Los Angeles – January 27, 2003 - Elite Information Group, Inc., a worldwide provider of integrated practice and financial management systems to professional services firms, today announced the winners of the Elite-sponsored Excellence in Legal Marketing Awards at the Marketing Partner Forum in Laguna Niguel, Calif. Winners in three categories were honored as follows:
- Marketing Partner of the Year: Pressly M. Millen, member of Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice PLLC, Raleigh, NC
- Marketing Director of the Year: Mark Beese, marketing director at Holland and Hart, LLP, Denver, CO
- Marketing Initiative of the Year: Darryl Cross, chief marketing officer at Benesch Friedlander Coplan & Aronoff LLP, Cleveland, OH
The Elite Excellence in Legal Marketing Awards are presented to recognize excellence and innovation in law firm marketing. After a thorough nomination and evaluation process, based on criteria such as marketing results, leadership, innovation and communication strategies, a panel of judges comprising previous winners and legal marketing professionals selected the winners.
This year’s winners competed against a highly qualified field that included legal marketing professionals from across the country. Their winning strategies and accomplishments, which were discussed at the Glasser LegalWorks Marketing Partner Forum, ultimately distinguished them.
Millen, Marketing Partner of the Year, was nominated based on his commitment to client development initiatives such as creating what is widely regarded as the legal profession’s first professional sales force and experimenting with commercial drive-time radio advertising.
Beese, who nominated his entire marketing team for the Marketing Director of the Year award, led his department through the creation of an in-house marketing services agency that among other things has designed a new branding campaign, designed and launched 12 new web sites, generated national and local media coverage, and re-created a proposal center.
Cross’s development of a “sales culture” at his firm, which included the formation of a Business Development Advisory Board, implementation of weekly sales training and a new CRM system, earned him the Marketing Initiative of the Year award.
“It is a tremendous honor to sponsor such a prestigious award and to acknowledge the achievements of such outstanding legal marketing professionals. In addition to the winners, we commend all of the nominees for their accomplishments and creativity in delivering innovative legal marketing campaigns for their firms,” said Chris Poole, CEO and chairman of Elite Information Group. “As the leading provider of practice management software for professional services firms, we know what it takes to stand out in today’s increasingly competitive environment, and we will continue providing the tools that legal marketing professionals need to develop successful marketing initiatives.”
About Elite Information Systems
Elite Information Systems, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Elite Information Group, Inc., is a leading provider of integrated practice and financial management systems for professional service firms worldwide. The company has built on its success as the premier provider of world-class time and billing systems for the legal industry to deliver a variety of products and consulting services to other professional service markets, including, but not limited to, accounting, engineering, marketing and management and IT consulting. More than one-third of the top 1,000 US law firms, more than one-half of the top 100 US law firms, and 30 of the top 100 UK law firms use Elite’s practice management systems. Headquartered in Los Angeles, Elite was named a top-ten software developer by the Los Angeles Business Journal in 2002 for the second consecutive year. The company was also ranked among the Deloitte and Touche Fast 50 technology growth companies. Elite Information Group, Inc. is publicly traded on the Nasdaq National Market. Elite employs more than 400 professionals and has offices worldwide including Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia and London. For more information, visit www.elite.com.