Thank you, The Professionals: Inside Professional Services Marketing magazine, for this feature and shout out.
EXCERPT: “AI is certainly not a new phenomenon, and many firms and individuals within professional services firms are experimenting and even using it to save time. However, for many firms, its full potential to deliver and enhance their business development and marketing efforts has so far not been successfully tapped. To assist with this, a leading professional services BD and marketing agency, The BD Ladder, has released a thought leadership eBook, The Impact of AI on Business Development & Marketing in Professional Services, which features eight articles from leading independent BD and marketing consultants and practitioners within the professional services. …
“In comparison to this Roy Sexton’s article offers a contrary view on the widespread rush to adopt AI. He emphasizes the importance of thoughtful, strategic adoption of AI rather than chasing trends. Sexton warns against superficial compliance and advocates for a deeper understanding of AI’s potential and limitations.”
Are the kids all right? Are we too concerned with trend-chasing as opposed to delivering real value? Find out my thoughts on marketing, BD and AI in my article in The BD Ladder’slatest eBook.
Download your copy today and read the thoughts and opinions of industry leaders including Ben Chiriboga, Lynn Tellefsen Stehle, Ben Trott, David MacDonald, Megan Senese, Jennifer Ramsey, Richard W Smith, Michelle Howard, and Paul Roberts.
Thank you to Ben Paul and Lucy King who invited me to take part.
The kids are NOT all right … one marketer’s (cheeky) thoughts on trend-chasing and real value
By Roy Sexton, Director of Marketing at Clark Hill and Immediate Past International President of the Legal Marketing Association
I suppose I’ve become more of a contrarian as I’ve progressed through my career. I love new ideas, change, and growth, but sometimes my Spidey-sense goes off when I feel like too many people are all rushing off after the same shiny object and I don’t perceive a great depth of thinking in their discourse. Now I’m not saying that’s the case with AI right now.
I’m implying that’s the case with AI right now.
Why do I say this? Well, for one, we’ve all been living with AI in one form another already for 20+ years. It’s baked into just about every cell phone and home media device, ubiquitously scattered across the land. It’s part of all major software applications. It’s part of every shopping recommendation we receive – and heaven knows AI-shopping suggestions sustained my spirit during the pandemic!
But in 2023 it suddenly captured the zeitgeist and, at least in my chosen profession of marketing, it seemed as if everyone feared they didn’t sound “smart” if they didn’t jump into the fray. For a while, it seemed all slapped the sentence “AI won’t take your job, but people who know AI will” into every piece of thought leadership, whether pertinent or not.
It’s AI o’clock … do you know where your children are?
Now, don’t get me wrong. I’m as enamored of AI-prompts and AI-streamlined tasks as anybody. As a glimmer into my psychology: I remember I fought voice-to-text for years, until my poor thumb screamed “give me a break with all the texting!” And now I haven’t typed anything on my phone for the better part of a decade (I think). I also am not sure I’ve proofread any of my texts in the better part of a decade either come to think of it.
And I guess that’s a bit of my concern. There’s a meme I share on social media every time I see it, and much like Yogi Berra I’m sure I will mangle its verbiage. It’s something to the effect of … “Hey, rather than have AI replace all the artists and screenwriters, let’s have it clean up the oceans.” That speaks to me. I will sound like a tin-foil hat wearing conspiracist but did the accountants get together with IT and say, “You know what … we both hate writing. Can we work on something to replace THAT?” I know AI does SO much more, but this is what hits close to home for me. Truth be told, writers are generally paid a pittance anyway, and I’m not totally convinced that what comes from AI prompts is as compelling as what comes from the human mind and heart. Plus, if the robots are doing all the writing and the responding, who’s doing the reading? Asking for a friend. Isn’t the point of marketing copy to connect with fellow humans and influence their purchasing decisions? At least that’s what I always thought.
