LISTEN: https://lnkd.in/eaBmp5cb … Thank you, Rossman, P.C.! “Today’s Speaker Spotlight, brought to you by Honigman LLP, is on Clark Hill Director of Marketing Roy Sexton who will be presenting on ‘Building Your Brand and Protecting It — Responding to a Four Alarm Fire’ at the 4th Annual State Bar of Michigan Business Law Symposium on January 20th. Listen to Roy speak with Maxwell Goss at the end of Episode 13 (34:08) of The Litigation War Room Podcast: https://lnkd.in/eaBmp5cb.” Thank you, Max!
Episode description: “Thor’s hammer, ‘Mjolnir!’ Attorneys with dogs! Superman t-shirts! Roy Sexton leads a lively discussion about how the little quirks make your law firm more attractive to new hires, current staff, and the audience of your marketing efforts. He shares his career anecdotes and Clark Hill’s recent branding revamp while being frank about the need for a new type of law firm culture. Learn more about the Legal Marketing Association here.”
Thank you all for the birthday love. I made a failed attempt to try to go through and like or comment on all of the Facebook posts, but Facebook is being stubborn and I think about 100 of them are lost to the ether. Given that part of my mantra was to unplug and chill out, I hope you will forgive me.
Thank you to everyone who supported my fundraiser for Ronald McDonald House Charities Ann Arbor: https://www.facebook.com/donate/674960266804808/?fundraiser_source=external_url. We’ve raised over $3000 already! ($2500+ on Facebook and a $500 check dropped off at the house). You all take my breath away. Bless your hearts!
I had a wonderfully relaxing day with John and my dad Don and Hudson. I was suitably spoiled by John with an avalanche of superhero-themed gifts, a CD player for my car (yes, I’m a dinosaur), and a much-needed desk chair (after nearly two pandemic years of sitting in an antique straight back kitchen chair 🤣). My dad had this great T-shirt made up for me and brought this scrumptious cake as well as some beautiful family heirlooms I’ve been nagging him about. Dear Rob Kates surprised me with this rare Cyndi Lauper disc he knew I was coveting (and treats for Hudson!). And Megan McKeon and Susan Ahern continue to ply me with liquor with a very thoughtful Caskers gift card. 🍸
We kicked back in our movie room watching Tick Tick BOOM (glorious!!) and listening to my dad’s new Christmas gift jazz CDs. (There we are with CDs again!) More than a few gin-and-tonics were imbibed, and then John chauffeured us to Seva Ann Arbor and treated us to a quiet, lovely dinner. Thanks to the staff there for the surprise tiramisu. Seva has become our “Cheers” in pandemic, a welcome haven for which we will be ever grateful.
This year has been a LOT. But today was just what the doctor ordered. Feeling deeply calm and content right now. Love you.
Thank you, Wabash College (and Karen Linn Handley!), for this lovely shout out to my mom Susie Sexton in the latest alumni magazine. She and my father Don Sexton loved Wabash and the positive and profound impact attending and, later, working there had upon me.
I still remember vividly the day they dropped me off for freshman year, her standing in front of Sparks Hall (right after a shutter on the stately building crashed off its hinges to the ground) exclaiming with pride, “Go and have fun! Enjoy this!” That exhortation may have been an immediate response to me tearfully asking them to take me back home. As I understand, my mom herself cried during the entire car ride back to Columbia City when they left me that day, but I never got one hint of her own anxiety about setting me on my path. To be honest, I was even a bit shocked that she seemed so ready to get rid of me! 
My mom had an incredible superpower to be the eye of a hurricane in the truly important moments and to exemplify bravery when others were caving around her. That takes an incredible energy, selflessness, and love – it also takes a toll on the person who sets that intrepid tone day after day, year after year. The older I get the more I realize what a high wire act that can be. I will always be grateful for that quality my mother had and how I benefited from it.
I’m glad this particular issue’s theme is “gratitude” as that is what I’m feeling right now.
Please check out Editor Kim Johnson’s excellent foreword – she nails with candor and warmth and wit the anxiety we all are feeling these days and how moments of pause and of appreciation can re-center us.
Part 2 …
My grandma Edna Duncan had an inimitable way of decorating for the holidays. If I were to give her style a descriptor, I’d call it “how to avoid putting up a tree while still seeming festive for the grandkids by utilizing one’s fireplace, some tinsel and garland, and assorted marginally Christmas-related items.” There was a nurse doll (still scratching my head about that one), a handful of glass ornaments, some mid-century flocked reindeer, a half-drained snow globe or two, and THIS little item. (Well, not THIS very one pictured, but you get the idea.)
