Market Research

Market Research — Everything You Always Wanted to Know, So Don’t Be Afraid to Ask!

Are subjects such as competitive intelligence, branding, industry trends, market analysis and client feedback important to you and your firm?  If so:  What issues should you research?  Are they in fact researchable?  How should you go about it?  How much should it cost?  And how reliable are the results?

 These and other topics will be explored by a marquee panel of highly experienced and well-regarded market research professionals, all of whom have a prime focus on law firms.  There will be considerable cross talk among the panelists and there may well be issues on which they disagree.

You’re sure to find the dialogue enlightening and you will be encouraged to participate.  In fact, much of the discussion will deal with questions from you, including those you can submit in advance of the session. 

 Whatever your position, our panel of experts looks forward to addressing market research issues that are uppermost in your mind and key to your firm’s progress and success.  So please don’t hesitate to also invite those whom you believe can not only best challenge the panel but also most optimally benefit from the panelists’ thoughtful opinions and responses.

 Our three panelists are:

 Mark Greene – Mark is CMO at Nixon Peabody, LLP, located in their Washington, DC office.  His 30 years of marketing experience also include working in-house in industry as well as consulting with more than 100 professional services firms on all aspects of marketing and market research.  Mark has a Ph.D. in Research Methods, has taught at several universities, and drafted the LMA’s “Guidelines for Conducting and Commissioning Marketing Research.”  Mark was recently inducted into the LMA Hall of Fame. 

 Lisa Hart – Lisa is the CEO of Acritas, a specialist professional services research company.  Established six years ago, Acritas has provided both custom-made and product-based market research programs to more than 50 law firms in the US as well as worldwide.  Before founding Acritas, Lisa used her extensive background in Mathematics and Management Science to bring the science of research based business planning to UK law firms after several years of refining those skills at a consumer research agency.

 Michael Rynowecer – Michael is the President and founder of The BTI Consulting Group, a provider of strategic market and client research, including its independent telephone survey of corporate counsel.  This survey – now in its 8th year – includes the results of approximately 250 annual in-depth interviews that explore client expectations of law firms.  Over his 28 years of experience, Michael has provided client surveys and syndicated market research to more than 200 professional services firms. 

 The moderator will be Donald Aronson.  A member of the New York LMA Chapter, Don is the founder of D. E. Aronson Associates LLC (formerly Aronson / Heintz Associates LLC).  For the past 12 years, Don’s firm has been conducting market research engagements for law firms and other professional services firms, with a concentration on Client Feedback.  Prior to that, Don was the CMO at a Big 4 accounting firm and, subsequently, acting CMO at one of the top 50 US law firms.