Law firm marketing executives spend plenty of time touting or fretting over partner moves. Lately it seems like they're just as likely to be the ones making a leap.

Last week it was Blank Rome's new CMO. This week the legal marketing churn includes a veteran leaving Big Law entirely.

After close to 20 years of in-house legal marketing, Nicole Rodgers Houston is joining Baretz+Brunelle, where she'll launch the communications firm's Washington, D.C., office. Houston was director of marketing communications at Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer. 

“Nicole is a pillar of the legal marketing community and the ideal person to establish our presence in D.C.,” Baretz+Brunelle co-founder Spencer Baretz said.

Houston said she had been aware of Baretz+Brunelle for a while, and last year had an opportunity to work with the firm at Arnold & Porter. “I saw firsthand the value and care they took in dealing with clients,” she said. “The opportunity to open their D.C. office was too good to pass up.”

Her experience working inside the law firms she will now look to have as clients gives her unique insight into the challenges and trends of legal marketing, Houston said.

“An example of this is the explosion of the use of digital marketing in legal,” she said. “We are always thinking one step ahead to keep our clients one step ahead.”

Her bio states that she played a “significant role” in communications surrounding the Arnold & Porter-Kaye Scholer merger, but she declined to give details “out of respect for Arnold & Porter.”

Before Arnold & Porter, Houston spent over five years in a similar role at Crowell & Moring.

Arnold & Porter didn't immediately respond to requests for comment on who will replace Houston at the firm.

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