I’m really looking forward to next week!

Yes, I will miss my beyond-words-adorable Yellow Lab puppies, Mike and Nick, more than I can say, but I know they are in great hands here at home with my husband, John. Oh, yes, I will miss him too, of course!

But this is the time of year that I get excited about. It is the Legal Marketing Association, or LMA, annual conference, when I get to see my close friends and colleagues, make a lot of new friends, learn from some of the brightest minds in marketing, and come away even more passionate about what I do for a living.

I get the added bonus of being on the Board of Directors, and am one of 5 Co-Leaders of the Social Media SIG, which means we, too, will be meeting and planning during the conference.

A SNAPSHOT

Our conference czar, Kristy Perkins, tells me that so far we have:

• 1,100+ attendees
• 3 days of programming
• 6 pre-conference programs
• 4 concurrent tracks featuring 34 breakout sessions
• 134 speakers
• 60+ sponsors and exhibitors
• 9 receptions (and counting!)

Whenever possible, it is very important that we take time out to attend our association’s conferences. There is no time better than this to:

• Establish new relationships
• Forge partnerships
• Stay on top of new developments in the legal profession
• Gather intelligence and insight to take back to our firms
• Become smarter and wiser about marketing
• Learn
• Discuss
• Crank up our passion for lawyers and the legal profession and our responsibilities related to taking care of both

The reasons are many, and vary from person to person, but I never underestimate what can happen at the annual conference. I wouldn’t be involved to the extent I am if I didn’t wholeheartedly believe in what LMA is and does for its members, and what we as members can do within LMA.

HOW TO MAKE YOUR CONFERENCE EVEN BETTER

Here are a few things you can do to make your conference even better:

1. Take the next few days and connect with others attending the conference. If you haven’t followed all of these friends and colleagues on Twitter yet, take a moment and do so here. If you aren’t added to this list yet, just let me know your Twitter handle. 
2. Know that if you aren’t comfortable meeting people at conferences, I want to meet you. Seriously, as I’ve offered in past years and posts, I invite you to walk up to me, introduce yourself to me, tell me you’re one of those who’s a bit uncomfortable meeting new people, and let’s go from there! I’d love to know you, and will be more than happy to introduce you to anyone around me…even if I don’t know them! Never feel silly or stupid approaching me. 
3. Once again, we are curating blog posts, videos and other content from the conference over here on Pinterest (see, it can have business application!), so take a look. We will be adding to it in the next few days to make this a more complete resource you can refer to.
4. Watch the #LMA14 TweetStream. There is A LOT of conversation going on about the conference. Get in the TweetStream and observe, comment, say hello and get to know some of us before you arrive. We are one of the friendliest groups of people I have known in my career. Follow it on your Twitter tool of choice, or take a look right here.

MOST IMPORTANT

Most important, just enjoy yourself. Use next week to do whatever it is you and your firm expect of you.

…and PLEASE come up and introduce yourself!