Networking is not an easy task, which is one of the reasons that we discuss it so frequently here on Zen.
Since I’m spending this week with my lawyers in Milan, facilitating their networking efforts at our Annual Conference, I have networking on the brain, and wanted to share with you a couple of the worst networking mistakes you can make, and how to recover from them. Continue Reading Nice Recovery! Fixing Your Worst Networking Mistakes
Lawyers know better than most people that words matter – after all, who knows better than a contract lawyer that a nuanced clause can make or break a deal?
But who knows better than your marketing team that “marketing” is a four-letter word?
It shouldn’t be – and I’ll explain why in a moment.
But how many of you (raise your hands) think of marketing as something that some group in your office does once in a while?
How many of you think of marketing as brochures and advertisements?
How many of you think marketers are just people who ask you for money and then put pretty logos together or make sure you have enough business cards?
Okay, put your hands down. I’ve got news for you – marketing is everything you do. Continue Reading Lawyers: What Makes You Worth Talking About?
Welcome to ILN-terviews, a series of profiles of ILN member firm attorneys, designed to give a unique insight into the lawyers who make up our Network. For our latest interview, we chose ILN member, Arthur Li of our member firm Lee and Li in Taiwan, China.
In one sentence, how would you describe your practice?
I am a general practitioner, especially focused in IP-related matters.
Who would be your typical client?
Those who seek assistance to enter the Taiwanese market. Continue Reading ILN-terviews: Arthur Li, Lee and Li
Yesterday, I had the pleasure of participating in the inaugural New York City event for She Breaks the Law, a network of women leaders founded by Priya Lele, Christie Guimond and Nicky Leijtens. The group brings together women in the legal industry who are “breaking the mould and challenging the norm in the world of law. Our members come from a wide range of backgrounds and disciplines, from female founders of disruptive start-ups to general counsel to innovation leaders in traditional law firms. They all have one thing in common: they are leading the change in the way that legal services are delivered.” Over the past two months since the soft launch, the group has grown to over 1,000 members, and officially launched with their London event last week.
At the New York event, as in London, in addition to general networking, we had structured “networking circles” – ours focused on legal tech and how we use it, the power of networking in the legal industry, legal design, and personal branding. I had the opportunity to chair the personal branding sessions, and it led to some thoughtful and interesting conversations around the idea of what it really means to develop your personal brand. Continue Reading What Does it Mean to Develop Your Personal Brand?
Last week, we talked about channeling your inner Taylor Swift to connect with your clients – it seems silly, but no one understands her client base and instill rabid loyalty better than Taylor, and isn’t that all something we’d love to emulate with our own clients?
We may not have her reputation (see what I did there?), but that doesn’t mean we can’t practice some of her tactics in our own relationship development efforts with similar success. One of the things she’s got down pat is knowing when to engage directly. Continue Reading You Can’t Delegate Relationship Development – Lessons From Taylor Swift
Taylor Swift is my favorite client relationship genius.
That may seem a bit strange, but when you drill down into the brilliant marketing and business development machine that she is, you’ll agree that there are a few things that Taylor does that create rabid loyalty among her fans – and I mean rabid.
Before you start asking what Tay-tay and her music have to do with the law, first, ask yourself what it would feel like to have your clients feel the same way about you as Taylor’s fans feel about her? What if your clients trusted you so implicitly that they never took their business to anyone else? What if they called you first before making a business decision, because you’re their trusted adviser? What if your clients lined up every time you wrote or spoke, because they knew what you had to say was that valuable? Continue Reading Channel Your Inner Taylor Swift & Connect to Your Clients
Lawyers, don’t panic – this isn’t as scary as it sounds.
A few years ago, I had the opportunity to participate in a workshop on leadership that encouraged some out-of-the-box thinking – the session integrated improv techniques into various business applications. I hate anything that feels like an icebreaker (I prefer routine and structure), so I was already pre-programmed to prefer sitting in a conference room listening to a speaker than to engage in improv.
But I was pleasantly surprised – and while some of the tips seemed silly at first (or may not work for every situation), I could definitely see the benefits of incorporating them.
Two of my favorites were “Yes, and…” and applauding all ideas. Continue Reading Great Leaders Think Outside the Box
Continue Reading ILN Firm of the Month – VDE Legal, Brussels, Belgium!
While I’m out of the office this week, I’m really pleased to be bringing you a special guest post from one of the ILN’s member professionals. Alice Steen, Knowledge Manager at Holmes O’Malley Sexton LLP, discusses best practices for developing a learning culture in your organization.
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Alice Steen, Knowledge Manager, at Holmes O’Malley Sexton LLP reflects on ten years of learning and development (L&D) – providing strategic planning, specialist training, funding and supports for the staff’s further education, career and professional development at the thriving full service law firm.
Alice is a qualified solicitor with post graduate qualifications in higher education, teaching and learning, together with being a Lean Black Belt.
Alice joined Holmes O’Malley Sexton LLP (Holmes Solicitors) in 2008 when it had just one office and 26 practising solicitors, 2 legal executives and 3 trainees. She has witnessed the firm’s solicitors, legal executives and trainee numbers grow by nearly 300% along with now having four offices in London, Dublin, Limerick and Cork. The nature and demands of her own role have changed dramatically as a result. Continue Reading Developing a learning culture in your organisation