Unsung Heroes 2018- Legal Marketing

Digital Marketing Manager

Husch Blackwell

Hard work and a willingness to go above and beyond her duties are defining characteristics of Stephanie Dorssom’s career. Dorssom, a digital-marketing manager at Husch Blackwell in St. Louis, has worked for the firm for 13 years. She also has worked with the Justice For All Ball Committee, raising funds for Legal Services of Eastern Missouri. Susan Baltz, now director of marketing for The Bar Plan, hired Dorssom at Husch Blackwell. Dorssom “was the first to step up to volunteer for jobs outside of her duties and take the necessary steps to inspire attorneys and others to get the job done,” Baltz said. “She is innovative, assertive and most importantly, very fun to work with.”

What is the best career advice you’ve ever received?

Do your best, give 110 percent and most importantly, have fun.

What is the best part of your job?

I enjoy being a marketing adviser to the attorneys as well as collaborating with other professionals, such as my client-development colleagues and professionals in IT, recruiting, accounting, training and development, office services, human resources, etc. Sometimes it takes a village.

What is something that would surprise people about you?

I am a certified group fitness instructor who teaches cardio boxing and kickboxing classes.

What is your favorite thing to do away from work?

I like to stay active by jogging, biking, strength-training and taking and teaching boxing/kickboxing classes at Title Boxing Club. I also like to spend time with my husband and our dog, Maggie.

Anything else you want people to know?

I really owe a great deal of my career in legal to Susan Baltz. She hired me at the firm 13 years ago and has been a friend and mentor ever since.

– Jessica Shumaker

Media Buyer

Brown & Crouppen

Martha Perry does not do retirement well. After several attempts to slow down, the 82-year-old media buyer has returned to Brown & Crouppen, where in 2011 she took control of the largest law firm-marketing budget in Missouri. Perry’s advertising career, which started in the “Mad Men” era, now finds her responsible for negotiating and placing several thousand commercials each year in Kansas City and St. Louis.

What led you to choose a career in the legal field?

I didn’t exactly choose the legal field . . . it chose me. After I last retired, I was contacted by Brown & Crouppen to fill an advertising/marketing position that I had helped them to establish a few years earlier.

What is the best part of your job?

The advertising field has fascinated me from the very beginning. It is constantly evolving and breaking new ground. I have been in advertising since there were only two TV networks and newspaper was king. In those print days, it would not be unusual for a retailer to place 50-60 full-page print ads per week. Now the focus is on change and transition as we move to find a balance between traditional and “new” media. We are looking at new tools like automatic content recognition to guide us in our search for more efficient use of our marketing resources.

What is the best career advice you’ve ever received?

A brilliant woman who was my first boss in advertising told me early on: Never stop listening and learning. Another mentor in the research field told me if you can’t perform a task manually, how do you expect to create a computer application to do it for you? Make sure you have a clear picture of what success looks like going into a project instead of trying to decide later if your expectations have been met.

What is something that would surprise people about you?

I’ve been to England nine times and would go again if I had time and could walk a little better. I could always find new things to do each time, and I’ve repeated my favorite things on every trip, like going to Stratford to enjoy Shakespeare.

– Stephanie Maniscalco

Marketing Director

Capes Sokol

Alexandra Schenk is not only the marketing director of Capes Sokol, she is the whole department, and a wildly successful department at that. In just three years on the job, she is credited with moving the firm into the 21st century by creating a significant social media presence, helping older attorneys to learn new technology, encouraging all of the attorneys to blog as a way to develop new business and planning numerous firm events and client presentations. She even redesigned the firm’s coffee mugs.

What led you to choose a career in the legal field?

In line with my combined business and creative interests, I wanted a career that was multi-disciplinary and that offers new and thought-provoking challenges daily. It turns out that legal marketing fit the bill. As the first marketing chair at my firm, I have the opportunity to envision, shape and expand our firm’s business development and strategic marketing activities in a dynamic, creative way.

What is the best career advice you’ve ever received?

A couple of years ago, I had the opportunity to see Sheryl Sandberg speak, and she said, “Lots of times you have very good ideas. But they’re not as good as the most important thing you could be doing. And you have to make the hard choices.” In a world of increasing distractions, her philosophy on ruthless prioritization helps me focus my energy on doing “great,” rather than just “good.”

What is something that would surprise people about you?

I am a world traveler and love to explore different cultures through their unique cuisines.

What is the best part of your job?

The people that I work with every day are the best part of my job.

What is your favorite thing to do away from work?

I’m a huge foodie. I love to grow food in my garden, craft recipes, host dinner parties and of course, eat out at some of St. Louis’ amazing restaurants.

Anything else you want people to know? I owe my compassion and drive to my wonderful parents, Beth and Bob.

– Stephanie Maniscalco