Drumming up business involves more than pressing the flesh and handing out business cards. Chris Baker looks at the art of legal networking

The old cliché of ‘it’s not what you know, it’s who you know,’ can be just as applicable to the practice of law as any other aspect of business.


Knowing how to network and gather contacts can be as important to any solicitor’s career as any amount of legal knowledge. But how to go about it? The prospect of working a room can be extremely daunting.


Finding the right events, meeting the right people and avoiding time wasters can be a problem – especially in a room full of strangers, who are all tired after a day’s work and often less than impressed with the wine and canapés on offer.


The Law Society’s Commerce and Industry Group has just run a successful and popular speed networking event (see [2005] Gazette, 26 May, 12), but for many the idea is frankly scary.

‘I think the issue of networking is a real problem,’ says former Trainee Solicitors Group chairwoman and outgoing Young Solicitors Group (YSG) chairwoman Hannah Wiskin. ‘Young solicitors know what it takes to succeed in a firm and building client relationships is one of them, but there is rarely any guidance on how to do this.


‘I can only assume firms think we learn this by osmosis, but this is a particularly difficult skill to get right. It is also seen as something of a “dark art” with ulterior motives when really all it is about is getting to know people around you and making use of those contacts for your own or others’ benefit.’


One of the key issues would appear to be doing your homework. Ms Wiskin recalls of her first outing as a trainee solicitor: ‘Asked to “network”, I approached someone who I thought was a client and started on what I thought were innocuous questions about where they are based, etcetera, only to discover I was talking to one of the senior equity partners. Lesson number one quickly learnt – know who is who.’


Mark Dillon, a predecessor of Ms Wiskin at both groups and a partner at City firm Taylor Wessing, agrees. ‘You have to know who you are going to meet and prepare so you know what to talk about if you happen to be introduced,’ he says. ‘It’s not just a matter of handing out business cards and getting people’s details but engaging on issues that matter to these people in the real world.’


Adrian Mackay runs a BPP Law School course entitled ‘practical networking’. He says the key to working a room lies in creating opportunities to talk to potential clients. ‘The art lies in having an interest in other people and that’s what we try to achieve,’ he explains. ‘You have to identify how to engage in conversation with other people, how you can overcome barriers to conversation and identify individuals or groups to have a conversation with and what reasonable topics might be.’


Ms Wiskin has a checklist of her top tips for engaging with people. ‘Think in advance of a “client event” and who is going to be there and whom they might want to speak to,’ she says. ‘Take a genuine interest in the people and generally display some enthusiasm for life.’


She adds that it is important to remember key pieces of information for follow-up conversations and to make connections between mutual contacts or people you know that might prove useful to them. But she adds that solicitors must also ‘be themselves’.


‘There are a variety of ways of doing it,’ says Mr Mackay. ‘You have to identify what kind of environment you want to create.’


All agree that there are many opportunities to network. ‘There are a huge number of trade and industry practice groups and you will need to identify which groups are relevant to the work you do,’ says Mr Dillon. ‘Part of it is knowing who to target – it’s not enough to know someone in that area, you need to know the decision-makers within legal services.’


‘It depends on the area and what it is you are looking to sell,’ says Helen Brooks, a partner at City-based Charles Russell. ‘You need to target the sort of people you want to be working with. It’s driven by the law that you practice.’


She also argues that if you cannot find the right networking group for you, it is feasible to set one up yourself. ‘We have set up a couple of networking groups,’ she explains. ‘We have a women’s networking group that targets female clients.’ Charles Russell recently ran a seminar entitled ‘Me Jane – women thriving in the corporate jungle’.


‘You can run seminars or attend seminars or industry groups,’ adds Mr Mackay. ‘Go anywhere where you think you might meet like-minded people. I find that work will come in from some of the most unusual sources.’ Ms Wiskin agrees: ‘People should recognise they could meet new contacts anywhere – especially on the 7.05 from Leeds to London.’


But, when you have picked the right event, done your homework and spotted a potential client, how to approach them? Mr Dillon argues a case for grabbing the bull by the horns.


‘Lawyers have got to get to grips with the fact that people expect to be approached; the normal rules of interaction do not apply at these events,’ he explains. ‘These events are meant to be opportunities to meet other people, so if someone holds back that clearly is not going to happen. You have to put the normal rules of etiquette to one side and go up to people.’


But Mr Mackay acknowledges that many events take place after a hard day’s work and many people feel obliged to go, even if they do not want to. And Ms Brooks adds that the very nature of legal work can cause a problem when trying to drum up business at a social event.


‘The only pitfall for lawyers is the nature of the work,’ she explains. ‘The nature of the product is usually advice which can lend itself to being exploited.’


Like the old chestnut of everybody crowding around the doctor at a party explaining their aches and pains, lawyers can get caught out with time wasters. ‘There will be a couple of people who want free advice from you,’ says Ms Brooks. ‘There’s a fine line between being helpful and avoiding complicated legal situations.’


But such a scenario can prove useful. Getting a person’s contact details, or business card, can lead to more productive follow-up conversations after the event.


‘The idea is to talk to as many people as possible that can help you,’ Ms Brooks says. ‘Use business cards – even if you have just a brief conversation with someone you can follow up later and that’s very important. It’s not all about just working a room.’


Mr Dillon says the best way to extricate yourself from a networking opportunity gone wrong is ‘always politely’. ‘I’m always interested to meet people and no conversation is wasted,’ he explains. ‘It’s a small world – someone who may not have been useful to you may have moved in six months’ time. Try to enjoy the experience.’


The most important way to hone networking skills is to practise. ‘It’s an acquired skill based on general social skills,’ says Ms Brooks. Mr Mackay adds: ‘A lot of it is common sense – you’re trying to make permanent contact with people.’


Ms Wiskin urges the untrained to go out and attend as many events as possible to build up those networking skills. She assures us that they can really be fun.


Chris Baker is a freelance journalist