[This checklist, an excellent resource for legal marketers seeking a comprehensive guide to successfully implementing technology solutions, appeared originally as one of two handouts from the 2025 LMA Annual Conference session, 'From Intuition to Insight: Building a Fact-Based Future in Legal Marketing by Harnessing Data.’ See the accompanying checklist of key questions here.]
Identify Objectives and Challenges
- Outline the challenges: Understand the inefficiencies and issues faced by the team, such as double entry and lost data.
- Set clear objectives: Aim for accurate data accuracy and seamless transition to the new system.
- Align with strategy: Ensure the objectives align with the firm's strategy for better management and proactive client engagement.
Plan Execution and Roles
- Identify your champion: Select a champion who will lead the implementation, advocate for the solution, and ensure team buy-in.
- Define key roles: Identify key roles of each team member: CBDMO, Director of Martech, BD, IT, Others
- Collaborate with IT: Work closely with IT
- Train the team: Create targeted training guides and interactive sessions that demonstrate how the system's capabilities directly enhance team efficiency, enabling members to excel in their specific roles.
Overcome Challenges
- Avoid data loss: Maintain dual systems during the transition to avoid gaps.
- Ensure user-friendly design: Focus on UX and UI to make the system easy to use for all team members.
- Develop workflows: Create specific workflows for data entry and tracking.
Measure Success
- Define and track strategic KPIs: Establish clear metrics aligned with firm and business objectives, including baseline metrics and specific targets for improvement (ROI, efficiency gains, user adoption rates).
- Collect user feedback: Gather qualitative data about user experience and pain points.
- Evaluate operational effectiveness: Measure how well the solution is functioning with the users, integration, existing tools and document feedback.
Don’t Give Up
- Remember your purpose: Maintain focus on the original business problems you're solving and the significant long-term benefits that will result from successful implementation, even when facing temporary setbacks.
- Build on incremental wins: Document and celebrate each small success along the implementation journey to maintain momentum, boost team morale and demonstrate ongoing progress to stakeholders.
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Jacqueline Madarang is Director of Marketing Technology and Operations at Bracewell LLP
Jacqueline is a recognized leader in marketing technology and digital marketing, having spearheaded numerous large-scale projects. Her innovative work has earned her multiple awards both within and outside the legal profession, including several LMA Your Honor Awards for CRM implementations, a website award for her innovative use of technology and design, and thought leadership awards for lawyers, driven by the success of the programs she launched. In 2024, she received the LMA Mid-Atlantic Region Lifetime Achievement Award for her work and contributions to LMA. Her leadership extends across LMA and ILTA at both regional and national levels. You can connect with her on LinkedIn.
