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Meet Our Professionals

Kristen Bateman Leis

Chief Marketing & Business Development Officer

Kristen Bateman Leis is the executive overseeing marketing, business development, and practice management at Parker Poe. She is among fewer than 300 Fellows around the world in the College of Law Practice Management, which recognizes those who have made significant and sustained contributions to the business of practicing law.

Kristen is a member of Parker Poe’s Executive Team and helps bring the voice of the client into the firm to influence and drive business strategy and long-term success. She utilizes her passion for the business of law, as well as her extensive law firm client development and marketing experience, to set the strategy for the firm's client relations and business development, its competitive and business intelligence, its marketing communications, and its practice management programs.

She is a frequent speaker on related topics and maintains a niche focus on the experience and journey of the client to ultimately improve client satisfaction and long-term partnerships. She also has a strong background in leadership coaching and growth, operational management, strategic marketing, relationship building, and process improvement.

She created an innovative annual program called the Parker Poe Path that provides training in direct response to client feedback. The Path programming has included clients and attorneys teaming up to learn process improvement and project management skills geared specifically for the legal profession. Through that initiative hosted by Parker Poe, she earned a Yellow Belt Certification in Legal Lean Sigma® and Project Management from the Legal Lean Sigma Institute. The Path has also included an innovative “Mini-MBA” program that helped attorneys, paralegals, and senior administration further refine their business acumen.

Kristen has more than 25 years of experience focused on providing superior client service to existing clients and engaging new clients for some of the most well-respected business law firms in the Midwest, Pacific Northwest, and Southeast.

In addition, Kristen is a member of Women Executives (WE), which consists of a diverse group of business, educational, and nonprofit leaders in the Charlotte community.

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Honors & Awards

  • Fellow, College of Law Practice Management, 2019-present; Futures Forum, Chair, 2023
  • North Carolina Lawyers Weekly and The Mecklenburg Times' 50 Most Influential Women, 2024
  • Sales and Service Executive of the Year, Legal Sales and Service Organization (LSSO), 2018
  • First Place, Your Honor Awards, Legal Marketing Association, Southeast Region, 2018
  • Honorable Mention, Your Honor Awards, Legal Marketing Association, 2018
  • Team of the Year Finalist, Legal Sales and Service Organization (LSSO), 2017
  • Certification, Legal Lean Sigma and Project Management (Yellow Belt), 2017
  • First Place, Your Honor Awards, Legal Marketing Association, Southeast Region, 2017
  • Honorable Mention, Your Honor Awards, Legal Marketing Association, Southeast Region, 2016
  • Honorable Mention, Your Honor Awards, Legal Marketing Association, Southeast Region, 2015
  • First Place, Your Honor Awards, Legal Marketing Association, 2013
  • Legal Marketer of the Year, Unsung Legal Heroes, Daily Journal of Commerce "DJC" of Oregon November 2011

Memberships

  • Women Executives (WE), 2021-present
  • Manzama, Inc., Global Client Advisory Board (CAB), 2015-present
  • Society 54, Board of Advisors, 2015-present
  • Legal Marketing Association, National Conference Co-Chair, 2020; Member, 1998-present
  • National Multiple Sclerosis Society, Greater Carolinas Chapter, Gatsby Gala Committee, 2017