April CBA Report

Young Lawyers Section Keys to Success Professional Development Tips for Young Lawyers By David J. Oberly Why It Matters Billing large chunks of hours is necessary as an associate attorney, but being able to bill big hours is only half the battle when it comes to making partner at the vast majority of law firms. Young attorneys cannot assume that because they live at the office, billing an eye-popping number of hours, that they can automat- ically reach the partner ranks. Rather, in order to get that call, associates must also demonstrate that they can bring in a steady, consistent stream of business that will allow them to continue billing those hours on a long-term basis. Generally speaking, developing new business and clients encompasses a broad array of integrated marketing practices and activities. With that said, one of the most effective methods for developing new business as a young attorney is done through taking part in presentations, seminars, and other speaking engagements. Importantly, stra- tegic speaking engagements represent one of the premier business generation and profile-building activities that a young lawyer can undertake, allowing young attorneys to begin laying the founda- tion for developing a reliable client base and stream of incoming work on a long-term basis. Benefits of Speaking Engagements The benefits of incorporating speaking engagements into your comprehensive marketing and business development campaign are substantial. Speaking engagements provide opportuni- ties that put you directly in front of prospective buyers of legal services, key decision-makers, and influencers, giving you a rare, sought-after opportunity to interact with prospects one-on-one. This same personal interaction allows potential clients to get an in-depth sense of your personality and demeanor, which often plays a critical part in the selection of legal services. At the same time, speaking engagements also allow attorneys to demonstrate— rather than sell—their knowledge, skillset, and expertise. In addition, speaking engagements also serve as a robust repu- tation and profile builder, which is essential in developing new business and clients. Importantly, when an attorney speaks on a topic of interest, that attorney positions himself or herself as a thought leader in the attorney’s areas of practice and industries served, thus enhancing the attorney’s reputation and elevating his or her visibility within the attorney’s target markets. How to Select & Secure Speaking Engagements Speaking engagements are about extending your brand and cultivating leads for your individual legal practice and that of your law firm. As a starting point, determining the proper audi- ence to present to is a key consideration that will ensure that you maximize the value of the time and effort that you will devote to speaking or presenting on a given subject. As such, the first step to speaking engagement success is to identify what type of clients and contacts you want to target. Once you have selected the audi- ence you want to connect with, the next step is to determine your speaking venue. Here, it is key to be strategic in order to maxi- mize the benefit and impact that your speaking engagement will have on your ability to bring in new clients and business. Your decision in this regard should be made based upon who will be in the room to hear your presentation, as opposed to how many people will be there, or where you will be speaking. Thus, when selecting your venue, it is important to understand where your target market(s) congregate, and which events—such as seminars and conferences—they most frequently attend. Keep in mind that industry seminars and conferences target potential clients and key decision-makers, while bar association speaking engagements target referral sources, i.e., other attorneys who may be able to refer potential clients your way. After determining your audience and venue, the next step is to select the subject or topic of your presentation or seminar. There are several ways to go about selecting an effective topic that will maximize the value of your speaking engagement. One effec- tive method is to review legal and industry trade publications to discern any recent developments or trends in the areas of law in which you practice that may be of interest to your audience. Another effective method is to take a written article you have published and use that same subject matter as a playbook for your presentation material. In this respect, for every article you publish, you can use that same topic to speak about, and vice versa. In some instances, you will have to submit a proposal and obtain an invite from the hosting organization in order to speak at a particular event or gathering. In this situation, you can maxi- mize the likelihood of receiving an invite by offering to speak on a particularly significant, current trending topic or issue, which is much more likely to get selected. Not only do timely topics—such as key legal opinions, and relevant trends and devel- opments in a given area of law—garner attendees’ attention, but Using Speaking Engagements to Develop New Clients and Business for Young Attorneys 20 l April 2019 CBA REPORT www.CincyBar.org