LMA's strategic plan is carried out through our committees, SIGs and task forces. Each committee, SIG or task force has co-chairs that usually serve a two-year term. Any LMA member is eligible to serve on a committee. Committee and task force co-chairs prepare a status report to the LMA Board of Directors for each Board meeting.
Advocacy
The Advocacy is dedicated to elevating the profession of legal marketing within the industry. Our efforts help firm management understand and appreciate the impact legal marketers can have on the business of law. LMA’s Advocacy Committee is also about joining forces to drive industry change on important issues like diversity, equity and inclusion, law school education and ethics and legal marketing. The Professional Advocacy Working Group operates under the umbrella of this committee and focuses on the PR side of Advocacy, working to highlight the great work our members are doing (please see the working group description below if you are interested in that specific area).
Co-Chairs: Gina Rubel and John Byrne
Board Liaison: John Byrne
Staff Liaison: Ashley Stenger
Annual Conference Advisory
Responsible for planning and programming the 2023 LMA Annual Conference. Please visit the annual conference website for up-to-date information.
Co-Chairs: Jennifer Dezso, Megan McKeon and Lee Ashby Watts
Board Liaison: Roy Sexton
Audit
Assists LMA's Board in fulfilling its oversight responsibilities with respect to: (i) the audit of LMA's books and records; and (ii) LMA's system of internal financial controls and procedures. LMA's external auditors shall maintain an open and transparent relationship with the Committee, and shall ultimately be accountable to LMA's Board of Directors and the Committee.
Chair/Board Liaison: Michelle Friends
Staff Liaison: Kelly Bache
Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
The Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) mission is to effectuate change by empowering and equipping LMA and its members to build diverse and inclusive marketing and business development teams.
The Committee has several goals set forth for 2022, including but not exclusive to developing strategies identified as necessary by the DEI member survey launched in June 2021 by The Converge Firm, a DEI consultant hired by LMA. These strategies will focus on providing opportunities for members to engage with one another, cultivating a more inclusive environment LMA wide and being transparent in our DEI efforts moving forward, including opportunities for volunteer leadership.
Co-Chairs: Ashley Black and Morgan Horvitz
Board Liaison: Morgan Horvitz
Staff Liaison: Ashley Stenger
Talent Development Committee Liaison: Diana Lauritson
Education Advisory Council
The Education Advisory Council (EAC) is a cross-section of the LMA membership and volunteers are appointed on an annual basis. The committee operations are guided by the staff liaison to strategize initiatives, guide best practices and serve as ambassadors. Advisory council members are visionaries, thought-leaders, guides and ambassadors that come from LMA’s many constituencies. The EAC will play an integral role in educational development and content, and ultimately, the value of the Legal Marketing Association.
Chair/Board Liaison: Kelly MacKinnon
Staff Liaison: Holly Amatangelo
Finance
Oversees the financial status and general solvency of the organization. They work with staff in the annual budgeting process, review and provide recommendations on budgeted and unbudgeted spending requests and develop and recommend long-range financial objectives for the association. When appropriate, the committee will work directly with International committees/task forces and regions to provide financial guidance (i.e., tools, best practices, resources and an open forum).
Chair: Michelle Friends
Staff Liaison: Kelly Bache
Member Engagement
Collaborates with staff to establish programs for recruitment, renewal and retention of LMA members and initiatives designed to stimulate growth in all membership categories. Identifies and reviews ideas for new benefits and services for members. Provides support to LMA regions and members at large in all of these areas.
Co-Chairs: Jahna Barber and Chandler Lauzon
Board Liaison: Jessica Haarsgaard
Staff Liaison: Ashley Stenger
Nominating
The Nominating Committee shall solicit nominations of those board positions where there is no automatic succession and submit to LMA members a slate of qualified candidates for ratification.
Chair/Board Liaison: Kelly MacKinnon
Staff Liaison: Ashley Stenger
Recognition Program
Hall of Fame
Responsible for implementing and judging of annual Hall of Fame program.
Co-Chairs: Adam Severson and Deborah McMurray
Chair/Board Liaison: Kelly MacKinnon
Staff Liaison: Ashley Stenger
Regional Leaders
Serves as a formal platform to coordinate reciprocal communication between regional leadership and the LMA international board. Chaired by an elected region president from the previous year, this committee participates in monthly conference calls for the purpose of being briefed on and providing input on organization initiatives, share region development best practices and nurture cross-region networks.
Chair/Board Liaison: Amy Verhulst
Staff Liaison: Jena Watson
Well-Being
The purpose of the Well-Being Committee is to support members of the legal marketing community by providing resources, education, and advocacy to promote positive mental health, cultivate resilience and create healthy work environments. The committee seeks to reduce mental health stigma, provide resources and training, as well as offer actionable recommendations to increase well-being and support the success of legal marketing professionals.
Co-Chairs: Terry Isner and Lynn Foley
Board Liaison: Danielle Gorash Holland
Staff Liaison: Lisa Kamen
Shared Interest Groups
Shared Interest Groups (SIGs) are communities of LMA members with common interests that join together to network, educate and share best practices. SIGs meet virtually and in person, whether by teleconference, webinar, Listserv, social media, and at the LMA Annual Conference.
