Chris Newman, LSSO Board of Advisors President; Senior Director of Business Development + Client Solutions, McDermott

I'm thrilled to reach out to you for the first time as the President of the Board of Advisors. It's an honor to be the first ever President in LSSO's 20+ year history, and I'm looking forward to the journey ahead.

As we start this next chapter, I'm eager to work with our 2025 Board to create impactful initiatives that will benefit all LSSO’s members. We're focused on bringing fresh ideas and innovation and developing specialized curriculum to advance the skills of sales and business development professionals in more targeted ways. LSSO has a strong foundation built over two decades, and we're here to build on that legacy. The 2025 Board will play a pivotal vital role in guiding LSSO’s initiatives and member offerings, including the RainDance conference, focused specialty groups, leadership roundtables, case study programs and industry research efforts.

One of the highlights of our organization is the highly-regarded Raindance conference, taking place this year in Chicago on June 4-5. It's always been a cornerstone event for our community, and we’re looking forward to bringing sales and BD leaders from around the country together for two days of fast-paced, insightful and engaging content.  Plus it’s hard to top the community energy for this group – it’s a joyful experience you don’t want to miss out on! 

With the advancements we’re seeing in the legal industry with sales and BD professionals gaining a bigger voice in their firms and having a seat at the table with strategy, LSSO will be amplifying how we bring targeted content to you aligned to the growing list of specialty areas that fall within the BD, sales and service umbrella.  We understand that LSSO’s members crave more opportunities to learn from their peers through case study programs and roundtable discussions, benefit from speakers that fall outside of the traditional legal framework and gain access to LSSO’s business partners who are bringing the next generation of solutions to market.  This year, we’ll be concentrated on creating those enhancements and implementing a deeper level of community connection through more engagement opportunities. A big driver of that will be the organization’s new website that will be launching in the spring and allow for a lot more user interactions. Beyond this superb change, LSSO members can count on other incredible developments on the horizon – we can’t wait to bring them to you!

If you have any interest in getting involved in this journey through volunteering and/or sharing ideas, we’d love to chat with you. Feel free to email me or Kate Hudson to discuss opportunities.  For those of you not signed up for memberships yet, I’d give it serious consideration. It’s a terrific opportunity to get a significant discount to Raindance, as well as give you access to the increased level of benefits coming soon!

I am so excited about the future and the opportunities that lie ahead. Let's make this year a memorable one for LSSO!

Chris Newman

President, LSSO Board of Advisors