Tampa Bay City Group - Holiday Social

Join LMA Tampa Bay for a holiday celebration at Columbia Cafe at Tampa Bay History Center to mix and mingle with other legal marketing and administrative professionals.

Complimentary sangria and hors d'oeuvres
Thursday, December 8th
5:30 - 7:30 pm

Columbia Cafe at the Tampa Bay History Center
801 Old Water Street
Tampa, FL 33602

Free to anyone who brings an unwrapped toy to be donated to Toys For Tots. Otherwise, $20 members and $40 non-members.

 Parking Options
The Channelside Surface Lot is available just to the west of Channelside Bay Plaza on the corner of Channelside Drive and Garrison Street. $5 after 1:30 p.m. Cash only. Pay upon arrival at self-pay station.

The Channelside Parking Garage, located at 801 Channelside Drive, is directly across from the Channelside shopping and entertainment complex and a short walk from the History Center. The fee for the Channelside garage is $1.00 per 1/2 hour ($15 max). When entering the garage, you will be given a token that is then inserted into a self-pay machine when returning to your car. Payment is accepted using cash or credit/debit cards.

October Meeting: Law Firm Economics

Marketing professionals should have an understanding of basic law firm economics and how it plays a role in achieving marketing goals.  To shed some light on law firm economics, we will have a panel discussion on:

·         Basics of law firm economics

·         Firm profitability drivers

·         Accounting reports are your allies  

·         Typical components of a marketing budget

Panelists:

Sharon Ellwood, Director of Administration, Trenam Kemker

Mia Stutzman, Director of Finance/Accounting Operations, Holland & Knight

Moderated by Kathleen Larrison, Practice Development Manager, Holland & Knight

Thursday, October 27, 2011

11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Holland & Knight

100 North Tampa Street

Suite 4100

Tampa, FL 33602

Members: $20

Guests: $40

Meeting sponsored by 

Summer Social at The Dali Museum

The Tampa Bay City Group hosted its summer social at the new Dali Museum in St. Petersburg on July 12, 2011.  We mingled in the beautiful Bay Vista space and enjoyed a special tour of the fascinating Dali collection.  Special thanks to all who attended and donated school supplies for Sawgrass Lake Elementary in St. Petersburg.       

August Meeting

Wednesday, August 17, 11:30am – 1:00pm
By now, the vast majority of law firms have organized their lawyers into substantive practices (e.g., real estate, litigation, corporate and securities); however, far fewer have organized their lawyers into client-focused groups (e.g., closely-held businesses, manufacturers, life sciences).  But a client-focused approach is far more effective from a marketing and business development standpoint, from providing better client service to increasing firm visibility to fostering more natural cross-selling efforts.
This session will focus on how to get started with niche or industry groups, including:
•  How to identify core clients/industr​ies
•  Determining client needs, priorities and characteristics
•  The continuum of client-focused teams—defining the role of the team
•  The role of the marketing department and staff (as well as other administrative departments) in developing and supporting these groups
•  Coordinating client-focused activities with those of substantive practice groups
•  Identifying appropriate marketing and business development activities for the groups
Over her career, Sally Schmidt has worked with more than 450 law firms and has assisted scores of law firms in identifying niche and industry opportunities, starting up industry efforts or helping firms take existing groups to the “next level.”  Sally is known for her practical approach and advice, and her hands-on experience with industry initiatives arms her with examples of both successes and failures.

Speaker: Sally J. Schmidt of Schmidt Marketing, Inc.; http://www.schmidt-marketing.com/​

Carlton Fields

Wells Fargo Building

100 S. Ashley Drive

Suite 230

Tampa, FL  33602

Members $20
Guests $40

July Social: The Dali Museum

Join LMA Tampa Bay for a spectacular summer social at the new Dali Museum in St. Petersburg where we'll enjoy beverages, light hors d'oeuvres and a special tour of the museum.

We will be collecting school supplies for Sawgrass Lake Elementary, a Tampa Bay school in need.

We collected more than $700 in supplies last year and we want to break that record!

Tuesday, July 12, 2011
4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.

