Media & Communications: Grab the Wheel and Drive Yourself!: How Law Firm Marketers Can Grow Professionally … and Some Sage Advice

Here's a sampling of their responses.

Best piece of career advice someone gave you:

• "Don't be afraid to spend your own money to invest in your career … in this context it was a very small (like less than $10) gift to a secretary that became an invaluable resource simply because I gifted her a thank you. Not everything is or should be expensed." — Dave Bruns, Director of Client Services, Farella Braun + Martel
• "Listen more than you talk. A piece of advice that Warren Christopher once gave me. I try to apply this professionally and personally." — Elsa Weiss, Director of Marketing and Business Development, Hueston Hennigan LLP
• "We didn't hire you to just stand there and say 'yes.'" — Joshua Peck, Director of Communications, Seeger Weiss, LLP, and Founder of Law Firm Media Professionals (www.lfmp.org)
• "If you want to be a journalist, don't go to journalism school. Go to law or business school. (I wanted a second advanced degree as I already had a masters in literature.)" — Joe Calve, Chief Marketing Officer, McGuire Woods LLP
• "Sacrifice the small battles in order to win the war. Don't bash predecessor or their work. Play with those who want to play." — Kathleen Flynn, Senior Advisor, The Ackert Advisory
• "It wasn't originally career advice, but I was a music student in college, and I was required to take conducting. As a conductor, you're responsible for an entire orchestra or choir, but you can't actually make a sound. You are completely dependent on motivating, inspiring, guiding and supporting others to make music. I believe the same thing at work. I am here to make my team better because in the end, you are only as good as your team, so it's important to focus on what makes them perform at their best." — Leah Schloss, Associate Director, NA Communications, Baker & McKenzie LLP

Your favorite proverb, maxim, etc.:

• "You catch more flies with honey than with vinegar." Very helpful when trying to get lawyers to do marketing activities that they are reluctant to participate in. — Kathleen Flynn, Senior Advisor, The Ackert Advisory
• "Match and mirror and don't be afraid to give." — Dave Bruns
• "You can never sometimes tell what you least expect the most." Harris B. Peck, M.D., a noted psychiatrist, professor, and father. — Joshua Peck
• "Ah, but a man's reach should exceed his grasp, or what's a heaven for?" Robert Browning's theory of the imperfect – the antidote to my least favorite maxim, which many lawyers have said to me: "The perfect is the enemy of the good." — Joe Calve
• "Practice makes perfect. I believe strongly that you can get better at anything – even the thing you most fear — if you work on it and practice." — Leah Schloss, Associate Director, NA Communications, Baker & McKenzie LLP

Something that happened to you career-wise that seemed awful at the time — but ended up having a positive effect:

• "When McCutchen Doyle Brown & Enersen merged with the Bingham law firm in 2002, the folks at the latter law firm were clearly in charge. Since I had been the head of marketing at McCutchen, this change was not what I had in mind professionally. But two good things emerged: I experienced first-hand what it was like to go through a law firm merger, and secondly, the merger bonded the admin team at McCutchen for life! Shortly after that, the opportunity to be CMO at Sheppard Mullin arose, and I leapt at it. I've been here for the last 15+ years and couldn't be happier professionally and personally. Bingham/McCutchen ultimately dissolved." — Vickie Spang, Chief Marketing Officer, Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP
• "The day I joined MoFo as their new CMO, they launched an ill-advised new website that partners rebelled against in spectacular fashion. (I thought they would lynch the chair who hired me.) I almost left the firm that night, but rode out the storm and learned a great deal about the firm, it's culture, and how to defuse a crisis and turn it to your advantage." — Joe Calve

Best/most useful professional development event/program you ever attended — and why:

• "Law Firm Media Professionals holiday party, every year — building knowledge, relationships, and my network in a mere, fun three to four hours of conversation." — Joshua Peck
• "David Maister presentations on professional services firm's marketing. He has such a practical, common sense approach to BD and really understood the professional services model, with all of its positives and challenges. Really learned a lot from his program based on his book "Trusted Adviser" which I still quote to lawyers today!" — Kathleen Flynn
• "The Zeughauser Group CMO roundtable with Bruce McLean, who was stepping down after many years as chair of Akin Gump and provided a candid and insightful view of the BigLaw world that continues to resonate with me." — Joe Calve
• "Early career involvement in LMA Bay Area programs, because it was both learning and networking and as a newbie in the industry, I needed people and resources to share experiences with and collaborate with." — Dave Bruns
• "In 2015, I attended Inbound, the annual conference hosted by HubSpot. It literally blew my mind. The firm I worked for had just started using HubSpot, and not only did I learn a great deal about how to optimize our use of the software for BD and marketing, I also was inspired by speakers like Brené Brown, Amy Schumer, Seth Godin and Jonah Peretti. I've been in the legal industry for more than 20 years, and it took until 2015 for me to realize that marketing conferences outside of legal can be relevant and inspiring. I encourage everyone to get out of their comfort zones and attend a conference outside of legal." — Leah Schloss

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