PM Forum North America, New York Chapter: The New and Improved Version!

Back in 2004, I wrote an article announcing that the PM Forum was arriving here in the U.S. and that the New York Chapter was being launched. That was then and this is now. The new and improved version is having its inaugural soiree in New York City on May 4^th from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. at the Club Metropolitan. For further information go to, www.pmforumusa.com/pmfusa/q4smartsite.dll/main. The New York Regional Director is my dear friend and colleague, Guy Alvarez, Founder of the Business Development Institute. The New York Advisory Group in formation is as follows:

• Molly C. Brannon, Director of Mar-keting, GVA Williams
• Nicholas F. Durante, Economic & Valuation Services, KPMG
• Zoe Ehrlich, East Coast Director of Marketing, Recruiting and Operations, Quinn Emanuel Urquhart Oliver & Hedges, LLP
• Maria P. Gray, Client Relations Manager, Fulbright & Jaworski LLP
• Jessica L. Levin, Manager of Communications and Member Services, Moore Stephens North America, Inc.
• Justin Model, Marketing Manager, Accenture
• Cindy Seidowitz, Vice President, Advertising and Event Marketing, Studley
• Beth T. Wiener, Client Service Manager, Kirkland & Ellis LLP

PM Forum Member Organizations for the New York Chapter include:

• Aon Consulting
• Baker & McKenzie
• Bingham McCutchen LLP
• Cooley Godward LLP
• Cushman & Wakefield
• Deloitte
• DLA Piper Rudnick
• Ernst & Young LLP
• Goodwin Procter LLP
• Grant Thornton
• Jones Day
• Jones Lang LaSalle
• KPMG
• Kroll
• Latham & Watkins LLP
• Morrison & Foerster
• PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
• Reed Smith LLP
• Ropes & Gray LLP

Here is an excepted version of my original article.

Professional organizations and trade associations are great if they achieve the needs of their members. The American Medical Association does this for physicians and the American Bar Association (ABA) does this for lawyers. When I joined the ranks of being a marketing executive in the legal profession, I found my particular needs being met by being an associate member of the ABA Law Practice Management Section and as the marketing industry liaison to the ABA Commission on Women in the Profession. My particular brand of need was to hear from the experts in law, and as far as I was concerned, those are the lawyers ' both from their perspective as those who provide services and as those who are close to the purchasers of their services. I learned a great deal about how lawyers think and what they think about marketing, public relations and business development.

As time went on and I was asked to take a more pronounced role in the Law Practice Management Section, I gravitated to the Women Rainmakers group where I had the opportunity to speak and write on subjects impacting women lawyers and their view of marketing, which as we all know is specialized and different. From that association, I was recruited by the Commission on Women in the Profession to help this group get the word out on the wonderful work that they do. I think that in order for an organization to be successful, it is incumbent on that organization to meet the needs of its membership and also for the membership to feel that they have a 'forum' to discuss ideas and be heard. An organization also has to provide information that is useful to its membership as it impacts a profession.

By way of Europe and, more specifically, London, a certain brand of 'forum' ' the PM Forum ' has arrived in North America. The PM Forum, the world's largest marketing association serving the professional services industry, has launched the PM Forum North America, bringing together professionals from the world of law, accounting, consulting and real estate.

PM Forum North America will provide professional marketers with educational meetings, networking events, a Web site, listservs and other ancillary benefits. The PM Forum is a dues paying, members association which has grown from a handful of marketers meeting in London into a group of over 3000 members (based mostly in Europe) in only 7 years. The organization's mission is to raise the standards of marketing in the professional services sector and to enhance the internal credibility of marketers through:

• Peer-group networking. Discussing common issues with one's peer group in non-competing firms is highly valued by members at all levels.
• Skill building. The PM Forum provides a range of events and training courses suitable for marketers at all levels and for fee earners with a marketing responsibility.
• Knowledge sharing. Good ideas and best practice are shared in the daily news intelligence bulletins, and across an international network of hundreds of PM Forum members.
• Profile raising. The PM Forum thought leadership panel of some 150 of the leading marketers in the world researches critical issues, drives forward the PM Forum's agenda, and ensures that the views of marketers are heard in the public domain.

Some of the demographics of the PM Forum include:

• Membership breakdown worldwide ' 40% law; 30% accounting; 20% other industries; 10% marketing consultants.
• 90% top 100 law firms; all top 20 accounting firms in the U.K.

The target demographic for North American members will be the top marketers at AmLaw 100 law firms, Big 4 and major regional accounting firms, and top 25 consulting firms. To date, 175 marketers have become members, and that is just in the first month of the North America's Forum's existence.

The PM Forum North America Web site is www.pmfourmna.org.

Now the question will certainly be asked how this organization will be different than what is already out there. Well, for one thing ' and it's an important one thing: The organization is interdisciplinary. It brings together marketers from different industries who will be in a position to share their experiences and impart wisdom that may not otherwise be available to those in an organization that represents only one profession or industry. I believe that the PM Forum North America is an organization whose time has come. Clearly in the past the meetings and programs that have been presented by organizations affiliated with the legal industry, while interesting, have not brought to the table as many other industry professionals with their views and expertise as I believe the legal marketing profession needs to hear about. We've learned a lot from our peers. As I stated previously, I learned from lawyers and some clients how to best market our profession. Now I would like to hear from other industries, and indeed have more of a perspective from the client side. Marketing lawyers is different, but it is not so different that the view from other industries might not be where we should be headed. I believe that in putting together a marketing program, whether it be for a law firm or another professional service entity, there is always a better way of doing it, and just maybe in listening to those involved with the PM Forum, we may actually provide the consumers of legal services with value added marketing initiatives.

