May 2022 National Specialization Roundtable

Marketing for Board Certified Specialists and the Organizations that Certify Them

Moderator: Reeve McNamara, Executive Director at the American Board of Professional Liability Attorneys
Panelists: Emily Bradfield, Marketing Director at the American Bar Association; Scott Carr, Director of Marketing and Community Relations at Klinedinst PC; Kushraj Cheema, Head of USA Research Development at Chambers and Partners; Steve Fretzin, Author, Consultant and Podcast Host, Be That Lawyer

A panel of marketing experts shared how to lay a foundation to create a repository of marketing knowledge that organizations can distribute to members through regular points of contact. The panel was able to share pertinent information that allowed attendees to walk away with a small to-do list that they could implement immediately.

Best Practices for Peer Review and Challenges to the Process

Moderator: Steven B. Lesser, Shareholder at Becker & Poliakoff
Panelists: Wesley Avery, Attorney at Law Offices of Wesley H. Avery; Leo Figueroa, Executive Director at the Texas Board of Legal Specialization; David Willis, Shareholder at Rumberger Kirk & Caldwell

A panel consisting of representatives from State Bars and National Certifying Organizations delved into questions on how to solicit peer reviews and from whom, how to ensure responses, how are the peer-review processes different for state programs than the national certifying organizations, and what do examples of good peer review forms look like. 

Marketing: What Works Best

Moderator: Wendy Weiss, Counsel for the Supreme Court of New Jersey Board on Continuing Legal Education and Board on Attorney Certification

Panelists: Laura Benson, Manager of Digital Marketing & Creative Services at Becker & Poliakoff; Audrey Ching, Assistant Director of Admissions at the State Bar of California; Roger Daily, Division Head of the National Board of Trial Advocacy; Adrian Galang, Program Supervisor at the State Bar of California

A panel consisting of representatives from State Bars, National Certifying Organizations and legal marketing experts shared marketing initatives that are working best for them and discussed innovative ways to attract more lawyers to specialization and inform legal consumers on the importance of board-certified lawyers.