Welcome to the Voice of the Client Bundle! We are thrilled that you have taken the next step in your professional development journey. In this bundle, you’ll find a variety of curated resources that include highly rated conference recordings, webinars and thought leadership from Strategies & Voices.

Domains: Client Services, Business Development

In this session, outside counsel management professionals join law firm client development executives to discuss platinum client relationship management and how they define value-add. We will hear from the panelists how their teams interact with their company’s legal team, their role in the “buy” decision, the technology resources they are engaging, and how they define partnership. We will also review the various law firm departments to engage with as you develop a platinum client relationship program, what resources the law firm needs to commit for the program to be successful, and how to gather feedback to help evolve your service to address client needs and become more profitable.  

You'll learn how to:

• Develop a clear understanding of how corporations and financial institutions engage law firms
• Discuss how clients define value (tip - it isn’t about the discounts) 
• Discuss how to work with senior leadership in the firm to deliver A+ client service

Presenters:
Samara Abrams, Director, Legal Operations, Micron Technology
Michelle Murray, Business Development Director, Strategic Projects, Shearman & Sterling LLP
Chris Ochs, Head of Outside Counsel Management Practice, UnitedLex

Domain: Client Services, Business Development

Amid the day-to-day hustle for billable hours and the host of internal administrative obligations that exist within law firms, it can be easy for the client’s voice to get lost or muffled. But when in-house counsel are asked what law firms can do to earn – and more importantly, retain – their business, the same themes always emerge:

• Understand my business;
• Listen to and meet my expectations; and
• Give me practical advice that can help my organization be more successful.

In this session, panelists who have spearheaded client feedback efforts at their own firms will provide real-life insights about how to amplify the voice of the client and ensure that it is given priority in shaping client service and business development strategy.

Our speakers will provide candid observations about how legal marketing professionals can drive change within their firms and, through effective account management, can make a meaningful difference in retaining and growing client relationships.

Learning Outcomes:

• Demonstrate the value of client feedback and key account management programs
• Identify opportunities to highlight and prioritize the voice of the client when pursuing new business and serving existing clients
• Use client intelligence to improve law firm performance – both for individual clients and on a larger, more systemic level

Presenter(s):
Amber Bollman, Director of Client Service Initiatives, Barnes & Thornburg LLP
Lee Watts, Chief Marketing Officer, Smith, Gambrell & Russell LLP
Brandi Michelle Hobbs, Chief Strategy Officer, Bell, Davis & Pitt, P.A.
Jeffery J. Berardi, Founder and Principal, Berardi Consulting LLC

Domain: Business Development, Client Services

This interactive panel spotlights organized and organic partnerships between in-house and outside counsel who are tackling DEI together. Participants from Diversity Lab's Focused Five Program - a program that pairs in-house counsel sponsors with outside counsel partners to advance DEI efforts - will share their interests in the program and results achieved through relationship building efforts throughout the program and beyond. Participants will also hear from a diverse partner who has developed a solid relationship through intentional yet organic means that has resulted in great work for his client and advancement for him.

Learning Objectives: 

• Learn about organized and organic efforts that bring inhouse and outside counsel together to advance DEI efforts
• Hear best practices in joint DEI efforts that produces results for inhouse and outside counsel
• Come away with new ideas for relationship building and creating stronger partnerships with inhouse counsel to bolster DEI efforts

Speakers:
Holly Barocio, Managing Director, GrowthPlay
Leila Hock, Chief Growth Officer, Diversity Lab
Kendal Tyre, Partner, Nixon Peabody LLP
John Richardson, Managing Counsel, US Business Counsel and Franchising Team, McDonald’s Corporation
Kevin Slaughter, Partner, Levenfeld Pearlstein

Price: 
Member Price: $59
Prospective Member Price: $79

Domain: Business Development, Business of Law

Strategic account management, also known as key account management (KAM), is a discipline that focuses on building strong and mutually beneficial relationships with a firm's most important clients. Those relationships are important because, in many firms, 20 percent of clients account for 80 percent of revenue. The loss of just one major client relationship could be damaging to a firm's reputation and bottom line. According to McKinsey, well executed KAM programs with diverse, multidisciplinary client teams can increase revenue from large client relationships by 5-10%, while maintaining profit margins. However, Accenture points out that not all key customers are profitable noting that more than half of the companies it surveyed in a 2011 Insight study recognized that they needed improvement in selecting key accounts. 

The primary objective for key account managers is to maximize profitability from each major account by entrenching their firm as the "go-to" business advisors. To achieve this, they develop and implement a strategic plan that sets out business objectives and identifies the services that addresses client needs and will generate sales. Managers also use their knowledge of each major account to identify opportunities to further service client demand, and open additional revenue streams. 

Building the highest levels of customer satisfaction is also an important objective for key account managers. They must ensure customers are satisfied with every aspect of the service they receive. Key account managers aim to build strong relationships with a broad array of client contacts who make or influence purchasing decisions with the objective to build strategic relationships that make it difficult for competitors to break into the account.