Back in 2004, I wrote an article announcing that the PM Forum was arriving here in the U.S. and that the New York Chapter was being launched. That was then and this is now. The new and improved version is having its inaugural soiree in New York City on May 4^th from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. at the Club Metropolitan. For further information go to, www.pmforumusa.com/pmfusa/q4smartsite.dll/main. The New York Regional Director is my dear friend and colleague, Guy Alvarez, Founder of the Business Development Institute. The New York Advisory Group in formation is as follows:

• Molly C. Brannon, Director of Mar-keting, GVA Williams
• Nicholas F. Durante, Economic & Valuation Services, KPMG
• Zoe Ehrlich, East Coast Director of Marketing, Recruiting and Operations, Quinn Emanuel Urquhart Oliver & Hedges, LLP
• Maria P. Gray, Client Relations Manager, Fulbright & Jaworski LLP
• Jessica L. Levin, Manager of Communications and Member Services, Moore Stephens North America, Inc.
• Justin Model, Marketing Manager, Accenture
• Cindy Seidowitz, Vice President, Advertising and Event Marketing, Studley
• Beth T. Wiener, Client Service Manager, Kirkland & Ellis LLP

PM Forum Member Organizations for the New York Chapter include:

• Aon Consulting
• Baker & McKenzie
• Bingham McCutchen LLP
• Cooley Godward LLP
• Cushman & Wakefield
• Deloitte
• DLA Piper Rudnick
• Ernst & Young LLP
• Goodwin Procter LLP
• Grant Thornton
• Jones Day
• Jones Lang LaSalle
• KPMG
• Kroll
• Latham & Watkins LLP
• Morrison & Foerster
• PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
• Reed Smith LLP
• Ropes & Gray LLP

Here is an excepted version of my original article.

Professional organizations and trade associations are great if they achieve the needs of their members. The American Medical Association does this for physicians and the American Bar Association (ABA) does this for lawyers. When I joined the ranks of being a marketing executive in the legal profession, I found my particular needs being met by being an associate member of the ABA Law Practice Management Section and as the marketing industry liaison to the ABA Commission on Women in the Profession. My particular brand of need was to hear from the experts in law, and as far as I was concerned, those are the lawyers ' both from their perspective as those who provide services and as those who are close to the purchasers of their services. I learned a great deal about how lawyers think and what they think about marketing, public relations and business development.

As time went on and I was asked to take a more pronounced role in the Law Practice Management Section, I gravitated to the Women Rainmakers group where I had the opportunity to speak and write on subjects impacting women lawyers and their view of marketing, which as we all know is specialized and different. From that association, I was recruited by the Commission on Women in the Profession to help this group get the word out on the wonderful work that they do. I think that in order for an organization to be successful, it is incumbent on that organization to meet the needs of its membership and also for the membership to feel that they have a 'forum' to discuss ideas and be heard. An organization also has to provide information that is useful to its membership as it impacts a profession.

By way of Europe and, more specifically, London, a certain brand of 'forum' ' the PM Forum ' has arrived in North America. The PM Forum, the world's largest marketing association serving the professional services industry, has launched the PM Forum North America, bringing together professionals from the world of law, accounting, consulting and real estate.

PM Forum North America will provide professional marketers with educational meetings, networking events, a Web site, listservs and other ancillary benefits. The PM Forum is a dues paying, members association which has grown from a handful of marketers meeting in London into a group of over 3000 members (based mostly in Europe) in only 7 years. The organization's mission is to raise the standards of marketing in the professional services sector and to enhance the internal credibility of marketers through:

• Peer-group networking. Discussing common issues with one's peer group in non-competing firms is highly valued by members at all levels.
• Skill building. The PM Forum provides a range of events and training courses suitable for marketers at all levels and for fee earners with a marketing responsibility.
• Knowledge sharing. Good ideas and best practice are shared in the daily news intelligence bulletins, and across an international network of hundreds of PM Forum members.
• Profile raising. The PM Forum thought leadership panel of some 150 of the leading marketers in the world researches critical issues, drives forward the PM Forum's agenda, and ensures that the views of marketers are heard in the public domain.

Some of the demographics of the PM Forum include:

• Membership breakdown worldwide ' 40% law; 30% accounting; 20% other industries; 10% marketing consultants.
• 90% top 100 law firms; all top 20 accounting firms in the U.K.

The target demographic for North American members will be the top marketers at AmLaw 100 law firms, Big 4 and major regional accounting firms, and top 25 consulting firms. To date, 175 marketers have become members, and that is just in the first month of the North America's Forum's existence.

The PM Forum North America Web site is www.pmfourmna.org.

Now the question will certainly be asked how this organization will be different than what is already out there. Well, for one thing ' and it's an important one thing: The organization is interdisciplinary. It brings together marketers from different industries who will be in a position to share their experiences and impart wisdom that may not otherwise be available to those in an organization that represents only one profession or industry. I believe that the PM Forum North America is an organization whose time has come. Clearly in the past the meetings and programs that have been presented by organizations affiliated with the legal industry, while interesting, have not brought to the table as many other industry professionals with their views and expertise as I believe the legal marketing profession needs to hear about. We've learned a lot from our peers. As I stated previously, I learned from lawyers and some clients how to best market our profession. Now I would like to hear from other industries, and indeed have more of a perspective from the client side. Marketing lawyers is different, but it is not so different that the view from other industries might not be where we should be headed. I believe that in putting together a marketing program, whether it be for a law firm or another professional service entity, there is always a better way of doing it, and just maybe in listening to those involved with the PM Forum, we may actually provide the consumers of legal services with value added marketing initiatives.