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Detroit Legal News covers launch of Expert Webcast series “All the World’s YOUR Stage”

17 January 2024

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Thank you, Brian Cox and Brad Thompson! You and the Legal News have been so kind to me for nearly 15 (!) years now!

Original article: https://www.legalnews.com/Home/Articles?DataId=1540542

Expert Webcast has launched a new series hosted by Clark Hill director of marketing and immediate past international president of the Legal Marketing Association Roy Sexton.

Titled “All the World’s YOUR Stage: Authentic Culture Drives Authentic Growth,” the show will feature discussions with notable business leaders on why culture matters, how one’s personal and professional brand are inextricably linked, and how to leverage your innate authenticity to create growth and spur sustainable organizational change.

The first season’s guests will include:

  • 96.3 WDVD’s morning show co-host of Blaine and Lauren Blaine D. Fowler
  • The Wall Street Journal best-selling author of Wonderhell and Limitless as well as keynote speaker and coach Laura Gassner Otting
  • Author/coach/recovering attorney/ president of Harrington Communications Jay Harrington
  • Fender Musical Instruments Corporation General Counsel/Executive Vice President/Corporate Secretary Aarash Darroodi
  • Counselor and spiritual coach Julie Booksh, MA, LPC
  • FOX 2 Detroit prime time anchor Roop Raj (TBD)
  • Eastern Michigan University General Counsel and Executive Director of The Penny Seats theatre company Lauren M. London
  • Keynote speaker/corporate comedian/client care strategist Brenda Pontiff of Partner Track Academy
  • Professor of Psychology, Cognition and Cognitive Neuroscience Area, University of Michigan and author Stephanie Preston
  • President and CEO of Detroit Regional Partnership Maureen Donohue Krauss, FM
  • Storyteller + Strategist: on stage and behind the scenes, award-winning voice­over artist Ratana
  • Communications Manager at Walt Disney Imagineering Dana C. Harvey, MBA

“I’m thrilled to be able to share my friends and their inspiring stories with the world. These professionals all have incredible and varied careers, rich with life lessons that can help others succeed and thrive in their respective work,” Sexton observed. “I come from a long line of storytellers, and I think the best way to learn and to be inspired is by sharing our journeys with each other.”

Expert Webcast is a woman-owned company and is a leading source of transactional wisdom and market intelligence for the professional and the business communities locally, nationally and cross-border. Producing the industry’s leading panel discussions and interviews covering corporate, M&A, restructuring and finance topics, Expert Webcast addresses timely and relevant issues faced by general counsel, C-level executives, boards of directors, business owners and their advisors, as well as institutional investors.

“We partner with leading media outlets and organizations to expand the reach and impact of the platform, and to foster collaboration and knowledge sharing among industry peers and stakeholders,” Anna Spektor, Expert Webcast’s Founder and CEO, noted. “Roy is a welcome addition to our voices. We’ve already recorded our first episode [with Blaine Fowler], and I’m just thrilled with the direction. I think our viewers – attorney leaders, executives, professional services practitioners – will gain great insight from these accessible, fun, authentic conversations.”

Roy Sexton leads Clark Hill’s marketing, branding, and communications efforts in collaboration with the firm’s team of marketing and business development professionals. He has nearly 20 years of experience in marketing, communications, business development, and strategic planning.

“As an acknowledged business leader and a top legal marketing, communications and strategic planning executive, Roy will add a new dimension to the Expert Webcast legal, finance and transactional programming by interviewing entrepreneurs, media personalities and other business leaders, focusing on business culture, growth and collaboration,” Spektor added.

Sexton is passionate about problem solving, facilitating business growth, crafting communications strategy, and enhancing law firm culture. He works closely with the marketing team to advance the firm’s digital and social media presence and external engagement, using multi-channel distribution and data collection. This enables the team to quantify results and use those results to produce thoughtfully and strategically organized content for clients and prospects.

Sexton also advises attorneys on marketing and business development strategy by curating relationships among external publications and media outlets and creating the appropriate platforms and opportunities for attorneys to promote their knowledge and practice.

