Lindsey Bombardier is the Director of Business Development and Marketing at Lenczner Slaght. She manages a talented group of professionals and works closely with the firm’s management committee, lawyers and business team members to enhance client development and drive brand awareness. She is also responsible for internal communications and is an active member of the firm’s Business Continuity Committee, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Committee and Innovation Hive™.

Lindsey is a longtime director of the Legal Marketing Association, Canada Region. She is the co-creator of LMANext, a program supporting the next generation of legal marketers. Before joining Lenczner Slaght, Lindsey worked for nearly a decade at one of Canada’s largest law firms.

Follow Lindsey on LinkedIn.

What do you love most about what you do?

It’s a combination of so many things but, simply put, it’s the people and the work itself. I genuinely like my colleagues, past and present. I have met some of my best friends at work and have built so many special relationships at so many different levels.

Part of it is finding people that share my values and my drive for success. Sometimes that’s marketing and business development colleagues while other times that’s senior partners.

The other part of it is prioritizing building relationships that are built on honesty and trust. The time that it takes to accomplish that cannot be overstated. I have always considered it my top priority since, once those relationships are formed, the work becomes more enjoyable and the end product is almost always better. I recognized in myself a long time ago that, at work, I am drawn to people who are energetic and who have the ability to generate new ideas.

At my current firm, I am fortunate to have colleagues that check both those boxes. The work we’ve done together is some of the best in my career and I consider myself very lucky for that. The work itself can be very difficult but, that’s also what makes it so special. If you’re at the right firm, doing the right things, you will find yourself in a continuous loop of learning, development and success.

What do you think is the key for success in a role like yours?

Find the work that brings you the most joy. Legal marketing roles offer a lot of different paths. Seniority aside, you mostly find generalists and specialists. Every firm needs brilliant specialists – those subject matter experts that can drive forward very specific components of a plan or project. But, in my view, generalists have particular superpowers. I am a generalist. I have a broad collection of knowledge and experience that I can draw from in any situation. I can ask the right questions, provide real examples, challenge assumptions and connect all the dots. And let me tell you, I love it.

I have learned that I am at my best when I am doing a little bit of everything. It helps to have the support of an excellent team but, the recognition of my interests and what brings me the most joy in the workplace, has made me better. Find it for yourself. Think hard about what you enjoy most about your work, where you add the most value, and where you think you can continuously improve yourself and the firm long-term. That deep level of understanding and recognition will help guide the way.

And, at the end of the day, and as brutal as it might sound, there is simply no shortcut for hard work. Sometimes (not all the time), you have to put in a zillion hours of work to get something done perfectly. And it will pay off, I promise you.

What do you wish you could tell your younger self?

Ted Lasso, a genius (ha!), said: “You know what the happiest animal on Earth is? It’s a goldfish. You know why? Got a ten-second memory. Be a goldfish, Sam.”

Early in my career, I wish I had let go of my frustrations a little faster and I wish I had taken more opportunities to be fair, not judgmental. Legal marketing can be tough – some days you are a coach, others a therapist and some days it can feel like you are doing the job that they pay everyone else to do. But the growth can be enormously rewarding if you let it in. Remember that you are part of a team and with that comes wins and losses. Celebrate the wins, learn from the losses and get on with it.