The Lawyer's Edge

Stefanie Marrone is the Fractional Marketing Director of Social Media and Marketing and Business Development Strategist at The Social Media Butterfly. In these roles, she helps law firms, individual lawyers, accounting and recruiting firms, and other business professionals build their brands and generate revenue.

As an outsourced Chief Marketing Officer and Social Media Consultant, Stefanie helps small and mid-sized law firms find their unique voices and tell their story. Her expertise derives from previous work at some of the most prominent law firms in the world, where she developed and executed internal and external communication strategies, including media relations, branding, multi-channel content, marketing, and thought leadership campaigns.

Stefanie believes that many law firms are only scratching the surface of content marketing and social media. From her 20-year legal marketing career, she knows how both big and small law firms operate — and how they can improve strategies to get things done efficiently. She has particular experience in helping companies effectively utilize social media platforms such as LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram for business development, revenue generation, and visibility.

Compared to big law firms, small and mid-sized firms have fewer resources, deals, staff, and matters to write about for awards. So, as a smaller law firm, how can you effectively market yourself and compete with the big firms — even when you have fewer in-house experts and resources?

Social media and marketing expert Stefanie Marrone says you need to get creative and strategic. Think about your goals as a lawyer or a law firm and shape your strategy around that. You don't need to be a content machine and post daily on all social channels, but you do need to put your name out there. To elevate your brand visibility, it's important to find where your clients are, start building your profile, and cultivate your network.

In this episode of The Lawyer's Edge Podcast, Elise Holtzman is in conversation with Stefanie Marrone, Fractional Marketing Director of Social Media and Marketing and Business Development Strategist at The Social Media Butterfly. Stefanie discusses how small and mid-sized law firms can best market themselves, tips for creating content that reaches your audience, and the top tools and channels to build your professional brand.

Constance Beverley is the CEO of the Share Winter Foundation, a grantmaking organization working to improve the lives, health, and fitness of youth through winter sports. Share Winter Foundation is also working to create a more diverse, inclusive, and welcoming winter sports community.

Before joining the Share Winter Foundation, Constance was an attorney on Wall Street, representing large financial firms for more than six years. She then went on to work with other snow sports organizations, including The Kelly Clark Foundation, SheJumps, STOKED, and Boarding For Breast Cancer. When she first joined the Share Winter Foundation on their Board of Directors, Constance gained valuable insight into where the organization had been. Now, she's using her legal skills to help shape its future.

Constance earned her bachelor's degree from St. Louis University, her law degree from Hofstra University, her executive certificate in sports philanthropy from the George Washington University School of Business, and her certificate in financial success for nonprofits from Cornell.

An education in law provides critical thinking skills that can help you diffuse any issue with facts, evidence, and policy. When faced with a challenge, lawyers can articulate what really matters. But how can you use these skills to affect societal change?

Moving from corporate law to the nonprofit sector, Constance Beverley now uses her skills to innovate outside of the legal industry. Working in the snow sports space — which is often an elite community — Constance realized that many kids were being turned away from opportunities. But this isn't unique to winter sports; it goes back to the same underlying systems of oppression, classism, and racism that we see in all industries. Armed with her legal knowledge, she has the power to drive change.

In this episode of The Lawyer's Edge Podcast, Elise Holtzman sits down with Constance Beverley, CEO of the Share Winter Foundation, to talk about using legal skills to impact societal change. Constance discusses how she translated her skills from big law to the nonprofit world, how lawyers can work through communication challenges, and the top legal skills that can be applied to any industry.

Robert Ingalls is a recovering attorney, speaker, and the Founder and Chief Podcast Strategist at LawPods. LawPods helps busy attorneys create world-class podcast content that boosts SEO, builds relationships, and drives revenue. They've worked with premier law firms including McGuireWoods, Blank Rome, and the Law Offices of John T. Orcutt.

Before founding LawPods, Robert battled anxiety from the pressure, long hours, and constant conflict of a litigation career. After creating podcasts for his law firm, Robert decided to turn it into a full-time career. With very few takers in the early days, he spent two years in a corporate banking gig, grinding nights and weekends to bring LawPods to life.

Robert frequently speaks on topics including positioning your podcast for success, prioritizing mental health, entrepreneurship, and law office technology. In his spare time, he enjoys teaching podcasting at community events, spending time with his family, skateboarding, and snowboarding.

Podcasting is growing year after year. More than one-third of people in the US are listening to podcasts — many of whom listen on a weekly basis. Podcasting has become a part of many people's everyday lives. But what are the benefits of podcasting? Should your law firm start a podcast?

