Thank you, David Ackert and Kevin Martin, for this opportunity to reflect on our amazing Legal Marketing Association – LMA International community and on 2023…
In this episode of The Market Leaders Podcast, join host David Ackert and special guest Roy Sexton, Director of Marketing at Clark Hill Law, for a conversation that looks back at the industry trends that defined 2023, Roy’s tenure as the President of the Legal Marketing Association, and where the legal marketing industry is heading in 2024 and beyond.
Tune in to hear about:
•Building community and collaboration in and after the pandemic
•Reflections on organizational impact and personal growth
•Exploring unique expression and authenticity in relationships
•Managing challenges and building unity in a diverse community
•The importance of data and accountability in organizational management
Finally got a chance to listen! (Yes, I know I should be asleep … but I’m still wired from seeing fab musical film Mean Girls tonight!) Thank you, David and Kevin for this therapeutic gift. Means a lot to have this kind of reflective moment and to share it broadly. My mom and I were dissectors after the fact (plays, movies, events … card games 😅), so this dialogue had a comforting, yes, healing familiarity. So thank you.
Thank you also to those who had an important impact on me this past year and beyond. I didn’t get to mention everybody I might have wished but these beautiful folks all get shout outs during the show.
Love you, all: Brenda Plowman , Maggie T. Watkins , Despina Kartson , Jill Huse , Deborah Brightman Farone , Jennifer Manton , Kevin Iredell , John Byrne , Ashley Stenger , Alycia Sutor , Susie Sexton , Don Sexton , John Mola , Nancy Myrland , Gail Lamarche , Heather Morse , Lindsay Griffiths , Laura (Toledo) Gutierrez , Gina Furia Rubel , Renee Branson, MA, CReC, CFT , Lisa M. Kamen, CAE , Athena Dion , Mosaic Youth Theatre of Detroit , Ronald McDonald House Charities Ann Arbor , Clark Hill. 💕
Thank you, Gary Mitchell and Answering Legal! I really love the conversation we were able to have here about authenticity, brand (professional and personal), law firm positioning, random acts of #singing, sartorial splendor, community involvement, and #dogs on #linkedin. Love you, brother!
Episode 10 of The LawBiz Podcast™ With Gary Mitchell is now available!
Roy Sexton, the 2023 Legal Marketing Association International President and Director of Marketing at Clark Hill Law, joins the show to discuss creating the type of culture your clients are interested in, how lawyers should go about connecting with people and much more!
Shout outs to Legal Marketing Association – LMA International, Clark Hill Law, Mosaic Youth Theatre of Detroit, Ronald McDonald House Charities Ann Arbor, Jay Harrington, John Mola, Gabby Confer, Lori Mola Compagner, Adopt A Pet of Fenton, Michigan, Dale Ross, Megan McKeon, Susan Ahern, Athena Dion.
Thank you, Joseph Panetta and Anna Spektor at Expert Webcast for this opportunity to talk about authenticity, branding, marketing (legal or otherwise), and community. This conversation Friday afternoon sent me into the weekend on Cloud 9. Such a joy to be able to share stories with a friend I love and admire. Joseph, you are THE consummate host – prepared, warm, accessible, kind. Such a welcoming environment. Thank you.
“Roy Sexton, Legal Marketing Association President and Clark Hill Law Head of Marketing, gets up close and personal on our CMO Toe-to-Toe with Joseph Panetta, sharing his non-traditional start in legal marketing; his very personal approach and process for working with partners and teams; and the background on his epic LMA Annual keynote address.”