What does appeal to me is the idea of AI clearing the decks of tasks that are not value-add and replacing with ones that generate market insight, while expanding the reach of the human minds in the room. I do believe in my bones we are at an incredible tipping point where data is concerned; AI rapidly scouring all the interwebs to inform our creative decisions, to target the right clients and customers just-in-time, and to close the deal will create greater efficiency and outcomes. This will also empower the creatives to do their work, to not have to fight their internal clients endlessly (that’s honestly where all the marketing waste is), and to focus on what they do best: innovate and connect.
I caution us as professionals to not lose ourselves in a sea of buzzwords and trends. For the past decade, every conference season, I slog through a million panel discussions where everyone hyperventilates over the next big “disruption.” Shall I rattle off a few? Big data. Internet of things. Blockchain. NFTs. Um … Clubhouse. I could go on.
What I am interested in is how we can already leverage what we have been using unknowingly for ages, not to downsize teams or confuse an already broad generational contingent even further, but rather to quickly craft holistic solutions that empower creators and consumers alike to connect over what they really need.
We’ve already seen the speed with which digital solutions can disrupt (negatively) real life, particularly the impact that social media has had on community fragmentation, political turmoil, and the dissemination of fraudulent information. When education and human comprehension don’t keep pace with technological advancement, human beings veer into “Dark Ages” dystopian times. Disruption seems clean and sleek and sexy in the rearview, but it is messy in real time. People are messy. We can’t help it. I’m not saying that’s bad and I’m not saying that’s good. I loved Thomas Friedman’s The World is Flat as much as anyone. But it remains a concern and as breathless as we are about these new tools and solutions and what they can do for the “bottom line,” let’s also consider what they will do to an already fragile human condition.
I will leave you with this anecdote, names changed to protect the innocent. I have an attorney friend – a Baby Boomer. I’m not being ageist – it’s important context. This attorney reminds me of my beloved late mother. Both reflect a fascination with social and digital platforms and a desire to connect as broadly as possible, seeing the potential in these channels for commiseration on scale and enthusiastically embracing it all. Both also are petrified they are going to “break something” every time they touch social media. Doesn’t hold them back but fear always lurks in the background.
(Sidebar: I grew up in the era when parents told you not to sit too close to the television for fear of ruining your eyesight nor to turn it on and off and on and off for fear of breaking it. In fact, we – gasp! – took our TVs periodically to the “repair shop.” I wonder if this is why an entire generation lives in abject terror over tech. Just a theory.)
One day this attorney asked me why they don’t see the words “[their name] likes this” under posts on social. I said, “Well, when you click ‘like,’ OTHER people see that.” They then got insistent: “No, I want it to say [my name] LIKES this.” I explained again. Then a light bulb went off. I looked at their activity and realized in the time we were chatting they had started typing this as a comment “[their name] likes this” over and over and over under different posts. Paging Amelia Bedelia!
Now flash forward a few months, I get another call. On a Sunday. This attorney is apoplectic. “Why does it show I’ve left all these comments on my very important clients’ posts? I didn’t say these things. I wouldn’t say these things. Can I sue LinkedIn? I’m so embarrassed.” Again, I calmly asked, “Now describe to me what you are seeing?” (I learned this in years of similar panicked chats from my mom. I think I could have a side hustle here.) With some time, I figured out they thought the AI prompts under a given post were a string of comments they had actually left. They were so distressed about it that they had then sent emails to all said connections apologizing. THEN they reached out to me. Not a great look for someone trying to show their facility and agility in this digital age.
So, what’s the problem here? Why am I sharing this? I actually GET why the attorney was alarmed. Now, I knew what I was looking at when I saw those prompts, but they didn’t. Because the tech industry sometimes moves at the speed of “we’ll get to it when we feel like it” and other times at the speed of “we’re changing stuff and not explaining it and you can just figure it out or not,” there is likely a deep rift we will create across generations if we don’t pause a bit and implement things sensibly. Did this attorney NEED a prompt to say, “Congrats on your work anniversary?” Do any of us? Was that actually a problem that needed to be solved? And how many troubles have been created inadvertently in the process?
