Experience

• 

  Consultant (self-employed)

  • Boston, MA

  • Law Firm Business Development, Marketing, Growth & Strategy

    • Apr 2015 - Present
    • Boston, MA

    Law firm consultant focused on growing firm revenues through business development and marketing, strategic planning, growth and lateral acquisitions, client interviews, and related projects. With deep law firm experience garnered at a premier law firm consultancy and in senior management roles at three AmLaw firms, areas of expertise include:• Strategic planning for more than 50 law firms and practice groups;• Strategic positioning and business development programs, including analysis of both internal client data and external market research;• Client interview programs;• Leveraging client feedback to inform strategic plans and business development;• Marketing department assessments and marketing plan development;• Alternative fee arrangements, including partner training on designing and marketing alternative fee arrangements and managing them profitably;• Practice Group Leader training on strategic planning and other management issues;• Lateral partner hiring and office growth strategies;• Integration programs for major lateral acquisitions and new office openings; and• Lawyer progression models, including evaluation and review processes for partners and associates.Featured speaker at over 40 partner retreats and other firm meetings, as well as at private law firm consortia and legal professional organizations. Regular topics include strategic positioning, marketing and cross-selling; developing and driving strategic plans and revenue growth; lateral hiring; and promoting and managing alternative fee arrangements.

• 

  LeClairRyan

  • Boston, MA

  • Chief Growth Officer

    • Sep 2014 - Mar 2015
    • Boston, MA

    C-suite officer with primary responsibility for driving partner-level growth and strategic combinations to fulfill the firm’s expansive nationwide growth goals across all offices, practices and client industries. Accomplishments include opening two new offices (Atlanta and Sacramento), as well as bringing a proactive approach and a professional marketing perspective to the strategic growth function, and creating the firm’s first strategic marketing brochure, resulting in a dramatic rise in both the number and quality of candidates under consideration.

• 

  Consultant (self-employed)

  • Boston, MA

  • Law Firm Business Development, Marketing, Growth & Strategy

    • Dec 2013 - Sep 2014
    • Boston, MA

    Consultant on law firm business development, marketing, client interviews, strategic planning and related projects. (See description above.)

• 

  Hoffman Alvary & Company LLC

  • Greater Boston Area

  • Principal

    • Sep 2009 - Nov 2013
    • Greater Boston Area

    Consultant to AmLaw and other firms on strategic planning, business development and other critical management issues. Expertise includes firm and practice group strategic planning; marketing, positioning and client interview programs; alternative fee arrangements; growth initiatives and lateral partner hiring and integration initiatives; and lawyer evaluation, compensation and progression systems. Engagements included: • Strategic planning for numerous firms and practice groups. Guided strategic planning and related efforts for multiple AmLaw, NLJ 350 and smaller firms and their practice groups. Achievements featured: o Developing a dramatic domestic and international growth strategy for an AmLaw 100 litigation powerhouse firm; o Crafting a targeted business development plan for another AmLaw 100 firm with top-tier strength in IP litigation, antitrust and white collar work; and o Driving practice group plans to implement firmwide strategic goals at an IP boutique.• Strategic positioning and business development programs. Mined internal firm data, external market research and conflict space considerations for insights to shape strategic marketing and growth initiatives at multiple firms. • Alternative fee arrangements. Conducted partner training on designing and marketing alternative pricing structures and managing them profitably. Consulted intensively with law firms to design five successful alternative fee arrangement proposals for multi-million dollar engagements from Fortune 500 clients.• Client interview programs. Designed client satisfaction feedback programs for multiple AmLaw 200 firms. Personally conducted dozens of interviews with Fortune 100 and other key clients. • Marketing department reviews. Assessed law firm marketing group priorities and structure to develop strategic marketing plans aligned with firmwide goals.

• 

  Fish & Richardson P.C.

  • Boston, MA

  • Chief Strategic Planning Officer

    • Sep 2001 - Jun 2009
    • Boston, MA

    Officer responsible for guiding the strategic direction of a top-tier global intellectual property firm. Duties included:• Working closely with the firm’s President, COO, CMO, CFO and Practice Group Leaders to develop and implement strategic business plans; • Leading the execution of high-level strategic initiatives, such as entering into new domestic and international markets and guiding the firm through strategic growth in multiple industry sectors; • Setting the strategy for opening the firm’s first international office and managing the opening of three new firm offices (in Munich, Atlanta and Houston), including partner hiring and integration and business development; • Directing competitive intelligence, market analysis and internal data-mining research, and assessing the results to recommend strategic direction for the firm and its practices; • Managing the firm’s conflict space; and • Developing fixed fee pricing and legal process management techniques to protect profitability. Marie also originated significant legal work for the firm from a national retail bakery chain.

• 

  Mintz Levin

  • Boston, MA

  • Director of Professional Practice

    • Sep 1992 - Aug 2001
    • Boston, MA

    Supervised the firm’s professional practice activities including a wide range of firm management tasks. Developed annual strategic plans for each of the firm’s twelve practice groups. At the same time, served as Acting Director of Marketing, supervising the firm’s practice development activities and staff and revamping and automating the client intake process. Also directed firmwide lateral growth (including hiring 159 lateral attorneys in a single year) and oversaw the firm’s professional development program. Additional projects ranged from overseeing the firm’s New York and New Haven office openings to redesigning the associate compensation system.

• 

  Goodwin Procter LLP

  • United States
  • Law Practice
  • 700 & Above Employee

  • Litigation Partner

    • Oct 1988 - Aug 1992

    Trial Department partner focused on civil litigation, including bank fraud litigation and other business disputes, with a specialty practice in advertising law. Chair, Lawyers for the Arts Committee of the Boston Bar Association (1990 - 1992). Lecturer at MCLE and other seminars on advertising law, pubility rights and related topics.

  • Litigation Associate

    • Sep 1981 - Sep 1988

• 

  U.S. DISTRICT COURT, E.D. PA.

  • Philadelphia, PA

  • Judicial Law Clerk

    • Sep 1980 - Aug 1981
    • Philadelphia, PA