He has been heavily involved regionally and nationally in the Legal Marketing Association – LMA International (LMA) as a board member, content expert, and presenter. He currently serves as Past President of LMA. He also serves on the governance board committee of Mosaic Youth Theatre of Detroit and was marketing chair for Ronald McDonald House Charities Ann Arbor’s board.

Sexton was named one of INvolve People’s 2023 Top 100 OUTstanding LGBTQ+ Executives internationally. He was listed in Crain’s Detroit Business’ “Notable LGBTQ in Business” in 2021 and “Notable Leaders in Marketing” in 2023, and he was a Michigan Lawyers Weekly “Unsung Legal Hero” (2018).

In 2022, Clark Hill’s marketing campaign, which Sexton played a key role in developing, received the Best Marketing Campaign award from the Managing Partners’ Forum in London, celebrating professional services organizations. The campaign was noted for its focus on values, diversity, and inclusion. The Clark Hill marketing and business development team was also awarded “Best Marketing Initiative” by Managing Partners’ Forum in 2020.

Sexton is a published author of two books: ReelRoyReviews, Volumes 1 and 2 and he was named “Best Actor in a Musical” by BroadwayWorld in 2017 for his performance as Jasper in The Mystery of Edwin Drood at Ann Arbor Civic Theatre.

Discovering my song: embracing music, finding my voice, and creating a meaningful life without a rule book … final Legal Marketing Association President’s message #lmamkt #lma23 #bothsidesnow

1 December 2023

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I never had voice lessons. I didn’t sing in high school choir. But when I was attending Wabash College, I suddenly found myself craving all the music my parents listened to when I was growing up: Barbra Streisand, Sammy Davis, Lena Horne, Doris Day. And I would go to the Walmart or Target in Crawfordsville, Indiana (we only had two stores … lol) and grab any CDs I could find. Columbia House helped too! I may still owe them for some of those discs, come to think of it. And I’d pop the shiny objects into my Discman that plugged into a tape deck in my swanky 1986 Buick Century and sing WAY out loud as I drove. Those artists “taught” me how to sing.

A few years later, I was cast as one of the leads in The Fantasticks. My mother, who DID have formal vocal training, told me years later that she was terrified over what was about to unfold. She said that once I opened my mouth and let out a warble, she knew I was going to be ok.

And I think I love singing for the very reason that it’s always been mine. No one forcing rules or expectations on me. Just doing it the way that feels natural to me. It refills my well and brings me joy. Not sure if it does the same for the audience, but that doesn’t stop me. Everyone needs something like that in their lives.

Roy at LMAMW23
Susu_Joni

So, I leave you, in my way, with a song. “Both Sides Now” by Joni Mitchell became one of my mom’s favorite tunes before she died. And I think I know why. In this beautiful yet poignant moment of transition in my life, its lyrics speak to me in a way they never did before. I hope they will hold some meaning for you as well.

Here’s the video of me giving the ballad’s melancholy joy a go.

Thank you for this opportunity to help bring something back to a community that has given me so much. 2023 will be a highlight of my career and life. And thank you for letting me be my weird and open-hearted self. That may be the best gift of all.

Love you…

P.S. For those wondering how the whole “playlist” thing got started, one more, to bring us full circle: “AmpliMix … the OG” on Spotify and Apple Music. This was created about a year ago this time for our LMA leaders kick-off (regional presidents, international board, committee co-chairs and SIG co-chairs). It only feels right to share this far and wide. Hopefully, you’ll enjoy the positive vibes here – and maybe use this mix to ring in the New Year!

P.P.S. And for completists out there (like me!) here’s the full list of this year’s playlists. Thanks for letting me share the soundtrack in my head with you all year long!

Keep on dancin’! Music is my love language …

Roy and Susie Christmas 3
Susie and Roy at Christmas (002)

Love you!