I’m guessing some liquor vendor gave this novelty promo item to my novelty-promo-item-loving grandpa Roy Duncan (this apple doesn’t fall very far from THAT tree) when he ran #ColumbiaCity’s “Blue Bell” (Wrangler Jeans) factory. I’m not sure how/if it survived years of inquisitive grandkids (myself included) pushing the lid down off sequence, shoving fingers in the automaton pups’ mouths, and plugging and unplugging and plugging it back in. I also don’t know where the original ended up, but I decided late one night the other week to see if I could find a replacement on eBay.
Lo and behold, my insomnia-fueled nite owl online shopping adventures struck gold. And $150 later (Merry Christmas to ME!), this very cute and, yes, incredibly annoying piece has been added to our own eclectic decor. Let the holiday traditions live on!
Now, when and if I start gifting bottles of Old Spice cologne with checks lovingly affixed (not to mention wearing little straw hats), you’ll know my transformation into Edna Duncan is complete!
Yoda does NOT look amused. 🤣
Part 3 …
I am truly lucky to have a wonderful friend with whom I also happen to work. I’ve known Megan McKeon maybe about 10 years now? But we first actually collaborated in 2015 on a Legal Marketing Association – LMA International annual conference quick start panel. Fellow panelists Heather Morse-Geller and Gina Furia Rubel said, “We gotta get Megan to join us!” They were absolutely right. Few people are as devoted, as hard-working, as caring as Megan.
Flash forward a few years later, and Megan introduced me to Clark Hill. Heather told me that I MUST take the job – as she saw it as the right next step for me. Don’t tell Heather I said this, but she’s darn right 99% of the time! 😉
This legal marketing community blesses us with guardian angels at every turn, and three years ago when I received the distinct privilege to work with Megan my life improved for the better. I’ve never worked harder in my life, been challenged to be a better professional, or had someone so consistently in my corner as I have had with Megan, and our wonderful boss Susan Ahern, and our incredible colleagues.
Why am I telling you all this? Well, it’s late. And I’m in a reflective mood. And this magical surprise (pictured above) appeared on our front doorstep. Admittedly, one can argue it’s a year early as I will be president elect of the international association next year and president the following. Nonetheless, when my husband opened this, thinking he was going to find new floor mats for his Jeep 😅, we both squealed with delight. Of course, being me, I couldn’t get this on our movie poster wall fast enough.
(NOTE: I added the word “elect” to the image in the hopes of avoiding controversy! 😅)
This gift puts such a big smile on my face after one hell of a year. Everyone knows I love movies obsessively, but Megan has a distinct giftgiving prowess and somehow she found somebody who could turn me into my own movie poster. The tagline is hysterical: “Only the marketing is legal.” 🤣
Fun fact, Megan took this picture of me – and it is one of my favorites. We were in Chicago, on a sidewalk patio, shortly after I had started with the firm (halfway between a couple of my quarterly nervous breakdowns 😂), waiting for Ray Koenig and Susan to join us for drinks. Little did that naive Roy know what incredible adventures were ahead. But I’m looking at this poster, reflecting on the past year, the past three years, the past 10 years, incredibly grateful for what our legal marketing community has given all of us and for this friendship with dear Megan. Love you, Megan.
I hope everyone rings in 2022 with love in their hearts and an appreciation for what makes us each uniquely perfect in our own beautifully fallible ways. My holiday prayer.
Dear friend Beth Kennedy always slays (sleighs?) with her clever handmade birthday cards. We have glitter EVERYWHERE. And we LOVE it. Fun fact: she’s also statistically the most prolific commenter on this blog – after my mom! I reach tens of people with each post! 🤣Hudson and I are modeling “The Comfy” – in essence a ginormous velour sweatshirt billed as a “wearable blanket.” It’s an apt description 😍🥰❤️. A Christmas gift from my adorable, gracious, generous, QVC-loving mother-in-law.Loving this fabulous card from Alexis Menard. So grateful UM-Flint School of Management brought us together – she’s a gem!
Have you picked up that my family lives/loves to express ourselves? 🤣 My dad Don Sexton has adored jazz music since he was a little boy, saving his money to buy vinyl at the local record store in Shelbyville, Indiana. He told me the owner helped him discover what “good music” was, directing him to try selections that weren’t necessarily being played on pop radio. For my dad, all musical roads begin and end with Duke Ellington. And those early days of musical exploration have gifted him with a lifetime of musical adventuring. (His dad / my grandfather adored music too, taking a run at being a big band vocalist and singing in the church choir his whole life.)
