Coverage From #LMA19, The 2019 Legal Marketing Association Annual Conference

#LMA19 Annual Conference Blog Posts Curated by Nancy Myrland

I WILL BE ADDING NEW CONTENT TO THIS POST SO CHECK BACK OFTEN! JUST LOOK FOR THE GREEN HEADLINES BELOW NEXT TIME YOU VISIT.

Looking for new posts summarizing the #LMA19 conference? Head down to the green headings below for new content added regularly. Don’t forget to let me know if I’ve missed anything, okay? Thanks!

It’s time!

If you know me, and even if you don’t, about this time of year, I begin to get very excited. Not only do I get to see around 5,000 social and digital media friends at Social Media Marketing World in San Diego in March, but I also get to attend the largest professional family reunion of over 1500 smart marketers in April in Atlanta at the Legal Marketing Association annual conference, affectionately known by its hashtag, #LMA19.

Why Do We Attend?

I get excited because this is THE conference for all of us who care passionately about helping lawyers, legal marketers, and law firms grow and do what they do better.

Stay Tuned As I Will Be Curating Conference Content Right Here

As I have done for the past few years, in the coming weeks, I will be curating content from the conference within this blog post to provide a quick, easy place to find all of the information you might like to consume. I will link to content that is in writing, as well as audio and video. I will do this before, during, and after the conference.

Bookmark this blog post as I will continue to add content as I find it, or as you let me know you’ve found it, too!

The Content Has Begun!

I’ve already begun my video coverage of the conference by sitting down with conference co-chair Andy Laver to talk about this year’s conference.

We discussed a lot in a short amount of time, but some of the highlights included:

- The conference planning process
- How and why speakers were chosen this year
- The growth in diversity and inclusion in both presenters and sessions
- Why 75% of the speakers are new this year
- …and why everyone should #StayUntilTheEnd

In a recent interview, Andy and Cynthia Voth, who is our current LMA President, made it clear that this year’s conference promises to match theoretical discussion with real-world examples that attendees can act on right when they return to their offices, if not before.

A Few Conference Details

Here are a few details about the conference:

There will be more than 1500 attendees.
They will be from almost all 50 states.
All 8 LMA governing regions will be represented.
There are 150+ Speakers with 20% identifying themselves as diverse.
75% of our speakers this year have never presented at an annual conference.

Notable Sessions

I’m quite happy that one of our keynotes is Jennifer Dulsky, head of Groups & Community at Facebook. As I told her when I said hello to her via LinkedIn private message, when I saw we had invited someone from social media to keynote our conference, I was quite pleased. (Not sure if you know this, but I spend a bit of time in the strategy and integration of social and digital media into existing marketing practices for law firms.)
One other very interesting general session you might want to attend or follow on social media is about the controversial topic of reform of ABA Model Rule 5.4 having to do with non-lawyer ownership of law firms. This grows out of activity and discussion we see going on right now in California.
Diversity & Inclusion will have a large presence, mirroring the passion and effort to raise awareness and improve practices throughout all LMA member firms, including the creation of the Diversity & Inclusion SIG (Shared Interest Group).
Voice of Client will have an important presence. A member of CLOC, the Corporate Legal Operations Consortium, sits on the conference committee to make sure we are addressing the voice and needs of the client at our conference.

Get An Early Start With One of Seven Pre-Conference Programs

There are 7 pre-conference programs you might want to consider. I’m sure you can still register, and I feel fairly certain they will all provide high-quality insight and discussion that you will find useful in your career.

(I am thankful as I get to present at QuickStart with my dear long-time friend, Gail Lamarche, Director of Marketing at Henderson Franklin in Southwest Florida.)

You Really Should #StayUntilTheEnd

In case you haven’t noticed this, conference co-chair Andy Laver is responsible for the hashtag #StayUntilTheEnd. Because we have great speakers and the ever-popular wrap-up session at the end of the day Wednesday, he casually created this as his way of encouraging all attendees to book flights after the conference wraps up at 4:30 PM. Among others, I’m seeing sessions on LinkedIn Navigator (no, I’m not presenting) and a Million Dollar Bootcamp (don’t worry, no exercise is involved) at the end of the day, so those are worth it, right?!

