Passle CMO Series Podcast

Episode 167 - Kim Lansdown of Fladgate on How Legal Marketers Can Use Advertising to Build Stronger Brands

Advertising plays a crucial role in the marketing mix and offers law firms a powerful tool to build stronger, more recognisable brands.

In today’s episode of the CMO Series Podcast, Will Eke speaks with Kim Lansdown, Director of Strategy and Marketing at Fladgate, about how her unique journey from barrister to advertising professional informs her approach to legal marketing. 

Kim shares insights on Fladgate’s standout campaign with The Financial Times, the challenges of driving creative marketing within a law firm, and offers valuable advice for others aiming to leverage advertising strategies to strengthen their legal brands.

Kim and Will explore: 

• Kim’s unconventional career journey, from barrister to advertising and now heading up strategy and marketing at Fladgate
• The main differences she found coming into a law firm compared to working in advertising, and the immediate things Kim wanted to bring in and start working on
• Fladgate’s campaign with The Financial Times, and how Kim used her advertising skills to deliver it effectively 
• How to bring advertising to internal events to promote marketing’s work and vision for the firm
• The key principles or strategies from advertising that law firms could benefit from
• The main challenges to implementing more creative campaigns in law firms and how to overcome them
• Advice for others looking to use advertising strategies to build their law firm brands

 

RE-RELEASE: Flipping the Script on DEI: Courtney Carter of Jenner & Block on Developing Talent and Shaping Client Relationships

To celebrate Black History Month 2025, we’re re-releasing standout insights and expertise shared by Black professionals in the legal space.

In this episode of CMO Series REPRESENTS, Yasmin Zand sits down with Courtney Carter, Director of DEI at Jenner & Block, to unpack her remarkable journey and the profound impact she's making on her firm.

Courtney discusses the firm’s cornerstone DEI initiatives that have proven to develop and advance diverse lawyers, the common missteps and misconceptions that have historically hindered law firms in their DEI journey, as well as practical takeaways for law firm leaders, marketing and business development professionals and clients, alike, to take the industry forward.

CMO Series Rainmakers: EP2 - The Role of Thought Leadership on the Path to Managing Partner

What does it really take to become a Rainmaker? Rising to the level of managing partner requires not only legal expertise and experience but, also, the ability to generate revenue and drive the firm’s growth. Building credibility through thought leadership plays a crucial role in this process, creating a direct link between valuable insights and financial success.

In this episode of the CMO Series Rainmakers, Tom Elgar, Co-founder of Passle, is joined by Rohan Massey, Managing Partner at Ropes & Gray in London. Rohan, who leads the firm’s Data, Privacy, and Cybersecurity practice, is nearly a year into his role as Managing Partner. He has built a reputation as a thought leader, leveraging insight-driven content to drive success.

Listen in to explore how thought leadership has become a key component of Rohan’s success, its impact on his career progression, and how he’s professionalised the approach to thought leadership at Ropes & Gray.

Rohan and Tom discuss:

• The moment thought leadership became a key part of Rohan’s strategy for success
• Rohan’s approach to writing thought leadership, and the process he follows
• The importance of building an internal profile versus an external profile on the path to Managing Partner 
• The role of thought leadership in driving revenue generation for a law firm
• How to professionalise thought leadership and weave that culture into the fabric of the firm 
• The importance of ‘finding your voice’ when creating thought leadership and tips to guide your team 
• The one habit that has had the greatest impact on Rohan’s success with thought leadership and how others can adopt it

Episode 166 - Kate Fairweather of Curtis on Why Every Law Firm Needs a Podcast Strategy

With podcast listening at a record high, there’s a significant opportunity for law firms to reach their target audience. In episode 166 of the CMO Series Podcast, we dive into the world of podcasting and learn how an effective podcast strategy can support your marketing and business development efforts.

Recorded live in London, Will Eke is joined by Kate Fairweather, Director of Business Development and Marketing at Curtis, Mallet-Prevost, Colt & Mosle LLP, to discuss the power of podcasts and why law firms should include podcasting in their strategy. 

We explore Curtis’s podcast and how it’s supporting their recruitment efforts with the potential to drive business growth within the firm. We’ll also hear more about Kate’s podcast journey, her award-winning ‘Dogs with Jobs’ series which won the Podcast of the Year 2022, and why she’s championing podcasting in legal marketing. 

Kate and Will cover: 

• Kate’s background in podcasting and broadcasting and what drives her passion
• Why law firms should consider podcasting to reach their market
• The vision and aims of the On Tour with Curtis podcast Kate has managed and hosted 
• The progress of the podcast and the results that Curtis is seeing
• Curtis's podcast strategy and new podcast plans for the future
• Advice to other law firms looking to integrate podcasting into their marketing and business development strategies

Episode 165 - Louise Henkel of Hill Ward Henderson on Building a BD-Minded Firm for the Future

In today’s episode of the CMO Series Podcast, we explore how essential business development is for law firms to build lasting client relationships and how to build a BD-minded firm.

Charles Cousins sits down with Louise Henkel, Director of Business Development and Marketing at Hill Ward Henderson, to discuss the success of their BD training program which Louise has led for the last six years. We’ll explore the impact the BD training program has had both internally and externally, in addition to how Louise has navigated through the challenges she has encountered and the future of BD at Hill Ward Henderson.

