Professional Development: Maximizing the Impact of Women's Programming

It's no secret that our clients are busy. From spa days to fancy dinners, they likely have more invitations for law firm networking events than they have the time (or the desire) to attend. This is especially true for our female clients, who often find their available time further compressed by obligations outside the office.

At a recent Neal Gerber Eisenberg Women's Network lunch event, one of our clients remarked that the only “woman” she wanted to network with in the evening was her four-year-old daughter. Another client lamented, “Just don't put me in a room with 100 of your other clients and expect me to feel appreciated.” Attracting and keeping women clients, however, is absolutely essential as women rise in greater numbers to top jobs as in-house counsel and in executive suites. So, what is a law firm to do when planning events for its women clients? The following are several ways to organize events that are value-added, what we will call “networking plus.”

Conceptualizing a 'Networking Plus' Event

Developing an event that is more than just a cocktail party takes strategic planning and creativity. One idea is to add an educational component to your “mix and mingle” event. Hosting a conference that provides current and timely legal and business advice will not only illustrate the firm's expertise in relevant areas, but also will arm women clients with information to bring back to their organizations. Another idea is to provide training on broadly used professional skills like negotiation or public speaking, which will help your clients expand upon or refine their personal skill sets.

The Neal Gerber Eisenberg Women's Business Law Conference was an event in this style. We hosted our women clients for a morning conference featuring our women attorneys presenting on relevant business topics. The lunch hour featured a keynote speaker addressing professional growth and career enhancement. Our clients gained information about substantive legal topics and professional development, all while earning continuing legal education credits. In the afternoon, we hosted a spa event before an evening dinner with our women attorneys. By offering our clients valuable resources in addition to pure networking, and the flexibility to choose the parts of the event that best fit their schedule, we markedly increased turnout for the event as a whole and drew rave reviews from our clients who attended.

Adding value to a traditional networking event also can be achieved by framing your event to assist your women clients in reaching other personal or professional goals. One such goal is volunteerism, a goal made more difficult by our women clients' busy lives. With this goal in mind, the NGE Women's Network introduced our women clients to WomenOnCall.org, an organization dedicated to facilitating volunteerism among professional women with limited time for the benefit of not-for-profit companies. We hosted WomenOnCall.org's annual Meet and Match event, and invited our clients to attend. At the event, attendees were introduced to at least five non-profit organizations with specific volunteering needs. The NGE Women's Network hosted a pre-event cocktail party which allowed our clients to network with each other and with our attorneys, networking which extended throughout the course of the evening. Our clients left the event armed with both new opportunities for volunteerism and greater exposure to our women attorneys.

Preparing for Purposeful Networking

How many times have you left an event saying that it was a waste of your time? This unfortunately common experience can be avoided by setting the stage for purposeful networking at your event with a carefully crafted guest list. It goes without saying that your event should include women attorneys from your firm who might be able to provide valuable service to the clients in attendance at your event. Of equal importance, however, is putting the right people in the room to facilitate networking among your guests. Pay attention to the experience levels of your guests and ensure that those levels are fairly uniform. Select clients from diverse industries to keep the conversation interesting. Consciously limit the number of guests attending from each represented company to ensure intermingling among guests. Consult with your colleagues, male and female, to obtain their insight into the client and attendee lists. Your investment of time and energy in selecting a guest list will be well worth it. Several client attendees at the NGE Women's Business Law Conference commented that they had made lasting business connections with their peers and contemporaries whom they met at our event. One client thanked us for introducing “cool people” to “cool people.”

Once the guest list is compiled, do not leave the networking to chance. While these events are certainly client-focused, firms should not lose sight of the valuable professional development opportunities that client events create for their women attorneys. You should provide training in advance of the event focused on effective networking techniques ' techniques that compliment the various personalities of your women attorneys and allow the networking to feel natural, not forced. Equip your attorneys with the guest list well in advance and collaborate as a group before the event to determine where strategic relationships between attorneys and clients could flourish. Then give your attorneys a networking goal. Targeted networking ensures desired connections are made and allows attendees to spend their event time in a meaningful way, making it easier for attendees (and your attorneys) to leave the event feeling that it was worthwhile.