As if the wrap-up session wasn’t worth the price of attendance, there will also be drawings for prizes.

(I’m hoping for a new car, but who knows? Maybe I’ll throw in an Amazon Dot so y’all can subscribe to my Alexa Flash Briefing! It is all about me, right?!)

Seriously, you should listen to Andy as it’s always worth it to stick around. I’m arriving Saturday and staying until Thursday so I can soak up every bit of goodness and friendship I can before and after. You should too!

Networking

For those of you who would like a little focus and an easy process to follow to ramp up your networking before, during, and after the conference, this year I’ve prepared a worksheet for you titled: “#LMA19 Annual Conference Networking Action Plan.”

Feel free to download it and give it a try as it will make a big difference in the success of your conference experience. Effective networking at this conference also establishes friendships that will support and carry you through your entire legal marketing career. I speak from experience on this one.

Let me know what you think of it and if you would like me to make any changes to make it more valuable for you, okay?

Conference and Association Leadership

A conference like this is no small endeavor.

The muscle behind this conference is the Legal Marketing Association, or LMA, and our international board of directors.

This conference could not happen without our amazing 2019 Annual Conference Advisory Committee:

Conference Co-Chairs:

Andrew Laver

Erin Meszaros

Andrew Laver, Business Development Manager, Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney PC
Erin Meszaros, Chief Business Development and Client Service Office, Eversheds Sutherland (US) LLP

The 2019 Annual Conference Committee Members:

Gia N. Altreche

Jeffrey J. Berardi

Deborah Farone

Kristi Gedid

Diana Lauritson

Daniel Lepine

Richard Marsolais

Lisa Simon

Kate White

Cynthia Voth

Gia N. Altreche, Director of Business Development and Marketing, Newmeyer & Dillion LLP
Jeffrey J. Berardi, Chief Marketing Officer, K&L Gates LLP
Deborah Farone, Strategic Advisor, ‎Farone Advisors LLC
Kristi Gedid, Director, Global Legal Contract Management, Mylan Inc.
Diana Lauritson, Senior Manager, Business Development, Foley & Lardner LLP
Daniel Lépine, Chief Client Officer – Vice-President Operations – Montréal Alexa Translations
Richard A. Marsolais, Legal Marketing and Business Development Professional
Lisa Simon, Chief Marketing and Business Development Officer, Lewis Roca Rothgerber Christie LLP
Kate White, Co-Founder, Design Build Legal
Cynthia P. Voth, Director of Client Engagement & Innovation, Miller Nash Graham & Dunn LLP & President of LMA

Thanks to all of you for your hard work!

Follow This List and Follow Each Other On My #LMA19 Twitter List

Every year, I create a Twitter List of all of those who are attending the annual conference. I do that so we can follow each other as we have a lot in common!

If you would like to be added, check out the list to see if you are already there, #LMA19 by Nancy Myrland, and let me know if I need to add you. Just let me know on Twitter right here at @NancyMyrland.

If you would like to follow all #LMA19 Tweets in one place, you can do that here. If you don’t use a Twitter management tool like TweetDeck, Hootsuite, or another, I recommend leaving the #LMA19 hashtag search page I just linked to open in your browser so you can watch the conversation before, during, and after the conference.

Bookmark This Post and Let Me Know When You See Content

Again, you might want to bookmark this post as this is where I will be curating all of the content I and others will be creating about the conference. I will also add an important links section in green below so you don’t have to search for them elsewhere.

As in past years, if you see audio, video, or written content for me to add to this post, please ping me wherever it is convenient for you:

Tag or message me on LinkedIn.
Tag or message me on Facebook.
Tag or message me on Twitter.
Email me here with #LMA19 in the subject line: [email protected]
…or anywhere we are connected.

NOTE: In the comments below, let me know if you will be attending and what you are most looking forward to.

Important Links For You

Presenting Your #LMA19 Annual Conference Content!

