Chicago, IL, June 3, 2020 - The Legal Sales and Service Organization (LSSO) and Hellerman Communications today announce the winners of the 2020 Sales & Service Awards, which recognizes sales, business development, and marketing professionals who spearheaded initiatives contributing to law firm revenue growth in 2019. This year’s winners include:
Sales Team of the Year:
After Sutherland Asbill & Brennan and Eversheds combined to create Eversheds Sutherland in 2017, its business development teams made promoting and implementing successful cross-selling practices a top priority. The energy client service team in particular, comprised of Senior Business Development Manager Christina Buensuceso, International Head of Clients and Sectors Ian Cohn, and Partners Jacob Dweck, Catherine Krupka and Mark Davenport, identified a global energy client and developed a methodical plan to grow the client relationship across multiple practice areas on a global scale. The plan consisted of detailed communications with the client through internal team calls, client meetings, and in-person client satisfaction interviews. The client service team, and the other attorneys and business professionals that support this client relationship, were ultimately able to take the client from two to eight service lines and increased the total amount of matters handled in the U.S. by 38% and abroad by 36% over the past two years.
Eversheds Sutherland also became a pioneer in the Business Development Company (BDC) space, launching the first-of-its-kind BDC Roundtable in 2002 to share information because of the complete lack thereof beforehand. This sales team, comprised of Business Development Manager Samira Willis, Senior Business Development Coordinator Emily Johnson, Events Manager Ebony Hunter, Events Coordinator Kathleen Waddell, and Senior Digital Marketing and Technology Specialist John Beck, under the leadership of Partners Steve Boehm and Cynthia Krus, made significant changes to critically enhance the 17th annual 2019 BDC Roundtable. By revamping the sponsorship program, the BDC business development and marketing team increased sponsorship intake for the event by 43%, allowing for an enhanced event experience for attendees, and increased attendance by 10% from the year prior. The BDC team also launched a BDC industry app, which provides up-to-date information on the BDC market, regulatory news, developments, and other pertinent information from Eversheds Sutherland. Read more
An Honorable Mention is being awarded to Womble Bond Dickinson’s entire Client Development Team for turning the firm’s participation in the 2019 Association of Corporate Council (ACC) Meeting, through a live In-House Roundhouse Podcast and coordinated on-site sales strategy, into a pitch meeting for a potential new client.
Sales & Service Executive of the Year:
Carolyn Rumpf Sandano joined Stroock & Stroock & Lavan as the Business Development Manager for the Real Estate group in February 2019. In just 10 months, Carolyn was able to revamp all approaches to business development and marketing for the real estate team. In addition to overseeing the development of a task force related to the New York City Climate Mobilization Act, Carolyn also supervised the formation of a cross-disciplinary PropTech practice and has implemented a streamlined approach to client services, business development, and media relations.
Chief Marketing and Business Development Officer Trish Lilley says, “While getting the team ‘on board’ with a coordinated method for business development may not always garner loads of fanfare initially, it is a requirement for a strong and effective market-facing approach.” Read more
An Honorable Mention is being awarded to Michael Mellor, Chief Marketing and Business Development Officer at Pryor Cashman, for his 20-year career in professional services business development and marketing. In his five years at the firm, Mike has successfully campaigned to ditch the pitch and has shifted the attorney mindset to one of value creation and advancing the conversation. During this time, he transformed his role and the firm’s perception of marketing and business development from a cost center to a revenue generating center - achieving measurable results and revenue.
Partner Ali Panjwani says, “In over 15 years of practice, Mike is one of the most talented business development professionals I have had the good fortune to work with. He is often my first sounding board for new initiatives. He has keen perception and an ability to cut through the noise to identify opportunities, and then boundless creativity in exploring different ways to capitalize on them. That, paired with a true passion for his craft, make Mike an absolute pleasure to work with.”
The following professionals served on the judge’s panel to select these award winners:
