The Legal Slant: Recent Episodes
Jessica Jaramillo & Vanessa Petrea
The Legal S/ant is a podcast hosted by two legal marketers, Jessica Jaramillo and Vanessa Petrea. This podcast is focused on bringing the legal marketing community together to provide wisdom, humor, camaraderie, and life hacks. Jessica lives and works in Denver, and Vanessa hails from Texas. In each episode, Jessica and Vanessa will interview legal marketing professionals and dive deeper into top-of-mind topics. The Legal Slant will also spotlight the unique challenges legal marketers face and how seasoned professionals avoid burnout and thrive.
Jessica and Vanessa caught up with Clayton Dodds to dive into the ever-changing world of marketing technology. In this episode, Clayton provides insightful and practical tips that anyone, regardless of firm size, can benefit from, and he gives us a glimpse into what the future may bring. We also learn more about Clayton’s passion for music and his college alma mater.
Jessica and Vanessa talk to Rachel, a Director of Knowledge Management Technology, about the data that legal marketers collect and how to leverage that information to capitalize on business development opportunities and improve service to clients. In this episode, we take a deep dive into the weeds and talk about how to best organize and act on the various pieces of data coming at marketing and BD departments. Rachel also gets real with us about her mental health journey and provides profound advice on how to take better care of ourselves.
In this episode Vanessa and Jessica chat with Andy Laver, Business Development and Marketing Executive at Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney, Member of the LMA International Board of Directors, and co-host of Legal Marketing Coffee Talk. Andy talks about how he got into legal marketing, working on LMCT, and his newfound passion for running!
Jessica and Vanessa check in with Adam Severson, CMO of Baker Donelson, on leading teams, budgeting and the business of law. We love his “work hard/play hard” attitude and zeal for life. We also learn about Adam’s love for wine and how “Napa” rescued him.
Cecilia talks to Jessica and Vanessa about her journey into business development coaching and consulting after being laid off right as the pandemic began. Cecilia opens up about taking a first chair position for the wrong reasons and how she realigned her priorities while evaluating her next move. She also shares her exciting roles working with both Society 54 and Diversity Lab.
In this episode, Jenna reminds us that what you got you here, won’t get you there. Learn how she honed her leadership style over time and landed her ideal next role after being at the same firm for more than 14 years. We also learn more about the LSSO organization’s mission.
LMA 2021 President Kelly MacKinnon sits down with Vanessa and Jessica in this fun-filled episode to talk sports, leadership and all things LMA Annual Conference.
To register and join Kelly at the LMA Annual Conference, visit https://lma21.legalmarketing.org/.
This episode is loaded, L-O-A-D-E-D, with tactical advice from entrepreneur and digital marketing expert Jessica Aries. A curious learner, Jessica shares how she leverages personal branding, embraces social media, promotes learning and living with technology, champions diversity, equity and inclusion and staunchly advocates for herself.
Listen as Jessica interviews Vanessa about the planning and execution of the LMA Southwest Region’s first completely virtual conference. Vanessa discusses the challenges and triumphs of planning a completely virtual conference and drops a few tips and tricks too. Don’t forget to check out the conference playlist too.
Legal marketer and President of Alyn-Weiss and Associates Amber Vincent shares her experiences working with multigenerational leaders and sheds light on how we’re more alike than you might think.
Do you want to land that major TV network interview? Powerhouse publicist and PR expert Annie Scranton gives us tips for landing TV interviews and leveraging media opportunities. She also shares insider stories from her days as a TV producer.
Entrepreneur, PR extraordinaire and fellow podcaster, Gina Rubel, shares her vision for the future, including opportunities and new realities. She also provides practical advice for launching a podcast.
In-house legal marketer and self-professed data geek Elizabeth Brick shares insightful truths about making your mark working out of a satellite office, and she gives three solid tips for setting yourself up for career success.
What does psychology, ballet and BD have in common? A lot more than you might think. In this episode, Vanessa and Jessica talk with business development coach and techprenuer David Ackert of Ackert Inc. about coaching lawyers through business development strategies and how legal marketers can help prepare their attorneys for success.
In this episode, Vanessa and Jessica talk with Liz Tran about her time as a legal marketer and life after legal, working in marketing roles for accounting and technology companies. We also get into her life as a reality TV star!
We kick off Season 2 of The Legal Slant with solo legal marketer, sound engineer, and musician Micah Petrea. Listen to Micah as he shares the tips and tricks that every marketer needs to know to be productive, stay on budget, and positively impact revenue generation. Get your pen and paper ready!