What’s that line sardonically offered by Jeff Goldblum’s Jurassic Park character Dr. Ian Malcolm (who specialized in chaos theory BTW)? “Your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn’t stop to think if they should.”
Now, I know those reading this ramble will shake their heads in judgment and think, “I’m shocked. SHOCKED! I had no idea Roy was such a wet blanket luddite.” Listen, I’m not. I love what we are able to do with digital and social tech and how AI can supercharge our ability to connect meaningfully and hopefully change the world for the better. But I’m not honestly seeing much of that yet in the discourse to which I’ve been privy. So just imagine I’m Ian Malcolm here. And remember he’s one of the few characters who survived.
P.S. Confessional … I first asked Chat GPT to write this article for funsies. I hated the result. Tossed it all out. And then I wrote this. You might hate it. But I don’t. And I still think that matters.
P.S. Above depicted one of my most treasured invitations I’ve ever received in 12 years of being a member of the Legal Marketing Association. Thank you, Tahisha Fugate, MBA [she/her]! Love you and love this dynamic, brilliant, fantastic, fun group of incredible human beings.
LinkedIn post from Tahisha: “For the third year in a row, a group of Black Women in Legal Marketing and friends gathered at #LMA24. Women from firms of all sizes, across the U.S. and Canada, connected and engaged. We were thrilled to be joined by some legal marketing business partners, including Chambers USA, Passle, RubyLaw, and Jaffe to name a few.
“A special thank you to my firm Axinn, Veltrop & Harkrider LLP for their continued support of this event! I look forward to seeing everyone in DC next year. #legalmkt #marketing #businessdevelopment #DEI”
Thank you, Passle! You do so much good for our industry and our profession. Love you all! Deeply honored to be included here among such wonderful luminaries.
Passle writes: “Need some inspiration heading into 2024? Check out our list of must listen podcasts from the Passle CMO Series.
“We’ve broken down the top topics and picked our key podcasts to kick off your year with a bang.
“Thanks to Lynnette Espy-Williams, Roy Sexton, Diana Lauritson, MBA, M.S., Suzie Williams, Maggie Stuart Watkins, Lisa Azzuolo, Paul D. Webb, Chris Postizzi, Mariana Loose, Judith McKay, Emily Rogers, Emily Mckeown.”
Oh, thank you, Yasmin Zand and Charlotte Knight and Passle, for this lovely opportunity to discuss #LMA23, my professional and personal journey as a member of the lgbtq community, and what authentic allyship can (and should) be.
Very grateful for you, for this series, and for what you provide our community and legal industry so generously.
Shout outs and thanks to friends, colleagues, and allies, all mentioned (or alluded to!) in the show: Laura Gassner Otting, Athena Dion, Lisa McDonald Kamen, Diana Lauritson, Megan McKeon, Lee Ashby Watts, Jennifer Petrone Dezso, Holly Amatangelo, Kaitlin Heininger, Danielle Holland, Jennifer Weigand, Ellie Hurley, Ashley Stenger, James Fisher, Nancy Leyes Myrland, Gina Furia Rubel, Laura Toledo, Gail Porter Lamarche, Heather Morse-Geller, Lindsay Griffiths, Amber Bollman, Mike Mellor, Ruth Morayniss, Arthur Uratani, Tahisha Fugate, Susan Ahern, Mary Ann Hastings Stephens, Jon Brewer, Joseph Edmonds, Cheryl Bame, Don Sexton, Susie Sexton, John Mola, and more.
Episode description: On this episode of CMO Series REPRESENTS, Yasmin Zand is lucky enough to sit down with Roy Sexton, Director of Marketing at Clark Hill Law and 2023 Legal Marketing Association – LMA International President, to discuss his journey both inside and outside of the legal marketing industry.
Roy shares how his formative experiences as a gay man have impacted his approach to leadership and why finding safe and inclusive communities that allow him to be his authentic self has become so central in his career.