Three, Two, One, Network! And Then Follow Up

The invitations have been mailed, RSVPs are in, the appetizers are being passed and it is time to network. The goal is for the networking to feel effortless; a goal that can be accomplished with careful attention to the planning details discussed above. The lights dimming on your event venue, however, do not signal an end to the work necessary to make your event a success. Targeted follow-up is crucial. You must task attorneys who attended your event with specific follow-up initiatives that aim to capitalize upon connections made at the event.

Finally, it is important to track both anecdotal success stories as well as tangible new business as a result of these events. This is especially true in the current economic environment where firms are looking for return on investment. After your event, ask client attendees for specific feedback on the event. What did they like about the event? What could you do better next time? Each attorney who attends should also carefully keep track of the “next steps” in the relationship that she realized as a result of the events. Our firm's marketing department assists in scheduling post-event followup, helping our attorneys to build relationships with their contacts from client events over time. When post-event contact is strategic and timely, the reach of your event will extend well beyond the end of the evening.

Conclusion

Hosting a successful event for female clients requires strategic planning that starts well before the invitation goes out and lasts long after the last wine glass is emptied. But, with focused attention to concept, guest list, event details and followup, you can be sure that your party will not be just another networking event, but time well spent for all involved.

Jennifer G. Gallinson is the Manager of Professional Development for Neal, Gerber & Eisenberg LLP, where she is a member of the firm's Women's Network leadership team. She previously practiced commercial litigation for a large law firm based in Chicago. Emily Mulder Milman is a partner in the General Litigation Practice Group at the firm, where she represents clients in a variety of matters including antitrust, insurance, white collar criminal and breach of contract litigation. Emily is the co-chair of the firm's Women's Network Committee, and is also an active member in the Chicago Coalition of Women's Initiatives in Law Firms.

It's no secret that our clients are busy. From spa days to fancy dinners, they likely have more invitations for law firm networking events than they have the time (or the desire) to attend. This is especially true for our female clients, who often find their available time further compressed by obligations outside the office.

At a recent Neal Gerber Eisenberg Women's Network lunch event, one of our clients remarked that the only “woman” she wanted to network with in the evening was her four-year-old daughter. Another client lamented, “Just don't put me in a room with 100 of your other clients and expect me to feel appreciated.” Attracting and keeping women clients, however, is absolutely essential as women rise in greater numbers to top jobs as in-house counsel and in executive suites. So, what is a law firm to do when planning events for its women clients? The following are several ways to organize events that are value-added, what we will call “networking plus.”

Conceptualizing a 'Networking Plus' Event

Developing an event that is more than just a cocktail party takes strategic planning and creativity. One idea is to add an educational component to your “mix and mingle” event. Hosting a conference that provides current and timely legal and business advice will not only illustrate the firm's expertise in relevant areas, but also will arm women clients with information to bring back to their organizations. Another idea is to provide training on broadly used professional skills like negotiation or public speaking, which will help your clients expand upon or refine their personal skill sets.

The Neal Gerber Eisenberg Women's Business Law Conference was an event in this style. We hosted our women clients for a morning conference featuring our women attorneys presenting on relevant business topics. The lunch hour featured a keynote speaker addressing professional growth and career enhancement. Our clients gained information about substantive legal topics and professional development, all while earning continuing legal education credits. In the afternoon, we hosted a spa event before an evening dinner with our women attorneys. By offering our clients valuable resources in addition to pure networking, and the flexibility to choose the parts of the event that best fit their schedule, we markedly increased turnout for the event as a whole and drew rave reviews from our clients who attended.