Micah Petrea’s suggestions for small firm marketing resources include:
- The Noun Project for inexpensive icons: https://thenounproject.com/
- Piktochart for turning data-heavy content into reports, infographics, social media graphics, etc.: https://piktochart.com/
- Klipfolio for turning Excel data into awesome graphics: https://www.klipfolio.com/
- Storybrand for creating your firm’s story and learning how to promote/sell more effectively: https://storybrand.com/
- Clio for cloud based solution to manage time, billing, client journey mapping, workflow and lead tracking: https://www.clio.com/
Having gone from a solo marketer to being the CMO of a 150-lawyer firm leading a team of five, Michael Blachly shares with us how he built a dynamic marketing team to support the growth of his firm.
In this episode, Ezra Crawford tells us how best to drive the lateral integration process and gives us ways to double back and save an integration when things go awry.
MOVE OVER Alex P. Keaton and young Sheldon T. Cooper, Roy Sexton is here. In this episode, Jessica and Vanessa talk with legal marketer, thought leader, community leader, published author, actor and singer Roy Sexton on personal branding, standing out on social media, and thriving through authenticity.
In this episode, legal marketer and law firm administrator Josie Morgan opens up about the raw and rewarding realities of juggling a thriving career, social relationships, a growing family, and meaningful volunteer opportunities. She also shares how strong friendships can open doors for professional growth.
In this episode, filled with great takeaways, Jen Dezso of Acritas gives us everything you need to know about collecting and using big data to navigate short-term trends and maintain long-term marketing and business development strategies for your firm.
In this episode, Morgan Horvitz talks about taking on a new chief role in the midst of the COVID craziness and shares some creative ways to stay connected with your team and your attorneys.
Legal marketers are not immune from the pestilence of imposter syndrome. In this episode, Jessica and Vanessa talk with Marketing & Business Development Director, speaker, author, and host of the ENRICH YOUR SOUL podcast, Rich Bracken. Listen as we learn to identify, acknowledge, manage, and eradicate feelings of intellectual fraudulence.
Michelle Friends, Executive Director at Fairfield and Woods, talks about transitioning from marketing and biz dev to operations, including the challenges and rewards. She also shakes her crystal ball and shares her thoughts about what a post-COVID world might look like.
Jennifer Johnson, CEO and Founder of Calibrate Legal, gives expert tips on nailing that virtual job interview and becoming a Revenue Enabler™. Jen also makes some predictions on how COVID will impact the future of the legal marketing profession.
Amy Verhulst, solo marketer and 2020 LMASW Region President, talks about how she tackles her voluminous task list and has increased her leadership capacity. Amy also shares practical tips for juggling career goals, volunteer roles, parenting duties, online schooling, and all the other things.
Public relations expert, Dave Poston, provides communications advice for the next phases of COVID-19 and shares how to effectively marry PR and business development strategies to raise your firm’s profile and even engage new clients.
Trying to survive a pandemic while working from home is challenging. Listen as seasoned legal marketer, author, and Legal Marketers Extraordinaire co-founder, Heather Morse, talks with Jessica and Vanessa about creating community and building resilience.
Lynn Foley, CEO and co-founder of fSquared marketing, discusses the results of her company's recent survey on the health and wellness of legal marketers. A former legal marketer, Lynn not only sheds light on this very important topic, she also gives practical tips on how to take back your health.
Jill Huse, co-founder of Society 54 and LMA board president, provides sound advice on working remotely and adding value during these uncertain times. BD efforts can (and should) continue during a global pandemic. Jill also provides more insight on the postponed LMA Annual Conference and gives a preview about this week's LMA Coronavirus Crisis Communications webinar.
Vanessa and Jessica sit down with Brenda Plowman, CMO of Fasken, to talk about how to plan and execute a client experience program. She takes us through her firm’s recent rebrand and breaks down how crucial client experience is to the future success of a firm. Brenda also shares her approach to having balance in her life, finding joy, and creating space for creativity.
Carman Jackson Akins talks with Jessica and Vanessa about how to take control of your own career trajectory and advocate for yourself in the workplace. Whether you are interviewing for a new job or have been at your position for 5 years, Carman's sage advice is insightful.
In Part 2 of Vanessa and Jessica’s interview of Jen Bankston, President of Bankston Marketing Solutions, Jen talks about taking control of your own professional development, weighing the pros and cons of relocating for job opportunities, and moving out of your comfort zone.
In this episode Vanessa and Jessica sit down with Jen Bankston, President of Bankston Marketing Solutions about her journey to legal marketing and the advice she received along the way to own her personal and professional development.