Salvador Dali Museum
One Dali Blvd
St. Petersburg, FL 33701

Members $20 (only $5 with school supplies)
Guests $40 (only $10 with school supplies)

June Meeting: Best Practices in Proposals, RFPs and Managing your Firm’s Experience

On June 15, 2011, Deborah McMurray, CEO and Strategy Architect of Content Pilot LLC, will share the results of a survey of LMASE marketing and business development professionals about proposals, RFPs and experience databases.

                                                                                                                                                                                            

Deborah will not only cover the LMASE survey results, but will also share industry trends in business development and proposals today.  For example, did you realize that executive recruiters report that more than 80% of all law firm marketing positions open today have “business development” in the job title?   

You will also hear the results of various win/loss debriefs conducted with buyers of professional services – why they did or did not hire the firms and what you can do to improve your win rate next time.

Deborah McMurray is viewed as an industry authority in marketing strategy and technology, including websites, experience databases and proposal centers.  She was inducted into the Legal Marketing Association’s Hall of Fame in 2008.

Shumaker, Loop & Kendrick, LLP

Bank of America Plaza

101 East Kennedy Boulevard

Suite 2800

Tampa, FL 33602

Members $20
Guests $40

May Meeting: Roundtable Discussion/LMA National Conference Review

Join us for a breakfast roundtable on Tuesday, May 10, 2011 as we discuss best practices and takeaways from the LMA Annual Conference recently held in Orlando. Conference sessions covered topics within four core areas: Driving growth and profitability, Maximizing client retention and value, Improving visibility and Honing your leadership skills. Members will share feedback from sessions attended.

We will be collecting gently used professional attire, shoes and accessories to support Dress for Success Tampa Bay. Dress for Success Tampa Bay is a not-for-profit organization that offers services to help women enter the workforce, stay employed, advance in their careers and improve their lives. Clean out those closets and support a great cause!

Hill Ward Henderson
3700 Bank of America Plaza
101 East Kennedy Blvd.
Tampa, FL 33602

Members $15
Guests $30
The meeting is sponsored by Jaffe PR. 

Communicating to Create Credibility

Did you know that 55% of communication is visual?  Tracy LaLonde with Akina gave a thought-provoking presentation today on the three V's of Communication (Verbal, Vocal, Visual) and how each affects one's credibility.  Word selection, intonation, rate of speech, body language, hand shake, and appearance play important roles in communication.  Tracy also covered passive, aggressive and assertive behaviors, asking for what you want, managing apologies, ways to say No, and how to build buy-in.          

March 10 Meeting

Communicating to Create Credibility

As professionals, we work throughout our careers to develop expertise, experience and competence.  While these elements are paramount to success, how we communicate is often more important in creating credibility with others.  We will examine communication methods that can support or sabotage our message of competence and credibility.  This program will help you to:

·         Make the right first impression

·         Utilize the verbal, vocal and visual components of communication to convey confidence and competence

·         Understand the fine line of assertiveness

·         Create strategies for saying yes, saying no and managing apologies

Speaker: Tracy LaLonde, Akina 

Date & Time:Thursday, March 10, 2011
11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Location:Fowler White Boggs P.A.

501 E. Kennedy Blvd.

Tampa, FL  33602

Meeting facility on 12^th Floor

Additional Details:

Cost: Members $20/Non-members $40
Lunch will be provided

The meeting is being sponsored by:

February 14 Meeting

Target, Shift and Grow Your Firm: It Takes More than Marketing to Land Bigger Deals with Bigger Clients!

Rosemary DiDio Brehm, CPF, Chief Results Officer of turningpoints2results, and Certified Partner with The Whale Hunters: Bigger Deals, Bigger Clients shared best practices on how to Target, Shift, and Grow Your Firm.  

Rosemary DiDio Brehm with Anne Zambrano and Louise Henkel

Her presentation covered three key shifts dominating the business development process in today's market, best practices on utilizing a targeting strategy, engaging partners in business development and shifting your business development culture.  She also gave an overview of The Whale Hunting Process - How to Land Bigger Deals with Bigger Customers (based on the bestseller: Whale Hunting by Barbara Weaver Smith and Tom Searcy).