At LMA Mid-Atlantic's Winter Social in Washington DC, five CMOs discussed growth and how they can help drive it in 2026. Their takeaway? The firms that thrive aren’t chasing every trend — they’re building smart, focused engines to deliver value. 

The fabulous panel was:

Moderator: Amanda Schneider, Director of Marketing – Business, Cooley

Panelists: 

• Maura Connell Brandt, Chief Marketing Officer, Crowell & Moring

• Laura Fulton, Chief Business Development and Marketing Officer, Katten

• Jill Himelfarb, Chief Marketing Officer, McCarter & English

• Rebecca Wissler, Chief Marketing & Business Development Officer, Ice Miller

Here are my takeaways:

Fundamentals matter

Before AI or fancy tools, there’s relationship building. As Jill Himelfarb put it: “The foundational skills that we all bring to the job are so important. ... Nothing comes without relationship building, no matter what we do in the marketing ether.”

In a noisy market, that kind of human connection remains the bedrock.

Data & AI should be used together to provide the services our clients want and need, now and in the future

Yes, there was plenty of talk about AI. But the value lies in applying it smartly. Look for AI that can be implemented right now. Laura Fulton described how her firm is working with its innovation team to build analytics that “give us more trend spotting around what our clients are consuming and what predictably they might be consuming.” Firms are only as good as their data. AI is the same as with anything else - trash in trash out.

Go for AI solutions that you can use today, experiment with, and that achieve what they say they will. As Jill said, ‘work with your vendors. ’ (Note to reader - check out Passle's CrossPitch AI :)

Focused BD investment trumps spray-and-pray

One of the clearest patterns: firms that grow invest deliberately in narrow, high-potential areas. Rebecca Wissler told the panel how Ice Miller assigned a BD professional exclusively to inbound work from Korean life sciences companies. Very niche and has been very successful.

Rather than trying to cover everything, her firm doubled down on a well-chosen niche — and got a return on that focus.

Lateral hiring as a growth lever — If you do it right…

Here’s where the full panel brought a realistic take on laterals. According to Maura Connell Brandt, bringing on laterals doesn’t guarantee growth — you have to invest in them. “It takes a lot of work on the part of the lateral, and it takes a lot of work on the part of the firm.”

If you get them onboarded right: early visibility, support, provide the tools they need and get them busy straight away, lateral hiring will accelerate growth. Done casually — less so.  Panellists all agreed that you know really quickly who will work out, and who will not. Back your winners.

Culture & stability: More important than many realize

Finally: culture gets less spotlight than AI or new tools — but some firms are backing it hard. Rebecca Wissler said Ice Miller now communicates firm culture aggressively in pitches, even though clients rarely ask. 

That internal alignment and clarity of values can pay off over time in retention, cohesion and consistent delivery.

The Takeaways

Growth in today’s legal market is a marathon, not a sprint. It's a compound strategy built on consistent execution:

• Relationship-building anchored by real BD discipline, not shortcuts.

• Use of data and AI to understand and anticipate demand, not just ride hype.

• Focused investment in high-potential niches, not being “everywhere.”

• Thoughtful lateral hiring drives growth, but only with proper onboarding, integration, and support.

• Firm culture and clarity: quietly powerful, often overlooked.

Firms that invest in these areas will be the ones growing steadily in 2026 and beyond.