Podcast: Keeping the Ship on Course During a Merger

Episode 33

Kathleen Flynn was the former Chief Marketing Officer at Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner based in the firm’s San Francisco office. She is responsible for planning, directing and coordinating the firm’s global marketing and public relations efforts as well as supporting the firm’s business development activities. Additionally, she has significant experience in the areas of general management, strategic planning, brand management and sales and marketing.

From a marketing perspective, Kathleen had significant involvement in the 2018 merger between U.S. firm Bryan Cave and U.K. firm Berwin, Leighton, Paisner. The new global law firm now boasts 32 offices in 11 countries, with the largest office in London.

Prior to joining Bryan Cave, Kathleen was the Chief Marketing Officer at Sedgwick LLP for more than 10 years. In that role, she built and managed the firm-wide marketing and business development program for the international law firm’s 16 offices. Prior to Sedgwick, Kathleen was founder and president of Marketing Visions, a full-service marketing and public relations agency based in Moraga, CA, and has held marketing leadership positions at Cooley LLP; Fenwick & West LLP; Littler Mendelson P.C. and Coopers & Lybrand.

Kathleen is a recipient of the Legal Marketing Association, San Francisco Chapter’s Rella Lossy Professional Achievement Award and has held several leadership positions with LMA. She is also past president of the Public Relations Society of America’s Oakland/East Bay Chapter.

What you’ll learn in this episode:

• How spending two years sailing around the world taught Kathleen to help lawyers overcome their intimidation of marketing and business development.
• Advice for legal marketers going through a merger.
• How flexibility, selflessness and awareness of cultural differences is key to ensuring good working relationships.
• How legal marketers can best build and expand their networks.

Additional resources:

• Twitter: @jrzegal