As Chief Marketing Officer of two of the country’s most successful law firms, she founded both firms’ business development and communications departments. Her path into legal marketing began at a global management consulting firm, where she built the client-focused instincts that have defined her career ever since.
Before launching Farone Advisors, Deborah spent 14 years as Chief Marketing Officer at Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP, one of the most prestigious law firms in the world. In that role, she built a business development infrastructure that drew on best practices from investment banking and other industries. She created a client and industry intelligence unit that generated new business opportunities, shaped practice development plans, and prepared partners for high-stakes presentations. Deborah also designed and led business development programs for both partners and associates, and oversaw all marketing communications, including crisis communications, strategic public relations, and social media.
Prior to Cravath, Deborah served as Chief Marketing Officer at Debevoise & Plimpton, another elite firm. The combination of these two CMO roles, each at firms known for the sophistication and high expectations of their partners, gave her an unmatched perspective on what it takes to build and grow a complex practice at the highest levels of the profession.
Her foundation in business development was shaped even earlier, at Towers Perrin (now Willis Towers Watson), where she directed national press relations and marketing, and at Ketchum Communications, where she rose quickly from the new business department to managing investor and public relations accounts for financial, professional services, and consumer products companies.
Deborah is also one of the rare practitioners who has brought her expertise into the classroom. She served as an Adjunct Assistant Professor at New York University, where she created and taught two first-of-their-kind courses: “Effective Marketing and Public Relations for Professional Service Companies” and “Marketing and Public Relations for Law Firms.” She has since lectured at Columbia Law School, Cornell Law School, the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School, and Fordham University School of Law.
—Deborah Farone, Founder, Farone Advisors LLC
Deborah is the first recipient of the Legal Marketing Association’s Legacy Award in recognition of making a distinguishable mark on the profession. She feels strongly about helping others achieve their success, and is often recognized for her work as a mentor and coach to lawyers and other marketers. She has been honored at the YWCA’s Women Leader Luncheon and serves as a member of the organization’s Academy of Women Leaders. For many years, Deborah served as a member of the Board of Directors of The Girl Scouts Council of Greater New York. She serves as an executive counsel member of Ellevate.
In 2019, Deborah was inducted as a fellow in the College of Law Practice Management, a prestigious honor given by her peers in the legal profession. She also has been named as an officer for the International Bar Association’s Law Firm Management Committee.
Deborah has a B.S. in Marketing and Mass Communications from Boston University’s College of Communications, where she graduated magna cum laude and was a member of Psi Chi, the International Honor Society in Psychology. While attending the University, she also served as a teaching assistant for both the marketing and psychology departments. Upon graduation, she was the recipient of the College’s Alumni Award for Student Excellence.
Deborah is a founder and former leader of the CMO and CIO Roundtable, an invitation-only group of the county’s leading law firms that meets annually to discuss best practices and stay abreast of trends in the legal profession and in marketing. She is a past President of the Legal Marketing Association’s New York Chapter and past Chair of the New York City Bar Association’s inaugural marketing communications committee. Deborah is a charter member of the Luxury Marketing Council.
Deborah currently serves as an Advisor to the Chair of the Lawyers for the Library Committee of The New York Public Library. She has served as a Sponsor Vice Chair for The New York Public Library’s Spring Luncheon. Deborah has also served as an appointed member of the International Trademark Association’s public relations task force, as Chair of the New York Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America’s “Meet the Media” committee and an officer of PRSA’s professional service committee.
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