Adding value to a traditional networking event also can be achieved by framing your event to assist your women clients in reaching other personal or professional goals. One such goal is volunteerism, a goal made more difficult by our women clients' busy lives. With this goal in mind, the NGE Women's Network introduced our women clients to WomenOnCall.org, an organization dedicated to facilitating volunteerism among professional women with limited time for the benefit of not-for-profit companies. We hosted WomenOnCall.org's annual Meet and Match event, and invited our clients to attend. At the event, attendees were introduced to at least five non-profit organizations with specific volunteering needs. The NGE Women's Network hosted a pre-event cocktail party which allowed our clients to network with each other and with our attorneys, networking which extended throughout the course of the evening. Our clients left the event armed with both new opportunities for volunteerism and greater exposure to our women attorneys.

Preparing for Purposeful Networking

How many times have you left an event saying that it was a waste of your time? This unfortunately common experience can be avoided by setting the stage for purposeful networking at your event with a carefully crafted guest list. It goes without saying that your event should include women attorneys from your firm who might be able to provide valuable service to the clients in attendance at your event. Of equal importance, however, is putting the right people in the room to facilitate networking among your guests. Pay attention to the experience levels of your guests and ensure that those levels are fairly uniform. Select clients from diverse industries to keep the conversation interesting. Consciously limit the number of guests attending from each represented company to ensure intermingling among guests. Consult with your colleagues, male and female, to obtain their insight into the client and attendee lists. Your investment of time and energy in selecting a guest list will be well worth it. Several client attendees at the NGE Women's Business Law Conference commented that they had made lasting business connections with their peers and contemporaries whom they met at our event. One client thanked us for introducing “cool people” to “cool people.”

Once the guest list is compiled, do not leave the networking to chance. While these events are certainly client-focused, firms should not lose sight of the valuable professional development opportunities that client events create for their women attorneys. You should provide training in advance of the event focused on effective networking techniques ' techniques that compliment the various personalities of your women attorneys and allow the networking to feel natural, not forced. Equip your attorneys with the guest list well in advance and collaborate as a group before the event to determine where strategic relationships between attorneys and clients could flourish. Then give your attorneys a networking goal. Targeted networking ensures desired connections are made and allows attendees to spend their event time in a meaningful way, making it easier for attendees (and your attorneys) to leave the event feeling that it was worthwhile.

Three, Two, One, Network! And Then Follow Up

The invitations have been mailed, RSVPs are in, the appetizers are being passed and it is time to network. The goal is for the networking to feel effortless; a goal that can be accomplished with careful attention to the planning details discussed above. The lights dimming on your event venue, however, do not signal an end to the work necessary to make your event a success. Targeted follow-up is crucial. You must task attorneys who attended your event with specific follow-up initiatives that aim to capitalize upon connections made at the event.

Finally, it is important to track both anecdotal success stories as well as tangible new business as a result of these events. This is especially true in the current economic environment where firms are looking for return on investment. After your event, ask client attendees for specific feedback on the event. What did they like about the event? What could you do better next time? Each attorney who attends should also carefully keep track of the “next steps” in the relationship that she realized as a result of the events. Our firm's marketing department assists in scheduling post-event followup, helping our attorneys to build relationships with their contacts from client events over time. When post-event contact is strategic and timely, the reach of your event will extend well beyond the end of the evening.

Conclusion

Hosting a successful event for female clients requires strategic planning that starts well before the invitation goes out and lasts long after the last wine glass is emptied. But, with focused attention to concept, guest list, event details and followup, you can be sure that your party will not be just another networking event, but time well spent for all involved.

Jennifer G. Gallinson is the Manager of Professional Development for Neal, Gerber & Eisenberg LLP, where she is a member of the firm's Women's Network leadership team. She previously practiced commercial litigation for a large law firm based in Chicago. Emily Mulder Milman is a partner in the General Litigation Practice Group at the firm, where she represents clients in a variety of matters including antitrust, insurance, white collar criminal and breach of contract litigation. Emily is the co-chair of the firm's Women's Network Committee, and is also an active member in the Chicago Coalition of Women's Initiatives in Law Firms.