As we continue to recap CMO Series Live, let's dive right into the second half of the morning sessions and look back at the brilliant insights shared by our speakers. 

Session 1: A Brand Journey: Aligning What Matters to Your People and Your Clients

In this session, we had Axinn’s Chief Marketing Officer, Julie Chodos, and Chief Operating Officer, Annie Westover, grace the stage to discuss the steps to leading a rebrand as a strategic method for growth. Julie and Annie shared their experiences and key insights from how they led the rebranding project to how they brought their colleagues and clients along the journey. 

“We brought in so many stakeholders at all levels throughout this process, and everyone who saw it said, ‘That’s it, this is who we are.’” - Annie Westover

Here are the takeaways:

• The step-by-step process of leading a law firm rebrand - from concept through to implementation 
• A strong brand that aligns with your firm's values is vital to growth.
• Bringing stakeholders across all levels on the journey is crucial for buy-in and success.

Session 2: Beyond the Prompt: Differentiating Legal Practice with AI

Sarah led a remarkable session on how AI can be incorporated into firms to revolutionize the traditional pillars of marketing and benefit clients. Sarah shared the ways AI can help firms enhance certain work with data-driven insights, how AI can be used to set a firm apart from the rest of the market who have the same access to AI, and the ways to use AI responsibly in practicing law and operating a firm. 

Session 3: Turning Resistance into Results: Managing Up and Achieving

As our morning sessions came to a close, Koree Khongphand-Buckman, Chief Marketing & Business Development Officer at Foley & Lardner, shared real-world lessons on driving change, even in environments that aren’t always ready for it.

From managing up to holding partners accountable, Koree offered candid insights into what it takes to lead with influence, build trust, and turn resistance into momentum. It was a powerful close to the morning that left the audience with actionable strategies for creating meaningful, lasting change.

The key takeaways: 

• Learn strategies for building influence through credibility, empathy, and consistency
• Stakeholders need to be held accountable. This can be done without compromising relationships.
• Why ‘straight talk’ is vital to navigating change.  Creating honest and open dialogue actually helps build trust between lawyers and business services. 

There’s more to come as we recap CMO Series Live 2025 afternoon sessions.