A view from the (CMO) Summit.

• Jurisdiction: United States
• Author: Wight, Kelli
• Date: 01 May 2012

Common problems. Strong opinions. Great ideas. That's what you get when you put the top marketers from more than 50 of the world's largest law firms together for the day at the 2012 pre-conference CMO Summit, chaired by Kathleen Flynn.

The program kicked off with Michele Noe asking everyone in the room to (figuratively) walk across a two-by-four stretched between two tables. This prompted an outpouring of questions, objections and qualifications (tough crowd!) that demonstrated just how hard it can be to effect change in a law firm (or any organization) without a clearly articulated vision, a thoughtful plan for implementation and buy-in from the group.

After an exercise where we competed fervently to build the tallest and sturdiest tower out of boxes, Noe emphasized the importance of championing change that sticks by focusing on the foundations of change and the fundamentals of process, structure, culture and people. The morning continued with a discussion about that elephant-in-the-room topic everyone loves to hate: marketing technology. The panelists--Kate Cain, Joe Calve, Mark Greene, Deborah McMurray and Bob Robertson--weren't always in agreement, especially when it came to how much self-service access lawyers should be allowed. Nevertheless, we went away with the clear message that "perfect" can be the enemy of "good." As long as our contact, experience and proposal management systems are fulfilling user expectations and leveraging information effectively to promote collaboration and improve workflow, we're succeeding.

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The panel also covered some of the more recent technological trends in external communication and thought leadership, such as website interactivity, social media and mobility. Even the most advanced firms still have a long way to go...