Dickinson Wright Announces James Stapleton as Chief Business Development and Marketing Officer

Mr. Stapleton will oversee the direction and implementation of business development growth strategies and tactics. His primary focus will be to improve demand generation, drive increased breadth of client relationships, and accelerate Dickinson Wright brand growth across key target markets.

”Dickinson Wright has a tremendous client service platform, a distinctive focus on core industry sectors and a record of embracing innovative business approaches,” Mr. Stapleton stated. “Our leadership has a dynamic vision, and every attorney focuses on delivering value through high quality legal skills and exceptional client service. I could not be more excited about helping Dickinson Wright take our brand to the next level.”

“Jim’s appointment is an important illustration of Dickinson Wright’s recruitment and retention of top-level talent to complement our continuing commitment to excellence in client service,” said CEO William T. Burgess. “Given his business development expertise and his experience working with corporate counsel, we expect that he will bring a fresh approach to our business development program. Jim is the right person to lead our continuing expansion, building on our momentum as one of North America’s leading business law firms for companies that compete in a global market.”

Mr. Stapleton was previously the managing principal of LEAP Legal, a consulting firm that helped inhouse counsel optimize their relationships with their law firms. Prior to that, he served as Chief Marketing Officer at Fenwick & West and Chief Marketing and Business Development Officer at Littler Mendelson. He has also held international marketing and business development roles with PricewaterhouseCoopers and Arthur Andersen.

Mr. Stapleton has written and spoken extensively on topics as varied as client service, business development, sales, marketing and best-in-class operational metrics. He is widely recognized as a marketing operations expert and teaches a master class in marketing and business development metrics for law firms. He received his B.S.C. in Finance from Santa Clara University.

About Dickinson Wright PLLC
Dickinson Wright PLLC is a general practice business law firm with more than 380 attorneys among more than 40 practice areas. Headquartered in Detroit and founded in 1878, they have fourteen offices, including six in Michigan (Detroit, Troy, Ann Arbor, Lansing, Grand Rapids and Saginaw) and seven other domestic offices in Columbus, Ohio; Phoenix, Arizona; Nashville, Tennessee; Las Vegas, Nevada and Washington, D.C. Their Canadian office is located in Toronto.

The firm offers clients a distinctive combination of superb client service and exceptional quality across the firm. Dickinson Wright lawyers are known for delivering commercially oriented advice on sophisticated transactions and have a remarkable record of wins in high-stakes litigation. Dickinson Wright lawyers are regularly cited by Chambers, Best Lawyers, Super Lawyers and other leading independent law firm evaluating organizations.