Well, add music critic to my dad‘s growing list of accomplishments. His letter is published in this month’s DownBeat Magazine! He accidentally (on purpose … and adorably) FaceTimed me and John to read it to us and to celebrate together. As I may have mentioned before, one of the great sources of joy in my life has been how vibrantly my parents – Don and Susie – would talk about film and music and literature, both critically and appreciatively. In our house, watching a movie or a taking in a play or listening to a record was not a passive activity. It was something to be discussed, dissected, celebrated, debated. Hell, it inspired me to even get a master’s degree in theater history and criticism. Obviously, college education in pursuit of highly lucrative careers was not necessarily on our agenda. Lol.
A few months back, as my father is wont to do, he asked me to track down a CD by a new favorite John Chin. Postal Service being what it is in pandemic, the first copy got lost in the mail. Mr. Chin himself was kind enough to send my father a replacement copy, along with a second CD, autographed and with a lovely note. My dad, enthusiastic about the music he heard as well as the lovely interaction, reciprocated with this wonderful letter.
With the loss of my mom, this year has been impossibly hard, but moments like this remind you how special life can be and how important human connection is.
Text of my dad’s letter:
A Little Chin Music
Excellent review of Anything Mose in your October issue. I received Mr. Chin’s signed CD along with another, Fifth. Both CDs are tremendous. Please do an article regarding John Chin’s creativity and originality. Being a long-time music enthusiast, it takes a special talent to get me excited — and believe me, John Chin is the real deal! He should be on everybody’s play list.
We had a ball this afternoon with our year-end holiday broadcast. Yes, there were zany costumes, beloved pups, heartfelt sentiments, plentiful laughs, and maybe a show tune or two. (Yes, I sang – about midway – WITH prerecorded accompaniment because I’m fancy like that.) So grateful to be part of this fab Legal Marketing Coffee Talk crew: our fearless leader Rob Kates and fellow hosts Tahisha Fugate, Jessica Aries, and Andrew Laver. The kind words offered during the show about my late mom Susie Sexton, our honorary sixth cast member, were so appreciated and healing.
Thanks to today’s incredibly brilliant special guest stars, including Gina Furia Rubel, Amy Payton Verhulst, Nancy Leyes Myrland, Brenda Pontiff. You are such beautifully authentic souls.
Shout outs aplenty during today’s show: Heather Morse-Geller, Gail Porter Lamarche, Terry Isner, Nikki Girard Sherrill, Toni Wells, James Barclay, Ed Lovatt, Marcia Delgadillo, Nikki Bagdady Horn, Scott Lawrence, Nathalie M. Daum, Jay Harrington, Heather Harrington, Jennifer Forester, Cyndy McCollough, Timothy Corcoran, Jenna Green, Rachel Shields Williams, Shade Vaughn, Jennifer Simpson Carr, Trish Desilets Lilley, and likely many more I won’t remember until I watch again tonight! 🤣
Thank you to Kates Media: Video Production and By Aries for supporting this show and to amazing Katelynn Audrey Wynn McGuire and Clarita Bonilla for the exceptional promotional work on our collective behalf.
See you in 2022! #LMAMKT
Postscript … I am truly lucky to have a wonderful friend with whom I also happen to work. I’ve known Megan McKeon maybe about 10 years now? But we first actually collaborated in 2015 on a Legal Marketing Association – LMA International annual conference quick start panel. Fellow panelists Heather Morse-Geller and Gina Furia Rubel said, “We gotta get Megan to join us!” They were absolutely right. Few people are as devoted, as hard-working, as caring as Megan.
Flash forward a few years later, and Megan introduced me to Clark Hill. Heather told me that I MUST take the job – as she saw it as the right next step for me. Don’t tell Heather I said this, but she’s darn right 99% of the time! 😉
This community blesses us with guardian angels at every turn, and three years ago when I received the distinct privilege to work with Megan my life improved for the better. I’ve never worked harder in my life, been challenged to be a better professional, or had someone so consistently in my corner as I have had with Megan, and our wonderful boss Susan Ahern, and our incredible colleagues.
Why am I telling you all this? Well, it’s late. And I’m in a reflective mood. And this magical surprise (pictured) appeared on our front doorstep today. Admittedly, one can argue it’s a year early as I will be president elect of the international association next year and president the following. Nonetheless, when my husband opened this, thinking he was going to find new floor mats for his Jeep 😅, we both squealed with delight. Of course, being me, I couldn’t get this on our movie poster wall fast enough.