Chair/Board Liaison: Kevin Iredell
Staff Liaison: Sarah Logan
Client Value SIG
The Client Value SIG is focused on understanding and enhancing the relationships that exist between law firms and their clients, including exploring ways to elevate service through project and practice management, feedback, process improvement, pricing and other unique value-adds. Members include professionals whose roles are focused specifically in these emerging areas, as well as those who are engaged in more traditional marketing, business development and communication functions.
SIG Leaders: Amber Bollman, Tom Helm and Julie Wall Khoury
CMO/Senior Marketer SIG
The CMO/Senior Marketer SIG is a forum for those in a full-time first chair role at a law firm, to share ideas and discuss relevant topics and best practices around the leadership of their marketing departments and their firm’s strategic business development initiatives.
SIG Leaders: Amanda Loesch and Paul Webb
Competitive/Market Intelligence SIG
For those who have an interest or primary role in using competitive or market intelligence or research to help their firms identify and convert new market and client opportunities.
SIG Leaders: Sarah Hodo and Amy Wisinski
Diversity, Equity & Inclusion SIG
A forum for those interested in building diverse and inclusive marketing and business development teams and empowering and equipping other LMA members to do so.
SIG Leaders: Terra Davis, Tahisha Fugate and Matt Plavnick
Marketing Technology SIG
A forum for members to learn from each other and discuss the many different aspects of marketing technology in and out of our industry
SIG Leaders: Jacqueline Madarang and Vikram Gupta
Plaintiff Firm SIG
For in-house marketers at plaintiff firms that join together to network, educate, and share best practices.
SIG Leader: Delisi Friday and Jason Lisi
Public Relations & Communications SIG
A community for those who have an interest or primary role in legal public relations.
SIG Leaders: Debra Pickett and Heather McMichael
Social & Digital Media SIG
For those who have an interest or primary role in using social media and online networking platforms to enhance marketing and business development efforts.
SIG Leaders: Jacob Eidinger and Jen Forester
Solo/Small Team SIG
For in-house marketers at firms of fewer than 100 attorneys or with two or fewer marketing personnel that join together to network, educate and share best practices.
SIG Leaders: Misty Borg Misterek, Sheenika Gandhi, and Alice Simmons
Strategies & Voices Editorial Board
The Strategies & Voices Editorial Board determines, supervises and facilitates content on LMA's content center, Strategies & Voices. Committee members can expect to become actively involved in the production of content for the content center. Strategies & Voices focuses on one core Body of Knowledge domain every two months, with two committee members acting as co-editors for each bimonthly focus. The Editorial Board also identifies opportunities for additional revenue and content distribution. Committee members are asked to be highly involved in suggesting innovative ideas for content and offering sources for authors.
Co-Chairs: Rebecca Edwards and Kathryn Whitaker
Board Liaison: Andrew Laver
Staff Liaison: Kristin Frankiewicz and Monica Roselli
Talent Development
Like all organizations, LMA needs strong volunteers and leaders in order to be successful. Proactive talent development at all levels of the organization needs ongoing attention. The Talent Development Committee (TDC) was created to meet the needs of our members and develop our future leaders.
Co-Chairs: Maziel Abrego and Dave Poston
Board Liaison: Nikki Sherrill
Staff Liaison: Ashley Stenger
DEI Committee Liaison: Diana Lauritson
Task Forces and Working Groups
Ethics and Marketing Working Group of the Advocacy Committee
The Ethics and Marketing Working Group will support the Advocacy Committee in achieving their strategic goal of becoming the authority on the Rules of Professional Conduct and furthering LMA’s relationship with the ABA Standing Committee on Ethics & Professional Responsibility.
Staff Liaison: Ashley Stenger
Law School Education Working Group of the Advocacy Committee
The Law School Education Working Group will support the to Advocacy Committee in achieving their strategic goal of expanding law school outreach and advocating for long term programming within law school curricula. This group will focus on furthering the overall brand of LMA as the go-to resource for legal marketing education in law schools, working with the Education Advisory Council to ensure alignment with LMA’s Body of Knowledge and establishing a consistent message in all LMA educational programming.
Staff Liaison: Ashley Stenger
Professional Advocacy Working Group of the Advocacy Committee
The Professional Advocacy Working Group will support the Advocacy Committee in in furthering their efforts to be the go to source for business of law stories and the future of the legal industry. The group aims to elevate in-house marketers as true business partners and stewards of the voice of the client inside law firms.
Staff Liaison: Ashley Stenger
Member Resource Groups (MRGs)
The Member Resource Groups were launched in September 2022 to address the varying needs of our diverse membership. The first MRGs are Allies, LGBTQ+ and Members of Color. The mission of LMA MRGs is to:
• Provide a safe forum for discussion and exploration of the group’s theme
• Enhance leadership and coping skills on sensitive topics related to diversity, equity, and inclusion
• Encourage professional development opportunities among LMA minority communities
The MRGs will meet every other month via Zoom and participation will be limited to MRG members.
Staff Liaison: Ashley Stenger