Shout outs during the show include: Alycia Sutor, Brenda Meller 🥧, Inforum, Alexandra France, Kate Harry Shipham, David Ackert, Athena Dion, Laura Gassner Otting, Rob Kates, Jennifer Weigand, Lisa M. Kamen, Danielle Gorash Holland, Megan McKeon, Susie Sexton, Don Sexton, Jonathan Fitzgarrald, Mary Ann Hastings, Holly Amatangelo, Jennifer Dezso, Lee Watts, Kaitlin Heininger, Edna Duncan, Clark Hill Law, Mosaic Youth Theatre of Detroit, Ronald McDonald House Charities Ann Arbor, Legal Marketing Association – LMA International, Managing Partners’ Forum, Wabash College, The Ohio State University, Deloitte, University of Michigan-Flint, UM-Flint School of Management, glittering #unicorns, Lady Gaga, The Flash, the movie Michael, Oprah Winfrey, George Orwell, Andy Warhol, Kurt Vonnegut, Madonna, Taylor Swift, Madonna, Janet Jackson, Beyonce, Jennifer Lopez, Stephen Sondheim, Barbie, Florida, DEI, LGBTQIA, The Birdcage, Jack LaLane, BornThisWay, Hudson, dogs, branding, authenticity, marketing, legal marketing.
A dear friend gave me great advice yesterday. We don’t have to give our trophies back. What she meant by that was that we don’t have to feel some need to repay recognition by pursuing the next great thing. She also suggested we don’t have to carry our trophies around with us everywhere we go (literally or figuratively) as that can burden us and prevent us from seeing/grabbing the next opportunity right in our midst.
That’s why these babies are going in the dining room. Lol. Because why not? Thank you, Crain’s Detroit Business, for both of these wonderful recognitions over the past couple of years. Really means the world to me. Back in my 20s, reading the print edition religiously, and studying lists like this, I wondered if one day I might be on one, let alone two! So thank you.
Thanks again to the organizations that allow me to be my best authentic self and contribute in ways that Crain’s deemed worthy of recognition: Clark Hill Law, Ronald McDonald House Charities Ann Arbor, Mosaic Youth Theatre of Detroit, and Legal Marketing Association – LMA International. Grateful for the opportunity to serve and create. Thank you, Tanner Friedman’s Joel K. Epstein and Matt Friedman and colleague Leslie Smithson for deftly helping navigate the submissions processes.
Finally, lest you think I am not humble enough, Hudson is duly unimpressed. He is far more interested in the sprinkler guy tromping around in his beloved yard this afternoon. It has NOT been a quiet Saturday! I think he believes he’s a ferocious lion – but his “roar” is more like the incessant rat-a-tat of a cap gun. Woof!
I had a ball chatting with Christopher Johnson today. Thank you, Brenda Meller of Meller Marketing 🥧, for connecting us. Terry Bean, if your ears were burning, watch. 🤣 We chatted about the power of family, great parenting, the arts, human connection, narrative power of marketing, trends in digital, Britney Spears headsets, and so much more. Enjoy!
Mentions include Don Sexton, Susie Sexton, John Mola, Clark Hill Law, Legal Marketing Association – LMA International, Ronald McDonald House Charities Ann Arbor, Mosaic Youth Theatre of Detroit, and more!
I’m officially official and deeply honored to be “ratified” as LMA’s 2022 prez-elect and 2023 president!
Thank you, dear Brenda Meller of Meller Marketing and Social Media P.I.E., for having me on today! We unveiled “C.A.R.” – an acronym I devised about 20 minutes before 🤣 – to help people become #socialmedia superfans. Celebrate. Advocate. Reciprocate. In retrospect, I should add an “E” for “elevate,” because I really do “C.A.R.E.” See what I did there?
In addition we discussed my hair care regimen, the power of silly tshirts, my favorite songs, and the goddesses Deborah Harry and Miley Cyrus.
Find out more about – and purchase! – Brenda’s best selling new book Social Media Piehere.
Shout outs in the show to Susie Sexton, Jay Harrington, Nancy Leyes Myrland, Gina Furia Rubel, Jessica Aries, Renee Branson, Heather Morse-Geller, Susan Ahern, Megan McKeon, Clark Hill Law, Mark Ostach, Kathy Kvasnak, Tina Marie Wohlfield, MiVida Burrus, Mosaic Youth Theatre of Detroit, Ronald McDonald House Charities Ann Arbor, Legal Marketing Association – LMA International, Beth Kennedy, and more!
P.S. Today’s chat inspired this blog post from Brenda as well. “Have you noticed that when you’re commenting in a live stream on LinkedIn, your photo is a gray avatar? It may be one of two items in your privacy settings. Here’s how to fix it.”
