Thank you, Emily Neal 👩🏻💻 and DSMN8 – The Employee Advocacy Platform, for including my thoughts here.
“For Roy Sexton, this authenticity comes down to empathy and intention: ‘Authenticity is one of those words that gets thrown around a lot these days, often by people who don’t exemplify it. But what this report shows us is that people who engage on these platforms from a genuine place of empathy and intellectual curiosity make a huge difference in brand building. Organizations would be wise to embrace these techniques and tools to leverage genuine voices across their communities.’”
Truly honored to have been interviewed by my dear pal Deborah Farone for her upcoming book through Practising Law Institute (PLI) – Breaking Ground: How Successful Women Lawyers Build Thriving Practices, to be released January 2026.
(The quote in the graphic – taken from the book – references my, er, obsession with social media. 😅)
About the book: “Breaking Ground: How Successful Women Lawyers Build Thriving Practices is based on more than 60 in-depth interviews with leading women rainmaking lawyers, law firm chairs, business development experts, and academics from across the United States, Europe, Africa and Asia. The book explores how women at the top of their profession cultivate client relationships, develop new business, and build sustainable practices—while navigating the particular challenges of the legal world. Through personal stories, candid advice, and actionable strategies, the book offers a roadmap for lawyers at every stage of their careers who want to grow their practices and build trusted relationships with clients.”
Ever wonder why some marketers thrive in law firms while others crash and burn?
In this episode of Educated Spaghetti: Marketing Ideas That Stick, Lise Anne Schwartz and Roy Sexton, Chief Marketing Officer at Vedder Price, dish up ideas on building consensus for professional services marketing projects. They discuss the biggest mistakes of would-be consensus leaders, why Roy loves the word “pilot,” and his surprising take on creating lasting agreement. Plus, Roy shares his favorite resource and secret sauce for getting people to support a new project.
In this episode:
(00:00) The number one thing holding companies back
(05:05) Childhood experiences that shaped a consensus builder
(10:26) Pilot strategy that turns law firm skeptics into advocates
(17:41) When to proceed without consensus (and how to do it safely)
(23:54) Why trying to leave a legacy guarantees you won’t
(32:06) Roy’s secret sauce: listen more than you talk
About the Host
Lise Anne Schwartz is an experienced brand strategist and writer known for creating authentic, original work that audiences remember. With 20 years in professional services marketing, she brings a unique blend of perspectives as a former lawyer, journalist, copywriter, and pastry chef. Her strong focus on storytelling and user-driven communications, combined with skills in surfacing key insights from stakeholder and audience interviews, makes her exceptional at bringing complex ideas to life. Having conducted over 100 buyer interviews and earned degrees from Northwestern University and Columbia Law School, Lise Anne regularly writes on professional marketing topics.
About Right Hat
Right Hat is a marketing and design partner driven by curiosity, courage, and optimism to help clients take their communications to new heights. Specializing in communicating the value of complex, intangible offerings like professional services, education, and tech solutions, they serve as brand strategists, website designers, creators of sales tools, and extensions of in-house teams. Through deep industry knowledge and determination to push past the ordinary, Right Hat combines design, content, and digital strategies to bring powerful brands to life with fresh ideas that help clients stand out in crowded markets.
A year ago this week I gave a speech at LMA Southeast Region’s conference. (Yes, I explain the zany suit if you watch.) I’d honestly forgotten about this. Dear friend Nancy Leyes Myrland had a reminder pop up today and sent this video she had captured. I might’ve watched this at the time – but I honestly can’t recall. And I only watched a few minutes of it just now. Like many people, I don’t like the sound of my own voice and I really don’t like watching myself. C’est la vie.
But moreover, I had a lot going on existentially last year. That may be why this was lost to the ether of my addled mind. I do know I wasn’t really happy. (I am now.) I felt a bit lost, misunderstood, possibly angry. I felt I’d done my best to give what I could to this world, but was receiving too many signals that it wasn’t enough, that there should be “less of me out there,” that I had somehow disappointed people I had admired and honored. Like all things, much of that was probably in my own head.
But this speech was born of that moment, in which I did my best to lay bare – with humor and gratitude – how I saw myself and how I believed so fully in the differentiating power of authenticity. (And still do.) Was this my ego showing? Probably. Was it a form of self-indulgent group therapy? Indubitably. Was it an effort to try to help others avoid the pain I was feeling then? That was my prayer.
What a difference twelve months makes. I’ve had a LOT of change this year. I hope I’ve grown. Jury is out on that. But for this moment I feel like the bet I placed on myself – as expressed in this video – was the right one.
I’m so unbelievably grateful for the opportunities that have come my way in this time. The me in this video had no idea a remarkable, transformational, literally life changing offer was just around the corner. This new role and new adventure in a new city with a lovely new team and colleagues have meant the world to me.
The video isn’t the complete speech – some of the intro and conclusion is missing – and, honestly, I like it like that. There are few discrete beginnings and endings in life. With an open heart and a healthy sense of humor, serendipity can serve one nicely.
Thank you again to Nancy for this and for always helping me remember I matter. That we ALL matter. And that our stories make a difference. Also, grateful to Toni Toomer Wells and Matthew Gallagher, co-chairs of last year’s event, for believing in me and giving me the chance to share these thoughts with the universe. I hope they can continue to be helpful to whomever is kind enough to give this a watch.
