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Lindsay Griffiths

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Lindsay Griffiths is the International Lawyers Network’s Executive Director. She is a dynamic, influential international executive and marketing thought leader with a passion for relationship development and authoring impactful content. Griffiths is a driven, strategic leader who implements creative initiatives to achieve the goals of a global professional services network. She manages all major aspects of the Network, including recruitment, member retention, and providing exceptional client service to an international membership base.

In her role as Executive Director, Griffiths manages a mix of international programs, engages a diverse global community, and develops an international membership base. She leads the development and successful implementation of major organizational initiatives, manages interpersonal relationships, and possesses executive presence with audiences of internal and external stakeholders. Griffiths excels at project management, organization, and planning, writes and speaks with influence and authority, and works independently while demonstrating flexibility in thinking, especially in challenging situations. She also adapts to diverse and dynamic environments with constant assessment and recalibration.

JD Supra Readers Choice Top Author 2019

In 2021, the ILN was honored as Global Law Firm Network of the Year by The Lawyer European Awards, and in 2016, 2017, and 2022, they were shortlisted as Global Law Firm Network of the Year. Since 2011, the Network has been listed as a Chambers & Partners Leading Law Firm Network, recently increasing this ranking to be included in the top two percent of law firm networks globally, as well as adding two regional rankings. She was awarded “Thought Leader of the Year” by the Legal Marketing Association’s New York chapter in 2014 for her substantive contributions to the industry and was included in Clio’s list of “34 People in Legal You Should Follow on Twitter.” She was also chosen for the American Bar Association Journal’s inaugural Web 100‘s Best Law Blogs, where judge Ivy Grey said “This blog is outstanding, thoughtful, and useful.” Ms. Griffiths was chosen as a Top Author by JD Supra in their 2019 Readers’ Choice Awards, for the level of engagement and visibility she attained with readers on the topic of marketing & business development. She has been the author of Zen & the Art of Legal Networking since February 2009.

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Following the first part of the Viewabill webinar (recording with audio available here), we headed into the next presentation, "Measuring Up." Viewabill says: 

It may come across as unseemly to acknowledge, but at its core, the practice of law is a business. What are some key performance metrics that firms use to determine whether they consider an engagement to have been "successful" and what is currently being done with those metrics in areas such as employee performance, operational efficiency, and predictive models?"

Clients apply their own set of metrics for determining quality, value, and success. What are some of the metrics they use when selecting outside counsel?"

Metrics and data are where it’s at these days, so it’s important to hear what both sides of the legal coin are doing. The speakers for this panel were: 

Panelists:
Vincent Cordo Jr., Global Director of Client Value, Reed Smith, LLP
D. Casey Flaherty, Corporate Counsel, Kia Motors
Rick Howell, Director of Financial Systems, Perkins Coie, LLP
Michael Hourwitz, Chief Financial Officer, Venable, LLP

Moderator:
Kenneth A. Grady, CEO, SeyfarthLean Consulting, LLCContinue Reading The Buzz About Metrics

After hearing about some of the trends inside legal departments during the first part of Viewabill‘s webinar last week, the moderator opened it up to all of the panelists for their thoughts. Since panelists included both those inside legal departments, and those in law firms, it was a fascinating look at the push and pull of their relationships. 

To remind you of who the players are: 

Panelists (corporate counsel):
Daniel Baker, Sr. Operations Lead, LinkedIn Legal
Connie Brenton, Chief of Staff/Director of Legal Operations, NetApp
Panelists (law firms):
Vincent Cordo Jr., Global Director of Client Value, Reed Smith, LLP
Peter Lane Secor, Director of Strategic Pricing and Project Management, Pepper Hamilton LLP
Michael Hourwitz, Chief Financial Officer, Venable, LLP

Moderator:
Robbie Friedman, CEO + co-founder, ViewabillContinue Reading Interplay Between Inside Legal Departments & Law Firms

On Monday, I listened in on Viewabill’s inside/outside counsel webinar – it was a long one (two and a half hours), so I’ll be breaking up my recaps by session to share with you.  I love listening to inside counsel speak about the dynamics of their relationships with their legal services providers, and there were some great thoughts shared by all sides in these sessions. 

First up is "Friends in Need." From Viewabill: 

Corporate legal departments are under increasing pressure to become ‘commercially aware’ and rise to the challenge of fulfilling the role of business partner, driving the company’s business objectives and risk profile. Inside counsel discuss their evolving role and what outside counsel can do to alleviate some of the pressure."

Law firms are also under pressure. Client value and legal sourcing teams are prominent in firms today; over 50% of the AmLaw 200 already employ a Pricing Director position to oversee project management. Stretched between serving as a resource for the firm’s clients while simultaneously battling internal resistance, law firms discuss how they handle the ‘new normal’ and ways clients can help bring about change."

Continue Reading Trends in Inside Legal Departments

One of the things I’m always thinking about is how to network better or differently. A lot of the articles I read offer the same tips, spun in a different way – and that’s important, because I can always get something out of implementing the tried and true.  But when I find something unique, I’m definitely excited to share it!