Roy

Roy Sexton Signature_2-1

Roy E. Sexton

President, 2023 LMA International Board of Directors

Director of Marketing, Clark Hill

Roy Sexton 98 Degrees (002)
Filming_Oct2023

Check out the LMA Fireside Chat with LMA 2023 President Roy Sexton, and President-Elect Kevin Iredell, moderated by Interim CEO Ashley Stenger, reviewing LMA’s successful 2023 and looking ahead to 2024! 

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REGISTER NOW FOR LMA24 April 3-5 San Diego

FLASH PROMO: Register by December 31 to be entered in a drawing for a free room night and room upgrade — plus get the Early Bird discount!!

If you ever wondered why I am the crazy nut I am … thanks to my cousin Krisan Gregson for finding and sending. I was truly fortunate to have the parents, upbringing, and home I did … full of creativity, hustle, and love. #youngauthors #ptareflections #indiana #onlychild

Of fireside chats, friendship, and community … #LMA23 Annual Meeting recap + dBusiness covers 2023 INvolve People Outstanding 100 #LGBTQ+ Executives Role Model list … #LMAmkt #LMA24

30 November 2023

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ICYMI … yesterday, incoming 2024 Legal Marketing Association – LMA International President Kevin Iredell and I as well as Interim CEO Ashley Stenger held our annual meeting via zoom in the form of remarks and Q&A, following the release of our 2023/24 overview “Fireside Chat” video via YouTube.

Wonderfully, that YouTube video has had over 550 views so far and is still available to watch here.

As for yesterday’s follow on Q&A and updates, you can view that by registering here (membership required). That will trigger a link to be sent to your inbox that you can follow for viewing.

Next year, Kevin plans to bring back a longstanding tradition of our annual meeting being held at our annual conference. I know we will all be “all in” for that!

Thank you, James Stickford, R.J. King, and DBusiness Magazine, for the lovely coverage here. Grateful for everything you do for our Southeast Michigan business community. You do such a lovely job helping all of us feel seen and appreciated! READ HERE.

EXCERPT: Roy Sexton, director of marketing at the Detroit-based law firm Clark Hill Law and 2023 International President of the Legal Marketing Association – LMA International, was named to the 2023 INvolve People Outstanding 100 LGBTQ+ Executives Role Model list.

The Outstanding LGBTQ+ Role Model Lists are supported by YouTube and showcase LGBTQ+ business leaders and allies for breaking down barriers and creating more inclusive workplaces across the world.

INvolve is a consultancy and global network that works toward diversity and inclusion in business. Through the delivery of advisory solutions, awareness workshops, and talent development programs, INvolve drives cultural change and creates inclusive workplaces where all individuals can succeed. They publish annual role model lists recognizing and celebrating business leaders and future leaders who are breaking down barriers at work and inspiring the next generation of diverse talent.

Sexton is the 2023 international president of the 4,000-member Legal Marketing Association (LMA) and has been a leadership member since 2021. He also serves on the governance board committee of Mosaic Youth Theatre of Detroit and was marketing chair for Ronald McDonald House Charities Ann Arbor’s board.

Roy Sexton Named to INvolve Outstanding LGBTQ+ Executive Role Model 2023 List

“So, it’s nice to feel seen and hopefully model just a bit for others like me that we have value in this universe.” The Sun Times News covers my being named in INvolve – The Inclusion People Outstanding #LGBTQ+ Executives Role Model List for 2023 … #lmamkt #lma23

10 November 2023

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Thank you so much, Sun Times News! Grateful for our community and for your work keeping us all informed and connected. …

READ HERE: https://thesuntimesnews.com/g/saline-mi/n/224411/roy-sexton-recognized-outstanding-lgbtq-executive-role-model-2023

Saline’s Roy Sexton, the Director of Marketing at Clark Hill Law, has been recognized on the INvolve – The Inclusion People Outstanding LGBTQ+ Executives Role Model List for 2023.

The acknowledgment comes as a result of his contributions to the firm’s PRIDE affinity group, particularly in messaging and content creation. Sexton’s efforts have been integral in shaping the firm’s marketing strategies to embrace educational content through various channels such as video messages, social media, and panel discussions.