“Hair care investigator” Mark Ostach, my beloved Leadership Detroit 30 classmate
Join me and guests Heather and Jay Harrington, founders of Harrington Communications, as we discuss the importance of thought leadership and PR in legal marketing, marrying smart design with good content, and what it took to start their own agency that has turned top professional services firms into titans of industry.
Jay and Heather also have fascinating interests that include Heather’s spectacular art career – Life and Whim – and Jay’s books and publications. We are looking forward to picking the brains of this outstanding duo, and we know it’s a conversation you won’t want to miss.
Roy Sexton ’95 has been appointed as treasurer of the 2021 Legal Marketing Association – LMA International (LMA) Board of Directors. LMA represents thousands of legal marketing and business development professionals in 48 U.S. states and 24 countries.
“Being on the LMA Board of Directors is the apex of one’s volunteer leadership within the Legal Marketing Association and is significant in advancing the legal marketing profession as a whole,” LMA Executive Director Danielle Holland said in a news release.
Sexton, director of marketing at Clark Hill Law, has nearly 20 years of experience in marketing, communications, business development and strategic planning.
He has been heavily involved in the LMA as a regional and international leader and has served on numerous nonprofit boards and committees including the Ronald McDonald House Charities Ann Arbor, Mosaic Youth Theatre of Detroit, Royal Starr Arts Institute, EncoreMichigan.com.
“I am honored to serve on the 2021 LMA Board of Directors, and I look forward to the opportunity to help guide the association’s important work,” Sexton said in the release. “LMA will continue to provide outstanding programming and opportunities for professional development and networking to our members and advocate for our profession, locally, regionally and internationally.”
While at Wabash College, Sexton majored in English and theater and was a member of Lambda Chi Alpha and involved with the Wabash Theater, the Bachelor and Student Senate.
Sexton’s LMA appointment became effective January 1, 2021.
Our Clark Hill marketing and business development team has been on quite the journey over the last couple of years. It has been a great growth opportunity and one of the more enriching work experiences of my life. Out of the blue, REDSTARKIM LIMITED Managing Director Kim Tasso wrote about our work, based on a webinar we did six months ago! A lovely surprise!
Grateful for our exceptional and supportive leader Susan Ahern and for wonderful and inventive colleagues Megan McKeon , Guinevere Lehman Anderson , Emilie Strozier McCarthy , Shayna McCloskey , Tommy Franz , Dani Carter , Alexandra France , Gloria Pak , Elizabeth C. Jeffries , Stacey Marie , Maureen Denney , Keith Hobbs , Katelynn Schwalm , Alé Simmons , Amy Oldiges , Kimberly Reisman , Leslie Smithson.
From the blog entry’s intro: “In September, the international senior marketing and business development team at Clark Hill presented a webinar for the Professional Marketing Forum. The topic was ‘Clark Hill redesigns its marketing and BD team’. The work to re-imagine its marketing and business development (M&BD) team won Clark Hill the Best Marketing Initiative Award at the 2020 Managing Partners’ Forum Management Excellence Awards.”
SAVE THE DATE! February 11, 12:05 pm ET. Brenda Meller of Meller Marketing and I return to thunderdome! We will discuss what it means to be a superfan and how that can benefit your networking, branding, and marketing efforts. Celebrate, advocate, reciprocate.
Theatre in pandemic requires ingenuity, creativity, and miles and miles and miles of heart. Oh, and a good internet connection. Michigan’s Open Book Theatre Company is killing it.
Artistic Director Krista Schafer Ewbank has created an outlet for talented artists across the country and particularly here in Michigan to offer what could be best described as bespoke theatrical offerings. Whether it’s a musical staged at a drive-in, behind a picture window or in someone’s driveway or a ten minute, one person play delivered one-on-one (actor to audience), the company has kept theatre alive in these dark times with magnificent results. (I reviewed their production of iPoppyin October.)
Their latest offering is Emily Rosenbaum’s Home Less– as described on the Open Book website: “On her child’s eleventh birthday, a mom reflects on bravery, helping, and the Hogwarts sorting hat.” The conceit of the show is that the mother in question (local legend and, yes, my friend Carrie Jay Sayer) is recording on video a message that her son will read fourteen years hence on his twenty-fifth birthday.
