world insights from LIMELIGHT and JD Supra’s national survey of general counsel and CCOs. We’ll reveal what general counsel actually read, share, and rely on when selecting firms—what builds trust, what erodes it, and how AI is reshaping discovery, credibility, and competitive differentiation. Attendees will learn the specific formats, voices, and distribution strategies that resonate most with today’s in-house leaders, and how to adapt content for a world where generative engines increasingly mediate visibility. The session delivers actionable frameworks for marketers and lawyers to produce thought leadership that is not only smarter and more strategic, but truly indispensable to the GC audience.

Learning Objectives:

• Examine what GCs really value and trust in law firm content.
• Identify ideal formats, timing, topics, and distribution methods for content to best resonate with target GCs. 
• Apply a practical framework to creating smart, relevant content going forward that will be more discoverable and relevant to the corporate counsel audience.

Presenters:
Oyango Snell, President & CEO, Corporate Legal Operations Consoritum
Kenny Gary, CEO + Founding Partner, LIMELIGHT
Adrian Lurssen, Co-Founder, JD Supra
Eric Dodson Greenberg, Executive Vice President & General Counsel, Cox Media Group

Domain: Communications

If you've ever drafted content and wondered whether anyone (besides the firm's managing partner) will care about it, this session is for you. Moderated by a former Law.com journalist-turned-PR professional, this panel will explore how newsroom principles can elevate your firm's communications, bylined articles, PR outreach, award submissions and thought leadership strategies. Editors from Law.com and Law360, a leading legal tech journalist and lawyer, and a former business writer-turned-Am Law 100 communications director will share what the metrics reveal about how people consume legal content, how to articulate the broader impact, why editorial strategy matters more in an AI-saturated world, and how to build relationships with editors and influencers - all while navigating the realities of a law firm setting. Designed for in-house marketers, CMOs and agency professionals, this interactive session includes live polls and take-home tools to help you bring a newsroom mindset to your marketing plan.

Learning Outcomes:

• Apply the core editorial techniques that journalists use every day to make your firm's content clear, engaging and effective.
• Leverage editors' knowledge of what captures readers' attention to identify topics that resonate, pitch stronger stories, place bylined articles and optimize your firm's communications in the era of AI.
• Build stronger relationships with editors and industry influencers and turn those connections into tangible opportunities for law firms.

Presenters:
Raychel Lean, Account Manager, Rep Ink
Samantha Joseph, Co-Head Editor of Litigation Desk, ALM
Ellen Jones, Senior Editor, Expert Analysis, Law360
Elaine Walker, Director of Media Relations and Communications, Greenberg Traurig
Robert Ambrogi, President and Publisher, LawNext Media Inc. 

Domain: Marketing Management and Leadership

This isn't a session about AI. It's a session about leadership in the face of it. As legal marketing enters a new era, the true differentiator won't be technology - it will be the leaders who can build trust, develop talent, and guide teams through transformation with clarity and conviction. This interactive session explores the leadership skills that drive change - and the risks if we don't invest in them. Through provocative discussion, attendees will reimagine the future of legal marketing and identify the bold moves required to lead it. You'll leave with practical tools, fresh insights, and a sharper sense of what it means to lead in complexity - not just manage through it.

Learning Outcomes:

• Identify the human leadership skills AI can't replicate - and their tie to firm influence. 
• Recognize the risks of over-automating development - and reimagine new ways to engage and motivate talent.
• Define what it really means to "feel valued" - and apply this insight to build trust and engagement across departments, generations, and personalities.

Presenter:
Marcie Borgal Shunk, President & Founder, The Tilt Institute Inc. 

Domains: Communications, Technology Management

Your lawyers are panicking about whether the firm shows up in ChatGPT. Meanwhile, you're fielding questions about "GEO strategy" without a clear framework for what that actually means, or how it connects to the mountain of marketing and business development work on your plate. Here's what AI companies like OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google are telling us: the foundational elements that drive traditional search visibility are the same ones that determine whether AI systems cite your firm or your competitors. You don't need to start over. You need to understand how five interconnected pillars: Authority Architecture, Structured Content, Citation-Worthy Insights, Multi-Platform Presence, and Technical Infrastructure - work together to make your firm visible regardless of how clients search. In this hands-on session you'll assess your firm's current visibility across traditional search, AI Overviews, and generative platforms in real time. You'll see exactly why some firms get, cited and others get ignored. And you'll leave with a framework for prioritizing what to fix first - and how to build consensus to actually get it done. Bring your laptop or phone. You're going to use it.