Some people think a podcast is just an audio conversation. But Robert Ingalls says it's more than that: it's video, it's social media, it's SEO, and it's a content marketing strategy all in one. Podcasting is a powerful tool that can position you as a trusted thought leader, connect you with listeners on an emotional level, and help you develop relationships — before you even meet someone.

In this episode of The Lawyer's Edge Podcast, Elise Holtzman sits down with Robert Ingalls, Founder and Chief Podcast Strategist of LawPods, to talk about how law firms can use podcasting to build relationships and attract clients. Robert discusses how a podcast can help your firm grow and build trust with clients, the top reasons why law podcasts fail, and his advice for starting a podcast and enlisting a company of experts.

Niki Schaefer is the Vice President and General Counsel at ReliabilityFirst, a company that ensures the Mid-Atlantic electric grid is reliable and secure.

Niki spent the first half of her career as a Commercial Litigator at Benesch Friedlander Coplan & Aronoff, a large law firm in Cleveland, Ohio. She spent the second half of her career in a variety of in-house roles, initially on ReliabilityFirst's legal team. She proceeded to sharpen her expertise as a litigator in general counsel roles for a variety of business units at Eaton Corporation, a large manufacturing company based in Cleveland.

Two years ago, Niki returned to ReliabilityFirst as its General Counsel after suffering a stroke that not only impacted her speech and balance, but also her life and career. Niki believes that the changes she made to her life and work as a result of her stroke were a catalyst for achieving a balance and happiness she hadn't known beforehand.

Many ambitious lawyers fall into the trap of overworking themselves, saying "yes" to everything that's asked of them, and putting their career before their own health. For Niki Schaefer, this kind of lifestyle led to a horrific experience — and forced her to change her approach to her life and work.

Amidst the hustle and bustle of her career, Niki suffered a stroke. While taking 10 weeks off to recover, she had the most self-reflective moment: she needed to decide what was most important in her personal and work life and draw boundaries. When returning to the workforce, Niki's stroke empowered her to say "no," delegate tasks, and respond to uncontrollable situations in the most beneficial way possible. Now, she's living a happy and well-balanced life inside and outside of work.

In this episode of The Lawyer's Edge Podcast, Elise Holtzman sits down with Niki Schaefer, Vice President and General Counsel at ReliabilityFirst, to talk about how her stroke transformed her life. Niki describes the factors that contributed to the stroke, the pause that helped her shift priorities, and tips for being confident in your judgment — despite society's expectations.

Chris DeSantis is a speaker, author, and consultant specializing in workplace interventions. With nearly 30 years of experience as an independent organizational behavior consultant, Chris is a trusted partner to some of the world's largest companies in the professional services, tech, and pharmaceutical industries. When working with clients, his goals are to dig deeper, treat the root causes, and offer user-friendly solutions aligned with company initiatives.

Before becoming an independent consultant, Chris was the Director of Management Development and Training for the American Medical Association and a Human Resources Development Manager at Brunswick Corporation. Chris has a BBA from the University of Notre Dame, an MA in organizational behavior from Loyola University in Chicago, and an MBA from the University of Denver.

Chris is the Author of Why I Find You Irritating: Navigating Generational Friction at Work. He's also the Host of the Cubicle Confidential podcast, where he and Co-host Mary Abbajay share advice on outrageous workplace questions, comments, and concerns.

When it comes to generational differences, we're all generalizing and fitting each other into categories — because it makes society easier to navigate. Based on these generalizations, we develop perceptions of others and judge them through the lens of who we are. However, these perceptions often cause friction in the workplace. So, what can you do to maneuver generational challenges?

Chris DeSantis says we need to embrace the differences. If we want to get rid of generational tensions, we should reserve judgment, think rationally, and give people the benefit of the doubt. We're all complex human beings whose experiences and characteristics amount to more than just a generational category.

In this episode of The Lawyer's Edge Podcast, Elise Holtzman is joined by speaker, author, podcaster, and consultant, Chris DeSantis, to talk about strategies for navigating generational differences in the workplace. Chris discusses where generational characteristics are derived, advice for accepting other generations, and how embracing differences can help create more diverse, collaborative workplaces.

Brandie Knox is the Principal and Creative Director of Knox Design Strategy, a branding and design studio based in New York City. Today, Knox Design Strategy works with more than 30 law firm clients, creating designs that meet the firm's goals. According to Brandie, a pretty design that doesn't help clients compete is futile. Great design is useful, effective, strategic, and technology-driven.