The mother’s message is funny, heartfelt, often poignant, reflective of the unifying isolation of 2020 and the sense of helplessness throughout. The joy of celebrating her bright and adventurous child on his birthday is overshadowed by her guilt that she hasn’t been fully present for him, consumed as she is by the Sisyphean task of her day job: finding warm shelter for the ever growing numbers of homeless people.
The playwright offers in her notes on the piece: “But there’s no such thing as a homeless person. There are people who are experiencing homelessness, just as there are people experiencing food insecurity, domestic violence, and poverty. All of these traumas are human rights violations; none of them are characteristics of people. The systems that perpetuate these violences upon people are complex and deeply rooted. They are, in fact, our economic, educational, governmental, healthcare, and food systems. They serve some people well and are designed to keep others oppressed. … All sorts of circumstances can lead to homelessness, but there is only one remedy. A home.”
Sayer turns in a master class of nuanced understatement, with crisply drawn emotion and empathy, framing herself carefully in the Zoom-based “stage.” She is aided and abetted by Angie Kane’s steady, no frills direction, maintaining focus on words, message, and face. Sayer is a compelling presence, transcending the inherent limits of technology to connect with her singular audience member. We as viewer take the place of the birthday boy, with Sayer delivering her deepest thoughts and fears directly to us. The effect is as haunting as it is relatable. Sayer paces her delivery with varying rhythms and levels, taking us through the highs and lows of a mother grappling with widescreen societal issues and small screen personal ones. This is an exceptional performance, not to be missed. Instructive, cathartic, essential.
Remaining performances are available on January 18th, 21st, and 25th and can be scheduled here. Tickets are $20.
Join me for a panel discussion on January 27, 11:30 AM EST! Register here.
Almost every law firm currently using CRM and other marketing and business development software is looking for ways to increase the ROI on these technology investments. In the pursuit of success with technology, sometimes learning what NOT to do from people who have dealt with challenges can be more instructive than hypothetical discussions about what you could or should do.
Join us January 27 at 11:30 AM EST for part two of this four-part series examining some the top issues that can lead to “Epic CRM Fails.” You will hear from experienced marketing and business development professionals who will share real-life stories of how they overcame these obstacles. You’ll also see never-before-released videos that capture the frustration of failure – and get actionable ideas and best practices to succeed.
Here are just a few of the #EpicCRMFails “potholes” you will learn to avoid on the road to CRM Success:
Problems First, Products Second – Identify your needs and requirements first before attempting to evaluate software.
Let Lawyers Be Lawyers – Perhaps professionals who bill hundreds (or more) of dollars an hour shouldn’t be tasked with data entry. Minimizing their efforts by automating processes can maximize value – and adoption.
No Dog and Pony Shows – Don’t get distracted by shiny bells and whistles. Instead choose the features and functionality that match your needs and requirements.
Defeat the Deluge of Data – Don’t drown in dated data. Instead focus on getting information you need to succeed, keep it clean and turn it into actionable insights.
We hope you’ll join us for this fun and interactive discussion. We will also be accepting “fails” from the audience and awarding prizes for submissions.
Chris Fritsch, CRM Success Consultant and founder of CLIENTSFirst Consulting, has helped hundreds of law firms select and implement the right Client Relationship Management and eMarketing solutions to support their marketing and business development efforts and maximize return on investment. Her team of almost 100 data quality professionals helps firms clean and enhance data and maintain ongoing quality. A recognized authority on marketing and business development technologies, Chris writes and speaks nationally on topics including CRM, eMarketing and data quality. She was named among the top 10 Marketing and Business Development thought leaders in the JD Supra Readers’ Choice Awards. She was also inducted as Fellow of the College of Law Practice Management for her consulting contributions to the profession. Chris received her law degree from Emory University School of Law in Atlanta, GA.
