WINNING THE CULTURE WAR: From Foot Soldier to General in No Time Fuji.

• Author: Sexton, Roy

Maybe you are new to legal marketing. Maybe you are a seasoned pro moving to a new firm or learning a new market. Maybe you've worked in marketing roles in non-legal industries for years, and you suddenly find yourself on an episode of The Good Wife.

Regardless of how we got there, we all find ourselves at a cultural crossroad upon occasion. How do you read your new environment effectively to ensure your success? How do you walk the fine line between deference and ingenuity, respecting what has come before but righteously challenging that which needs to change?

I've been working in legal marketing for five years now, after a decade in health care--I exchanged doctors for lawyers. There is a steep learning curve in understanding the nuances of language when approaching both groups. Doctors are trained to try stuff (albeit from a supremely educated perspective); attorneys are trained to avoid unnecessary risk on their own behalf and that of their clients. Painting with the broadest brush imaginable, this DNA difference has informed the ways in which I have presented ideas to both groups. In the health care world, sometimes I had to rein in our physicians, grounding flashy but-pricey capital plays and grandiose advertising ideas in the currency they appreciate: data. In the legal space, we may have to push our attorneys forward, carving a path where business development has an air of certainty or at least a deeper context, whereby a handshake seems less frightening, less risky.

When you are new to any culture, the most important first step is to listen--and listen actively. Ask questions, identify the key influencers at all levels of the organization and get to know them, and look at what your firm measures as a proxy for what is valued.

When I joined LMA in 2011, I followed a similar approach to learning our LMA culture in the hopes of thriving here. I suspect I still have a ways to go, but I thought I'd ask those people who helped me so much on my LMA journey how they approach learning a new culture.

"My best advice is to visit every attorney--from the senior partner to junior associate--personally During the meeting, ask great questions and take a keen eye to personal items in their offices. Find how to relate to them and get them to open up as to what is most important to them and the challenges they face. Find out what the firm excels at from their perspective, and what has been the one thing they have wanted to change but haven't been...