Patrick J. McKenna | Speaker Profile
An internationally recognized author, lecturer, strategist, and seasoned advisor to the leaders of premier professional firms, Patrick J. McKenna has had the honor of working with at least one of the largest firms in over a dozen different countries. He was acknowledged in 2020 as one of the Top 20 Global Thought Leaders on Business Strategy (Thinkers360).
Featured keynote topics
Patrick J. McKenna authored a pioneering text on law firm marketing, Practice Development: Creating a Marketing Mindset, recognized by an international journal as being “among the top ten books that any professional services marketer should have.” His subsequent works included Herding Cats: A Handbook for Managing Partners and Practice Leaders; and Beyond Knowing: 16 Cage-Rattling Questions To Jump-Start Your Practice Team.
A prolific writer on firm leadership, his book (co-authored with David Maister), First Among Equals: How to Manage a Group of Professionals, topped business bestseller lists in the US, Canada, and Australia; translated into nine languages; currently in its seventh printing; and received a ‘best business book’ of 2002 award.
McKenna’s hundreds of published articles have appeared in over 50 leading professional journals, newsletters, and online sources; with work featured in Fast Company, Harvard Business Review, Forbes, Business Week, The Globe and Mail, The Economist, Investor’s Business Daily, and The Financial Times. He has served as Contributing Editor to Of Counsel: The Legal Practice and Management Report (New York) for the past eight years.
Past speaking engagments
- American Bar Association
- American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA)
- American Management Association
- Asia Business Forum (Singapore)
- Association of Management Consulting Firms
- Barclays Professional Practices (UK)
- Canadian Bar Association
- Canadian Tax Foundation
- Legal Marketing Association
- U.S. Law Firm Group
Career highlights
Patrick did his MBA graduate work at the Canadian School of Management and is among the first alumni from Harvard’s Leadership in Professional Service Firms program (1995). His decades of experience led to his being the subject of a Harvard Law School Case Study entitled: Innovations In Legal Consulting (2011), being the recipient of an Honorary Fellowship from Leaders Excellence of Harvard Square (2015); and being voted by the readers of Legal Business World Magazine as an International Thought Leader. He was acknowledged in 2020 as one of the Top 20 Global Thought Leaders on Business Strategy (Thinkers360).
McKenna serves on a number of corporate and advisory boards, including Intraspexion Inc. (AI legal tech); LBW Broadcasting (international media); True Balance Longevity Institute (healthcare); Alterity ADR (dispute resolution) and was the first non-American, non-lawyer to have actively served, for three and a half years (2015-19), on the Board of an AmLaw 100 firm.
Organizations and event organizers can confidently hire this speaker to conduct keynotes and workshops about future trends across a diverse range of topics and in the following formats:
| Format | Description |
|---|---|
| Advisory calls | Discussion with your executives to answer specific questions on a topic, project or subject of choice. |
| Executive coaching | One-to-one coaching and mentoring session between an executive and the selected speaker. Topics are mutually agreed upon. |
| Topic presentation (Internal) | A presentation for your internal team based on a mutually agreed topic with content supplied by the speaker. This format is designed specifically for internal team meetings. Maximum 25 participants. |
| Webinar presentation (Internal) | Webinar presentation for your team members on a mutually agreed topic, including question time. Internal replay rights included. Maximum 100 participants. |
| Webinar presentation (External) | Webinar presentation for your team and external attendees on a mutually agreed topic. Question time and external replay rights included. Maximum 500 participants. |
| Event keynote presentation | Keynote or speaking engagement for your corporate event. Topic and content can be customized to event themes. Includes one-on-one question time and participation in other event sessions if required. |
Book this speaker
Contact us to inquire about booking this speaker for a keynote, panel, or workshop, or contact Kaelah Shimonov at kaelah.s@quantumrun.com
