The Legal Marketing Association is the international professional-membership association for the law firm marketing community. I’ve been an active member and supporter since 1990 – it’s a dynamic, demanding, creative, and varied group. I’ve sat on the Education Committee for a number of years, and chaired both the national entry-level “Quick Start” program as well as the lawyer-only “Just for JDs” conference.
LMA members have significantly different backgrounds, education, and practices. Some firms have two lawyers, others have 2,000. Their marketers may have two days of experience or two decades.
LMA members work in different countries and cultures. They are broad generalists and narrow specialists. Some practiced law while others are still finishing school.
Educating so unique and varied an audience is complex, so Law Firm Speakers askedBetsi Roach, the Executive Director for the Legal Marketing Association, this question:
Ross Fishman: “What’s the biggest challenge in developing programs for a focused trade association?”
Betsi Roach:
“As a professional membership organization, the Legal Marketing Association has many challenges in developing education for our members and customers.
“With over 3,200 members who have a diverse range of experience level, firm size and industry experience, we don’t have the resources to be all things to all people. But we believe it is important to support legal marketers with information and programs that help them grow professionally.
“The LMA board is continually challenged with allocating resources to support our chapters and individual members. One of the ways we have met these challenges is by relying on a diverse group of content contributors and subject-matter experts.
“Pairing these important volunteers with paid staff, we have developed a curriculum of what we’re calling our “CORE competencies.” It’s an educational body of knowledge that consists of ten competencies, available in three different experience levels.
“This flexible program has courses in the skills that we believe all legal-marketing professionals should know. We think this will help us meet LMA members’ wide range of needs and interests.
“It is always challenging to meet the needs of every individual as well as anticipate future needs. But as the universal voice of the legal-marketing and business-development profession, we strive to be the leading educator in our industry. With all the new educational tools available to us, it’s an exciting time to be in association management.”
Photos: (c) Legal Marketing Association and Betsi Roach
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