The question.

• Author: Hirsch, Stewart
• Position: Ask the Authorities

My firm has heads of marketing (me), hr, finance and several other areas, but there is no coordination, and our CEO (not a lawyer) sees no reason for us to meet regularly. How can I convince him or get around him?

Eric Fletcher

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Think in terms of an initiative or two that you might launch that demonstrates the value to be gained from an integrated group. Here are a couple of thoughts.

1. A process for responding to what many of us are experiencing as an increasing number of RFP/RFI/RFQs might prove a good place to start. Because these requests typically pull information from finance, HR, IT, and marketing as well as a lawyer team, a collaborative process will deliver more cohesive and strategic responses. It will drive deeper integration and an awareness of the benefits that come with a team approach.

2. Consider other places your marketing team interfaces with IT, finance, HR and recruiting. In each of these areas, your team can make a valuable contribution. Internal communication, lateral integration, associate orientation and key client trends are just a few areas in which you and the other department heads in your firm might work together to craft solutions that demonstrate the real value of communicating regularly and working together...and in so doing, precipitate more regularly scheduled team meetings.

Eric Fletcher is chief marketing officer at New Orleans-based McGlinchey Stafford. Prior to entering legal marketing in 1999, he was a marketing consultant in the professional services arena.

Al Thomas

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

As the Executive Director, I believe the interaction and communication between the members of the senior administrative management team to be vital to our collective ability to "get the job done." It would be impossible for any one of us to do our own job effectively without the knowledge of and coordination with the activities of the other administrative areas within the firm.

Of course, we communicate on an informal basis everyday as questions and issues arise. In addition, we have scheduled monthly face-to-face meetings. These sessions are important for a number of reasons; but primarily because dynamism of a team effort cannot be replicated without the personal interaction of these meetings. (In addition, members of our management team are not all in the same office, so formal meetings become even more important.) We focus on an annual project list, shared priorities, and departmental...