by Karen Kahn

This is the time of year when partner meetings, conferences and client events abound!  Many of you question whether going to these events is a good use of your time. You review past attendance and think: “That occasion was fun but I didn’t get anything from going.” For future events you can increase the return on investment (ROI) of your time by taking the following steps:

1. Before going, think about what you WANT to gain. If you want to meet particular people, send them a note ahead of time to say that you are looking forward to seeing them. If you don’t know who will be attending, contact the host and ask. Also ask her if she would be willing to introduce you to particular individuals or individuals involved in specific businesses.

1. If you are going to a partners meeting, DON’T spend time with people you already know. Make a list of valuable individuals, such as committee chairs and members of the compensation committee, who don’t know you well. Research what projects they are involved in so that you can engage them in an interesting conversation. Be prepared.

1. When at a networking event, let your curiosity about other people’s work and/or personal activities lead the conversation. Set goals to discover something that the person to whom you are talking needs, such as information, a resource, an introduction, support, etc.

1. Talk about what you do in the shortest, simplest language. Use generic examples of situations you handle such as, “You know how many businesses claim that their product enables a certain result such as weight loss?  What I do is protect companies who make products like abc when they are accused of making a false claim.”  Inserting examples of the types of companies you most want to work with into your “story” raises the likelihood that the person you are talking to will introduce you to your ideal client.

1. Finally, review the way you define success at events. Many lawyers go to events believing that events are only valuable if they meet someone who wants to hire them immediately. This is not likely to happen as most people prefer getting to know someone more extensively than through a brief conversation at a large event. Instead, quantify success as the number of people with whom you have a conversation interesting enough to have a next conversation. The two of you might want a next conversation because you have personal interests in common, you are working with similar companies or individuals or you have ideas about how you can help each other.

Events are valuable when you think of them as ways to begin and/or deepen relationships. This value has the greatest chance of being realized when strategizing occurs in advance of the event, spending most of your time there engaging in conversation that focuses on the needs and activities of others, and following up, via e-mail and/or meetings, to continue the discussion that was begun at the gathering. Spring is a great time for relating—get out of the office and learn about how you can attend to the needs and opportunities of those you meet.