Passle CMO Series Podcast

Passle
  • 5.0 (4)
  • Marketing
  • Updated Biweekly

The must-listen podcast for professional services marketers, featuring conversations with leading voices in business development and marketing across the sector. Each episode explores practical strategies for building authentic visibility, improving effectiveness, and unlocking new growth opportunities in a changing market. Produced by Passle, the platform behind the Thought Leadership Suite and CrossPitch AI, built to power thought leadership and cross-selling for the world’s leading professional services firms, including Ropes & Gray, Linklaters, Quinn Emanuel and many more. Find out more at passle.ai.

  1. 1d ago

    Episode 2 - CMO Series Laterals & Mergers: 2 Good 1 Bad with Craig Budner from Budner Performance Group

    Last week you heard from Grasford Smith, a Litigation Partner and Co-Chair of the lateral integration programme at Akerman, to hear his insights on two good things that have worked for the programme and one thing that he and his Co-Chair would avoid doing again.  This week we’re bringing you another exciting episode of 2 Good 1 Bad. Connor Kinnear sits down with Craig Budner, CEO of Budner Performance Group and former Global Strategic Growth Partner at K&L Gates, who had a front‑row view of a major law firm merger, guiding Hughes and Luce through integration and seeing firsthand how firms grow through both merger and lateral expansion. With Craig’s 25+ years of experience, he shares the importance of connecting lateral integration with business development, holding laterals accountable through both leading and lagging indicators, and the costly lesson of skipping due diligence during a period of urgent hiring.

  2. Sep 10

    Episode 1 - CMO Series Laterals & Mergers: 2 Good 1 Bad with Grasford Smith from Akerman

    Only last month we launched CMO Series: Laterals & Mergers, a podcast dedicated entirely to how law firm marketers and BD leaders navigate the complexities of lateral recruitment and firm mergers. This month we present to you the short form podcast of Laterals & Mergers: 2 Good 1 Bad. We bring on leaders from law and professional services firms to talk about the two good things they have done to drive successful lateral integration or merger, and one bad thing that they or the firm would not do again.  To kick us off, Connor Kinnear was joined by Grasford Smith, a Litigation Partner and Co-Chair of the lateral integration programme at Akerman, a role he's held for the past four years alongside a fellow partner in the firm's New York office. Grasford shares insights including welcome videos that go beyond the CV, a structured, stakeholder-mapped onboarding checklist, and the risk of assuming a good programme stays good.

  3. Sep 3

    Episode 7 - CMO Series Laterals & Mergers: Heidi Gardner and Ivan Matviak on How Law Firms Can Turn Relationships into Revenue

    Every law firm claims to prioritise collaboration, yet very few have figured out how to turn it into real, measurable revenue growth. Today on the CMO Series: Laterals & Mergers, host Connor Kinnear, Chief Marketing and Business Development Officer at Passle, is joined by two of the world's leading experts on smarter collaboration in professional services, Heidi Gardner, Distinguished Fellow at Harvard Law School and bestselling author, and Ivan Matviak, Co-founder of Gardner & Co. and CEO of Smarter Collaboration International. Together they unpack what the data really says about collaboration and lateral integration, and what CMOs and BD leaders can actually do to turn it into a genuine growth driver. In this episode Heidi and Ivan discuss: The single most important research finding every law firm leader needs to hear about collaboration and growth What an outsider's view from banking, consulting and consumer businesses reveals about blind spots in legal BD Why top firms are shifting from hiring for books of business to hiring for talent, and what that means for recruiting Where firms typically get stuck turning anecdotal knowledge about growth opportunities into action How the data quantifies the link between collaboration and revenue, and where the biggest missed opportunities are The early warning signs that a lateral hire is failing to integrate, and how much of that comes down to culture versus individual fit Their closing advice for CMOs and BD leaders building the case for a smarter collaboration initiative

  4. Aug 27

    Episode 6 - CMO Series Laterals & Mergers: Mark Levin of Marshall Gerstein on The Lawyer Who Cracked the NFL's Hiring Code and Brought It Back to Big Law

    Lateral hiring is currently at an all time high and the cost of getting it wrong runs into the billions, so why are firms still making critical hiring decisions without using the right tools to get it right. This week on CMO Series: Lateral and Mergers, we are pleased to share this brand new episode. Eugene McCormick is joined by Mark Levin, Chief Marketing and Business Development Officer at Marshall Gerstein, Chicago's largest IP boutique firm. Mark has spent his career studying what makes legal talent succeed or fail, and led him to run a psychometric assessment company working with NFL Combine teams and AmLaw 250 firms. Mark shares his journey into talent assessment and development, what the legal profession still gets wrong about lateral hiring, and why IP attorneys present a unique challenge for any BD leader. Mark and Eugene dive into: His journey from law into psychometric assessment, and what the NFL Combine taught him about predicting talent What the legal profession still gets wrong about lateral hiring Why the true cost of a bad lateral hire runs so much deeper than the recruiting fee Why IP attorneys present a unique challenge for any BD leader What it actually takes to build a business development culture that sticks The tools firms need, but rarely use, when making high stakes hiring decisions

