Why is networking important for lawyers? And how do you learn how to network?

The phrase ‘networking’ can strike fear into the heart of many otherwise completely calm and sane people, particularly lawyers, I’ve found. I understand it though. Many people see networking as an instruction to go into a crowded room and ‘meet people’.

Indeed, at one of the law firms I used to work at, we were encouraged to go out to a popular wine bar and ‘meet people.’ We thought it was great – we drank all the wine, got hideously drunk and got the 8.00 pm train home for takeaway on many a Friday night. I definitely didn’t puke on my own shoes one night.

But I digress, and actually whilst the above ‘tactic’ was an interesting one, it definitely didn’t result in any new contacts or business for the firm (not via me anyway).

Instead, networking should be undertaken strategically and although strictly speaking it falls into business development rather than marketing or PR, it’s something that PR and marketing-savvy lawyers will be careful to do well.

So, what is networking?

At its heart, networking is about adding people to your network and developing existing relationships. It’s about building closer relationships with people you don’t know well and maintaining strong relationships with people you know already and want to stay close to. If you want to be a partner or own a law firm at some point in the future, then you are going to need a book of work. That will only come about by being able to network and build business.

But… networking doesn’t have to be about joining a dreaded 5.00 am networking group where YOU MUST BRING AT LEAST TWO REFERRALS OR WE WILL THROW YOU OUT. It can be as simple as keeping an eye on who is interacting with your content on LinkedIn and asking if they’d like to meet for a coffee. It can be hosting or attending an event – a seminar, drinks or something else. It doesn’t really matter what you do, as long as you use the time to develop those key relationships. Read on for more simple ideas for building your relationships. But first…

How do I develop my networking skills

One of the first things to understand is why you need or want to network. This is key for any effective PR and marketing tactic (including networking). For most lawyers, it will be to try and generate new work for the firm. For you personally, it might be because you are trying to get a training contract, you’re looking for a new job, or you want to apply for a more senior role or put yourself forward to be considered for partnership.

Whatever your reason, you next need to think about who you need to meet, in order to most easily meet your objective. If you are building a book of work – think in detail about who your best work typically comes from and consider building a few different personas of ‘perfect’ clients. If you get work from referrers, or you want to build a route for this kind of instruction then again, map out an ‘ideal’ referrer. If you are looking for a new role or promotion, who do you need to get in front of internally or externally in order to make a good impression and become liked and trusted as a potential colleague or new partner.

Once you understand what you are looking for, you can start to think about how to get in front of these people and build relationships. The aim is to move from somebody knowing about you, to meeting you, to liking you and finally to trusting you.

What networking do I need to do?

There are so many different ways to network, and the following are just a few suggestions that hopefully give you pause for thought and the ability to start creating your own networking plan.

• Networking events: There are so many groups, often sector-based, geographically-based, role-based-, and gender-based, that it can be hard to choose which is the best for you. If you are happy in a room full of people, try a few and see whether you meet anybody fitting your target audience. As an alternative, if you know that somebody you want to know is attending, why not make plans to meet them there? This gives you the opportunity to see how you feel on the day about dipping your toe into the networking pool, but with a safety blanket of a pre-arranged meeting.
• Educational seminars or workshops run by law firms can be very effective and provide great opportunities to build relationships with existing or lapsed clients of your own and your colleagues’ from other teams. Other professional services businesses also run this type of informative event, so do your research and try a few out.
• Seasonal parties, drinks events, charity nights, lunches or meals to mark religious or cultural events. As above, great opportunities to build and grow relationships.
• Small, informal events with handpicked guests. A few people with shared interests meeting for a lunch, drinks, coffees, sport, spectating, music – whatever you like. This sort of thing doesn’t have to be expensive but can be very effective at building deeper connections.
• Meeting for coffee or lunch on a 121 basis. Another great way to build those deeper connections where a more in-depth conversation is more appropriate or will help you to reach your goal.
• Zoom or Teams call. A 121 Zoom or Teams call is a great way to meet somebody, but without the initial effort of getting out of the office. This type of meeting allows you both to see whether you can get along, have interests in common etc, which you can then move along to a face-to-face if appropriate. The downside to a call rather than face-to-face is that you don’t quite achieve the same level of connection, and if possible, it’s always preferable to try to meet in real life at a later date.

A really basic guide to face-to-face networking

If you’ve read all of the above but still feel anxious about networking or that you don’t actually know what ‘to do’, then don’t worry – I’m here to help!

One of the best ways to enter a conversation is often just to ask. If there’s a group of say four people chatting, and their body language is open, they are not huddled together but standing in quite a relaxed way, it’s fine to ask to join the conversation. I’ll usually say something like ‘hi, is it ok if I join you?’. Honestly, it can be totally cringe the first few times, but nobody has ever said ‘no’ to me, and usually people are glad to meet another person.

If people are in a ‘closed’ conversation – i.e. their body language is facing directly towards each other, and there’s no physical gap or obvious space for you to join, find another group, these people know each other and are engaged in deep conversation. Trying to join will distract and potentially annoy them.

Alternatively, go and grab a drink, and just start talking to the person next to you in the queue. That old classic ‘have you come far today?’ is a great opener, as is ‘have you been to this event before?’ I wouldn’t tend to recommend ‘do you come here often?’ though…

Finally, those people staring at their phone? Probably an ideal audience for you. Their emails aren’t important – they are as nervous as you. Trust me and try and go and say hi.

Once you’re in a conversation with somebody, try to remember that you are aiming to build relationships, you’re not selling. If you’ve done your research properly and that person is somebody you want to get to know better, then your next steps are to chat with them, ask them about themselves, what they do, where are they based etc.

If you struggle with this, you can buy a really handy little book by Will Kintish, who for many years was the leading networking guy on the circuit. He must be retired by now but I always enjoyed hearing him speak. Another book that I think is really helpful is How to Make Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie. I think some people see it as old fashioned, and in some respects, it is dated. However, I think the key message, that people enjoy talking about themselves and the things that are important to them, is still pertinent.

How do I get the most out of networking?

The best networkers I know understand three things:

1. How to network
2. Where to go and what to do to meet the people they want to meet
3. How to follow up

We’ve covered the first two points in detail, but I think following-up is probably the most important aspect of networking, and probably also the thing that people struggle most with or fail repeatedly to do effectively.

If you’ve had a great meeting with somebody, it is usually the case that one or both of you has taken actions. These can be as simple as agreeing to make a diary note to meet again in three months, to make an introduction, to send a proposal or further information over or something else. If you say you are going to do something, you must, must, must do it. As I mentioned earlier, networking is about moving somebody towards trusting you, so if you commit to an action and you don’t do it, you’re essentially telling your new contact not to trust you.

If, on the rare occasion, there are no actions for either of you, you should still follow up. This can be as simple as an email to thank the person for meeting you, sending over something that might be of interest to them, making an unasked-for introduction if you think it will be valuable, inviting them to a future event. It doesn’t really matter what the follow-up looks like, but it ensures that you remain front of mind a little bit longer. The ideal is always a follow-up date, to enable you to deepen the relationship and grow that trust.

In conclusion…

Networking is something you need to master, but it isn’t as frightening as you might think. Hopefully my advice and tips will help you to become a better networker and help you to build stronger, more resilient relationships.

If you’d like to test out your new-found networking skills, why not register your interest for our next Law Firm Suppliers Network event: Lunchtime networking in an alcohol-free setting, please save the date for the next NetworkingAF on Thursday 2^nd October.

Register your interest for NetworkingAF

Finally, want to chat about marketing and PR for your law firm or supplier business to the legal sector? Arrange a call with Victoria today.