Elevating Legal Marketing Through Strategy, Coaching, And Technology

The Legal Marketing Association’s 40th Annual Conference (LMA25) was brimming with insights and real talk about where our profession is heading. The big themes? Understanding and aligning with lawyers’ needs, the necessity of tailored coaching and business development (BD) strategies, and the increasing role of qualitative and quantitative data and technology in demonstrating value of investment (VOI). 

LMA25 made it evident that legal marketing is evolving rapidly, requiring a blend of empathy, strategy, peer support, and technological savvy. These themes reflect a profession where marketing leaders are not only positioned to drive results, but also foster collaboration, accountability, and innovation in an ever-evolving legal marketplace.

There was plenty of content to fill your legal marketing toolkit, and I’ve pulled together highlights from select sessions I attended.

Cultivating a Business Development Mindset
Session: Amplify Your Impact: Getting Buy-in to Help Lawyers Cultivate an Effective Business Development Mindset

One thing was crystal clear: To really move the needle in BD, we must “fall in love with the problem,” not just the solution. We heard from Mo Bunnell about how crucial it is to get inside our lawyers’ heads, understand their pain points, and use their language to communicate possible solutions. That’s how we become trusted advisors, not just another “marketing person.”

Amanda Bruno advocated for defining success in qualitative and quantitative terms, reminding attendees to be generous with metrics in the short term while keeping an eye on long-term impact. These insights reinforce that legal marketers must act as translators and strategists, bridging the gap between lawyers’ day-to-day realities and the firm’s broader business goals.

Key takeaways included:

• Make it as easy as possible for lawyers to engage, reducing friction and increasing buy-in for new initiatives.
• Propose pilot programs to lower perceived risk and encourage experimentation.
• Tailor approaches to individual lawyers and practice groups, recognizing that one size does not fit all.
• Know the firm’s offerings inside and out, from top attorneys to key practice areas, to better position internal stakeholders for success.
• Cross-selling and institutionalizing client relationships can create additional “stickiness” and growth opportunities.
• Breaking down strategies into bite-sized steps and making oneself indispensable are critical for sustained impact.

Coach Attorneys for Revenue Growth
Session: Coaching to Revenue: Unlocking Business Development Potential through Equitable Strategies

Ditch the empty BD plan template and implement coaching as a high-impact tool for unlocking lawyers’ BD potential. Elizabeth Brick and Jordan Fowler highlighted that business plans often fail due to a lack of equity — they don’t resonate with the individual attorney and their capabilities. The session emphasized that coaching is about co-creating a path to growth, tailored to each lawyer’s strengths and circumstances. Effective coaching, therefore, must transcend practice or industry silos and focus on the attorney.

Key takeaways included:

• A good BD plan sparks reflection, focuses on relationships, and includes actionable steps.
• Brain-based coaching techniques and a mentor mindset help establish trust and foster collaboration.
• Understanding attorney profiles — such as self-starters, hesitant participants, and those constrained by their environment — enables more targeted support.
• Motivation is built through “doses of success,” and BD strategy plans should target the “Goldilocks Zone” — challenging yet attainable.

Leverage Qualitative Data for Event VOI
Session: Using Data & Technology to Drive ROI in Legal Marketing Events

The message was clear: success is not about the quantity of attendees, but the quality of connections and outcomes generated. The panel — featuring Tiffany Christian, Ryan Hayes, Steven Tyndall, and Caryn Rinaldi — challenged the notion that event ROI is a myth, arguing instead for a focus on VOI, measured through engagement, brand exposure, and relationship building.

Key takeaways included:                                                                             

• Define clear, measurable goals for each event type, whether it’s lead generation, thought leadership, or relationship building.
• Invite the right people and act as a strategic matchmaker to maximize impact.
• Leverage AI to automate logistics, generate event summaries, and facilitate post-event follow-up.
• Evaluate and revise your event strategy on a regular basis. 

Bonus: Bringing It All Home
Session: Developing A Future-Focused BD Strategy: Implementing Lessons Learned from LMA25

During one of the last sessions of the final day, Carman Akins, Ashraf Lakhani, Kelly MacKinnon, and Deborah Ruffins hosted an interactive panel to crowdsource key business development takeaways and workshop next steps for planning and implementation. 

Key takeaways included:                                                                             

• Relationship building is paramount. Connect with attorneys and colleagues when the stakes are low, building rapport before there is a pressing need. Regular, proactive engagement, such as setting a goal to get face time with a partner or attorney every day, helps foster trust and positions BD professionals as true partners to lawyers.
• Leverage technology to scale BD impact. Tools that automate routine tasks, provide actionable client insights, and facilitate relationship mapping can help teams scale their impact without a proportional increase in resources.
• Data storytelling and qualitative insights matter. While data is valuable, its true power lies in the story it tells and how it is applied. Qualitative data, such as feedback from client conversations, should not be overlooked, as it often reveals the context and nuances behind quantitative trends. 
• Model the behaviors you want to see. Demonstrate curiosity about internal collaboration, share wins and best practices with leadership, and maintain good BD hygiene. Effective BD requires modeling the behaviors you coach lawyers to adopt.

Christine Mosley is a business development manager with ArentFox Schiff LLP, a destination firm for companies in key industries driving the global economy. With over seven years of legal marketing experience in Am Law 100 firms, she also serves on the LMA Editorial Committee.

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