Big ideas, real-world leadership and timely insight take center stage at the 2026 LMA Annual Conference. Our two keynote speakers, Carla Johnson and Cassi Chandler, will challenge how we think about innovation, leadership and change. Continue reading to learn more about their sessions in New Orleans and make plans now to join more than 1,300 of your legal marketing colleagues from around the globe.
Applied Curiosity: The Hidden Power Behind Breakthrough Ideas
Carla Johnson
Monday, April 20 | 4:30-5:45 p.m. CT
While efficiency, productivity and artificial intelligence dominate today’s conversations, teams are struggling to keep pace with change. What if, instead of being a time-consuming distraction, curiosity is the ultimate competitive advantage that’s right under our noses?
It’s time to rediscover the fundamentals of curiosity and put them into action so we can do more, better and faster while connecting more deeply as humans. Along the way, we reignite our excitement for the future and the impact we can create together.
Meet Carla Johnson
Innovation Architect and Best-Selling Author
No longer is the status quo the sure bet. In today’s world, standing still makes you a sitting duck. Disruption’s inevitable. But if anyone’s going to disrupt your organization, shouldn’t it be you?
As the world’s leading Innovation Architect, Carla Johnson’s been breaking the status quo all her life. In 20 years of working with leaders, she’s learned that the safest bet is often the riskiest move. Through years of research and authoring numerous best-selling books, she’s developed frameworks and processes that teach people how to redefine what innovation means in their organization, and then equips teams to make innovation everybody’s business.
Carla’s approach transforms organizations by fusing visionary creativity with pragmatic innovation strategies to inspire teams to think bigger and bolder so they can bust out of the status quo. This ultimately leads to inspired thinking and audacious outcomes. The result is a company culture that becomes a playground of limitless potential while also experiencing unprecedented growth and alignment.
Watch Carla's Sneak Peek Keynote Video!
Transformative Leadership: Succeeding in Difficult Environments
Cassi Chandler
Tuesday, April 21 | 8:15-9:30 a.m. CT
Drawing on decades of experience navigating teams to success in challenging environments, including directing critical intelligence operations at Bank of America and the FBI, motivational leadership and diversity expert Cassi Chandler provides sought-after insights for succeeding in difficult environments.
Sharing real-life examples from her own experiences, Cassi will challenge the LMA community to recognize how people see, hear and react differently to stimuli in the work environment based on the ways we each encode things due to our personal perspectives. Utilizing thought-provoking exercises, she’ll share actionable tactics that encourage the use of intelligence in preparing for unforeseen difficulties, while also tapping into unrealized levels of productivity, perseverance and, most importantly, self-belief, when working and leading in transformative environments.
Sponsored by:
Meet Cassi Chandler
Leadership Expert and the FBI’s First African American Female Special Agent Assistant Director
Cassi Chandler has built her career transforming complex organizations through purpose-driven leadership and bold cultural change. As founder and CEO of Vigeo Alliances, she partners with global companies to elevate performance through stronger leadership, smarter risk management, and thriving workplace cultures. Her approach blends strategy with empathy, which helps leaders harness diversity of thought, strengthen trust, and build systems where belonging fuels accountability and results.
Chandler brings the lessons of decades in intelligence, finance, risk prevention, and operations to life through stories that resonate across industries. She shares actionable frameworks for managing risk and change while sustaining cultures of integrity and innovation. From navigating the FBI’s post-9/11 transformation to leading global compliance and consumer risk strategies at Bank of America, she reveals how clarity of purpose and courage in leadership create lasting impact.
At Bank of America, Chandler served as senior vice president for business operations, where she built enterprise-wide strategies to identify and address cybercrimes, fraud, and consumer risks. Her leadership on the company’s Global Diversity and Inclusion Advisory Council and collaboration with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau demonstrated her commitment to aligning ethical governance with business performance. Earlier, during 23 years with the FBI, she directed investigations into terrorism, financial crimes, and cyber threats, while modernizing intelligence and fraud prevention programs that reshaped the Bureau’s operational excellence.
Chandler’s groundbreaking career includes serving as the FBI’s first African American female special agent assistant director and its first female national spokesperson—milestones that cemented her role as a pioneer in public service leadership. She continues to guide progress as a former adjunct professor at Pace University, an instructor at the Pacific Coast Banking School, and a federal monitor with major police departments. Her achievements have earned honors such as the Presidential Rank Award of Meritorious Executive, the National Center for Women & Policing’s “Breaking the Glass Ceiling” award, and recognition among World’s Leaders Magazine’s “Trailblazing Females Making a Mark in Business.” An advocate for women in business, she is a lecturer and trainer for Bank of America's “Lead For Women” group and the American Banker's Association's “Women in Banking” group. She is also involved closely with Habitat for Humanity's Women Build focusing on building stronger, safer communities for women.
Watch Cassie's Sneak Peek Keynote Video!