Law Firms Need More Competitive Intelligence: A Field Report From 2019 LMA Conference by Ron Friedmann [4-24-19]

A Day In The Life … Atlanta’s Media Tells It Like It Is by Michelle McCormick [4-24-19]

My First LMA Conference: Relationships Matter by Carrie Johnson [4-24-19]

Building An Effective Sector Strategy from Acritas [4-24-19]

Diversity and Inclusion from the Client Perspective by Brandice Johnson on the LMA blog [4-23-19]

Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainability—Why Should Law Firms Care by Linda Hazelton on the LMA blog [4-23-29]

Buyer-Behavior by the Numbers—A Cross-Generational Look at Decision Influences and Drivers of Engagement for Legal Buyers by Linda Hazelton on the LMA blog [4-23-19]

Law Firm Branding: A New Model for Differentiation by Vanessa Petrea on the LMA blog [4-23-19]

(D & I) Creative Marketing Makes Sense, But Data is Needed to Keep Them Going by Rodney Warner on the Jaffe blog [4-23-19]

#LMA19 Conference Recap: Key Takeaways and Insights by Jason P. Lisi on the Legalisi blog [4-23-19]

8 Key Law Firm Strategy Takeaways from the #LMA19 National Conference by Rich Bracken on JD Supra [4-23-19]

Heard and Inspired: A Legal Marketing Recap from #LMA2019 in Atlanta by Roy Sexton on JD Supra [4-17-19]

What To Do & Not To Do On Social Media When Receiving Negative Press 5-minute Legal Marketing Minutes Flash Briefing & Podcast Interview of Gina Rubel by Nancy Myrland [4-17-19]

Key Takeaways from #LMA19: Lessons I Learned My First Time as a Service Provider by Jim Jarrell with Jaffe [4-17-19]

4 Key Learnings From The 2019 LMA Annual Conference [Infographic] by Dan Dowling on the Introhive blog [4-17-19]

GC Panel: What Can Legal Learn from Facebook, DHL, Volvo and Home Depot? More Than You Think by Ioana Good and Jill Hughes on The Legal Intelligencer [4-17-19]

Highlights From The 2019 LMA Annual Conference by Best Lawyers on the Best Lawyers Blog [4-17-19]

The LMA Conference Wrap-Up Session: The Conference In A Nutshell Livestream by Nancy Myrland [4-17-19]

Livestream of the HOF Ceremony Livestream by Nancy Myrland [4-17-19]

General Counsel Panelists to Legal Marketers: ‘You Have to Find Ways to Change With Us’ by Kristen Rasmussen on Corporate Counsel [4-17-19]

Keynote: Movements and the Leadership Thread: Facebook Groups Leader Jennifer Dulski on What Makes a Movement by Eilene Spear on National Law Journal [4-17-19]

Tips For Vendors To Maximize A Conference Investment by Tim Corcoran on his blog [4-6-19]

How to Get the Most Out of Your 2019 Legal Marketing Association Annual Conference Experience (and Build Your Professional Brand) by Stefanie Marrone on JD Supra [4-4-19]

Pre-Con Mix Tape by Society 54 on Spotify [3-26-19]

Nancy Myrland & Andy Laver Discuss The Upcoming Conference [Video] by Nancy Myrland on YouTube [2-22-19]

Conference Networking Tips From Our Legal Marketing Friends, A Timeless Post by Nancy Myrland & Friends

#LMA19 Annual Conference Networking Action Plan by Nancy Myrland in The Lawyer’s Marketing Academy [February, 2019]

[Thanks to my good friend, Deb Dobson, Marketing Technology Manager, Fisher & Phillips LLC, for helping me choose just the right photo from her city, Atlanta!)

Nancy Myrland is a Marketing and Business Development Planning Consultant, and a Content, Social & Digital Media Speaker, Trainer & Advisor, helping lawyers and legal marketers grow by integrating all marketing disciplines. She is a frequent LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook for Business trainer, as well as a content marketing specialist. She helps lawyers, law firms, and legal marketers grow their practices by making their marketing and business development efforts more relevant to their current and potential clients. She also helps lead law firms through their online digital strategy when dealing with high-stakes, visible cases. As an early and constant adopter of social and digital media and technology, she also helps firms with blogging, podcasts, video marketing, voice marketing, flash briefings, and livestreaming. If you would like to reserve an hour of Nancy’s time to begin talking strategy or think through an issue you are having, you can do that here. She can also be reached via email here.