Little city, big event: LMA's 2012 Annual Conference coming to Grapevine, Texas.

• Author: Schlosser, Alexa
• Position: Conference news

A little city called Grapevine, Texas--situated between Dallas and Fort Worth--won't know what hit it come March 14. The 2012 Legal Marketing Association Annual Conference is occupying the grand Gaylord Texan Hotel and Conference Center March 14-16, bringing with it fascinating speakers and scores of riveting sessions for the legal marketer and business developer. This year's conference will emphasize leadership and effecting change, and the conference committee has worked hard to develop a relevant and interesting program.

The field of legal marketing is constantly growing and evolving This is great, but it can prove challenging for legal marketers to help their firms stay connected to clients in a useful way. This year's program includes three unique features that make it especially worthwhile: case studies, targeted programming and targeted pre-conference programs. The case studies, which will be included in every session, will offer directly useful real-world examples. The programs are all focused on topics members have cited as most important and are delivered in various formats to make them as engaging as possible Lastly, there are two pre-conference programs for first-chair marketers--one for those at NLJ250 firms, the other for those with solo or small departments. The conference will also include a QuickStart session due to its success in previous years.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

The pre-conference sessions will kick off at 8:15 a.m. and run up until the First Timer's Reception at 5 p.m. for those who have not attended the conference before. Other than the much-lauded QuickStart session, the other pre-conference offerings include "A Recipe for ... SMORS--Smart Marketing On limited Resources and the CMO Summit." The conference officially kicks off at 5:30 p.m. with the Welcome Reception in the Exhibit Hall. This is where you will say hello to your fellow industry colleagues, build your network of LMA contacts and get your first look at the technology, services and products on display from our 2012 sponsors and exhibitors.

Bright and early on conference day one, you won't want to miss LMA President Alycia Sutor and Executive Director Betsi Roach as they look back on recent accomplishments and look ahead to 2012 goals and activities. The keynote speaker following the opening remarks is the entertaining James Kane, who will take the audience on a journey into the human brain and explain the secret to building and...