Business Development for a New Legal Ecosystem

Pandemics bring the world to a standstill. All economies are based on confidence, yet during and after a pandemic, uncertainty and fear abound. The entire professional services sector the world over - which includes law firms, accounting firms, brokerages, consulting firms, etc. - are cash-based, people-centric, and relationship-driven businesses. The rapid changes to relationships - both professional and personal - caused by a pandemic are structural and deep. The definition of “business as usual” is altered, and all professional services providers need to adapt and change quickly to respond to the new ways that employees, clients, and everyone else will behave, communicate, buy, and use their services in the future. The speed at which information travels will not slow down.

YOLANDA CARTUSCIELLO Yolanda Cartusciello has served in senior administrative leadership roles in major law firms for more than 20 years, including Debevoise & Plimpton and Cleary Gottlieb. She has led marketing teams, designed business development and media strategies, and implemented client development programs. She has been the chief architect of profile enhancement strategies, perception studies, branding exercises, comprehensive client interview programs, and practice and lateral partner rollouts. She has adapted the customer journey mapping technique for use by law firms, and has trained and advised firms on its use. She is a frequent lecturer and author on client journey mapping and the customer experience. Yolanda has also created business development and communications training and coaching programs for lawyers at all levels. MICHELLE MURRAY Chief marketing officer at Cahill Gordon & Reindel LLP SALLY DYSON Sally Dyson is the founder and director of Firm Sense Limited, a consultancy specialising in providing client listening services and client relationship management advice to law firms. Sally qualified as a solicitor and practised at Slaughter and May. She then worked as an in-house lawyer for nearly a decade before moving on from the pursuit of law to establish Firm Sense. Sally combines expertise in client listening with an in-depth understanding of the legal market to advise law firms on aligning organisational practices and individual behaviour with specific client needs in order to improve client retention, win business, and improve profitability. Sally is an Affiliate Member of, and is regulated by, the Market Research Society. In the context of optimising client relationships, she has developed particular knowledge on the topic of law firm fees and is the author of an Ark report entitled Budgeting and Negotiating Fees with Clients: A Lawyer’s Guide. Sally is also a regular speaker at public conferences and private workshops and is a contributor to professional journals. Sally can be contacted by email or at Firm Sense Limited. For more information please visit their website. DEBBIE EPSTEIN HENRY Debbie Epstein Henry is an expert, consultant, best-selling author, and public speaker on careers, workplaces, women and law. She is the Founder of DEH Consulting, Speaking Writing that consults to companies, firms, non-profits and individuals. She wrote two ABA best-selling books, Law & Reorder (author, 2010) and Finding Bliss (co-author, 2015) and her work has been featured by hundreds of news outlets including The New York Times, NBC Nightly News and The Wall Street Journal. Debbie built a network of over 10,000 US lawyers and co-founded Bliss Lawyers, a majority women-owned company that employs lawyers to work in-house and at law firms. She is the recipient of numerous awards including the Anne X. Alpern Award and being named among the Philadelphia Business Journal "Women of Distinction.” PAM LOCH Pam Loch, managing director, Loch Associates - When Pam Loch first founded Loch Associates Group in 2007, she saw it as an opportunity to support businesses with quality employment law advice and HR support running alongside each other. Leaving behind a successful career, Pam knew that SMEs often struggled to get access to the level of support they needed to effectively manage their staff. Pam wanted to provide this support for them. As the business developed she realized that there were wider opportunities to provide organizations with solutions to help them manage and look after their people. NIKA KABIRI Nika Kabiri is an expert on consumer research and insights, especially in the legal space. For more than three years, Nika has led a wide range of strategic studies to better understand legal consumers – who they are, what they need, and how lawyers might be helping or failing them. Nika is currently VP at Lux Insights, a market and consumer insights firm specializing in social and consumer behaviour. MERRY NEITLICH Merry Neitlich is the founder and managing partner of EM Consulting, a leader in law firm marketing and business development solutions. With over 25 years of experience, Merry provides clients with tools to grow relationships and successfully identify, court and convert targets into clients. She consults with law firms wishing to overcome resistance and implement successful legal operations programs. Merry has extensive experience coaching attorneys in business development in order to grow their practices. She has interviewed hundreds of in-house counsels across the country for law firm clients in order to enhance relationships and client satisfaction. Merry offers training programs in business development, legal operations, client retention and satisfaction programs. In 2017, Merry was inducted into the LMA Hall of Fame and was inducted into the College of Law Practice Management