Members find Pathways to success at the LMA Annual Conference.

• Author: Wojtalewicz, Theresa R.
• Position: Legal Marketing Association - Conference notes

The 24th LMA Annual Conference wrapped up Mar. 12, 2010, in Denver, Colo., after months of strategic planning of educational sessions, concurrent tracks, presenters and an extensive exhibit hall. Several of the conference leaders reveal the steps it took to assemble and prepare for an event of this nature.

RECOVER | REFOCUS | REUNITE

PATHWAYS TO INCREASING PROFITABILITY

The theme of the conference was Recover, Refocus and Reunite: Pathways to Increasing Profitability. David Freeman, of David Freeman Consulting, served as a co-chair on the Annual Conference Planning Committee. Freeman explains that the committee had a lot of discussions trying to anticipate what members would value most around the time of the conference.

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According to Freeman, "The end game, increasing profitability, clearly was the overarching goal, and the three "Re" words captured the paths we believed would get us there." The committee kept these topics in mind when planning out the different educational tracks.

Prior to the conference, ACI conducted thorough research among LMA members to learn what the market demanded from them. Thus, the Refocus theme was born. Likewise, Freeman says, "The Reunite theme was a guiding force in our overall strategy of attracting a larger audience. Early in the planning, we decided we wanted to reengage senior members and others who hadn't participated much in years past."

To keep in line with the theme of the conference, the committee selected presenters based on a predetermined set of topics. Concurrently, they received tremendous collaborative support from LFMP for topics relating to public relations and LSSO for topics on sales and service.

What the Attendees Said

From the feedback that the conference committee received from attendees the experience overall was overwhelmingly positive. Freeman offers the following example: "The pre-conference sessions were well-attended and got excellent reviews, and the senior programs offered a lot of value and provided many opportunities for peer-to-peer discussions that are hard to get anywhere else."

Another member of the Annual Conference Planning Committee, Koree Khongphand-Buckman, marketing manager at Hogan & Hartson LLP, states, "This year's conference was a huge success and that is not only my opinion. I heard from many people during and after the conference that they felt it was very well done and they really enjoyed it."

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Khongphand-Buckman...