If you follow me on social media this week, you’re going to see a LOT of talk about #LMA14 – that’s the Legal Marketing Association’s annual conference, which takes place in Orlando this week (a welcome respite to those of us in the cold, cold north who have pretty much forgotten what sunlight looks like). 

The LMA conference is a true highlight of my year, and not just because I’m not responsible for the planning and execution of the event for a change. The programming and thoughtful conversations with the best of the best in my industry always gets me thinking, acts like a "reset" button for my brain, and gets me inspired to return to my desk full of new ideas and renewed enthusiasm.

But, as it is with the ILN, the best part is actually the relationships. I have been very lucky to make some very close friends within the LMA, which is something I heard a lot about when I first joined, but never thought would be true for me (also true is our saying "We’re LMA, we hug."). I don’t get to see my out-of-state friends very much, if at all, between conferences, so it’s a wonderful opportunity to spend some time with them. 

I get to renew my friendships, meet new people, and put faces to the names I’ve seen on social media throughout the year. These relationships are invaluable to me, personally, of course, but also professionally, because I’ve come to rely on these friends for professional guidance, feedback on ideas, answers to pressing questions, and more – all things that make me a better advocate for my attorneys. For a gal who works for an organization with only one other colleague (our Executive Director), this is a hugely valuable tool for me and for my attorneys.

I chatted again with Colin O’Keefe about this in the video below. If you’re interested in seeing what we talk about at LMA14, be sure to follow along on the Twitter stream – it can be a little overwhelming over there with so many people tweeting these days, but I promise, you’ll get a lot of great information. I’ll also be blogging here, and you’ll want to keep an eye on LXBN’s coverage of the event, since they’ll be sharing both interviews and the blog posts covering the conference and its sessions. 

To my LMA friends – I’ll see you soon! 

 

//www.youtube.com/embed/z5RnJmKNYbQ

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 another  of our newest ILN members, Jan Leo de Hoop of our member firm,PlasBossinade Advocaten N.V. in the Netherlands! Many of our attorneys will be meeting Jan Leo for the first time in Chicago in May, so this is a good opportunity to learn a little more about him first!

In one sentence, how would you describe your practice?
We have a full service practice with some peculiar specialties, such as the shipbuilding sector, which is mainly regionally-based and at the same time has a substantial international focus, both for our regional clients and for foreign companies searching for legal aid in The Netherlands.

Who would be your typical client?
Larger companies (both with a domestic focus as well as with an international focus), government bodies and not-for-profit institutions (for example in health care) which are established in the northern part of The Netherlands.

What would you like clients and potential clients to know about you?
We provide reliable legal services of high quality. We have a client-focused winning mentality and focus on maintaining long term client relationships. We fully concentrate on the client and his branch and always search for solutions that are clear and effective in practice. Our services reach beyond the borders of The Netherlands. Many of our clients are involved in international business and we also provide legal services for foreign clients who are involved in legal matters in The Netherlands. For Chinese clients looking for legal assistance in The Netherlands, we work with a Dutch lawyer originating from China and speaking Mandarin.

What has been your most challenging case? Why?
All cases are challenging because we want the best result for the client. I think one of my most challenging cases is the one where we had to negotiate on an acquisition agreement in New York on behalf of a Dutch chemical company being part of a group of companies headquartered in the UK. The mix of legal systems and cultures, as well as the high stakes, formed a special challenge. I was glad that we could reach an agreement that was to the satisfaction of our client and that also that the acquisition proved to be successful.

What has been your proudest moment as a lawyer?
The outcome of proceedings which I conducted for a chemical corporation listed on the stock exchange in Amsterdam regarding the forming of prices under a long term contract. We won the proceedings with a positive outcome, which was even higher than what the client had hoped for and which even resulted in the opposite party terminating the engagement of its attorney.

On the other hand I also experienced great satisfaction in a very specific case where I was asked to draft various agreements on collaboration and licensing copyrights regarding a complete new translation of the Bible in Dutch (which was introduced in 2004), involving religious organizations (Catholic and Protestant) who hired writers/translators and owned copyrights, publishers, printers, etc.

What do you do when you’re not practicing law?
I like keeping myself fit with running and cycling and I enjoy spending time with my wife and two daughters. Also traveling to far countries gives us great pleasure.

What would surprise people most about you?
I am not a person who would quickly surprise people, since I think my main feature is to be thorough and focused at all times without being too noisy. This has proven the best basis for providing my clients what they want: advice and services regarding contracts and disputes which are focused on the benefit for their business and not on legal “tour de forces” for my own pleasure.

What has been your most memorable ILN experience?
We have recently joined the ILN and to our surprise have already been in contact with colleagues from 7 jurisdictions all over the world. We hope to have many memorable ILN experiences in the future.

