Deborah Farone

For those of us who admit to having been glued to (all nine seasons of) "Suits" or any of the other series depicting lawyers, you are familiar with the Hollywood version of the profession. Each lawyer convincingly practices in numerous areas of the law, all while of course looking fabulous. Each lawyer litigates, masters M&A, handles trusts and estates matters…

If you are old enough to remember the Dick and Jane books that were used to teach reading to young children, you’ll recall these stories always attempted to teach an essential lesson. In the business of running a law firm, marketing alignment is an essential for even the most esteemed law firms. A challenge that many professionals in law firm…

As appeared in the November/December issue of PM Magazine. Managing the marketing function in a professional service firm is tough. It's particularly rough when you are on the frontlines leading a department, producing great work, and dealing with professional revenue builders, including lawyers, accountants, consultants or architects. One of my CMO clients recently said to me, "The stress of having…

How do you make the ask? How do you sell? Last week, I had the opportunity to connect with dozens of law firm partners in Europe, engaging in insightful conversations about the challenges lawyers face in building their practices and how they network. One recurring theme stood out— the universal concern of how to make the ask when it comes…

At a recent conference, I shared four archetypes that lawyers often embody when they communicate on social media, particularly here on LinkedIn. Everyone has their unique way of navigating these platforms, guided by their communication skills, personal creativity barometer, and comfort level. However, patterns emerge, and it's fascinating to observe these archetypes at play.   1. The Firm Cheerleader The…

It’s great to make new friends. I was lucky enough to do that this week in Paris. It reminded me that it’s never too late to meet amazing people who can add so much to your life. A big thank you to Paul Marmor, Helen Burness, Sneha Ashtikar Roy, and Olga V. Mack for appearing on today’s panel for the…

Whether it means walking into a bakery and being offered a freshly baked cookie or leaving a luxurious European-style pharmacy and being given free samples of moisturizer and perfume on your way out, it’s a delight to receive something unexpected. It’s a “little extra” and while it’s not necessary, it always strikes me as being incredibly lovely. I am bound…

The talented journalist Patrick Smith of Law.com recently wrote, “More law firms are starting to empower business development officers to generate business tips proactively and leads for their firms.” Patrick couldn’t be more on the mark. While law firms need to continue to empower and invest in the work of their marketing departments, there are still steps that the lawyers…

If you're reading this, you are likely on LinkedIn or my website, which means you are already attuned to marketing (and likely a pretty amazing person.) But being an active user of LinkedIn and being an impactful user of LinkedIn are two different things. A recent study by the BTI Consulting Group reports that 83% of in-house attorneys are active…

Certain summers when the sun shines just the right way, and the squirrels make other vacation plans, magic happens, and I get loads of peaches from my tree. Other years, just one or two survive and make it to maturity.   The same is true with business development activities. There are seasons where your clients will ask you to support…