When Is the Best Time to Pitch for New Work During Business Lunch?

You're about to go to lunch with a connection who happens to be the CEO of a large company. You wonder: when during this lunch is the best time for me to ask to be considered for any upcoming legal work?

Answer: never.

Really. The best time to pitch for new business over lunch is never. Not before the main course or after the salad or at any point when you’re seated in a crowded restaurant enjoying a nice meal. Save the business talk for a meeting in the office, and use the lunch and its casual conversation as an opportunity to enhance your relationship with the potential client, to bring it to the point where you and your guest are comfortable meeting in a conference room to talk work. No one – not even your best friend – wants to hear a business pitch over dessert. And certainly not the CEO of a large company. They just want a good meal.

If everything goes well, that is, if you establish and build on a meaningful relationship, you’ll have plenty of opportunities to schedule more meetings where you can demonstrate your expertise as a lawyer.

So what, then, should you ask your lunch companion that will put you on the path to that meeting where you can pitch new work? Some ideas:

• Ask about her company. Thanks to Google, it’s easy to find out recent news about virtually every company in the country. Maybe they just exceeded earnings targets. Maybe they just got sued. Maybe there’s an interesting human interest story about their employee community service program. Whatever the news, you should craft one or two questions that will give you an opportunity to demonstrate your interest in the things that are important to her. 
• Ask about her industry. Again, Google is your friend when preparing for the lunch meeting. Asking your connection how the EPA’s rule on emissions from heavy duty trucks is going to change how they deliver – and price – their products shows that you understand the challenges that she’s facing (and that you might be able to help her overcome them).
• Ask about her future. Obviously, you’re not interviewing your companion, so you can’t really say “where do you see yourself in five years?” But there are ways to elicit that information without being so direct. And because it gives your lunch mate a chance to talk about herself, she’ll likely enjoy that conversation.
• Ask about her problems. Questions like “how are you preparing for the new OSHA rule on reporting workplace accidents?” or “what are you doing in the face of increasing low cost imports from Southeast Asia?” or “have you changed your drug testing policies in response to the new medical marijuana law?” give you an opportunity to learn more about her company. But more importantly, they allow you to turn what could have been generic follow-up – of the “thank-you-for-a-wonderful-lunch” variety – into specific solutions addressing the very problems that are keeping your contact awake at night: “You mentioned that you were having problems with employees abusing FMLA leave. Here’s an article written by one of my partners that lays out five steps you can take to reduce that.”

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The bottom line? Lunch is a great time to build and strengthen the relationship you need to make the pitch for new work. Just so long as you don’t make that ask over dessert.

(Originally posted at JD Supra Business Advisor)

5 Things I Learned at the In-House Counsel Panel at #LMA16

Last month I attended the Legal Marketing Association annual meeting, two days of presentations on how lawyers and firms can better market their services and grow their practices. The highlight of the conference was the in-house panel, which this year featured Vince Cordo, Global Sourcing Officer at Shell, Matt Fawcett, General Counsel of NetApp, and Paul Drummond, Senior Legal Counsel at AT&T. Elizabeth Duffy of research firm Acritas led the discussion.

Here's what I learned: 

1. Value matters. 

Although the panelists agreed that there was no one, standard, definition of "value," they all made it clear that they look to their outside lawyers to bring some form of value to the relationship, such as helping the company meet certain financial objectives, moving the stock price, efficiently resolving problems, anticipating legal issues, and more. The challenge for firms then becomes figuring out how each individual clients defines "value," and providing that.

2. Feedback matters. 

The in-house panelists all agreed that they wished their lawyers did more surveys. They felt firms miss out on an important opportunity to improve the relationship, to learn what their clients don't like and stop doing it, when they don't seek out more feedback from clients. What's more, they made it clear that have things to say – about delivery of service, about skill sets, about how we can make them happy – that they not telling us simply because we don't ask. 

"We don't hire lawyers. We hire law firms."

3. Teamwork matters. 

This was perhaps the most surprising thing to hear, because the idea that clients hire firms, not individual lawyers, flies in the face of what we've been told about the importance of personal relationships in the legal industry. It's important to note that their point was not that they do not expect strong rapport between the in-house and outside counsel; rather, that they give work to firms based on bench strength, on the breadth and scope of skills, on creating and maintaining an environment where everyone contributes and gets credit for their work. 

4. Fees matter. 

Although Paul Drummond told the audience that efficiency is often more important than price, going as far as to say that price is "irrelevant [and] independent of expertise, quality," and other factors, the panelists made it clear that cost continues to be a factor in evaluating the performance of outside counsel. And it was equally clear that the companies on the panel are pushing back harder on certain types of fees to restore balance, to move from a place where legal costs are based on the law firm's perception of value rather than that of the client.  

"Law firms call them 'alternative fee arrangements.' We call them 'appropriate fee arrangements'"

5. Metrics matter. 

The panelists made it clear that clients – now more than ever – are using metrics and data to drive efficiencies and cost-savings. They're all looking at a broad range of data points when evaluating law firm performance, trend that appears to be here to stay. The good news is that they're not shy about telling law firms what they're doing: all you need to do is ask. The better news is, according to Matt Fawcett, the competition hasn't started asking yet…

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So what can you learn from the in-house panelists at this year's LMA conference? That your client is probably more than happy to tell you how you can make her happy. You just need to ask.

What lessons have you learned?