What career would you have chosen if you weren’t a lawyer?
I really do not know. In school I did not have a clear picture of my future career. When visiting information meetings at the University I only liked one study, being the study of law, and ever since I started that study I thought of becoming a lawyer.

If a movie were made of your life, who would you want to play you?
In my opinion Dustin Hofmann and Anthony Hopkins are some of the best actors in the world, but they are much older and shorter than me. A more realistic movie could be made with a mixture of Johny Depp and Richard Gere (when they would be thoroughly trimmed by a hairdresser).

How would you like to be remembered?
For me, it is not very important to be remembered by many people. Every life is temporary and few will be remembered after their death. I hope my wife and my two daughters will remember me with warm thoughts. For the rest, I hope that in case I would be remembered at all, it will be as a straight yet fanatic fighter for my clients.

Yesterday, we discussed the first part of the excellent webinar with David Ackert & Jonathan Fitzgarrald on LinkedIn 2.0. When chatting last night with my fellow SIG leaders, Nancy asked me why it was I considered this to be the best session we’d had. She wondered if it was because they got into the "how" of using LinkedIn as opposed to the "why." 

My answer to her was that it was the 2.0 nature of it – it’s safe to assume that those participating in a social media group like ours would be those most likely to have already bought into the idea of social media, and are more focused on how to sell it to their attorneys and its practical use. Even more than that, pretty much everyone has a LinkedIn profile these days – but the idea of setting objectives and fine tuning your strategy to meet those objectives is something that’s really useful to both attorneys, and the marketing professionals trying to get them to use LinkedIn for business development.  

It also doesn’t hurt that Jonathan and David are not only excellent presenters, but also extremely knowledgeable – both when it comes to using LinkedIn and working with attorneys. 

So, if you’re a part of the LMA and have the opportunity to see the recording of the session once it’s circulated, make sure that you do so! Now let’s get into Part II…

 

Continue Reading LinkedIn 2.0: Efficient Strategies for Busy Lawyers – A Webinar Recap (Part II)

Apparently, this is the week for excellent webinars, because I had the privilege of attending another amazing one this afternoon. The LMA’s Social Media Shared Interest Group offered LinkedIn 2.0: Efficient Strategies for Busy Lawyers, featuring presenters David Ackert (@DavidAckert) of The Ackert Advisory and Jonathan Fitzgarrald (@JRFitzgarrald) of Greenberg Glusker, moderated by our own Nancy Myrland (@nancymyrland) of Myrland Marketing & Social Media. 

Before I get into the meat of the session (and boy, was it meaty!), I want to make sure to note that if you’d like to join the Legal Marketing Association, you can take a look at the options and categories for membership over here. 

And if you’re already a member of the LMA, and want to join the Social Media SIG (we’re cool, I promise!), you can join through the LMA website here. LMA members can also join our Facebook and LinkedIn groups (whether or not you officially belong to the SIG). 

Continue Reading LinkedIn 2.0: Efficient Strategies for Busy Lawyers – A Webinar Recap (Part I)

When I heard that Kevin McKeown (@kevinmckeown) of LexBlog and Marketing Brain Fodder’s Eric Fletcher (@ericfletcher) would be giving a webinar together, I knew I couldn’t miss it. So despite battling a low-grade migraine today, I tuned in, and definitely wasn’t disappointed. 

Their presentation focused on the top reasons to blog, and if you want to see the tweet stream that came out of the session, take a look at #LexBlogTop5. 

Not only did their presentation break down five reasons to blog, but it was broken into five sections: 

  • "Old school" networking
  • Networking is the "new normal"
  • Top 5 reasons lawyers should blog
  • Your call to action
  • Questions

Continue Reading Top Five Reasons to Blog – A Webinar Recap

Yesterday, I had the chance to sit down with Colin O’Keefe (@colinokeefe) of LexBlog, who will be covering next week’s LMA conference, to talk about my tips for making the most out of attending a conference – see what I had to say about social media, avoiding your hotel room, and never eating alone right here, and make sure that you’re following along with the interviews that LXBN is doing! 

//www.youtube.com/embed/3H82kaQ3Nvc

Something you may not know about me is that I’m a big fan of the Ellen DeGeneres Show. Every day, Ellen reminds us to laugh, to dance, to do something for others, and most importantly, to "be kind to one another." 

In the course of business, we can sometimes forget that it’s possible to be successful AND nice.  I’m not suggesting being a pushover or not being a fierce advocate for your clients (as the famous line goes, "Don’t mistake my kindness for weakness"), but I am suggesting that it’s possible to be excellent at your job without tearing someone else down. That extends to marketing as well. 