“Long ago and far away, I would have only dreamed to be acknowledged in this way … for who I am and what I’ve attempted to do in this life,” says Roy. “I still feel a bit like that sheltered only child growing up in a small town in Indiana, reading comic books and pretending I was Han Solo in the backyard. So, it’s nice to feel seen and hopefully model just a bit for others like me that we have value in this universe.”

Last year, Clark Hill’s marketing campaign, which Sexton played a key role in developing, received the 2022 Best Marketing Campaign award from the Managing Partners’​ Forum in London, celebrating professional services organizations. The campaign was noted for its focus on values, diversity, and inclusion.

“I’ve been a Michigander now for nearly 25 years, and I’m incredibly grateful for this community, for my family and friends and colleagues, and, most of all, for my husband,” adds Roy. “They’ve all supported me as my authentic self and given me the grace and encouragement – and the wings – to help others.”

In addition to his role at Clark Hill, Sexton is serving as the 2023 international president of the Legal Marketing Association (LMA), which has a membership of 4,000. He has been part of the LMA leadership since 2021. Furthermore, he contributes to the arts and charity sectors, holding positions on the governance board committee of Mosaic Youth Theatre of Detroit and the marketing chair for the Ronald McDonald House Charities Ann Arbor.

A quiet thing … fellowship and show tunes at #LMAMW23

5 October 2023

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“A Quiet Thing” by Kander and Ebb, from a musical called “Flora the Red Menace” (Liza Minnelli’s Broadway debut), is a song that has been special to me for 25 years. My mom loved it, and I sang it in my very first one-man cabaret show at Wabash College. LOOOOONG ago. Think “Just Jack!” with fewer production values.

This was captured at our recent LMA Midwest Region Conference – #LMAMW23 – by co-chair Joanna Beckett. I’m so grateful to have this clip. I know it’s a bit unusual to offer opening remarks that include a show tune at a business meeting … but have you met me? This is a song that always resonates with me in moments of reflection. I’ve just got a few months left in my Legal Marketing Association – LMA International presidency, so I’m a bit in my feels … as the kids say.

As I noted right before I broke into song in broad daylight, I never had voice lessons. I didn’t sing in high school choir. But when I was in college, I suddenly found myself craving all the music my parents Don and Susie Sexton listened to when I was growing up: Barbra Streisand, Sammy Davis, Lena Horne, Doris Day. And I would go to the Walmart or Target in Crawfordsville, Indiana (we only had two stores … lol) and grab any CDs I could find. Columbia House helped too! I may still owe them for some of those discs, come to think of it. And I’d pop the shiny objects into my Discman that plugged into a tape deck in my swanky 1986 Buick Century and sing WAY out loud as I drove. Those artists “taught” me how to sing.

A few years later, I was cast as one of the leads in The Fantasticks. My mother, who DID have formal vocal training, told me years later that she was terrified over what was about to unfold. She said that once I opened my mouth and let out a warble, she knew I was going to be ok.

And I think I love singing for the very reason that it’s always been mine. No one forcing rules or expectations on me. Just doing it the way that feels natural to me. It refills my well and brings me joy. Not sure if it does the same for the audience, but that doesn’t stop me. Everyone needs something like that in their lives.

So thank you to LMA Midwest Region President Jennifer Gessner Shankleton for letting me share the stage with her this week and to co-chairs Lexie Blaner and Joanna for the EXCEPTIONAL work on this sold out event. It meant a lot to come full circle to the region where I started my LMA life for my last public appearance as the international president. As I joked from the stage, I think I’ve only made about 3.5 public appearances in this role as I mostly just want to stay in my basement!

Additional clips courtesy Sarah Ryan 💕

#LMA23 August Message … Tempus fugit, doesn’t it? And an August playlist!

