Zen & the Art of Legal Networking

This Friday, I have the pleasure of joining some fantastic legal industry colleagues on a panel at the Legal Marketing Association’s Northeast Regional Conference. We’ll be addressing the topic: “The Best Influencer is a Good Story” and you’d better believe it’s one of my favorites. I’m tickled to be speaking with one of my favorite people, Adrian Lurssen, Co-founder, VP Strategic Development, JD Supra, and joined by the brilliant Paula Zirinsky, Co-Founder & Chief Strategist, Structura Strategy Group LLP who is moderating the panel and Steve Cohen, Partner at Pollock Cohen LLP, who is delightful and will tell us all about how he ended up going to law school at 58.

There are two sides within me that are constantly at war.

I think it stems from the one and only Barbie outfit I ever really liked (I was a stuffed animal gal – and still am). It was this pink velveteen skirt on one side that was really put-together looking (with a matching suit jacket, of course). And on the other side, it was a hot pink tulle party skirt. You know, so Barbie could go from day to night.

I have never owned anything like that as an adult, but frankly, it sounds really practical for business trips.

I am blessed with four of the best nieces and the best nephew around (and I will fight you on this).

Weekly, I have video chats with the two oldest ones, who are 13 (almost 14) and 11 (separately, because, teens/tweens).

The other day, 13 and I were talking about how she had to give a speech to her whole school (about 200 kids) because last year, she created a recycling program. Somehow, her school didn’t already have one, and she noticed that and decided they needed one. Uh, yeah, she’s amazing. So she rounded up some kids in her class, told them they could miss one lunch period a week, and figured out what she needs to do to make this happen. This year, her principal is going to oversee the club (I think because she knows it won’t continue after my niece graduates otherwise).

Have you ever heard the saying “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results?”

Well, the counter-argument could be made that to get new results, you need to build new habits. It has been said that you need 21 days of doing something to make it a habit – so if you start now, by the end of October, you’ll have some new habits built into your routine!

What do I mean by that?

Rafael Salaberren Dupont is a founding partner of SyLS in Buenos Aires, Argentina, which is also a member firm of the ILN. In this episode, Lindsay and Rafael discuss the transition between starting a firm and its succession, the true role of a lawyer and their client, and the difference between Latin American law firms and law firms in other regions.

You can listen to the podcast here, or we’ve provided a transcript of the highlights below.

It’s almost the final quarter of the year and everyone I know has been swamped with work – which means you’re probably not thinking too much about where your next matter or case is coming from. We all know that’s the PERFECT time to be thinking about networking and business development!

Sorry, folks, I know it’s the last thing on your mind.

But, consider these four tips to shake things up and see what falls out of your networking tree – apologies, it’s fall and I can’t resist a good metaphor.

Karel Janssens is a partner at & De Bandt in Brussels, Belgium, which is one of the ILN’s newest member firms. In this episode, Lindsay and Karel discuss his passion for IP & IT law, its opportunities and challenges, and the case that has stuck with him.

You can listen to the podcast here, or we’ve provided a transcript of the highlights below.