Louise and Charles cover:

• Louise’s background prior to working at Hill Ward Henderson and how that shaped her business development approach
• What the BD training program entails and how it has evolved in the last six years
• The importance of proactive business development in legal marketing and how attorneys have come to trust and embrace BD coaching
• The impact the BD training program has had at Hill Ward Henderson, internally and externally, and the success stories of the training program
• The challenges during the early stage of the BD training program and how those were overcome
• The future of BD at Hill Ward Henderson and the initiatives for 2025
• Advice for other BD and marketing leaders looking to implement a successful BD training program

CMO Series Rainmakers: EP1 - Jeffrey Greenbaum on Mastering Thought Leadership for Growth

Welcome to the first episode of CMO Series Rainmakers, where we explore how the legal industry’s most influential leaders have leveraged thought leadership to build their brands, drive business growth, and strengthen client relationships.

In each episode, our esteemed guests reveal how they create and harness their unique insights to shape their firms’ success, influence the market, and, ultimately, drive revenue.

In this debut episode, Connor Kinnear sits down with Jeffrey Greenbaum, Managing Partner of Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz, for an insightful conversation recorded live in New York. Jeff shares how his strategic approach to thought leadership helped FKKS’s blog achieve over 720,000 views.

Jeff dives into his strategies for maintaining a consistent and impactful thought leadership presence, how he’s integrated business development into his daily routine, and the successes he’s seen from a well-executed thought leadership strategy.

Episode 164 - Sarah Mitchell on Selling Knowledge: What’s ahead for legal marketing in 2025 and beyond

In this episode of the CMO Series Podcast, we focus on the evolution of the legal and marketing landscapes and how to successfully use brand identity to drive business development to help firms effectively showcase their lawyers' expertise.

Charles Cousins sits down with Sarah Mitchell, former National Director of Marketing, Communications, and Digital Strategy at a leading Canadian law firm. Sarah shares key insights for how CMOs should prepare for the coming year, and the next 10 years and reviews the last decade in legal marketing.

Sarah and Charles cover:

• The marketing strategies and projects Sarah has delivered over the last 10 years
• The biggest changes in the industry over the last decade, and the ways law firms can be prepared to adapt for the next 10 years
• The evolution of technology and AI and the ways firms can leverage the tools available to differentiate themselves in the market
• The various strategies that will be pertinent moving forward
• The biggest barriers to success for legal marketing for the next 10 years
• Advice for marketing leaders looking to stay ahead of the curve in 2025 and beyond

Episode 163 - William McLaughlin of McNees Wallace & Nurick on Driving BD Success Step-by-Step in Any Market

In today’s episode of the CMO Series Podcast, we explored the different ways to drive BD success in any market through building meaningful client relationships, and the range of tools and tactics that can be adapted based on the region and market.

Charles Cousins sits down with William McLaughlin, the Director of Marketing at McNees Wallace & Nurick, to discuss his experiences of BD and marketing in Southeast Asia, and how they compare to his work in the US. William shares his key strategies for driving BD success and ways to nurture client relationships across diverse markets.

William and Charles cover:

• William’s experience in Southeast Asia and how it shaped his BD and marketing approaches at McNees
• The differences and similarities between marketing and BD in Southeast Asia and the US 
• How William uses his key marketing and BD strategies from Thailand and adapts them for the US market at McNees
• The process of building meaningful connections and tools that help win business 
• The most effective ways to link internal systems for measurable ROI
• Advice for others looking to drive their BD success

Episode 162 - Jaclyn Braga and Jenny Hills on Tapping into your Martech Stack to Compete and Win

In today's fast-moving digital world, having a well-organized MarTech stack helps marketers streamline their work, use data to create personalized campaigns, and achieve efficient, measurable results across various channels.

In this episode of the CMO Series, Yasmin Zand talks with Jaclyn Braga, Director of Marketing and Business Development at Morse, and Jenny Hills, Marketing Operations Manager at Axinn, about the importance of MarTech for law firms. They discuss key tools and the challenges and opportunities that adopting these technologies opens up.

Jaclyn, Jenny and Yasmin Cover:

• Martech stacks and the tools their teams find most useful
• The roadblocks faced in adopting new tech, and how to overcome them
• How has Martech evolved in the legal industry, and which tools had the biggest impact in smaller mid-size firms
• AI’s role in Martech stack, and its influence on team strategy
• How to advocate for Martech upgrades and get buy-in from leadership
• How to measure success when it comes to Martech strategy
• Advice for others looking to optimize their efforts using Martech

Episode 161 - Brendan Delaney of BAL on Bringing Outside Experience into the Role of CMO

In this episode of the CMO Series Podcast, we explore the unique challenges and opportunities that arise when bringing outside experience into the role of Chief Marketing Officer - particularly within the legal industry.

Alistair Bone sits down with Brendan Delaney, Chief Brand Experience Officer at BAL, to discuss how his background in brand experience and marketing has shaped his approach to legal marketing. Brendan shares the insights he’s gained from transitioning into the CMO role within a law firm, the challenges he’s encountered along the way, and the innovative strategies he’s used to drive success. 

Brendan and Ali cover: 

• Brendan’s background and his journey to the Chief Brand Experience Officer role at BAL
• How Brendan has leveraged his experience from other industries to innovate within the legal sector
• Examples of fresh ideas Brendan has introduced at BAL and the value they’ve brought to the firm
• The key differences between legal marketing and marketing in other industries
• What law firms should consider when bringing someone from outside the legal industry onto their leadership team
• The benefits of hiring someone with experience outside the legal sector
• Advice for professionals transitioning into senior marketing roles from outside the legal industry