The conversation delves into Roy’s childhood, passions, and why his headline performance at the 2023 LMA Annual Conference in Florida was so poignant in support of the LGBTQ+ community in that moment.
EXCERPT: The Legal Marketing Association – LMA Mid-Atlantic Region had a casual catch up today to recap on the brilliant conference nearly a month ago. Chris Fritsch of CLIENTSFirst led the panel of Tahisha Fugate of Axinn, Veltrop & Harkrider LLP, Bobbie Conklin of Steptoe & Johnson PLLC, and Jason Levin of Ready, Set, Launch, LLC. There was also a brief cameo from Roy Sexton, current President of the Legal Marketing Association – LMA International.
The panel and Roy kicked off by all agreeing that the Legal Marketing Association’s Annual Conference in Hollywood, Florida was a HUGE success. Attendees included many first-time conference goers, and the panel all concurred with Tahisha when she described the conference as an inclusive experience with something for everyone.
The conference focused on so many topics under the umbrella of Legal Marketing. Sessions were interactive, engaging, and provided practical advice on how to implement marketing and business development strategies.
The highlight of the conference might have been Roy on stage during the opening remarks. His energy and the atmosphere he created was something that continued throughout the entire conference. Jason was keen to point out that there is something special about LMA, the amount of support everyone has for each other and the encouragement for the new attendees to get stuck in.
Roy Sexton: “I’m Roy Sexton, Director of Marketing for Clark Hill and I am also the 2023 International President of the Legal Marketing Association. The one piece of advice I have has been hard learned and it has really been galvanised in the last four years of working at Clark Hill and it’s going to seem both counterintuitive and a bit twee at the same time. Slow down, pause. Listen to the people around you.
“We often are there in support of people who have their hair on fire for good reasons and we sometimes want to be doers and we want to respond and we want to react. And we take that chaos energy into ourselves and we just start doing stuff. Lean into your team, lean into the people around you and even if someone’s coming at you with heightened energy you don’t have to be dismissive of that, be empathetic, say, I hear what your needs are.
“State a timeline back to them and say, could I do some digging on this? Work with the team. Can I get back to you in a week with a recommendation? Nine out of ten times, unless it’s a media crisis or something, people will always understand, but then follow up. Meet the timeline that you suggested.
“And I also tell the folks that work for me, don’t screw up the easy stuff. If someone needs an update on the website, just do that quickly and get back to them and show them that you did it. Because that makes the harder conversations that much easier later because you’ve earned the credibility.
“But in short, I would say take a pause, take a breath, assess the situation, and then figure out a solution in collaboration with the smart people that you get to be around every day.”
We are all grateful for YOU and for all you are doing for our profession and industry. EXCERPT:
“I’m Roy Sexton, Director of Marketing for Clark Hill Law and I am also the 2023 international President of the Legal Marketing Association – LMA International. I am thankful for a group of humans I met early on when I joined the Legal Marketing Association. Gina Furia Rubel, Nancy Leyes Myrland, Heather Morse-Geller, Gail Porter Lamarche, Lindsay Griffiths, and Laura Toledo
“We’ve all kind of now moved on and gone our separate ways in some respects, but that was the core group. I tell this story quite a bit. I was at the Orlando LMA annual conference and shy and nervous, which nobody believes, and feeling very insecure and I was lurking around the pool. Nothing good usually comes from that. And they were all there as a social media special interest group, having a meetup.
“And Gina saw me and she said, ‘Come over here. Who are you?’ And sometimes I cry when I say this because she just wrapped me in love and got to know me during the course of that afternoon. And they became my mentors and my friends, and they have been with me ever since, supporting me, giving me hard truth, and helping show me the way through this profession.
“And I had always had a fairly serendipitous career until I met them. And it really locked in that I like what I do, I like who I support, and I will always credit them for the mentoring they provided me early on, the way they adopted me and the way they’ve looked out for me ever since.”