Learning Objectives:

• Identify what are key accounts and what constitutes as one
• Discuss how to know whether your firm needs a key account program
• Discuss how to identify key accounts
• Examine the framework and best practices for key account management
• Review the benefits of key account management

Speakers:
Justin Edmondson, Director of Client Relations, Covington & Burling
Erin Lawler, Head of M&BD, Americas, Hogan Lovells US LLP
Cheri Devlin, Sales Director, Business Applications, Microsoft

Price:
Member Price: $59
Prospective Member Price: $79

Domains: Business Development, Business of Law

Law firms have successfully utilized a practice group-centric model for centuries. Why bother with disrupting an approach that's worked so well for so many? A sector focused go-to-market approach transcends practice groups, amplifies the relevance of the services your firm provides, and unlocks broader marketplace exposure and deeper revenue potential. No matter where your firm is on its sector journey, this interactive session will hold valuable insights for you. Topics covered will include: developing a sector go-to-market program, strategies to deploy and institutionalize your industry focus, and KPIs and measuring success.

Learning Objectives: 

• Describe what a sector approach is and what it isn’t.
• Assess their firms’ readiness for a sector go-to-market approach and/or a refresh of their existing sector approach. 
• Develop/refine a sector go-to-market framework focused on revenue growth. 
• Identify key elements for success of a sector program. 
• Evaluate marketing opportunities that support their sector strategy. 
• Define reporting standards to measure program success.

Speakers: 
Erin Normile-Elzinga, Director, Sectors & Clients, Foley & Lardner LLP
Sierra Nicholson, Director, Industry Sectors and Markets, Eversheds Sutherland
Mary Mallery, National Banking & Capital Markets Marketing Lead, KPMG
Scot Anderson, Partner, Hogan Lovells

 Price: 
Member Price: $59
Prospective Member Price: $79

Sponsored by: Client Value SIG
Domain: Client Services
BoK Competency: External Client Communications and Feedback

Join the Client Value SIG as we explore the benefits of soliciting client feedback to understand client needs to deepen client loyalty and satisfaction. We will discuss best practices and strategies for gaining buy-in from attorneys and senior leadership to implement a client feedback program using a range of methods, from low-touch electronic surveys to high-touch individual interviews. The session will also provide practical tips on how turn feedback into action.

Learning Outcomes:

• Discuss strategies to gain buy-in from key internal stakeholders to implement a client feedback program.
• Identify ideal clients for feedback and methods for outreach.
• Share best practices for piloting a client listening program

Presenters:
Patricia Ellard, Director of Client Experience Analytics & Service Design, Troutman Pepper Hamilton Sanders LLP
Caitlin White, Director, Wicker Park Group

Sponsored by: LMA Client Value SIG
Domain: Business Development and Client Services
BoK Competency: External Client Communications and Feedback

Hear directly from in-house counsel about what effective collaboration looks like, how outside counsel can add value, and what is most meaningful in establishing successful long-term relationships with clients.

Opportunity to Invite Your Attorneys:

This is an opportunity for you and your attorneys to learn from a great panel of experts. Encourage your attorneys to register for this webinar to equip them with the tools that will aid them in building trusted relationships with clients and give your firm a competitive edge.

Learning Outcomes:

• Understand how to drive or influence strategic partnerships through collaborative planning
• Identify actionable methods to capture the essence of investing more in the relationship with clients
• Discuss what work-life after the pandemic looks like for clients and how the definition of value may change
• Understand how buyers of legal services view talent management and managing to succession planning

Presenters:

Robyn Diaz, Senior Vice President and Chief Legal Officer, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital
Fred Headon, Assistant General Counsel – Labour & Employment Law, Air Canada
Mark Young, Counsel, Vox Actio LLC (Moderator)

Sponsored by: Diversity, Equity and Inclusion & Client Value SIGs
Domains: Business Development & Client Services
BoK Competencies: Responding to Written Request for Proposals (RFPs) & External Client Communications and Feedback

Law firms are responding to ever more diversity data requests from clients. What do clients want and need from these requests? How can law firms show up well, even when they wish their data was better? How can legal marketers add value to their firms and help navigate the process in good graces, both inside the firm and in representing the firm to its clients? 

The LMA Client Value SIG and Diversity, Equity & Inclusion SIG invite you to join as this dynamic panel explores these and other questions. Attendees will glean concrete takeaways that law firm marketers and DEI professionals can apply within their organizations. 

Learning Outcomes:

• Hear from the client directly on what aspects of DEI are important to organizations (in a way that marketers can translate easily back to firm leadership)
• Better understand how clients are tracking and evaluating law firm diversity today, and what they predict for tracking and reporting in the future, especially over the next 2-5 years.
• Learn how companies articulate their values to clients/employees, so marketers can provide answers that align with client needs and also better educate within their firms.
• Understand how different clients define diversity, which is not the same from one client to the next. 

Presenters:
Rita Treadwell, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Manager, Greenberg Traurig
Tasneem Khokha, Managing Director, GrowthPlay
Sonali Oberg, Business Development & Marketing Manager, Sidley Austin

For business development professionals interested in client services, the jump across teams may not be as far as you think. Sharing insight from her own professional journey, author Mary Light lays out five practical ways to begin your own client services-oriented journey.