16 August 2023

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Email Headers 2023 (6)

Tempus fugit! My late mom would often invoke this Latin phrase (oh, how she loved her high school Latin classes!) in her columns, her prolific social media posts (apple doesn’t fall far from that tree), and late-night emails to yours truly. For reference (and to show I use Wikipedia):

Tempus fugit is a Latin phrase, usually translated into English as “time flies.” The expression comes from line 284 of book three of Virgil’s Georgics, where it appears as fugit inreparabile tempus: “it escapes, irretrievable time.” The phrase is used in both its Latin and English forms as a proverb that “time’s a-wasting.”

Well, I’d say this wonderful community hasn’t wasted one precious minute this year, nor let grass grow under our collective feet, which is why we’re already knocking on fourth quarter’s front door. (How many metaphors can I work into one sentence?) We may be breathless, exhilarated and a little spent, but so much incredible work is in our rearview mirror, with more ahead from regional conferences this fall to our international and regional boards setting goals and budgets for 2024.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. This has truly been one of the great honors of my life to serve among all of you this year and I’m excited to see where 2024 President Kevin Iredell takes us. He’s such an insightful, authentic, driven leader, and I know the energy and heart he will bring to his LMA presidency will be remarkable.

Roy Sexton_July 2023_Lavendar Law Conference

(Photo: I was proud to have presented at the National LGBTQ+ Bar Association Lavender Law Conference in July in Chicago.)

As we look toward 2024, I’m going to “pass the mic” for the rest of this message to our fab CEO Danielle Holland. She has been diligently helping steer our macro conversations on long-term strategic planning the past few months and will share where we are headed next year and beyond.

But before I do…I offer you another gift of music🎵. What am I going to do next year with all of these playlists? Anywho, I hope you enjoy this #LMA23: Back to (Old) School AmpliMix here on iTunes and Spotify. I dug deep into my high school, college and grad school years for jams firmly placed in the 80s/90s, with a couple of 70s and 00s cuts for good measure.

DJ Roy out — here’s Danielle!

Thank you, Roy, and thank you for your incredible and engaging leadership this year! I know so many of us look forward to your playlists — who else could mash up 80s dance hits with show tunes and somehow have it all work together? 

That word, together, has been such an important theme for us this year and extends to next year and beyond.

Together, you have supported LMA and our community like never before. At the local and regional level, with exceptional educational and networking events…and across your organization as ambassadors fueling membership growth and engagement with vibrant member resource groups, collaboration in our Shared Interest Groups (SIGs) and committees, and post-Covid record attendance at the memorable LMA 2023 Annual Conference.  

Together, because of each of you, our LMA community is thriving. As we look to next year, it’s this amazing energy and inspiring spirit of together that will no doubt continue to propel us forward.

Membership engagement, growing member resources and strategic membership growth globally will be at the forefront, as will continuing to expand our support for our volunteer leaders in each of our eight regions – all while delivering an exceptional, integrated member experience across LMA. With that, we’re exploring new, innovative educational opportunities, as well as opportunities for our service providers to engage with LMA and our members. 

Also at the top of the list is strategic financial growth to reinvest in LMA and our community, in both the near and long term. Plus, you won’t want to miss our capstone event of the year, the LMA 2024 Annual Conference in San Diego next April! (Super Early Bird registration is open; my one shameless plug!)

The power and strength of LMA come from our members. Together there is nothing we cannot achieve. I thank you all for your ongoing advocacy and support.

You’ll hear more about what’s ahead for 2024 from Kevin in the coming months. It’s going to be another banner year, but there’s still much more of 2023 left. I ask for your continued support of LMA, and I hope to see many of you at our regional conferences this fall.

Now open up iTunes or Spotify and enjoy what DJ Roy has in store for us this month!

Love you,

Roy Sexton Signature_2

Roy

President, 2023 LMA International Board of Directors

Roy E. Sexton
Director of Marketing
Clark Hill

REGISTRATION IS OPEN FOR LMA24 April 3-5 San Diego

Register Early and Save!

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“Yesterday belongs to us, Mr. Jones.” Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny

5 July 2023

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Now is the winter of our discontent

Made glorious summer by this sun of York;

And all the clouds that lour’d upon our house

In the deep bosom of the ocean buried.

