LMAF interviews peek into the lives and minds of some of the most compelling figures in the legal industry. Interviewees answer three questions from each of three categories--savvy, salty, and personal--to reveal unique insights and talents driving our field.
Platform
Tahisha Fugate is the Associate Director of Marketing & Business Development at Axinn in Washington DC. As an Am Law 100 veteran, Tahisha uses skills learned among the nation’s largest firms to help lead her current specialty firm to new heights in antitrust, intellectual property, and litigation.
An alumna of the Legal Marketing Association International Board of Directors, Tahisha applies her rich legal industry experience, MBA training, and deep listening skills to advise lawyers and marketers alike. Insights Magazine has called Tahisha one of the 10 Most Inspiring Women in Business, and this interview highlights why.
Savvy
What have you seen recently from a law firm or service provider that really made you say, “Oh wow, that’s good.”? One of the legal journals featured the first law firm to launch a custom AI bot on their website, like ChatGPT. I thought that was absolutely amazing. It’s uncomfortable for a law firm to be the first to do something risky, but they just put themselves out there. That was very innovative—especially for a law firm—to leverage this technology externally on their website.
What should law firms or legal marketers steal from another industry? Going back to law firms being hesitant to be the first to try something, I don’t believe other industries have that same hesitation. Law firms need to be more comfortable putting themselves out there.
Also, video content. We are still very much driven by written content. A lot of lawyers are still uncomfortable with video. That could be a game-changer for humanizing legal content and giving it more personality.
What’s the best advice you’ve ever received? “Try it before you invest.” That was specifically related to my career, but I use it in all areas. I thought I wanted to go to law school, but I didn’t know any lawyers personally. I had never been in a law firm or around the environment. One of my mentors was like, “You know what? Go find a job at a law firm. Even as a receptionist. Work in that environment and get a feel before you invest that much time and money.” That’s advice I use in all areas of my life.
Salty
What do you wish clients would stop asking for, and why? I wish more clients would START inviting their law firms to spend time in their facilities and offices, allowing outside counsel to immerse in the day-to-day operations and challenges. Clients want their law firms to know their businesses, and it’s a big pet peeve if a firm appears not to. Why not welcome firms to spend a day every year on-site? This collaboration can lead to deeper insights and more effective solutions tailored to clients' unique needs.
What’s your go-to excuse to avoid a meeting? If it’s with a lawyer, I typically remind them how busy they are and highlight the action items in an email. Otherwise, it’s a training. Or another conflicting meeting.
What’s your favorite guilty pleasure? Romance novels. I read an insane amount of romance novels. I need the escape!
Personal
What advice would you give to folks just entering the industry? Build community and nurture those relationships. And not just with fellow legal marketers, but with your lawyers and vendors and folks in other departments. Similar to what we tell lawyers about their connections, people around you move. You just never know where people are going to land.
A great example is that I worked with Axinn’s current COO many moons ago when I was a junior marketer. She was a marketing manager, and I was a specialist or something like that. We both continued our separate career trajectories, kept in touch all these years, and now we’re back together.
What advice would you give your younger self? Do it scared. I like to play by the rules. That’s just who I am, who I’ve always been. I’ve avoided opportunities because I was scared or didn’t think I had enough experience—I was scared to put myself out there.
Toddlers jump off steps, they have no fear. And when you’re younger, you may be more confident doing things that scare you because you have a longer runway to recover. When you get older and take on more responsibilities, have people depending on you, you’re kind of like “I don’t really know if this is the right time.” So when you’re younger, just do it, even if you’re scared.
What would you be doing if you weren’t in legal? I’d probably be a therapist or guidance counselor. I wish I had studied psychology. I often tell people I should have a sign outside my door for my therapeutic office hours. I can sit down with someone and after one or two questions, they’ll just give it to me. I believe my ability to create space for people is one of my gifts.
I look at practicing law as something that many lawyers—I won’t say all, but many—have wanted to do their entire lives. So we’re literally helping folks manifest something they’ve dreamed about. That’s deep. To this day, my network consists of associates who are now partners at law firms. They still call or text—sometimes it’s friendly, sometimes professional—and will be like “Hey, I’d like to run this by you.”
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