I read an interesting post today on the Commute by Bike blog: “5 Things I wish I knew when I first started Bike Commuting.” I would add a sixth, but all the same I was struck by how easily these bicycle commuting lessons apply for lawyers:

1. Route. Plan your route. Know where you want to go and how to get there and what you need to do to move in the right direction. There’s plenty of strategy and business planning resources for lawyers. Read them, then write your own plan. It doesn’t have to be complicated, it doesn’t have to account for every contingency, it doesn’t have to take two weeks of reflection and drafting and editing. It does have to set goals, realistic, achievable, measurable goals. It does have to understand the clients you want, the work they need, and your ability to perform that work. Plan your route so you don’t end up someplace you don’t want to be.
   
   
2. There are some things you shouldn’t economize on. This applies to a wide range of things, from technology to confidentiality to security. It also applies to your time: be frugal, but don’t skimp. Obviously your time is your most valuable asset (even if it shouldn’t be your entire business model), but that doesn’t mean that you should be afraid to spend big on the right things, even when you’re not getting paid for it (see item 3).
   
   
3. A little maintenance goes a long way. Client relationships are like any other relationship. They require work. Not just providing good legal advice. Not just responding to phone calls and emails and questions. Not just making sure that the contracts are signed and the payments are made. Of course you need to do all of those things. But you also need to maintain the relationship, to show your clients how important they are, to ask them how you are performing, to address their concerns and understand their objectives.
   
   
4. Don’t undertake vehicles. Yes, this one took some deciphering: “undertake” apparently means “pass on the right.” So how does this apply to lawyers? It means you need to be where your potential clients can see you. Maybe it’s time to start a blog. Or join the French-American Chamber of Commerce. Or give a talk on the Tax Code. Whatever you do, the first step is figuring out where you clients are, because that’s right where you need to be.
   
   
5. Shop around. Another lesson that could apply to a number of situations, but here’s a valuable one: shopping around with respect to your clients is a great way to make sure you’re doing the work that you want to do, that you’re providing the value that you want to provide, that you’re engaged and committed and passionate about helping your clients, because they are clients that you know you want to have. Sometimes it isn’t practical, but when it is, working for clients that you like and respect will help ensure that you deliver value in everything that you do.

What’s the sixth lesson I learned from bike commuting? “Get on the bike.” The most important step in commuting on a bike is riding the bike, and the most important step in managing your law practice is, well, managing your practice. So get on it.

What do you say to new clients?

What do you tell every new client before you start working for them? Here's how your peers are answering that question in their 22 Tweets interviews

Jeena R. Belil (@jeenabelil): That no outcome is guaranteed and that settling a matter is not the same as losing the case.

Kelly Phillips Erb (@taxgirl): Not to be scared of tax. While it’s important to try to get it right the 1st time, there’s practically nothing that can’t be fixed.

Adrianos Facchetti (@adrianos): “I will always you tell you the truth even when you don’t want to hear it.”

Scott F. Gibson (@TradeSecretLaw): I will always shoot straight with you, even when you would rather hear something else. We want to be your attorneys for life.

Andrea Goldman (@andreagoldman): My job is to take a disaster in your life and turn it into something you can move on from. A lawsuit is not a good way to make $$.

Thomas L. McLain (@tommclain): Besides that I actually expect to get paid for my work?? I’m”all-in.” I often dream up ideas for your business. The more successful you are, the more you can afford to pay me ;)

Michael J. McSunas (@AdLawGuy): Look at me as someone who will help you lower your risks and costs, Always get things in writing too!

D. Jill Pugh (@djillpugh): Civil litigation is a slow process; be proud of yourself for sticking up for your rights, you are setting a good example

Christopher J Sherliker (@London_Law_Firm): “What are you trying to achieve?” - Until you know the answer to that one you cannot hope to give an effective service.

Tyson Snow (@tysonsnow): I’m a litigator; I tell the truth: litigation is hard, real hard, but often necessary. We’ll get there but it will tough.

Christian Stegmaier (@cstegmaier): My mission/promise is this: I am going to be diligent, deliberate, decisive, responsive, & reliable.

Are you helping others prepare for the future?

My last question on every 22 Tweets interview is always the same: "What advice do you have for people going to law school today?" Here's some of the valuable advice the lawyers I've interviewed are giving:

Venkat Balasubramani (@vbalasubramani): tech-internet lawyer

put in 110% percent, but realize there’s much more to life than law..also, don’t listen to the crowd/echo chamber

Nicole Black (@nikiblack): lawyer and legal technology consultant

Your law degree is just one weapon in your arsenal. A law degree does not limit your options-it expands them.

Kelly Erb (@taxgirl): tax lawyer

Life changes constantly. Don’t get sucked into the idea that any single moment, course or grade will define you.

I say that having gotten my lowest grade in law school… in tax law.

Dan Harris (@danharris) international lawyer

I would say don’t go to law school unless you know what you want to do with the degree once U have it.

Erik Heels (@erikjheels): trademark, domain name and patent lawyer

Be yourself. That’s what my mentor (Tom Bohan of http://mtcforensics.com) told me. Be yourself, and you’ll be fine.

Marshall Isaacs (@marshallrisaacs): tenacious, unrepentant litigator, negotiator and draftsman

Don’t let ‘em convince you that only grades matter. Compassion, persistence and a pressed shirt are just as important.

Bill Marler (@bmarler): food safety advocate

Do not be lazy. Work hard to make yourself invaluable to your clients and your community.

Ben Qualley (@lawyerben): estate and business planning attorney

Take skills-based classes! Mediation, trial advocacy, drafting etc have helped me immensely. Substantive law changes anyway.

Jay Shepherd (@jayshep): employment lawyer

Two words: informational interviews. Meet many people. Don’t send blind résumés. Sell your differentness. And don’t panic!

Lowell Steiger (@steigerlaw): personal injury lawyer

Find the passion in what you do. If you love what you do, good will follow. Law is a wonderful profession.