It’s long been a pet peeve of mine when one brand uses their advertising to tear down another brand.  It’s more than just an adverse reaction to the "bullying;" it’s the sense that the company must not really be any good if they have to resort to such immature tactics. If a company or firm is excellent, does excellent work and provides an excellent product, then that all stands for itself without having to show how they’re "better." 

 

Continue Reading Two for Tuesdays: Be Kind to One Another

I’m very excited to be kicking off our newest feature today on Zen – the General Counsel Corner! 

Throughout my career, I’ve seen a number of in-house counsel presentations and articles, many of which continue to have the same themes with respect to the inside/outside counsel relationship. It seems that many law firms may still not understand what their clients and potential clients really need and want. To continue to draw attention to those things that matter most to GCs, I’ll be featuring in-house counsel here on the blog in our "General Counsel Corner." Periodically, I’ll be sharing with you a short interview that I’ve done with a GC, in which he or she will answer one key question. 

 

 

Continue Reading General Counsel Corner: Factors in Hiring Outside Counsel

"Authenticity" has become a dirty word in the last few years.

It’s right up there with some of the other most hated buzzwords and phrases – "at the end of the day," "thinking outside of the box," "synergy," "value add," "circle back," "bandwidth." 

Are you cringing yet? 

But even though the word "authenticity" might make your skin crawl, it’s actually a pretty important concept – it’s a buzzword for a reason. 

Today, I sat in on a webinar with Nancy Myrland (@nancymyrland) and Patrick Baynes (@patrickbaynes), on "How Law Firms Can Leverage Attorney Use of Twitter." As they were going through their tips, Patrick noted that the idea of being authentic is key to all networking, not just social media networking. And he’s absolutely right.

Continue Reading “Authenticity” Might be a Dirty Word, but it’s Essential to Good Networking

On my mind today is the upcoming Legal Marketing Association’s Annual Conference – I’ll be heading to Orlando for it during the first week of April, and I can’t wait to get some valuable nuggets from the sessions, network my tail off, and come away more inspired than when I arrive. Since there is a flurry of emails and conversations happening about setting up various events and meetings while we’re at the conference, it’s at the forefront of my mind, and that’s what our Two for Tuesdays is going to focus on today as well! 

Tip One: Join Something

The first few years I attended the LMA conference, I was on the outer fringes. I’m an introvert by nature, and a conference attended by over a thousand people is a little more than intimidating to me. So I attended the sessions, forced myself to sit at tables at lunches, and then spent the rest of the time hiding in my room – both during the "networking" breaks and the evening hours. 

Fast forward several years, and I now find it hard to fit in all of the things I have to do! I’m almost never in my room – I leave before breakfast in the morning and only return for a quick change until the wee hours of the night. The difference is that I’m a PART of the organization now. And that inclusion happened for a few different reasons: 

  • Social Media: Social media was the main thing that connected me at the conferences. I talked about it in detail in a previous Two for Tuesdays, so I won’t delve into it too much here. But I do want to mention how it was helpful – I connected with people in the industry that I’d never met before, in a way that wasn’t as intimidating as walking up to someone I’d never met in person – it’s much more acceptable to reach out on Twitter or LinkedIn and say hello, and also to "listen" for a little while using those tools to see who the real influencers are. 

    I was really, really lucky to meet and get to know Nancy Myrland (@nancymyrland) in the early days of Twitter – not just because she’s one of the nicest and kindest people you’ll ever meet, and a very dear friend, but also because Nancy is one of the best online and in-person networkers you’ll ever meet. She knows EVERYONE, so she’s always saying hello to people and introducing those she’s with to them. Through her, I’ve gotten to know a lot of people in the organization, and it’s brought me deeper into the group than ever before. 

    It’s not that I looked at who I wanted to meet in a strategic fashion, so that I could get an "in" with the right people – I just networked with the people I liked, first online, and then in person. And it turns out that the people who are nice AND who are good networkers are also those "in the know" in the organization. So take a look at my tips for "joining" in on the social media around a conference. 
     

  • Committees/Sub-Groups: Committees and sub-groups of an organization are an excellent way to get more involved – you’re talking to people throughout the year, who you can then meet in person at a conference, either by setting up a meeting or attending the official functions that are normally scheduled. 

    The LMA is great for this – we’re a large organization, so there’s always a lot to do. You can serve at the chapter level on various committees, which will help you get to know people in your local area very quickly. Then, if you’re nervous about who to meet at a conference, you already know a few people and you can head first to the hosted chapter events there. 

