The Legal Marketing Association Annual Conference, which took place in Hollywood, Florida from April 24th through April 26th, always gets a ton of buzz. To keep that alive a little bit longer, we sat down with first-time attendee, Jones Walker’s Public Relations and Communications Coordinator Savannah Kirk, for her main takeaways.
Without further ado…
Did you find the PR & Communications pre-conference program helpful? Was there much talk of AI?
As a first-time LMA Conference attendee, I found the PR & Communications pre-conference session, titled “AMP: Aligning Efforts, Maximizing Opportunities and Proving Value,” incredibly helpful and insightful. As someone who has only been in the legal marketing space for a couple of years now, the range of solutions to problems we all deal with provided valuable context on how my role fits into the business of law. I especially liked the interactive and diverse nature of the sessions. While there wasn’t any talk of AI during the pre-conference, one recurring topic was diversity, equity and inclusion. It is essential to weave DEI into communications strategies, both internally and externally. The General Counsel session during the main conference echoed this as well, when GCs expressed the importance of a diverse team with unique perspectives. Every law firm needs to identify their differentiators. What is your firm’s true culture? The answer should guide daily decisions.
What was the overarching theme of the conference?
The overarching theme of the conference was “Amplifying Your Impact.” From a PR perspective, another theme I saw was the value of storytelling, and to take that a step further, the key role data plays in telling that story. In a post-pandemic and increasingly digital world, there is mass amounts of data at our fingertips. The key is to analyze the data and use it to tell a compelling story. Data can be used to enhance attorney buy-in in marketing and earned media efforts, engage with and influence target audiences, and bolster multimedia (podcasts, video, etc.), ultimately improving return-on-investment (ROI).
What are your three biggest takeaways?
My three main takeaways are:
1) The value of integrating DEI into internal and external communications strategies.
2) The importance of storytelling, backed by data, to stand out from competitors in the digital landscape.
3) Strategically use podcasts and videos to engage and influence audiences.
If you’re reading this and have questions or additional takeaways, feel free to comment!
What was your favorite session and why?
I enjoyed the pre-conference session, called “How to Prove ROI With Your Communications Programs.” This session offered sound advice on how to use internal communications to prove marketing and public relations ROI. My favorite part was when Leslie Kart Gross of Saul Ewing, Nathan Koppel of Haynes & Boone, and Jay Linder of PP&C Consulting walked us through successes from their own work. This included everything from internal surveys to newsletters and custom reports.
I also liked “Connecting Dots: Integrating Campaigns for Greater Engagement.” The panelists discussed their experience in working on cross-sectional campaigns that require involvement from multiple practice areas across the firm and marketing department. They uncovered the challenges, like who has ownership of the project and the importance of tracking and measuring the success of these campaigns to inform future decisions.
How was the vendor floor? Were there any star booths? Why did they draw the most attention?
Law firms are often behind the pack when it comes to new technology, so the discussion on AI really came from the vendor floor. The Kaitongo and LexBlog booths demonstrated how they are integrating AI into their platforms. Kaitongo even had a tarot card reader to draw people in – fitting to have fortune-telling combined with the advancement of technology.
What are some networking best practices you took away from the conference?
As a reserved person, this was important for me! One thing I took away from the conference is that everyone truly is there to meet and mingle. I found some of my most valuable conversations and new connections came from sitting by new friendlies at lunch and striking up conversations while getting coffee or on breaks. I also used and saw others using the LinkedIn QR code function to quickly connect on the platform rather than share business cards.
Did any sessions take a creative approach to presenting? Or did they rely on PowerPoint and panel discussions?
One creative element was live polls. There was a QR code embedded in the presentation that audience members could scan and then answer questions. The answers would populate live on the screen in word maps or infographics. They were mostly surface level questions to encourage engagement, but I think this could be used even more in the future to capture data points while key legal marketers across the country are gathered together.
Thank you, Savannah, for the insight!