The In-House Counsel Panel at the 2025 Legal Marketing Association (LMA) Annual Conference offered something that our conference attendees always find valuable: unfiltered client insights.
Moderated by Tasneem Khokha, Co-Chair of the Legal Marketing Association Annual Conference and Managing Director of GrowthPlay, the panel featured three senior in-house leaders who shared exactly what law firms get right, and what they get painfully wrong, when trying to win or keep their business. Tasneem guided the in-house counsel through critical topics, from law firm branding to RFPs, billing, and client loyalty.
Meet the In-House Counsel Panelists
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Belinda E. Nixon, Vice President, General Counsel, and Corporate Secretary at Internet2
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Eric Dodson Greenberg, Executive Vice President, General Counsel, and Corporate Secretary at Cox Media Group
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Lillian Howard Potter, Head of Enforcement, Compliance and Investigations Office at Ericsson
Each panelist brought experience from both in-house and law firm settings, offering a 360-degree view on firm-client relationships. From RFPs and relationship management to branding and billing, nothing was off-limits.
Interactive Format
Tasneem and the committee chose for this session to be interactive, meaning attendees were invited to vote on the same answers she would pose to the panelists so we could see how our answers stacked up to those on the panel.
I will do my best to state the questions correctly, along with the corresponding answers for the right panelists, below.
What Shapes Their Impressions of Law Firms?
In the first poll, attendees were asked to rank what most shapes their impression of a law firm:
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Thought leadership
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Website and social media
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Media mentions
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Rankings (Best Lawyers, Chambers, etc.)
The panel generally agreed that thought leadership ranked highest, especially when tailored to their needs and interests.
“The firms that send us relevant updates based on our industry and their familiarity with us — that’s invaluable,” said Belinda.
Eric stressed how a firm’s reputation can matter more internally than some lawyers might assume.
“It’s not just my decision. Sometimes I want the reassurance that the firm’s brand will validate my choice, especially if something goes wrong,” he said.
What Law Firm Communications Add the Most Value?
The next question asked which law firm communications are most valued:
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Alerts about legal developments
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Alerts about cases filed against the company
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Invitations to firm events
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General firm updates
Legal developments topped the list.
“It’s not marketing. It’s a relationship,” Eric added. “The best outreach is personal, thoughtful, and relevant.”
Commenting about the communications process when she left Perkins Coie to move to Internet2, Belinda shared that she was surprised by how little outreach she received when she moved from Perkins Coie to Internet2.
What Gets Them to Consider a New Firm?
Attendees then ranked triggers that prompt switching law firms:
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Poor service from current counsel
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Billing or pricing issues
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Relationship investment by a new lawyer
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Input from stakeholders outside legal
Poor service ranked highest.
Belinda shared that she kept most of Internet2’s law firms when she joined, but replaced its government relations firm after discovering it lacked the right industry focus. She respected the existing relationships her colleagues had with outside counsel.
Eric warned that firms underestimate the value of internal champions:
“Your GC might love you, but if someone in HR or finance is frustrated, that could cost you the relationship.”
The Most Important Part of a Pitch
Regarding pitch meetings, the panel was asked to rank what matters most:
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Time spent listening
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Pre/post-meeting follow-up
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Lawyer-to-lawyer interaction
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Pitch materials
Listening ranked #1.
“The firms that actually dig in and ask questions? That shows me they’re paying attention,” said Lillian.
Eric emphasized that team dynamics during a pitch are telling:
“We passed on a firm because one person dominated the pitch while the rest stayed silent. It felt off.”
He also advised against sending senior lawyers who won’t do the work:
“Don’t parade people into the room who won’t be on the matter. We notice.”
Belinda agreed, sharing how a firm lost a CEO search engagement because the lead dominated the presentation without true team interaction.
What Closes the Deal?
Attendees then weighed what closes the deal:
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Team composition
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Pricing
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Value adds
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Law firm values
Team composition was the clear winner.