Last night, I came across this piece from Branding Magazine, with "5 Tips to Network Like the Pros." My last couple of posts have introduced the idea that big data is going to become more and more important for clients choosing lawyers, but that doesn’t mean the impact of relationships goes away. 

Bearing that in mind, let’s make 2015 the year that we supercharge our networking. Branding Magazine offers 5 tips, but for this Two for Tuesdays, let’s take a look at two of them, and how they relate to the legal industry.

Before we start, let’s first consider a couple of important points that the article makes about why networking is so essential – beyond just for building client relationships. In case you’ve ever thought that networking was a waste of time…Continue Reading Two for Tuesdays: Pro-Networking in 2015

We’re about an hour away from Viewabill’s two-hour webinar today on the topic of improving the attorney-client relationship! On Friday, I shared an interview I had done with Casey Flaherty of Kia Motors. I also had the pleasure of speaking with another of the panelists, Dan Baker, who is the Senior Operations Lead for LinkedIn Legal. 

Dan’s role at LinkedIn runs the gamut – he described his day as always moving the needle forward on a myriad of projects, from their pro bono program, career leveling, managing contracts, requisitioning, planning/forecasting, event planning, goal setting and tracking, spend reporting, liaising with others, budgeting, knowledge management, engaging firms, and much, much more. 

As a lady who wears lots of hats herself, I could absolutely sympathize with Dan’s role…and his need to make things as streamlined and efficient as possible. 

Friends in Need

The first session Dan will be a part of today is "Friends in Need," with inside and outside counsel discussing their changing roles, and how the other can help them. Continue Reading “Relationships Matter, But Not if We Can’t Afford Them” An Interview with Operations Lead, Dan Baker

On Monday, Viewabill will be presenting a two-hour webinar session on the topic of improving the attorney-client relationship through innovation. I first became familiar with Viewabill during the P3 conference, when panelists during one of the sessions were discussing its value. 

Thanks to my coverage of P3, I was able to get a heads up on Monday’s webinar, which will bring together inside and outside counsel to discuss some meaty issues. I’ll be covering the sessions in more detail in some recaps next week, but I was able to snag interviews with a few of the panelists in advance of the webinar, which I’ll be sharing with you here. 

First up is D. Casey Flaherty, Corporate Counsel for Kia Motors America. Inc. and founder and developer behind the Legal Tech Audit (LTA), who was kind enough to speak with me this morning. From his LinkedIn profile: 

Based on what he witnessed in BigLaw, Casey developed a Legal Technology Audit that he administers to his outside counsel. In conjunction with Suffolk University Law School’s Institute on Law Practice Technology & Innovation and a group of advisers from across the legal spectrum, Casey’s audit has been automated. Registrations are open (http://www.legaltechaudit.com/). The LTA is not associated with Kia Motors America."

Continue Reading What Really Matters to Purchasers of Legal Service? An Interview with General Counsel, Casey Flaherty

Everyone and their brother will be writing posts this week about making plans and resolutions for 2015. Since I’m focused on finalizing my own marketing plan and jumping into the new year, it’s on my mind too, so I’m adding to the chatter. 

But I’m giving some thought to what I can add to the conversation that’s different to what you might be hearing elsewhere, and I’ve come up with the following two tips for you. 

Tip One: Throw Everything Out

It can be awfully tempting when you begin your planning to start with what you had the previous year. And while it’s absolutely important and valuable to build on the previous year’s success and progress, it can be just as useful to start with a clean slate. 

Heather Morse talks about how she starts her planning by cleaning off her white board.  And that’s what I’m encouraging you to do – wipe off your white board, start with a blank sheet of paper, mentally wipe your brain clean and start fresh.Continue Reading Two for Tuesdays: Planning for 2015

You may recall that at the beginning of 2014, I put together five posts on my wishes for you for the coming year: 

More than wishes, these posts were full of challenges to you on how to make 2014 a better year professionally. So how did you do? Let’s see if I took my own advice in 2014…

Plan & Be Open

I am, by nature, a huge planner. I LOVE lists and keep them everywhere, and I enjoy the challenge of putting together a marketing and business development plan for the coming year. So this was a no brainer for me. 

Continue Reading 10 Wishes for 2014 – How did we do?

For today’s Two for Tuesdays, I’m cheating a little and giving you a preview of a post I’ve written as part of the 12 Days of Social Media, which the Legal Marketing Association‘s Social Media Shared Interest Group is putting together.  As a side note, our 12 Days posts are open to everyone (not just LMA members), and I encourage you to read through them – there are some great tips and tools in there! 

I’m responsible for the 8th Day of Social Media (which is tomorrow), and tasked with sharing 8 Helpful Hashtags. I’m not going to divulge any of the eight, but I will share with you some information on why you should care about hashtags, and two ways to use them.  If you’re not familiar with what hashtags are, definitely check out tomorrow’s Day 8 post for a primer. 

Why Care About Hashtags?

So who cares about hashtags anyway? Sure, it seems fun and funny to make up a hashtag here and there to add to your tweets or Facebook posts (#justsaying), but why should they matter to lawyers and legal professionals? I’m here to tell you that there are PLENTY of reasons.

Continue Reading Two for Tuesdays: What the Hashtag?