Client-Centric Business Development Luncheon

We should know by now that it’s not about your attorneys or your firm; it’s about your clients! As clients have increased their demands and expectations of law firms, the one-size-fits-all client experience has become obsolete. Clients have become catalysts for greater changes in the legal industry and to stay competitive, it’s imperative that firms have a strategic, tailored approach to client engagement and service.

Three Chicago-based legal marketing leaders and a well-known consultant and former CMO will candidly share their experiences implementing “client-centric” business development initiatives. Our panelists will share their perspectives on the following topics and how they relate to their current client experience management (CEM) strategies:

• Where Marketing & Business Development Meet – Developing Marketing Strategies that Support Business Development
• Teams and Resources – Aligning both to support CEM Strategies
• Revenue Generation – Evaluating Opportunities and Developing Pursuit Strategies
• Cross-Selling – Overcoming Barriers and Fostering Success
• Business Intelligence + Client Feedback – Using Information to Drive Action

In a nutshell, “client experience management” describes the process by which firms attract and retain a greater number of clients by validating business strategy and improving the value brought to individual clients and prospective clients through services rendered, relationships and targeted and optimized engagement.

Attendees will get a great “view from the top” and leave with fresh ideas and concrete suggestions on executing business development tactics and CEM strategies that work.

ABOUT OUR PRESENTERS:

John C. Albrighton, Marketing and Business Development Director for Neal, Gerber & Eisenberg LLP, is a marketing and business development leader with 20 years broad-based management experience in a wide range of business settings. During his professional career, he has worked in management consulting, commercial and investment banking and professional services. John previously held marketing and business development roles in two AmLaw 100 firms. He is a former military officer and Kellogg School of Management graduate skilled in integrated marketing and communications, relationship building and business development planning.

Jim Durham, Managing Director at GrowthPlay (formerly Akina), is a veteran attorney who has worked with hundreds of professional service firms as a consultant and trainer, developing sales, marketing and management strategies designed to change the way lawyers and clients work together. Jim has been a consultant to several in-house legal departments and served as the Chief Marketing and Business Development Officer for three AmLaw100 firms. He was also General Counsel and VP of Marketing for Senior Tour Players, Inc. He is co-editor and contributing author of the American Bar Association’s book: The Lawyer’s Guide to Marketing Your Practice. In 2010, Jim was inducted into the Legal Marketing Association Hall of Fame.

Jill Himelfarb, Chief Marketing Officer for Schiff Hardin LLP, is an experienced legal marketing and business development professional who has worked in the field for more than 15 years. She has held department leadership positions at three AmLaw 200 firms, working from Washington, D.C., San Francisco, Chicago and Ohio. Her experience includes law firm business development and marketing, business planning, law firm acquisition and integration, lateral integration, practice group strategy, client development and client teams, client intelligence, cross selling, RFP, pitch and presentation development, attorney coaching, media relations and law firm marketing technologies.

John R. Neidecker, Chief Marketing and Business Development Officer for Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP, has over two decades of experience in professional services, including top marketing and business development positions at one “Big Four” accounting and three AmLaw 100 firms. He is a results-oriented leader with a proven track record of developing high-performing business development teams. His particular expertise lies in advancing cross-selling and revenue generation initiatives, client feedback programs, attorney business development training, competitive intelligence, market visibility programs, and talent development. John is savvy to the challenges inherent in law firm culture and skilled at working within that culture to drive marketing budgets and attorney time toward those activities most likely to generate revenue and bottom-line results.

Stacy Rowe, Director of Client Success for Manzama, brings nearly 20 years of legal marketing and business development experience to her role at Manzama. Having worked both within a law firm and a global law firm affiliate, Stacy is uniquely positioned to act as a strategic partner to clients in order to effectively implement, leverage and gain strong value from the Manzama platform. She developed and leads Manzama’s global Client Advisory Board and Global PowerUser Committee to help the company gather and analyze client insights to foster further innovation. Stacy’s areas of expertise include business development, competitive intelligence, content marketing, proposals, marketing planning and communications, strategic planning, branding and lawyer coaching.