Brandie earned her MFA from East Carolina University, where she also served on the faculty as an Assistant Professor. In 2002, Brandie moved to New York and started a small design agency, where she worked on her first law firm website as well as projects for General Electric, the Bank of New York, and Johnson & Johnson.

Brandie went on to join the design team for Shearman & Sterling, a renowned firm with more than 850 attorneys in offices around the world. In her five years there, she developed experience and expertise in every aspect of legal marketing and design for law firms. A longtime member of the Legal Marketing Association, Brandie was the 2020 Chair of the New York Local Group and led the organization through the beginning of the pandemic.

When most people think of design, they think of visuals like colors, fonts, and imagery. These elements are important, but great design is more than what meets the eye. Design should reflect a firm's brand and create a pleasant, engaging experience. When coupled with technology, design elevates the user experience, allowing for efficient, flexible, and customizable processes.

Brandie Knox has been working with law firms for over two decades, guiding them through the design process and helping them implement technologies like intranets, extranets, custom dashboards, and management systems. Especially as the digital world evolves and more companies continue working remotely, Brandie says it's crucial that firms invest in design and technology. Not only do these strategies create more efficient and easy-to-use systems, but they promote your firm's culture and help you differentiate from the crowd.

In this episode of The Lawyer's Edge Podcast, Elise Holtzman sits down with Brandie Knox, Principal and Creative Director of Knox Design Strategy, to talk about how design and technology can help you better serve your clients. Brandie shares how technology can help firms achieve a variety of goals, why customization is key, and why design is a crucial component in the implementation and development of technologies and systems.

Robyn Addis is the COO and Chief Marketing and Business Development Officer at Legal Internet Solutions Inc. (LISI). In this role, she oversees the systems and processes of the agency and provides strategic leadership and guidance to the marketing and business development teams, as well as outsourced legal marketing services clients. Additionally, Robyn guides the development and execution of multiple high-performing marketing channels, including LISI's LinkedIn livestream and their recently launched podcast, All the Things.

Prior to joining LISI, Robyn spent 15 years at two of Philadelphia's largest law firms, Ballard Spahr LLP and Dechert LLP. She also started her own consulting firm, where she helps executive women tell their stories and position themselves for career development and success.

After years of experience working in law firms, Robyn understands lawyers' fears around digital marketing. For the industry as a whole, immersion in the digital world feels revolutionary. However, it's crucial to leverage digital marketing tactics in order to reach more people, build relationships, and convert clients. Fortunately, Robyn has expert advice on how to overcome digital marketing fears and move the needle in your business.

The digital world is expanding rapidly, and if you're not leveraging digital strategies, you're already far behind. But for many lawyers, there's a major obstacle standing in their way: fear. So what can you do to get past your fear of digital marketing and reach more clients?

Whether you're afraid of making a mistake, saying the wrong thing, or changing up your marketing strategy, Robyn Addis has tips to help you work through these challenges and market yourself in the digital space. According to Robyn, if you're just dipping your toe into the digital world now, you have some wiggle room to test out different tactics and see what works. Your audience isn't necessarily expecting perfection — they just want to connect with authentic people that they can trust.

In this episode of The Lawyer's Edge Podcast, Elise Holtzman talks with Robyn Addis, COO and Chief Marketing and Business Development Officer at Legal Internet Solutions Inc. (LISI). Robyn discusses the valuable benefits of digital marketing for lawyers and law firms, how to nurture relationships through social channels, and mistakes to avoid when sharing content online.

Robyn Addis is the COO and Chief Marketing and Business Development Officer at Legal Internet Solutions Inc. (LISI). In this role, she oversees the systems and processes of the agency and provides strategic leadership and guidance to the marketing and business development teams, as well as outsourced legal marketing services clients. Additionally, Robyn guides the development and execution of multiple high-performing marketing channels, including LISI's LinkedIn livestream and their recently launched podcast, All the Things.

Prior to joining LISI, Robyn spent 15 years at two of Philadelphia's largest law firms, Ballard Spahr LLP and Dechert LLP. She also started her own consulting firm, where she helps executive women tell their stories and position themselves for career development and success.

After years of experience working in law firms, Robyn understands lawyers' fears around digital marketing. For the industry as a whole, immersion in the digital world feels revolutionary. However, it's crucial to leverage digital marketing tactics in order to reach more people, build relationships, and convert clients. Fortunately, Robyn has expert advice on how to overcome digital marketing fears and move the needle in your business.

The digital world is expanding rapidly, and if you're not leveraging digital strategies, you're already far behind. But for many lawyers, there's a major obstacle standing in their way: fear. So what can you do to get past your fear of digital marketing and reach more clients?

