who is stage? changing the script for business development and marketing.

co-founder & principal

new york

email megan

Who is Megan Senese, anyway?

Obsessed with ideation, creation, execution, and speed (just call me super speedy Senese). I have 18 years of marketing and business development experience instituting client teams and launching industry programs at three different Am Law 100 firms. A straight shooter with a deadpan sense of humor, I quickly solve problems and move to solutions. With a knack for orienting conversations back to what is practical and actionable, flexing between the two is my superpower, particularly in complex organizations such as law firms. As a certified Smart Collaborator and accredited partner to administer the Gardner & Co. Smart Collaboration Accelerator, I bring teams and individuals who are looking to work and communicate more effectively or cross-sell together.

My strengths are centered on executing and coaching lawyers with business development (and marketing professionals) on client + industry-specific strategies to generate growth, revenue, and relationships, as well as creating multi-pronged content campaigns, idea generation, and strategies for increasing brand and market visibility. I love helping individual lawyers grow their books of business and supporting legal marketing professionals. I am a frequent writer on LinkedIn, offering real talk about the legal industry and practical tips on how to build relationships and business.

I am the Co-Chair of LMA New York Small Firm Special Interest Group, and I am also the co-host of stage’s podcast: So Much to Say: A Legal Podcast for People.

podcast guest appearances + other features: The Women Who Wow Series, in Lawrina’s “Social Media Tips for Lawyers”, and as a guest on This Legal Life: NOT Another Legal Podcast (S1, episode 14) and For Your Listening Pleasure: The Podcast (episode 68) and The Free Lawyer: Achieving Clarity and Personal Freedom: The Key to Successful Business Development for Lawyers (episode 120), Passle CMO Series: Taking a Client-First Approach to Legal Business Development (episode 105), Woman to Woman Podcast Series, shespeaks Powerhouse Women Show, The Legal500 Podcast (season 2, episode 23), and The Lawyer's Edge, Episode 25. The Legal Burnouts: Pregnancy, Parenting, and Entrepreneurship, The Newfangled Lawyer, and Legally Different.

speaking: Closing the Loop: Mastering Post-Event Follow-Up, with Nexl, Network Where You Are with The Authentic Lawyer, Power of Collaboration: Driving Client Retention and Success in Law Firms with Nexl, co-presented at the LMA SouthWest 2023 Virtual BD Boot Camp Series on Help! The Laterals are Coming , New York Local Group LMA Northeast Region, Marketing with Empathy Workshop, and moderated at the LMA 2024 NE Region Conference on Recruit, Integrate, Retain: Legal Marketing Perspectives on Lateral Attorneys.

writing: Authored, You’re a Newly Minted Partner. Now What? 5 Tips for Your First 90 Days (PLI), Why September is the Ideal Time for Business Planning (PLI), First-Gen Lawyers Can Reach New Heights and Succeed in Big Law (Bloomberg), Law Firms Can Keep Lateral Partners With Support at Work, Home(Bloomberg), Lateral Partner Recruiting Must Focus on Honesty and Clear Data” (Bloomberg), Lateral Partner Integration Requires Business Development Plan(Bloomberg), The impact of AI on BD and marketing in professional services with The BD Ladder, Authenticity Is the New Professional: Why Being Yourself Is Key to Success(Practicing Law Institute), Leading with Heart: Megan K Senese of stage On The Power of Authentic Women’s Leadership(Authority Magazine), Building Strong Relationships At All Stages Of A Legal Career(Law360), Win the Tug of War for Law Talent with These Strategies(Bloomberg Law), Perfecting Outreach Cadence Between Lawyers and Clients”(Law360), contributed to Nexl’s 2023 Law Firm Growth Strategy Report, co-authored A Law Firm's Guide To Producing A Podcast(Law360), 5 Attorney Business Development Tips For The New Year(Law360).

coaching client quotes:

“Megan has been instrumental in helping me grow my book of business and help me navigate moving to a Big Law firm and then to a specialized boutique firm. I can confidently say I’ve generated more than six figures of new business directly because of the guidance I’ve received from Megan.” - Shams Merchant.

“Megan Senese is a one-stop shop of guidance and ideas (and resources). I have been working with stage through their "corduroy" program, which offers (FREE) business development coaching for any lawyer going out or coming back from parental leave. She can do it all but has a special niche in working with young partners and the overlap between that career inflection point and parenthood. I cannot recommend Megan (and stage) enough. She knows the industry and syncs up incredibly well with whatever you've got going on at your firm, whether it's a robust BD team, a small team, or it's just you pitching you. There's no dream too big or pitch too small for her. She'll dream up next steps for you and give you all the materials to make it happen.” - Ale Dalton

“Working with Megan has made me more confident. I stopped trying to fit a square peg in a round hole and learned that I could have more success by looking for counterparts who are like-minded and have similar values/goals.” - Lora Krsulich

“stage isn't just coaching me. Megan is actually behind the scenes creating content and pitching me. The 1:1 conversations with Megan have been invaluable to my success and growth of my firm.” - Allie Levene

“I wanted to tell you how impressed I’ve been with you generally and the business model you have at stage. I’ve used a lot of service providers in the past where it really feels like the person/team is operating at arm’s length, but this really feels like having an in-house person. I think there are particularly a lot of female solo practitioners and partners at small firms who are missing out on tons of opportunities and don’t even realize that a service like this exists. And the price point is a no-brainer when you consider what a senior associate or partner is likely billing and how many hours you are saving them, then that’s an easy argument to make.” - Solo Law Firm Owner