This gift puts such a big smile on my face after one hell of a year, and I won’t lie that it tickles me to be side-by-side with fellow Hoosier James Dean here. Everyone knows I love movies obsessively, but Megan has a distinct giftgiving prowess and somehow she found somebody who could turn me into my own movie poster. The tagline is hysterical: “Only the marketing is legal.” 🤣
Fun fact, Megan took this picture of me – and it is one of my favorites. We were in Chicago, on a sidewalk patio, shortly after I had started with the firm (halfway between a couple of my quarterly nervous breakdowns 😂), waiting for Ray Koenig and Susan to join us for drinks. Little did that naive Roy know what incredible adventures were ahead. But I’m looking at this poster, reflecting on the past year, the past three years, the past 10 years, incredibly grateful for what our legal marketing community has given all of us and for this friendship with dear Megan. Love you, Megan.
Legal Marketing Coffee Talk is ending 2021 with a bang!
Join us to celebrate the holidays, as Rob is joined by the whole gang of hosts with Jessica Aries, Tahisha Fugate, Andy Laver, and Roy Sexton, plus some of our fabulous By Aries social media team including Katelynn McGuire and Clara Bonilla plus a few special surprise guests.
Join us Thursday, December 16th at 3PM ET for fun and holiday cheer on our final episode of 2021 on …
Thank you, Abbi Carroll and Whitley County Humane Society Animal Shelter and all of those who contributed to my mom Susie Sexton’s memorial fund. We are so honored and thrilled by this tribute:
“If you met Susie Sexton you immediately were drawn to her big smile and magnetic personality. She was truly a larger-than-life legend and one of the brightest stars in Whitley County. She was known for her storytelling and zest for life. After her unexpected passing in August, there is now a permanent legacy to Susie at the Humane Society of Whitley County.
“Susie had many roles in life, daughter, wife, mother, teacher, professional actor and writer. She was also a staunch advocate for animal rights issues. It was only fitting that memorials include her passion for animal welfare as they were directed to the Humane Society of Whitley County.
“Susie and her husband Don Sexton were long-time supporters of the shelter and its mission to provide sanctuary to homeless animals in Whitley County. Just a few years ago, Susie and Don adopted a bonded pair of hard-to-place, Labrador Retrievers from the local shelter. The #dogs, Duncan and Duchess, didn’t have the best of life before their adoption, but the pair of escape artists won the lottery when they went to live with Susie and Don.
“After her passing, memorials came in from across the US. And, wow, did the memorials come in! It just showed how much Susie was truly loved.
“It wasn’t long before Don and Susie’s son Roy reached out to Abbi Carroll, Director of the local shelter, and asked what they could do in remembrance of Susie. It was decided that a room would be named in her honor. Combining Susie’s love of #animals and #writing, one of the adoption rooms at the shelter was recently named ‘Susie Duncan Sexton’s Typewriter Tabby’.
“A fitting tribute to a woman who had a passion for animals, writing and truly lived life to the fullest.”
Ohhh 😭… Abbi Carroll, Whitley County Humane Society Animal Shelter, The Post and Mail, we are so dang happy with this. Don, John, and I and our family thank you from the bottom of our hearts. Front page of the paper she loved for which she wrote for years and for a cause so dear to her (and us). In the hometown to which she dedicated all her mind and heart to documenting its history. This means everything. She would be so proud. I can hear her happy squeal and joyous laughter. Thank you to our beloved friends far and wide who generously donated to her memorial and made this dream a reality.
Thank you, delightful and talented Scott Lawrence of Headshots by Scott Lawrence, for joining Rob Kates and me today on Legal Marketing Coffee Talk. A robust and lively conversation about the power of smart, authentic portrait photography in legal marketing efforts and how to put your subjects at ease, how to introduce a contemporary and accessible feel, and how to incorporate styling for different digital audiences and individual branding needs.
Many, many shout outs (you have to watch to make sense of this list!): Gina Furia Rubel, Marcia Delgadillo, Brenda Meller, Sarah Ryan, Pentatonix, Gittings, Gittings Global, Gloria Pak, Nick Lachey, Jeff Timmons, MotorCity Casino Hotel, Laura Benanti, Susie Sexton, Don Sexton, Alan Cumming, Betty Buckley, Cyndi Lauper, Superman, Tiffany Elie, Hello Dolly, Patty Buccellato, Erin Kennedy, Meller Marketing, Zelig, show choirs, Minnie Driver, Ronald McDonald House Charities Ann Arbor, Kim Kelly, Ronald McDonald, C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital, Gabby Confer, Lori Mola Compagner, Cleveland Agora, Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, Chris Marrone, Kathy Cook, and heaven knows who/what else!
And thank you, Scott, for my incredible gift presented at show end!
Reel Roy Reviews 