The legal world is changing, and success isn’t just about your knowledge or years of experience. Building strong relationships can be a huge game-changer, helping you to win more clients and build a great reputation in the industry.
One of the best ways for lawyers to build these relationships is through strategic networking. This article explores the topic, discussing what strategic networking means, the benefits for lawyers, as well as some tips for making the most of networking opportunities.
For consultant lawyers in particular, strategic networking can be a vital piece of the puzzle when it comes to building your own business. So, it pays to be in the know about how you can make it work for you.
What is strategic networking?
Unlike traditional networking, which can be about making as many fleeting connections as possible, strategic networking focuses on building real, valuable, and mutually beneficial relationships. This kind of deliberate approach can help you identify potential referral sources, collaborators, groups, and even mentors. The result is designed to be an actual benefit to your legal career by expanding your network in a meaningful way.
Benefits of strategic networking for lawyers
Putting time and effort into strategic networking can reap many rewards for lawyers from all practice areas. Here are just a few of the key benefits and outcomes you can expect.
Knowledge and Expertise
The legal industry is always evolving, and keeping on top of it can sometimes feel overwhelming. Ensuring that any networking you’re doing is strategic will help you stay ahead of trends, developments, and emerging best practices from experienced colleagues from the industry and beyond. Being informed of the latest news will give you a competitive edge by ensuring you’re always delivering the most up-to-date knowledge and advice.
Business Opportunities
A solid network can act as an extension of your wider marketing efforts – something that’s particularly important for consultant lawyers, who typically need to market themselves to win work. Building relationships with other lawyers, clients, and potential referrers builds trust, ensuring that they are front of mind if they’re looking for someone with your expertise (or know someone who is).
Collaboration and Connection
Many complex legal matters require collaboration across practice areas. Building a strategic network helps you to meet lawyers and other specialists who can complement your skills and help you deliver an even better service to your clients.
Personal and Professional Support
Don’t underestimate the power of networking and collaboration when it comes to personal support, too. This is especially true for consultant lawyers. Simply having someone at the end of an email or phone call to talk to about a case can be a huge wellbeing boost and ensure you still have the feeling of ‘colleagues’ even when working outside of the traditional law firm setup.
For all lawyers, fellow industry professionals can offer advice, mentorship, and encouragement. This is useful when navigating the challenges and pressures of the legal world, opening up new opportunities and helping you to accelerate your career growth and fulfil your potential as a lawyer.
Actionable tips for building your strategic network
But how can you make the most of any networking opportunities and ensure you’re maximising their strategic potential? Here are a few key tips:
Identify your goals
Before starting your strategic networking journey, it’s important to identify what you want to get out of it. Do you want to build your client base? Find new mentors? Get more insights into a particular area of law? Having some clear objectives will help you target the right people and events so you can make the most of networking.
Attend industry events
There are plenty of events tailored towards the legal industry. Events offer a great opportunity to meet industry leaders, clients, and peers. You can make sure you’re prepared by researching any speakers and attendees in advance.
Make use of online platforms
In today’s digital age, online networking is a viable option. In fact, virtual networking can allow you to meet people from all over the world, not just your local area. Virtual networking allows you to join relevant groups, participate in discussions, and share your expertise with others in a mutually beneficial way.
Follow up and stay connected
Strategic networking is more than just one event. Building a solid, sustainable network takes time and effort. Make sure you follow up after meeting someone with a personalised message. It’s also a good idea to regularly check in with interesting contacts, sharing information and assistance when you can. This helps stop your network from becoming stale and ensures you remain on your connections’ minds beyond the initial meeting.
Offer value first
Strategic networking is not just about what you can gain, but also about what you can offer to others. By offering value to them, you can build trust and establish yourself as a reliable, supportive connection. This can benefit you even more in the future, by ensuring others have a favourable opinion of you and so will be more willing to work with you.
Conclusion
Networking shouldn’t be about just collecting business cards. It’s also about cultivating genuine relationships with others, for their benefit as well as yours. By focusing on the power of meaningful connections, you can improve your legal knowledge, increase referrals of work, discover new collaborative opportunities, and gain support from others, not only advancing your career but also enriching your professional life.
At Setfords, we are committed to supporting our consultants in building their networks, caseloads, and businesses through our suite of support services. By encouraging a connected, collaborative community, our consultant lawyers can thrive outside the confines of traditional law. For more information about our unique platform law model, please get in touch today.
