LMA Tech West: AI For Marketing and Business Takes Center Stage
The 2023 LMA Tech West Conference, held in Los Angeles this week, marked the return of this Legal Marketing Association event to an in-person format for the first time since 2019.
The conference centered on showcasing innovative technologies, strategies, and trends reshaping the legal landscape, with a strong focus on the integration and application of artificial intelligence (AI) in legal marketing.
The event kicked off with two pre-conference sessions, both hitting on AI. The LMANext Pre-Con session was dedicated to harnessing AI to increase efficiency and success in legal marketing and enhancing personal branding through LinkedIn.
The CMO Pre-Con session focused on current topics essential to marketing leaders, such as Gen AI, collaboration strategies with CIOs, and change management.
It was AI on day two as well with a discussion highlighting the rewards and risks of AI. The panel stressed the necessity of embracing AI and provided insights into the transformative potential of AI and its applications in marketing efforts within the legal field.
Day two continued with “Revolutionizing Legal Business Development With ChatGPT: A Hands-On Experience.” This session demonstrated how ChatGPT could be leveraged for various business development activities, such as creating personalized notes, drafting emails, managing LinkedIn interactions, and preparing attorneys for client meetings. The session emphasized real-time results and actionable insights for legal professionals.
Most crowded room and most inspired speakers at #lmatechwest (for me) with great insight, examples and engagement – on AI/GPT for publishing to build thought leadership, and more. Reduces non-billable time for your lawyers. pic.twitter.com/bnrGNLdvfI
— Kevin O’Keefe (@kevinokeefe) November 14, 2023
AI rocks for drafting lawyer bios. Current bio, similar bios, industry, litigation matters, and more are just some of the info to kick off a GPT generated bio. #lmatechwest in #hollywood pic.twitter.com/qcne7iPZzC
— Kevin O’Keefe (@kevinokeefe) November 14, 2023
Tech West wrapped up with “Building an AI Roadmap for Marketing and Business Development.” This session discussed the challenges and strategies for integrating AI into marketing and business development strategies.
While identifying processes that could be significantly improved through AI tools and how to select appropriate tools, your strategy needs to reflect what will be accepted by your firm.
Packed room at end of day at #lmatechwest. What’s the draw? Great panel in discussion on AI. AI is drawing incredible interest among legal marketing professionals. ID the problem and create a solution with AI is key for #legaltech companies. pic.twitter.com/KQSNONtFlF
— Kevin O’Keefe (@kevinokeefe) November 15, 2023
When looking at the broad spectrum of ways that AI can be used in a law firm and convince leaders to use AI, opportunity lies in AI for business development versus the reduction of the billable hours of the firm’s lawyers. – @ThomasWBaldwin #lmatechwest pic.twitter.com/wS4ohwBl4B
— Kevin O’Keefe (@kevinokeefe) November 15, 2023
What a point made by Tom Baldwin at the end of the day. Business development and marketing professionals, to get AI off the ground, should focus not on the time AI may save lawyers (scary subject for management), but how much more AI can help the law firm revenues as a result of its use in business development.
One highlight of the conference, as evidenced by the size of the audience in the demo, was ‘Lou‘ from my company, LexBlog, Inc. Lou is an AI powered publishing assistant powered by OpenAI’s API.
The audience experienced firsthand the integration of custom prompts, specifically designed for legal professionals, into the publishing editor. These prompts are tailored to boost both efficiency and effectiveness in blogging for legal professionals, offering a valuable asset for both lawyers and marketing professionals in the publishing process.
This version replaces “witnessed” with “experienced firsthand,” which sounds more engaging and positive.
Nice job by the planning committee, speakers and panelist the LMA Tech West Conference provided a comprehensive platform for legal professionals to explore and understand the emerging role of AI in reshaping legal marketing and business development strategies.