Leadership, creativity and culture: LMA's Annual Conference teaches skills to excel.

• Author: Moffett, Frances
• Position: Conference news

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LMA wrapped its 25th LMA Annual Conference April 6 at the Disney Yacht & Beach Club Resorts in Orlando. One of the most highly attended LMA conferences to date--nearly 1,100 people were present--this year's event included substantive educational sessions, inspiring presenters, plenty of networking opportunities, first-hand interaction with general counsel, a bustling exhibit hall and a keynote address that attendees are still talking about.

The conference opened with LMA President Jeanne M. Hammerstrom and Executive Director Betsi Roach giving a perspective on the recent accomplishments of the international, chapter and individual member levels, in addition to a forecast of 2011 goals and activities.

Following the opening remarks and annual report was one of the highlights of the conference: the keynote presentation by Jeff Williford from Disney Institute. Williford spoke about Disney's Approach to Business Excellence. He discussed the entertainment brand's business philosophy and its four-part "Chain of Excellence," which describes the connection between leaders, employees and customers that makes a business successful. (See page 4 for more information on Disney Exellence.)

Breakout sessions were provided in tracks to deliver specialized learning opportunities. One panel session, "Effectively Lever aging Social Media as a Business Development and Marketing Tool--Concrete Examples of What's Acceptable, and What's Working," was of particular interest to those from companies utilizing tools like Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.

Twitter was especially popular for attendees during the conference to express their own thoughts and experiences. With the hashtag #LMA or #LMA11, attendees used their 140 characters to pass along their insight and commentary about something interesting they had learned during a session, a direct quote from a speaker or their personal take on a topic. (For more information on the online post-conference resources, see page 21.)

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Another hit at the conference were the Law Firm CMO Roundtable Discussions, which provided the opportunity for senior-level members to participate in working group discussions with industry peers. Participants had the chance to join in on the discussion of one of six hot legal marketing topics, like Managing and Motivating your Staff and A CMOs Role in Practice Management and Pricing Strategies.

Next year's...