Now are our brows bound with victorious wreaths;

Our bruised arms hung up for monuments;

Our stern alarums changed to merry meetings,

Our dreadful marches to delightful measures.

William Shakespeare from the play Richard III

________________

One could argue, looking at the themes and box office performance of this year’s would-be summer blockbusters that actually we are in the “summer of our discontent.” Of course, I’m intentionally missing the point of this famous speech which observes that, in peace, those who’ve found power in the chaos of war long to return to those ugly moments that made them successful. Or maybe I’m not missing the point after all.

Much like The Flash (and as I understand a number of other big box office swings this summer), Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny is not simply a nostalgic cash grab, but a film focused on the corrosive nature of time and of nostalgia itself. Blessedly, there are no “multiverses” to be navigated here, but we do see time travel used as a metaphor, a rather effective one, for the regrettable state of our present world. Central to the conceit of the film: how some seek the golden glow of remembered peace and adventure as a balm; how others seek a return to darker, even more chaotic moments as their salve for the inexorable passage of time; and how some (Indy) try to deny any of it ever happened at all.

As directed by James Mangold (who swam in similar “past is prologue” waters with Logan), Dial of Destiny is a loving, if overlong, capstone on the storied careers of both Indiana Jones and Harrison Ford. It’s quite impossible at this point to separate the two. Yes, Ford has crafted similarly iconic hero figures in other silver screen franchises, but Indy (at least to this lay-viewer) has always dovetailed spectacularly with Ford’s apparent “curmudgeon with a heart of gold” real life persona.

The film would have benefited from about 2.5 fewer car/horse/boat/motorcycle/train chases. It’s a lot. And for a film ostensibly about the emotional collateral damage of a long life (mostly) well lived, it’s a bit hard to accept so much wanton destruction of personal property and commuters’ sojourns for sheer entertainment value.

Much like The Flash, the film truly shines in its quieter character-driven moments. Fleabag’s Phoebe Waller-Bridge (making quite a name for herself in the action genre) is a welcome addition. Her winsome brand of cynical, pleading snark as Indy’s ne’er-do-well goddaughter is a nice juxtaposition to Ford’s rock-ribbed “not this again” comic exasperation. They play very well off one another, although a few too many lines get lost in, yes, all the car/horse/boat/motorcycle/train chases.

Mads Mikkelsen adds another notch on his (shiny black leather) belt of playing icy Teutonic baddies. This time a full-on Nazi. (I do hope America remembers we don’t like Nazis.) Mikkelsen plays all the grace notes of sly sociopolitical critique in the early moments of the film when he “seems” to be a reformed Nazi helping America win its much-vaunted space race. (The film is set in 1969.) Given that such things actually did (and do) happen in America, it’s a pointedly clever reminder that the great U.S. of A. is not above reproach in its opportunism and global empire building.

We quickly find out he ain’t reformed. They never are. (Remember that, America, at the voting booth, mmkay?) His hope is to find two parts of an ancient dial, crafted by ancient mathemagician Archimedes, that will allow him to, yes, time travel and help MAGAfy World War II. More or less. “Yesterday belongs to us, Mr. Jones,” Mikkelsen hisses at one point. Kander and Ebb wept.

And thus kicks off a 2.5 hour rollercoaster ride (remember the cars, horses, boats, motorcycles, trains?) for multiple parties to find the dial and avert/create disaster (but mostly it’s just Indy vs. the Nazis).

Along the way, we meet friends old and new from prior entries in the series. Much like Mangold did so effectively with Logan, we watch a man (Indy) come to grips (arguably peace) with the tumultuous threads of his life, the disappointment of looking back on it all and realizing all he has to show is a (literal) retirement clock, ultimately warily acknowledging he wouldn’t change one bit of it, even if he could.

