The LMA Annual Conference in DC last week was a wonderful celebration of our fabulous community in legal marketing. 1,400+ attendees from all over the globe. 

All week, I have been reading excellent summaries of sessions. Below are just some of the highlights. I know I haven't included everything, but hopefully this will help you if you attended and want a recap, or if you didn't attend and want to catch up on what was said.

The conference kicked off with Obama speechwriters (2009-17), Terry Szuplat and Cody Keenan, who were fantastic. This was my favorite keynote from any LMA event I have been to. Katie Munroe, CMO at Zuckerman Spaede, did a fantastic job moderating this session. Read all about it here:

• Crafting Messages That Resonate: Lessons on Connecting with Your Audience - Terry Szuplat on LinkedIn
• What Two Former Obama Speechwriters Taught Me About Leadership, Storytelling, and Speaking Human - Jennifer Scotton, CMO, Constangy. I love this advice on communicating under pressure: Speak human, always; Tell the Truth — even when it’s uncomfortable & Find — and own — your unique story.
• Obama speechwriters engage LMA members at LMA kick off - Nancy Myrland
• LMA 2025 |Crafting Messages That Resonate: Lessons From Presidential Speechwriters on Connecting With Your Audience - Will Eke, Charles Cousins, Passle

Some session summaries:

• The Anatomy Of A Successful Sales Pursuit: Insights From Clients - This is a summary of the GC panel - Will Eke, James Barclay, Passle
• LMA 2025 | Using Activator Research to Drive Real World Results - The DCMi crew shared their data from their latest book. Charles Cousins, Alistair Bone and Will Eke, Passle
• LMA 2025 | Aligning Digital Transformation with Strategic Growth - Michelle Woodyear (Principle Consultant at Mount Insights) and Kimberly Rennick (the CMO at Thompson Coburn) advised on ensuring you make the most from the tech you buy. Will Eke, Passle
• LMA 2025: A Blueprint for Legal BD in the Age of Change - It was Passle's Alex Haider's first LMA and here are his impressions.
• Making Strategy Stick - Emily Gallagher, Snr Director BD, Womble Bond Dickinson shares how best to effectively implement great strategies.
• What In-House Counsel Really Want: Insights from the LMA Annual Conference Panel - Rebecca Edwards Hnatowski
• Gina Rubel and Jennifer Simpson Carr of Furia Rubel Communications recorded a fabulous podcast summarizing their experience at the LMA overall. Special shout-out to Gina for her ‘Rule of Law’ campaign. Spot on Gina! - What Law Firm Clients Really Want: Relationships, Reputation, and Responsiveness

• One word to sum up the LMA: I love this video from Gittings Global:  If you had to describe LMA in just one word… what would it be?

I gave a presentation discussing cross-selling and Artificial Intelligence. My colleague Yasmin and my friend Nancy were kind enough to write up my session:

• The Biggest Missed Opportunity for Growth: Harnessing AI for Cross-Selling Yasmin Zand
• : #LMA25: Harnessing AI For Cross-Selling: Don’t Miss An Opportunity For Growth, Nancy (Leyes) Myrland

Finally, a look into the future: Who Will Attend LMA 2030? The Strategic Evolution Legal Marketers Must Embrace to Remain Relevant - Guy Alvarez Founder & Former CEO at Good2bSocial

Great job LMA Annual Conference Advisory Committee (ACAC). Thank you!!

ACAC Leadership:
John Byrne, President-Elect, Chief Marketing Officer, Gould & Ratner LLP
Tasneem K. Khokha, ACAC Co-Chair (Pre-Conference focused), 
Managing Director, GrowthPlay
Katie Munroe, ACAC Co-Chair, Chief Marketing Officer, Zuckerman Spaeder LLP
Nikki Girard Sherrill, ACAC Co-Chair, Chief Business Development Officer, Parker, Hudson, Rainer & Dobbs LLP

ACAC Members:
Maziel Abrego, Director of Marketing and Practice Development, Vedder Price
Cheryl Bame, Principal, Bame Public Relations
Sadie Baron, Chief Marketing Officer, Reed Smith LLP
Michael Blachly, Chief Marketing Officer, Gray Reed
Ashley Holloway Black, MS, PHR, Diversity and Inclusion Manager, Porter Hedges LLP
Liz Boehm, Director of Client and Business Development, Benesch Law
Jaclyn Braga, Director of Marketing and Business Development, Morse
Miki Hanlen, Sr. Director, Intapp
Andrew Hutchinson, CEO, Databall (acquired by Nexl)
Linda Sanders, JD, Director of Client Experience, Troutman Pepper
John Witts, Director of Marketing Technology, Faegre Drinker