    You can also serve at the national level on various committees. I’m on the Social Media Shared Interest Group leadership committee and the Technology Committee – through these two committees, not only am I getting to give back to the organization, but I get to know my fellow committee members on a regular basis throughout the year, I get to meet and network with them at lunches and socials at the conference, and I get to reach out to other members in the organization with my participation as well. 

    I also served as a Your Honor Awards judge this year, and this was an incredible opportunity – I was exposed to some of the best work that the marketers in our industry are doing, which was inspiring and a challenge to me to up my game. And my fellow judges are some of the most thoughtful and intelligent people in the industry – the conversations we had surrounding the entries were in-depth, thought-provoking and incredibly valuable. Being locked in an office with them for a weekend in January was a great way to get to know some new people, and definitely added value to my experience of the LMA. 

The key here is to start small – if you narrow down your focus a bit, you can easily meet more people in a less intimidating way. Many organizations offer committees, local events, practice specific gatherings, etc., which will allow you to get to know people with similar interests. And then once you’ve met a few people you like, it will be much easier to network with and through them. Each conference that you attend will then seem less and less intimidating. 

Tip Two: Stay Out of Your Room

As I mentioned earlier, I was the queen of this my first few years at the LMA conferences – I was just too intimidated. It was enough work to force myself to go to the sessions and introduce myself to people at lunch; I just didn’t have it in me the rest of the time. 

But that’s a huge mistake.  

As we’ve talked about here before, while the educational programming of an organization is essential (especially if it’s something you’re getting CLE credits for!), the real gems of attending a conference are the networking opportunities – that’s where you’re developing the relationships that will help you to grow, stay inspired, learn and create a posse of people that you can rely on when you need guidance. 

So, although it’s nerve-wracking, try to stay out of your room when you’re at a conference: 

  • Never eat alone: It can be tempting to get some alone time when you’re dealing with a jam-packed schedule, but don’t dine alone while you’re at a conference. Introduce yourself to a table of people at a networking lunch. Reach out on Twitter to see who else is around to meet for dinner. Connect beforehand with a colleague or service provider you haven’t met before. Check your LinkedIn connections to see who might live in the city you’re in – it doesn’t  even have to be someone attending the conference. Take a look at the hosted/sponsored events that might be a good fit. Just make sure you’re always eating with someone else. 
     
  • Wear your conference badge: Sure, it’s weird that people can come up to you and already know who you are, and it can be embarrassing to walk the streets of a city, only to realize that you’ve been wearing your lanyard all day. But it’s an identifying feature that links you with the other attendees – and that can lead to networking opportunities. I’ve chatted with people in elevators going up to my room about what’s happening that afternoon or what sessions we’ve been attending. If someone knows me by name, but not my face, they can come up to me and introduce themselves. A name badge is like a permission slip to network – it lets people know that you share something in common, and you’re willing to chat with them. 
     
  • Don’t skip networking breaks: I used to do this too – at the LMA conferences, they give us 45 minute networking breaks periodically during the day, so that we can visit the exhibit halls and meet other people. Don’t skip these – head over to the coffee station (if you don’t drink coffee, there are always other drinks). There will be people there getting their coffee, and you can introduce yourself to them – ask them which session they were just in, or where they’re headed next. If you’re headed to the same place, offer to walk over with them, and chat a little bit. Of course, not everyone you meet is going to be a good contact, or will become a friend, but each connection is valuable, and will help you practice for the ones that are really important.

I’m really excited about this year’s conference – and I used to dread them. I’ve left some slots open so that I can be flexible about making plans, while others I have reserved for committee lunches or receptions, meeting with fellow ILN marketers, and more. Because of that, I come away from each conference with more than just the knowledge I gain from sitting in the sessions – I’m inspired with  new ideas, I’ve met new people and reinforced existing relationships, and I’m feeling refreshed about my work. That’s invaluable. 

Through the years, as I’ve talked with conference attendees, I’ve found that the ones who tell me that the conference wasn’t valuable for them are the ones who didn’t take advantage of all the networking opportunities there. They looked only for the educational benefits, and if something didn’t fit with their exact needs, they discounted it (see also my thoughts about how we need to learn how to apply things outside of our industry to our own experiences). There is more to a conference than the content – a conference is what you make of it. So choose the right sessions (don’t be afraid to switch sessions if one isn’t delivering for you), make the most of all of the networking opportunities, and go with a positive attitude. 

And here’s a bonus tip – add an extra day. Because conferences can be so crazy, it can be useful to add an extra day to spend time with your existing connections – that way, you feel free to meet new people and do the networking you need to do during the conference, because you know you’re getting the time to meet and have fun with your friends during the extra day. 

I’d also like to add a couple of must-reads for conference goers here as well: 

As always, feel free to add your suggestions for attending conferences in the comments below!