Lillian stressed the importance of associates:
“They’re doing the work. I want to know them. I want my junior in-house lawyers to be comfortable with them, too.”
Eric added:
“The billing department is your worst enemy. A $400 bill for work done six months ago tells me no one is paying attention.”
The small details matter, from who is actually on the team to how firms communicate around billing.
What Role Do Values Play?
The final poll question asked how much firm values matter in hiring decisions.
While it ranked lowest among the options, Belinda pushed back:
“For a mission-driven organization like ours, if I bring in a firm whose values clash with our team, I’ll be second-guessed.”
Eric noted the complexity that law firms need to be aware of:
“We have dual duties as officers of the court and fiduciaries to our companies. That tension is real and growing.”
In some cases, values alignment can make or break the relationship, particularly in today’s highly charged environment.
Who Should Lead Expansion of the Relationship?
All panelists agreed: firms should take the lead.
Eric shared a powerful anecdote:
“One lawyer took on a tiny, miserable matter and did it well. Now he works with our private equity sponsor. He built that relationship one small win at a time.”
But Belinda warned:
“We’ve had to ping a firm multiple times just to get an answer. That becomes untenable.”
Clients expect responsiveness, initiative, and consistency — especially when they have already entrusted a firm with their work.
Final Thought: A Two-Way Street
The session closed with consensus: building and maintaining law firm relationships is a two-way street. Clients have a role to play, but firms must be proactive, personal, and prepared to listen.
Again, firms must be:
- Proactive
- Personal
- Prepared to listen
Belinda summed it up best:
“Law firms don’t need to wait for an RFP or an incident to build trust. Just show up, know our business, and be responsive. That’s what wins.”
Conference Content Can Be Found Here
For a running collection of content created about the conference, please bookmark this blog post and check back frequently as I will be adding to it over the next several weeks.
About Nancy Myrland
Nancy Myrland is a Marketing and Business Development Advisor, specializing in Content, Social & Digital Media. She helps lawyers grow their practices by integrating the most important marketing practices to build their reputations and their relationships, which leads to building their practices.
Highly regarded internationally as a top independent* LinkedIn consultant, Nancy is a highly respected LinkedIn trainer and content marketing specialist. She helps lawyers, law firms, and legal marketers learn and implement content, social, and digital media strategies that cut through the clutter, making them more relevant to their current and potential clients.
She is also a personal branding speaker, trainer, and advisor, helping legal and business professionals understand the importance and the impact of defining and reinforcing their personal brands.
Nancy is also the founder of the hybrid self-study and online course about LinkedIn, The Linked Course*, where she personally guides lawyers through the sequential creation of their LinkedIn profile and presence.*
As an early and constant adopter of social and digital media and technology, she also helps firms with blogging, podcasting, video marketing, voice marketing, livestreaming, and AI discernment. Nancy also works with many firms and lawyers on Zoom and virtual presentation training and coaching to be the best they can be when presenting online.
She also helps lead select law firms through their online social and digital media strategy when handling high-stakes, high-profile cases and executive orders.
Long story short, Nancy spends a lot of time helping lawyers and legal marketers with:
- LinkedIn Profile and Presence
- Podcast Launches and Consulting
- Content Marketing Strategy
- Marketing and Business Development Plans
- AI Discernment
- Personal Branding, and
- Zoom and Virtual Presentation Training and Coaching
*Nancy is not an employee or consultant hired by LinkedIn, although she was named a LinkedIn Top Voice on the platform in 2024! Top Voices is an invitation-only program featuring a global group of experts on LinkedIn covering a range of topics across the professional world, helping members uncover valuable knowledge relevant to them. Top Voices was previously known as the Influencer program before October 2022. Top Voices are vetted to ensure that they meet high trust standards, are consistently active on the platform, and share valuable expertise through content that demonstrates their unique, original contributions to a topic.
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