Starting on Wednesday, January 21st in Rancho Palos Verdes, California the Terranea Resort will open its doors to host the Thomson Reuters Legal Executive Institute, 22nd Annual Marketing Partner Forum.  Set in beautiful Southern California, this conference will give attendees the chance to brainstorm and develop innovative solutions to the issues facing Legal firms in today’s market.

James D. Pagliaro is the Managing Partner for Client Relations at Morgan Lewis, and he also is a partner in the Litigation Practice, the leader of the firm’s Product Liability and Mass Tort Practice, and head of the firm’s Technology Industry Initiative.  This resume makes him uniquely suited to be one of the co-chairs of the 22nd Annual Marketing Partner Forum, as his experience converges on many of the challenges facing the legal industry.

In 2009, Mr. Pagliaro was named as the Managing Partner for Morgan Lewis, and this was his first foray in to the business development side of the law firm.  He worked in the firm to continue the “culture of client focused service, doing the most and the best we could for our clients.”  While moving to the Managing Partner and business side of the law firm was a change for Mr. Pagliaro, who has focused his career on mass tort and product liability litigation, he wanted to be involved and has worked to encourage attorneys at Morgan Lewis to “open themselves up to being involved [in business development] in a positive way.”

Mr. Pagliaro tells his first year associates that “your first job as a lawyer is to do a consistently outstanding job at everything.”  With this high standard set in place, the goal is to practice responsive listening to clients, and to make sure attorneys are helping clients “solve business problems, not legal problems.” 

Mr. Pagliaro is looking forward to the 22^nd Annual Marketing Partners Forum, because, in his words, “I enjoy listening to colleagues talk about how they are seeing the future, the challenges, and forward thinking pragmatic ideas and discussions of those challenges.” The three-day conference is packed with thoughtful panels, interesting speakers, and great opportunities to network with other professionals.  And of course a chance to enjoy the Southern California weather.

Inherent in these discussions, in Mr. Pagliaro’s opinion, the conference can offer a concentration on developing “collaborative strategies, and how to be client focused in your firm.  Part of that is learning how to communicate, and making sure the clients understand we are 100% committed and focused on putting the clients first.”  This focus on client service is something that Mr. Pagliaro believes in completely.  He says, “a focus on making sure clients feel their needs are being met and concerns are being heard should be part of the DNA of a law firm, and if it’s not, get it to be part of your law firm’s DNA.”

Today’s legal market is one that is very competitive, and the Thomson Reuters Legal Executive Institute’s 22^nd Annual Marketing Partner Forum is an opportunity to develop strategies that helps, according to Mr. Pagliaro, “establish a brand that differentiates your firm in the marketplace.”  While Mr. Pagliaro is clear to say that of course, “the quality of the work you provide your clients is the most important,” there are plenty of chances at the upcoming Marketing Partner Forum to develop “strategies for placing your firm in the front of client’s minds.”

For all of these reasons, the 22^nd Annual Marketing Partner Forum will be an excellent chance to focus on your law firm’s client service standards, and how to differentiate your firm in today’s market.