Webinar Recording: Thought Leadership Strategies for Attorneys

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About the Program

This webinar will offer guidance to help mid-career attorneys establish themselves as thought leaders in their areas of focus, as one way to build a platform for continued business development and career advancement. Publishing thought leadership content, especially articles in well-respected legal industry forums such as Law360's Expert Analysis section, is an important way to be visible and credible in your field of practice. This webinar offers practical tips for how to come up with ideas for thought leadership content, how to get things published, and how to get the most value from the time you spend writing and publishing.

Speaker

Debra Pickett, Founder, Page 2 Communications

For more than 20 years, Debra Pickett has blended business, legal and media acumen with outstanding communication skills to partner with attorneys, issue advocates, political candidates and executives to get their messages out to key constituencies. Today she leads a team of experienced journalists, editors, marketers and campaign professionals serving as advisors to the next generation of law firm leadership.

Debra’s work as a communications strategist and consigliere to managing partners, marketing directors and practice chairs is informed by her long experience as a journalist and author, specializing in translating complex legal, technical and policy language into compelling articles, speeches and books. She leverages her deep connections with Chicago and national media to facilitate the placement of stories and articles that advance her clients’ interests, enhance their reputations and build their brands.

A lifelong writer, Debra spent the early part of her professional life as a management consultant, leading teams implementing technological and organizational change efforts, while also pursuing a freelance writing career. After several years in consulting, Debra was recruited by a former client to serve as the operations director of a technology start-up. Chronicling the ups and downs of her dot-com life in a nationally recognized series of articles, Debra made the switch to full-time work as a journalist in October 2000.

Less than two years after joining the staff of the Chicago Sun-Times, Debra was writing weekly columns for the paper’s coveted Page 2 column (former home of the legendary Mike Royko). Her journalism career also included launching the paper’s first blog and contributing to television news coverage at CNN, WBBM and WTTW.

Debra founded Page 2 Communications in 2011, focusing her media strategy and communications consultancy on the needs of law firms and their clients, specifically in the areas of media training, trial publicity and public relations.

Notable engagements have included:

• Launching a newly formed law firm with media support, including placement of television, radio and print news stories, along with integrated social media and outreach events.
• Partnering with a national law firm in promoting its newly established Chicago presence, from organizing community service and outreach events to placing a major feature story in Crain's.
• Delivering web content, media training and an integrated communication strategy for a boutique law firm serving entrepreneurs and high-net-worth individuals.

Debra is certified by the Illinois Supreme Court MCLE Board as a Continuing Legal Education provider. She holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Pennsylvania.

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