The LMA Boston chapter gathered at Morgan Lewis' office for the annual C-suite forum discussion on how law firms build and sustain a distinctive culture, deliver a consistent client experience, and empower their marketing and BD teams to drive it forward. Expertly moderated by Andy Seidel, Senior Marketing & Business Development Manager at Seyfarth and LMA Boston programming chair, the conversation featured five panelists across marketing, operations, finance, and firm management:

• Kristin McGurn, Boston Office Co-Managing Partner & Co-Chair, Health Care Practice, Seyfarth Shaw 

• Kristen Weller , Chief Marketing & Growth Officer, Rubin Rudman

• Carl Sutera, Executive Director, Morrison Mahoney

• Ryan MacDougall, Chief Marketing & Business Development Officer, Wolf, Greenfield & Sacks

• Chris Postizzi, Chief Marketing & Business Development Officer, MG+M The Law Firm

Setting the Tone

Andy opened with a quick icebreaker followed by a rapid-fire round. For one word to describe your firm's culture, answers ranged from collaborative and resilient to dorky and inconsistent. Data driven or gut instinct? Almost unanimously data driven. Known quantity or wildcard hire? The panel leaned known quantity. Biggest culture threat right now? Fear, lack of alignment, internal restructuring and growth pressure. Unlimited budget, first investment? More intentional gatherings, hiring, and MarTech- specifically a truly integrated CRM with AI capabilities

1. Culture Under Pressure

Andy started by asking the group how their firms maintain a cohesive identity and consistent experience for attorneys and clients during significant changes like laterals, mergers, opening new offices, etc.

At Rubin Rudman, Kristen's focus has been on closing the gap between what the firm promises candidates and what they actually experience on day one. Chris navigated a post-acquisition culture clash at MG+M by leaning into the Boston office's strong identity as his “anchor.” Kristin kept Seyfarth Boston's culture intact through the pandemic by “never letting up on internal engagement” even through years of remote work. Ryan built a BD team designed to complement Wolf Greenfield's deeply introverted IP attorneys, with low turnover and decades-long client relationships as the result. At Morrison Mahoney, Carl saw culture reinforced through the willingness of senior attorneys to invest in junior talent despite being the busiest people in the building.

Across five very different firms, the common thread  was that culture requires active stewardship from leadership and alignment across every function to protect it. 

2. Client Experience as a Differentiator

Andy then asked the panel how their firms are thinking about client experience, and what role each of them plays as leaders in making it a reality.

Kristin believes the only way to know how the firm is actually performing is to ask hard questions and be prepared for honest answers. Seyfarth's ‘Voice of the Client’ program exists for exactly that reason. Ryan's cycles of client surveying at Wolf Greenfield have surfaced micro-level insights that shaped attorney coaching, saved at-risk relationships and improved processes firm-wide. Kristen has spent much of her first year at Rubin Rudman defining what a consistent client experience looks like across a decentralized practice and getting leadership aligned on the fact that it has to be driven from the top down. Carl reframed the question, thinking about client experience in two directions at once: making billing as frictionless as possible for external clients, and making the attorneys' jobs as easy as possible for internal ones. Chris attacks it from both ends of the attorney pipeline, with mandatory in-person associate training that sets expectations early and structured partner stewardship ensuring the firm's top client relationships get the personal attention they deserve.

With AI accelerating across the industry, client experience is becoming one of the few genuine differentiators left. Systematic feedback loops, cross-functional education, and a willingness to address operational details like billing accuracy, response times, consistency across offices are what turn client experience from a talking point into a competitive advantage.

3. Marketing and BD as Strategic Partners

Andy transitioned by asking the group how they build a genuine strategic partnership between attorneys and marketing and BD professionals, and what that actually looks like in practice.

Coming from the attorney side, Kristin was direct about what the partnership requires of them: getting out of the way, giving BD professionals enough time to prove their value, and treat them as peers in building the business. At Seyfarth, that means storytelling, cohorts, and friendly competition among aspiring partners that creates pull toward BD behaviors rather than mandating them. For Carl, the principle was the same but looked different. Carl backed his every business service in his firm through budget advocacy, data support, and tag-teaming on executive committee presentations. Kristen echoed the importance of executive sponsorship at Rubin and Rudman, and being given the space and trust to execute a full rebrand within her first few months. Ryan's team has become so embedded with Wolf Greenfield's clients that they almost know them better than the attorneys do, a level of integration that only works because leadership trusts them to have those conversations independently. Chris built credibility at MG+M through quick wins, like turning around an RFP in days that used to take partners weeks, and winning over even the most skeptical attorneys one result at a time.

The firms where the partnership works best have moved beyond transactional support toward genuine integration, where BD and marketing professionals are trusted to act, not just advise.

4. Skills for the Future

Andy closed the panel with a quick round on what marketing and BD professionals need to develop to maximize their impact. A few that landed:

• Kristin McGurn — Willingness to change, and the patience to bring others along.

• Kristen Weller — Curiosity. Get to know your attorneys as people. The best working relationships start there.

• Carl Sutera — Share your expertise. Your attorneys need it more than they will ever admit.

• Chris Postizzi — Be in person. Fifteen minutes with the right partner in the right setting beats two weeks of email.

• Ryan MacDougall — Bring strong opinions which are loosely held. Walk in with a game plan and ready to have the hard conversations.

The evening closed with an audience Q&A, including a sharp question about whether the conventional wisdom to job-hop every two years actually holds. The panel's honest take: longevity builds the internal credibility that makes meaningful work possible. Know your market rate, advocate for yourself, but frequent moves without clear context raise questions for most hiring managers.