Admittedly, watching one’s childhood screen idol wrestling with the emotional and physical storm of aging is haunting, mixed as it is with my own awareness of how quickly time travels. I sat there, gazing at the screen at fifty years old, with the same awe I had when I was nine soaking up Raiders of the Lost Ark for the first time, thinking, “Wait, is Han Solo allowed to be in another movie!?” Indeed, he was and is little Roy … and we have been all the better for it.

Tempus fugit.

“It was not just for the performance itself, but for his courage.” Angela Giampolo with Gina Furia Rubel … On Record PR

26 June 2023

2 Comments

Thank you, Gina, for this lovely shout out. I’VE now got chills. 😅🌈✨ Thank you for your friendship and consummate allyship. And tremendous kudos to your guest here – Angela Giampolo – for the leadership, courage, heart, and moxie to do what she’s doing with Caravan of Hope. Utterly inspiring – and so essential.

Listen here: https://www.furiarubel.com/podcasts/ensuring-access-to-legal-services-for-the-lgbtq-community-throughout-the-u-s/

EXCERPT:

Gina Rubel: I’m so happy to hear that. Now I got chills. I mean literally just made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. It’s all I can wish for you. I was thinking when you mentioned Florida, I’m a member of an organization called the Legal Marketing Association. And our president, Roy Sexton, is an out member of the LGBTQ community. It was really hard having our conference there and being an inclusive organization with everything that’s been going on. Roy opened the conference. He’s also a thespian, so he’s a phenomenal singer and actor.

He opened it with Lady Gaga’s Born This Way, but he comes out and he’s in sequins and he is singing and dancing. Then all of a sudden after the first verse, he brings in this beautiful woman in drag and she’s in this incredible rainbow costume. What was so beautiful though, was not just the performance, but the fact that just about every single person, over 1,200 attendees, were standing up and just screaming in joy for this moment.

This is how we opened our Legal Marketing Association International Conference. To see that level of inclusion and spirit and love, and not just equality, but a sense of belonging. ‘Cause we always talk about creating that sense of belonging. It was just amazing. I was in tears, I just was in tears.

Angela Giampolo: I got chills when you were describing it. We’re just going back and forth on chill-worthy moments. To your point, everybody talks about inclusion and the history of DEI, right? Diversity, equity, and inclusion. It’s like a moment where it’s more than about being included. You include someone, wonderful, thank you. It used to be back in the day, it was like, we should play music for all when you’re having an inviting party. But it’s like music that the person can dance to, wants to dance to.

And that’s a moment like that where everybody’s standing up. It was not just for the performance itself, but for his courage. There’s so much happening in that moment that everybody is feeling. It’s honoring and acknowledging his courage, honoring and acknowledging who he is and loving him for it. The stance, honoring and acknowledging the statement that he’s making for the entire LGBTQ community, the political statement that he’s making doing it in Florida, knowingly. There’s so many layers there in him having done that. I feel like everyone’s standing up in tears and all of the things, it’s like all of those nuances were hitting you.

“There is no silver bullet or AI for authenticity.” Be That Lawyer Podcast: Marketing Mavericks Part 2 #lmamkt

22 June 2023

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“There is no silver bullet or AI for authenticity.” — Conrad Saam

VIEW HERE: https://www.fretzin.com/podcast/episodes/be-that-lawyer-live-marketing-mavericks-part-2-of-2/

In this episode, Steve Fretzin, Ashley Robinson, Conrad Saam, and yours truly discuss:

  • Social media as a tool for engagement. 
  • Deciding the best social media platform for you. 
  • Law firm marketing versus individual marketing. 
  • Connecting with those who already have deep roots in the community. 

Key Takeaways:

  • How you use social media matters. Doing nothing but promoting yourself is not going to build relationships. Connect with people, comment on their posts, and build relationships with your targets. 
  • You do not need to master all the platforms, but if you know your clients are on that platform, follow them, and comment on their posts. 
  • You don’t need to duplicate everything your marketing team is doing but don’t be silent on your own social media. People hire lawyers, not a law firm. 
  • Focus on thought leadership in a way that makes sense for you.