  5. Aug 20

    Episode 5 - CMO Series Laterals & Mergers: Kathryn Whitaker of Burr & Forman on Turning Lateral Moments Into Momentum

    Law firms can no longer just coast on stability anymore, they need to start actively building momentum. Marketing leaders are expected to evolve alongside the business, modify strategy around lateral growth, and provide value through data.  As part of our CMO Series: Laterals & Mergers sub-series, we're revisiting this conversation between Eugene McCormick and Kathryn Whitaker, Chief Marketing Officer at Burr & Forman, on how her strategic approach has evolved since her first appearance on the podcast back in 2022. Kathryn broke down how marketing can support opportunistic growth, why firms are shifting toward outcome-driven metrics, and why mid-career attorneys may be the biggest missed opportunity in law firm growth strategy today. In this episode Kathryn discusses: Law firm growth through strategic scaling Lateral integration to build long-term success The importance of data-driven storytelling to inform decisions AI's practical impact on efficiency and visibility The under leveraged investment in mid-career attorneys

  6. Aug 13

    Episode 4 - CMO Series Laterals & Mergers: Craig Budner of Budner Performance Group on Unlocking Law Firm Growth Through Laterals

    Growth means different things depending on where you sit in a law firm. For lawyers, it's often about winning new work and deepening client relationships. For marketing and BD teams, it's about building the infrastructure, content and hiring strategy that makes that growth possible at scale. Bridging those two perspectives is increasingly becoming a role in its own right. As we continue to revisit standout episodes from the main podcast, today on CMO Series: Laterals & Mergers, we're looking back at a conversation Charles Cousins had with Craig Budner, former Global Strategic Growth Partner at K&L Gates, now CEO of Budner Performance Group. Craig explored what that bridging role looks like in practice, and how it drove growth across an international firm. Charles and Craig dive into: What a Global Strategic Growth Partner actually does The thinking behind launching the K&L Gates Client Conversations podcast Where the biggest growth opportunities lie for an international law firm How marketing and BD teams can support lawyers to build client relationships at scale What makes a strong lateral hire Key advice for firm leaders looking to grow their firms

  7. Aug 12

    Episode 3 - CMO Series Laterals & Mergers: Adam Severson of Baker Donelson on The Marketing Playbook for Laterals And Mergers

    Mergers can provide huge growth opportunities for law firms. Navigating a merger can also present challenges, but marketing and BD teams are well-positioned to help guide and influence a firm's strategic direction and identify new or emerging markets. Today on CMO Series: Laterals & Mergers, we are continuing to revisit stand out episodes that touch on the topics of lateral hires and law firm mergers. We are thrilled to be re-releasing an episode with Adam Severson, Chief Marketing and Business Development Officer at Baker Donelson, to share his insights on taking advantage of market opportunities and the key factors that influence the success of a merger. In this episode Adam discussed: His background and career journey to his role now at Baker Donelson The point at which he recognised the huge potential of law firm mergers in providing business development opportunities The current landscape for firms when it comes to merger activity The role of marketing and BD in influencing strategic growth and taking advantage of new or emerging markets The key success factors that indicate if a merger will be successful or not Advice for marketing BD professionals looking to successfully influence mergers and capitalise on growth opportunities

  8. Aug 6

    Episode 2 - CMO Series Laterals & Mergers: Dave Southern of Mayer Brown on Making Lateral Acquisitions Pay Off Through Client Collaboration

    It's well documented that better client-based collaboration can boost business development results and build stronger, long lasting relationships between law firms and their clients. What isn't as clear is how firms can turn that collaboration into a real payoff when it comes to lateral hiring. Today on the CMO Series: Laterals & Mergers, we are revisiting an episode with Dave Southern, former Chief Marketing & Business Development Officer at Choate, Hall & Stewart LLP, now Director of Communications at Mayer Brown, to discuss how greater client collaboration can make lateral hiring pay off. In this episode Dave discusses: His career journey so far and how his experiences have influenced his philosophy on client collaboration Why closer client collaboration is so important How to improve the results of lateral hiring How to apply this process to all clients of the firm and examples of how this has worked How this approach fits within the overall go-to-market strategy of the firm Advice for legal marketing and BD professionals looking to improve their client collaboration

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About

The must-listen podcast for professional services marketers, featuring conversations with leading voices in business development and marketing across the sector. Each episode explores practical strategies for building authentic visibility, improving effectiveness, and unlocking new growth opportunities in a changing market. Produced by Passle, the platform behind the Thought Leadership Suite and CrossPitch AI, built to power thought leadership and cross-selling for the world’s leading professional services firms, including Ropes & Gray, Linklaters, Quinn Emanuel and many more. Find out more at passle.ai.

Information

  • Creator
    Passle
  • Years Active
    2021 - 2026
  • Episodes
    100
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Copyright Passle 2021 All rights reserved.
  • Show Website
    Passle CMO Series Podcast

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