Learning Outcomes:

• Diagnose your current state: How to assess your firm's visibility across Google, AI Overviews, and ChatGPT - and reverse-engineer why you're showing up (or not).
• Analyze the Five Pillars framework: What Authority Architecture, Structured Content, Citation-Worthy Insights, Multi-Platform Presence, and Technical Infrastructure actually mean for your website - and why skipping any one creates gaps competitors can exploit.
• Identify the difference between content structure over content volume: Why your 147, 12-page legal alerts aren't working and what "snippet-worthy" formatting looks like in practice.

Presenters:
Robyn Addis, Chief Revenue Officer, 9Sail
Joe Giovannoli, Founder & CEO, 9Sail

Domains: Communications, Client Services

Behind every impactful creative, technical or business development project is a well-crafted brief. Tailored for law firm marketers, this practical and insightful session explores the briefing process as a strategic tool—not just a project kickoff.  Attendees will learn how to structure an effective brief that aligns internal stakeholders, guides agency partners, and delivers clarity from the outset. The session breaks down the essential components of a brief and offers a proven framework to avoid common pitfalls that can derail timelines, budgets, and expectations.

Designed to support marketers navigating complex internal structures and high-stakes deliverables, this session will help elevate briefing from a routine task to a strategic discipline that drives results.

Learning Objectives: 

• Discuss the strategic value of a brief and how it supports alignment, efficiency, and stronger outcomes in legal marketing initiatives.
• Identify the essential components of an effective brief—from defining objectives and audiences to setting tone, timeline, and deliverables. 
• Navigate the internal dynamics of law firms to secure stakeholder input, manage expectations, and maintain clarity throughout any project.

Presenters:
Julie Chodos, Chief Marketing & Business Development Officer, Axinn
Christie Cáceres, Chief Business Development and Marketing Officer, Sheppard Mullin
Kevin Iredell, Chief Marketing and Business Development Officer, Hughes Hubbard
Duncan Shaw, Chief Creative Officer, Living Group

Domains: Business of Law, Marketing Management and Leadership

Succession planning is no longer just a leadership or HR concern - it's a strategic imperative for modern law firms. As senior lawyers approach retirement, firms risk losing key clients, institutional knowledge, and competitive standing if transitions aren't managed proactively. Legal marketing and business development professionals are uniquely positioned to mitigate these risks, leveraging their deep understanding of client relationships, practice strengths, and market positioning. Thoughtful succession planning not only safeguards reputation, but also creates opportunities for growth, cross-selling, and enhanced client loyalty.

This session will highlight the critical role of marketing and business development teams in shaping succession strategies. Participants will gain practical tools and best practices for collaborating across departments, addressing common obstacles, and turning transitions into opportunities. Attendees will leave with a clear roadmap for contributing meaningfully to succession planning and ensuring their firms are prepared for the future.

Learning Outcomes:

• Explore the role of marketing and business development in succession planning and the value that the department adds to the process.
• Form internal processes for addressing succession and transitions that fit for different attorneys.
• Discuss how to leverage transitions for business development and enhanced client service.

Presenter:
Jillian McKenna, Director of Marketing, Business Development & Client Services, Verrill

Domains: Client Services, Marketing Management and Leadership

In today's rapidly evolving legal landscape, traditional models of business development, client service and attorney engagement are no longer enough. Firms that cling to outdated systems and abandon efforts to build inclusive cultures risk losing clients, talent, and credibility.

By recognizing diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) as a strategic business imperative, organizations can leverage powerful tools to engage with clients to build better client teams, expand legal work, retain top talent and drive sustainable growth. In this session, we'll explore the evolution of DEI practices over time. Through real-world case studies and interactive facilitation, we'll uncover how intentional disruption can build sustainable systems to enhance the outcomes for business development and client service teams. This is not about simply checking boxes. Inclusion practices transform behavior, shift mindsets, and build success for client development, talent retention and relationship-building strategies to help law firms thrive. This session is a follow-up to a program hosted at LMA24, and you can watch the recording here [https://www.legalmarketing.org/Purchase/beyond-the-surface-unmasking-the-subtle-roadblocks-in-legal-dei-initiatives-mch]

Outcomes:

• Identify the business risks of abandoning DEI in client development and talent strategy.
• Apply inclusive relationship-building techniques to strengthen attorney-client engagement.
• Design systems and processes that embed DEI into business development for long-term success.

Presenters:
Sona Spencer, Chief Legal Talent Officer, Troutman Pepper Locke
Gia Altreche, Director of Diversity & Inclusion, Manatt, Phelps, & Phillips