Whether you're afraid of making a mistake, saying the wrong thing, or changing up your marketing strategy, Robyn Addis has tips to help you work through these challenges and market yourself in the digital space. According to Robyn, if you're just dipping your toe into the digital world now, you have some wiggle room to test out different tactics and see what works. Your audience isn't necessarily expecting perfection — they just want to connect with authentic people that they can trust.

In this episode of The Lawyer's Edge Podcast, Elise Holtzman talks with Robyn Addis, COO and Chief Marketing and Business Development Officer at Legal Internet Solutions Inc. (LISI). Robyn discusses the valuable benefits of digital marketing for lawyers and law firms, how to nurture relationships through social channels, and mistakes to avoid when sharing content online.

Lauren Lynch is the first-ever Chief Culture Officer at Mandelbaum Barrett, where she focuses on improving employee engagement and establishing a positive culture for employee morale. She's a force for cultural change and is passionate about internal communications and the employee experience.

To help improve the culture at Mandelbaum Barrett, Lauren has launched virtual and in-person events, wellness initiatives, birthday celebrations, employee recognition awards, take your child to work day, and more. Additionally, she creates focus groups to support employees and works closely with leadership teams to ensure that the firm's messaging is aligned with its core values.

Lauren is a marketing and communications professional and has spent more than 20 years in the legal industry. She's an expert at creating content, amplifying social media presence, planning events, and providing innovative thinking to the firm's leadership, maximizing their ROI for all aspects of marketing. Before joining Mandelbaum Barrett, she served in executive marketing roles at various firms, including Frier Levitt, Brach Eichler, and Martin Clearwater & Bell.

The legal industry has a bad reputation when it comes to work-life balance. A recent article from Law360 states that 63% of lawyers report burnout. So, what can you do to energize and motivate your employees and help them feel valued in the workplace?

The answer lies in your culture. Even initiatives as small as snacks in the lunchroom encourage employees to get up from their desks and take a mental break, foster conversations with coworkers, and do better work. Firms that intentionally build a desirable, compelling culture will retain top talent and see their business thrive — because when you invest in your people, you're investing in one of the most important aspects of your business.

In this episode of The Lawyer's Edge Podcast, Elise Holtzman is joined by Lauren Lynch, Chief Culture Officer at Mandelbaum Barrett, to talk about the importance of intentionally developing your firm's culture. Lauren describes the initiatives she's implemented at her firm, how culture connects all departments and generations, and why improving your culture can improve your business.

Amy Goldsmith is Partner at Tarter Krinsky & Drogin and Chair of their Privacy and Cybersecurity Group. In these roles, Amy guides clients through the legal aspects of building recognizable brands, developing desirable products and services, and devising strategic IP plans to mitigate risk.

Amy has served as the Vice President of the New York Women's Bar Association and currently co-manages its continuing legal education programs. She also teaches CLE programs for Lawline. Additionally, Amy is part of the American Bar Association and the International Trademark Association (INTA) and is on the board of directors of Savvy Ladies, a nonprofit whose mission is to educate women to be financially savvy. Previously, Amy was a speaker at TEDxTimesSquare and served on its advisory board.

A committed mentor to both attorneys and business owners, Amy launched Tarter Krinsky & Drogin's mentoring program over five years ago. As the firm grows exponentially over the years, the mentorship program gives new associates the skills and coaching needed to succeed. The program not only aids associates, but it also builds culture, helps the firm retain top talent, and gives everyone the opportunity to move up the career ladder.

A key driver of growth and productivity, formal mentorship programs can be instrumental to the success of new associates on your team. As your firm grows, it's easy for these associates to get lost in the onboarding process. But mentorship programs can help team members gain the information and skills necessary to thrive in the workplace, grow in their practice, and reach new opportunities.

However, as Amy Goldsmith points out, mentorship programs aren't just beneficial to new hires. On the mentor side, leaders have the opportunity to get to know new associates and foster valuable professional relationships. For the firm as a whole, mentorship programs help build a strong culture by providing space for feedback, concerns, and new ideas. They are also crucial for retaining top talent and developing the next wave of leadership for your organization.

In this episode of The Lawyer's Edge Podcast, Elise Holtzman sits down with Amy Goldsmith, Partner at Tarter Krinsky & Drogin and Chair of their Privacy and Cybersecurity Group. Together, they talk about the benefits of mentorship programs for both new associates and firm leaders, how current partners can increase diversity in leadership, and the importance of active listening with colleagues and clients.