Senior Business Development & Marketing Specialist

Senior Business Development & Marketing Specialist

Applegate & Thorne-Thomsen, P.C., is seeking a Senior Business Development and Marketing Specialist to join our firm.

Founded in 1998, Applegate & Thorne-Thomsen, P.C., is a mid-size law firm based in Chicago, committed to supporting underserved communities by partnering with clients in all aspects of real estate development, ownership, financing, and investment. We represent developers, investors, lenders, tax exempt community development organizations, and public housing authorities.

The scope and breadth of our experience has made us national leaders in the affordable housing and community development space, with particular expertise in the syndication of federal low-income housing tax credits, federal historic tax credits, new markets tax credits, energy credits and state tax credits, community lending, and structuring qualified opportunity zone transactions.

Our firm is equally committed to the people who join our team. Rooted in a culture of mutual respect, trust, and a long-term investment in our people, we hire attorneys with a view to giving them exposure to sophisticated transactional work, meaningful opportunities for leadership, ongoing professional development support, and a generous work-life model that is truly unique in the legal industry.

We are seeking a detail-oriented, strategic Business Development and Marketing Specialist to support firm-wide growth initiatives across business development, marketing, communications, and events. This is a newly created position and the first dedicated business development and marketing role at the firm.

The Specialist will serve as the primary resource for all BD and marketing initiatives and will be responsible for day-to-day activities as well as building foundational processes, identifying and implementing relevant tools, and developing a strategic roadmap for this function.

This role partners closely with attorneys, practice group leaders, and leadership teams to drive client-facing programs, elevate the firm’s brand, and support revenue-generating opportunities. The ideal candidate is entrepreneurial, resourceful, and comfortable operating independently in a fast-paced environment. They will also have exceptional writing and project management skills with strong judgment, creativity, and a client-service mindset.

Business Development

• Lead or support responses to RFPs, pitches, and presentations; develop written proposal materials, team sheets, and tailored meeting collateral.
• Ensure marketing materials and practice descriptions are current, accurate, and on-brand; periodically consult with attorneys to update profiles and practice pages.
• Track pipeline activity for assigned practices (e.g., monitoring potential or active business opportunities, new client prospects, and status of pitches) and report on engagement and outcomes.
• Assist with preparation for attorney BD meetings and client opportunities.
• Maintain practice-specific project lists, matter descriptions, and client lists; lead periodic data cleanup.
• Conduct client/market research and competitive intelligence to inform BD strategies; identify speaking opportunities and thought leadership placements.
• Provide semi-annual reporting on Chicago marketing activities (awards, pitches, events, directories, etc.) to the Chief Experience Officer.

Attorney Development

• Design and lead business development programs and create training materials to support attorney growth in the following areas:
  • Personal branding (e.g., social media presence, thought leadership).
  • Networking strategies (e.g., building and maintaining professional relationships).
  • Client relationship management (e.g., developing trust and long-term partnerships).

Event Planning & Execution (Client-Facing & Internal)

• Plan, execute, and monitor logistics for seminars, conferences, receptions, dinners, and sponsorship activities; serve as on-site point of contact.
• Lead the webinar production pipeline (vendor coordination, speaker prep, run-of-show, post-event follow-up, and CLE issuance).
• Draft invitations, manage RSVPs and mailing lists, track event ROI and…