Christopher Raymond, Intapp
Chris Raymond, Practice Group Leader, Marketing and Business Development at Intapp, has spent nearly 15 years in the legal industry, working with Knowledge Management, Marketing and Business Development teams of AmLaw200 firms across the country. He is Chair of the Legal Marketing Association (LMA) Northeast MarTech SIG.
Chris joined the Intapp team as part of the OnePlace acquisition and previously worked at LexisNexis.
Roy Sexton, Clark Hill
As Director of Marketing, Roy Sexton helps lead Clark Hill’s marketing, branding and communications efforts. Sexton has nearly 20 years of experience in marketing, communications, business development and strategic planning. He has been heavily involved in the LMA as a regional and international leader and serves on numerous nonprofit boards and committees, including the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Ann Arbor, Royal Starr Film Festival, Mosaic Youth Theatre of Detroit and encoremichigan.com. Sexton earned his Bachelor’s degree from Wabash College, and holds Master’s degrees from The Ohio State University (M.A., Theatre) and the University of Michigan (MBA). He is a published author with two books, “Reel Roy Reviews,” Volumes 1 and 2, taken from his blog of the same name www.reelroyreviews.com.
Meet Roy Sexton — Roy and his husband, John Mola are two of the most multi-talented, community-minded, and kindest professionals I have ever met!
Roy is the Director of Marketing at Clark Hill Law, a 650-attorney #lawfirm with 25 offices across the US, Mexico, and Europe. He also serves as a board member for the Ronald McDonald House Charities Ann Arbor, Mosaic Youth Theatre of Detroit, and Legal Marketing Association – LMA International.
Roy is a non-stop giver who regularly uses his social media platforms and reach to raise awareness and money for the various charities and causes he supports.
He holds a degree in Theatre from Wabash College, a Master’s Degree in Theatre from The Ohio State University, and an MBA from University of Michigan-Flint. Roy continues to entertain audiences with his acting and singing, and applies those skills as an emcee for various charity events across the Midwest.
Increase #diversity in #legal and follow or connect with Roy on LinkedIn! https://lnkd.in/eN-RBJC
I’m a little less clean-cut in quarantine! Shirt from the amazing Detroit Dog Rescue – available for purchase here: https://detroitdogrescue.com
In this episode, Steve Fretzin and Roy Sexton discuss: Defining business development and marketing, the relationship is between the two, and how best to integrate them. Listening to the coaches you bring in until it is built and hardwired into your DNA. Getting the full value out of your content and of social media. Being engaged in the social media community.
Key Takeaways: Marketing shows you where the door is, business development helps you walk through it. The business development technique you hold near and dear is not a silver bullet. It’s what you do with it. It’s how you develop relationships and how you build a book of business. With commitment, there is growth. Business development is a learned thing – you just have to stick to the regiment. The days of being able to avoid social media are over.
“We call it a rule of three. If you’re speaking somewhere or you’ve written something, you’ve three bites at the apple on social media to promote that, at minimum. There’s the time leading up to the webinar you’re about to promote and promote that more than once.” — Roy Sexton
We had so much fun getting to know Roy Sexton! Legal marketer, thought leader, community leader, writer, actor and singer Roy Sexton talks to us about personal branding, standing out on social media, and thriving through authenticity.
Roy also shares why he prioritizes having creative outlets outside of work. We completely agree!
He credits his success to so many legal marketers we admire such as Nancy Leyes Myrland, Heather Morse-Geller, Renee Branson, Gail Porter Lamarche, Gina Furia Rubel, Lindsay Griffiths, Laura Toledo, and Brenda Plowman. Plus, shout outs to Susie Sexton and Beth Kennedy.
Also, Roy and Jennifer Petrone Dezso need to be friends since they both love Sweeney Todd!
Best dressed?! Only in quarantine! Thank you, ALM Media, LLCs Amy Newman, who emailed and made my day:
I’m delighted to tell you we decided you are our winner of our Best Selfie/Best Dressed competition from Friday’s event [Legal Week #LegalInnovationAwards virtual ceremony]! Not only did you send in a great photo, your activity and involvement throughout the announcement was greatly appreciated!
My pleasure! First (and likely last) time I’ll ever make such a list! 🥰 🤵