I love my brilliant, kind, creative friend Gail Porter Lamarche. She shared her wisdom and wit with me and a strangely absent Rob Kates on Legal Marketing Coffee Talk today. We discussed the importance of authenticity, the magic of #music and fabulous parenting, the benefit to firms of marketers who engage the community, how much we love Legal Marketing Association – LMA International, the fabulous learning and connection at LMA21, the power of digital thought leadership, how to coach attorneys to network with intentionality, Norman Love Confections, Theatre Nova, taco Tuesdays, beloved furbabies, and more. And how proud we are of ass-kicking Laura Toledo!
Shout outs to beloved family, friends, and colleagues include Nancy Leyes Myrland, Gina Furia Rubel, Heather Morse-Geller, Lindsay Griffiths, Megan McKeon, Kelly MacKinnon, John Byrne, Ross Fishman, Don Sexton, Nancy Slome, David Ackert, Passle, James Barclay, Tommy Franz, Kevin Iredell, Maggie Stuart Watkins, Adrian T Dayton, and more!
Legal Marketing Coffee Talk is brought to you by: By Aries and Kates Media.
Clockwise from top left: Justin Scott Bays, Roy Sexton, Elizabeth Jaffe, Diane Hill, K Edmonds, John DeMerell, Kristin Clark
Just FOUR more chances to see SING HAPPY! http://www.theatrenova.org … Come hear the music play – through Sunday!
This celebration of the work of Broadway’s famous duo, Kander and Ebb, features a star-studded ensemble of singers, who take the stage with showstoppers from CABARET, CHICAGO, KISS OF THE SPIDER WOMAN, and many others. Directed by Diane Hill, with music direction by R. MacKenzie Lewis, SING HAPPY! is not just a musical revue. It’s a show that ultimately weaves a tale of strength and determination, one we can all relate to in these times.
AUDIENCES AND CRITICS ALIKE LOVE SING HAPPY!
From Pulp Magazine: While the show leads off with the encouraging “Sing Happy” from Flora the Red Menace, the show’s best moments are the wistful, introspective, and sad songs. The singers come and go throughout the 70-minute revue with no intermission. The tentative story they tell is one of guarded hope, which seems appropriate to our current situation.
Photo by Sean Carter
Director Diane Hill keeps it simple and the singers respond with performances that grasp the conflicting emotions that are at the heart of Kander and Ebb songs.
Photo by Sean Carter
John DeMerell brings a meditative quality to his rendition of “I Don’t Remember You,” a song about a once-close relationship that now seems lost forever. Justin Scott Bays brings more heat to a plaintive yearning for a lost love in “Sometimes a Day Goes By.” The two voices sing in counterpointed empathy.
Photo by Sean Carter
Perhaps the best-known song in this mood is the comic sad “Mr. Cellophane” from Chicago. Roy Sexton sings the mournful tale of a man who wonders how invisible he seems to be. Kander’s music is a shuffle and Sexton glides across the stage making like a sad, dancing clown.
Kristin Clark brings that wistful quality to “Colored Lights,” another song about what might have been.
Photo by Sean Carter
K Edmonds brings her big voice and expressive face to a rollicking showstopper from Chicago, “When You’re Good to Mama,” a warning to inmates about how things work on the inside.
Photo by Sean Carter
Elizabeth Jaffe has fun with a sassy celebration of a daytime lover in “Arthur in the Afternoon.”
Photo by Sean Carter
Theatre Nova is alive and it wants to stay alive and offer a chance for everyone to come and see fresh, new, exciting plays at a reasonable price. In the music and words of Kander and Ebb, “what good is sitting alone in your room, come hear the music play, life is a cabaret, old chum, come to the cabaret.”
“What a fabulous evening of song! The energy level was high and the numbers flowed seamlessly one to another. I especially enjoyed seeing Kristin and her mom sing together. So great to be back to live theatre, and I appreciate the precautions you’re taking to make everyone feel safe.”
Photo by Sean Carter
“The show was yet another reminder of all the fabulous talent we have in our area. Great Performances, wonderful show.”
“Delightful show! Heartfelt and accomplished singers. Enjoyed every song.”