in 2012. YOLANDA CARTUSCIELLO Yolanda Cartusciello has served in senior administrative leadership roles in major law firms for more than 20 years, including Debevoise & Plimpton and Cleary Gottlieb. She has led marketing teams, designed business development and media strategies, and implemented client development programs. She has been the chief architect of profile enhancement strategies, perception studies, branding exercises, comprehensive client interview programs, and practice and lateral partner rollouts. She has adapted the customer journey mapping technique for use by law firms, and has trained and advised firms on its use. She is a frequent lecturer and author on client journey mapping and the customer experience. Yolanda has also created business development and communications training and coaching programs for lawyers at all levels. NATASHA INNOCENTI Natasha Innocenti is a partner with Mlegal Group, Inc. Natasha has over 20 years of experience in placing successful law firm partners across most practice areas and has helped open California offices for ten AmLaw 100 and 200 law firms. While her practice is not restricted to the Bay Area, her extensive experience in the region has enabled her to gain expertise in technology and life sciences related practices. She also regularly represents groups and understands how to advocate for groups practicing together. Over the years, Natasha has developed a robust practice representing lawyers moving from government service to private practice, including representing high level government attorneys out of the Department of Justice and the United States Attorney’s office with expertise in antitrust, white collar, securities enforcement and privacy/cyber security. Natasha knows that advocating for government attorneys moving to private practice requires a different skill set and an excellent reputation for your best outcome. About 40 percent of Natasha’s practice is representing women partners. Because of her extensive work in the advancement and empowerment of women lawyers, Natasha understands the challenges women partners face and the competitive importance for firms to retain and recruit top women partners. Natasha has written and spoken extensively about the gender gap in law firm partner compensation and related issues. IAN WHITE Ian White has been the chief legal officer and/or company secretary for both listed and major private companies. This has led to developing an expertise in corporate governance and working with boards on effectiveness and performance. RACHEL KHIARA Rachel Khiara, Principal at Khiara Law LLP, is a pre-eminent advisor in the professional practices sector, working with leading and niche firms, and new entrants into the legal services sector on a wide range of constitutional, financial and structuring issues. WAYNE HASSAY Wayne Hassay began private practice in 1991 as a civil litigator and is now the managing partner of Maguire Schneider Hassay, LLP, in Columbus, Ohio. He serves on the Board of Directors of the American Bar Association affiliated Group Legal Services Association for the 2019-2021 term. His law firm serves as a provider firm for the legal service plan, LegalShield. As managing partner of MSH, his mission is to bring innovation and technology to the practice of law for the benefit of clients. The philosophy is to broaden access to justice by using technology in a way that helps clients afford the legal services they need. Wayne believes this will achieve the best possible result for his clients, while making their experience as stress-free as possible. CATHERINE ALMAN MACDONAGH, JD Catherine is a former corporate counsel and law firm executive. She now teaches and provides training and consulting services with a focus on marketing and business development, strategy, process improvement, project management, and operational and process excellence. In her practice, FIRM Guidance, she serves as “trusted advisor to the trusted advisors,” whether training, coaching, or developing competitive advantages. She is also Chief Enthusiasm Officer of Mocktails LLC, which offers experiential networking training programs, including The Legal Mocktail. A Legal Lean Sigma® Black Belt and a certified Six Sigma Green Belt, Catherine is the CEO and a Founder of the Legal Lean Sigma Institute, which offers consulting and the first and only process improvement and project management certifications, courses, and workshops designed specifically for the legal profession. Catherine is an adjunct professor at Suffolk Law School and at George Washington University (Master’s in Law Firm Management) and a frequent guest lecturer at other academic institutions. She is the author of Lean Six Sigma for Law Firms and the co-author of The Woman Lawyer's Rainmaking Game and The Law Firm Associate's Guide to Personal Marketing and Selling Skills. She is a contributing author to six books: Redefining Matter Management: A Best Practice Guide to Improving Processes and Profitability; The Lawyer’s Guide to Project Management; The Bigger Picture: Driving Client Value Through Collaboration; The Lawyer’s Guide to Process Improvement; and The Procurement Handbook. Catherine is a founder of both the Coalition of Professional Services Providers and the Legal Sales and Service Organization, which presents the annual LSSO’s RainDance Conference. Honors and awards Catherine has received include: Fellow, College of Law Practice Management; Legal Marketing Association Hall of Fame (the association’s highest honor); Boston Business Journal’s 40 Under 40; two years on the prestigious MLF 50 (Marketing the Law Firm Top 50) List; and several Legal Marketing Association Your Honor Awards.