In my last blog, I talked about getting organized in your law practice after the summer. With the sound of waves still in your ears and the daydreams of the perfect summer vacation sneaking into your consciousness, resist the temptation and get serious. Others will expect it. Here are some specifics that may help you.
Start by calculating your annual billable hour requirement as a weekly requirement. Don’t forget to subtract the weeks that you will be on vacation from the 52 total weeks in the year. Hopefully, you will not be billing time on your vacation, and you want an accurate weekly billable target. This is now a necessary goal, and you need to stick to it. Falling behind in your billable requirement can be disastrous. Know where you are on your goal achievement at all times, and know when you need to approach others for work to keep on target. Sometimes it will mean working on the weekend. Get used to it. You are a professional.
Then, make a list of the people/companies that you would like to approach for client development. It should not be a list of Fortune 100 companies, unless, of course, your best friend is the CEO of the target company. If that is the case, go for it! The rest of the time, be realistic. Think of all of the people you interface with in your professional and personal life. If some of them have client potential, put them on the list. If your list is short, research your networking opportunities and make sure you reach out in those settings. That will help build your list. Conferences that include non-lawyers (like trade association meetings) are good choices for building client relationships, and professional law organizations and law conferences are also good for building relationships that may result in conflict referrals and future employment opportunities.
Now that you have your list, execute on it. Prepare a client development plan around outreach to potential clients. Reach out at least once a week. Do not expect immediate results. Client development takes time. Prepare for a lot of “not at this time” responses. Keep trying.
Next, look around you to identify good mentors and sponsors. Refresher: Mentors teach you, and sponsors advocate for you. As a young lawyer, you need both. Mentors can be lawyers, paralegals or even secretaries, who can help you learn the ropes in a law firm. They know how to get certain things done, especially when it comes to those thorny technology issues, court filing requirements, who to avoid on what days, and the like. Sponsors help you develop your career and build a reputation as a fine lawyer, one who deserves to be promoted in the firm or the organization. Sponsors make it known that they support you and your career, and they have “skin in the game.” They are present around the partnership table when your name comes up. They are critical to your upward mobility.
When you are looking for mentors and sponsors, get to know the people first and then ask. Don’t just walk up to the person you think has the most power in the firm and ask him or her to be your mentor. Be subtle, diplomatic and strategic. Use your soft skills to get what you want. If you are not familiar with the importance of soft skills, see this former blog.
After you have accomplished all of that and are up and running in your practice, have a glass of wine and look at the pictures from your summer vacation. Remember how much you enjoyed it. Connect the dots: If you work hard and create value in your profession, there are many more of those wonderful vacations to come.
Good luck!
