Networking for Lawyers: How to Do It Properly

Lawyers often tell me they're attending lots of networking events but getting nothing from them. My first question is usually: why were you attending those particular events in the first place?

Effective networking starts with knowing who you want to build relationships with and choosing suitable opportunities to meet them. Prepare before you go, take an interest in the people you speak to and agree a reason to continue the conversation when there's a connection worth developing. You can do all of that without becoming the most sociable person in the room.

The difficulty is that networking can fill your diary long before it does anything useful for your practice. Being busy gives you something to report at the next partners' meeting, but you still need to know what the activity is achieving.

Why networking often feels like a waste of time

An evening spent talking to people can be enjoyable. You might exchange details, connect on LinkedIn and leave feeling that you've made an effort with business development. Yet if none of those conversations continues, and you haven't learnt anything useful about the people you want to work with, it's reasonable to question the time you've spent. The answer isn't necessarily to attend a different event. You may need a clearer reason for attending any event.

A worthwhile objective could be to reconnect with an accountant who advises the kinds of businesses you want as clients. It could be to meet a potential client, get to know a fellow lawyer whose practice complements yours, or understand what businesses in a particular industry are dealing with.

Each objective gives you something to act on and assess afterwards. Expecting to leave every event with a new instruction is a poor test of networking. So is calling an evening successful simply because you were there.

Start with your ideal client type

If you don't know who you want as a client, you won't know where to find them. Networking becomes much harder when your only criterion is that somebody, somewhere in the room, might need a lawyer.

Your ideal client type is a practical description of the clients and work you want to develop. An employment lawyer might want to advise growing businesses hiring their first senior management team. A corporate lawyer might focus on founder-owned technology companies preparing for investment. Those choices suggest different people to meet and different conversations to join.

Include the professionals who already advise those clients. An accountant or consultant may have no immediate need for your services, but share an interest in helping the same businesses.

Then work backwards to where those people spend time. For the corporate lawyer, an event for technology founders and investors may be a better use of an evening than a general legal-sector reception. The reception could still be useful for referral relationships; its value depends on what you're trying to achieve.

If you're not yet clear about the clients you want to attract, I've explored that question in more detail in How Do Lawyers Get More Clients?.

Choose the kind of networking that actually works for you

Networking advice becomes unhelpful when it assumes everyone should spend Thursday evenings standing in a room holding a drink. Different formats suit different clients, practices and personalities.

Events and professional gatherings

Face-to-face events give you opportunities to meet new people and catch up with contacts in one place. If you enjoy the social side, use it. Check, though, that the events you enjoy also bring you into contact with people relevant to the practice you're building.

Industry groups and specialist communities

A shared industry or professional interest gives people a reason to talk beyond exchanging job titles. An IP lawyer attending a design-industry discussion, for example, can learn about the commercial decisions designers face as well as meet them. Regular participation also gives people the chance to get to know you over time.

Existing contacts and one-to-one conversations

You may already know people with whom a better relationship would be useful to both of you. Arranging a coffee or a call gives you room for a conversation that would be difficult beside a noisy conference bar. Constantly meeting new people can become a distraction if you never make time for the people you've already met.

LinkedIn and online networking

LinkedIn can help you meet people beyond your immediate geography, particularly if your practice has an international focus. Written conversations may also suit you better than approaching strangers at an event.

Take part in discussions, respond thoughtfully to what people share and start relevant conversations. A growing connection count tells you little if you never speak to anyone. Online networking still requires attention to the individual.

Referral networks beyond your practice area

Accountants, consultants and lawyers in complementary practice areas can bring different perspectives and introductions. A commercial lawyer and an employment lawyer may advise similar clients on different problems, giving them good reasons to understand each other's work.

Give those relationships time. Meeting someone who could refer work doesn't create an obligation for them to do so, and you need confidence in their judgement before recommending them yourself.

Choose a mix of networking you can maintain, while being willing to experiment. Comfort is a consideration, but so is whether your approach helps you build the relationships you need.

Prepare before you walk into a networking event

Preparation gives you something more useful than a vague instruction to get out there and mingle. Before accepting an invitation, decide why the event deserves time in your diary. Ask yourself: who am I hoping to meet, and what would make attending worthwhile?

Find out who's likely to be there

Review an attendee list if one is available. Look at the speakers, organisers and people publicly discussing their attendance. Identify a few relevant people and learn enough about their work to have a sensible conversation.

You don't need a dossier. Knowing that someone runs a business in the sector you advise, or has written about an issue you understand, may be enough. The purpose is to find a genuine point of connection.

Aim to meet two relevant people

A starting goal I suggest is to meet two relevant people. For a lawyer fitting an event around client work, it's a manageable objective and gives the evening some focus.

Two isn't a magic number. One excellent conversation may be more useful than several hurried introductions. The goal should help you pay attention, without turning the event into a contact-collecting exercise.

Make contact beforehand where appropriate

If someone you’d like to meet has publicly said they're attending, a short personal message can make the introduction easier. Let’s say you’re attending an event about investment in growing businesses—you could write something along the lines of:

‘I saw you're attending the discussion on funding for growing businesses. I advise founder-owned companies and would be interested to hear your perspective on what investors are looking for. It would be good to say hello if we cross paths.’

Adapt the message to something you're actually interested in. There's no need to send it to everyone on the attendee list or request a meeting before they've shown any interest in one.

How to start a networking conversation without making it awkward

The event itself gives you somewhere to begin. You could ask what brought someone along, whether they've attended before or what they thought of a point the speaker made.

Read the situation before approaching. Someone waiting for a session to start may welcome a conversation; someone absorbed in a private discussion may prefer to finish it. You can introduce yourself without assuming everybody is available at every moment.

When asked what you do, don’t just say you’re a lawyer—give an answer the other person can understand and respond to. For example, an employment lawyer might say:

“I help growing businesses navigate complex employment issues when they're hiring managers and building a bigger team.”

The other person now has something more useful to work with than a list of specialisms. If they want to know more, they can ask.

You don't need to turn the introduction into a pitch. If someone describes a problem you could help with, acknowledge it and see whether they'd welcome a separate conversation. A first meeting doesn't require you to explain every service your firm provides. For more on this, see How to Sell Legal Services Without Feeling Salesy.

Make the conversation about the other person

Genuine curiosity gives you a much better basis for a conversation than waiting for your turn to explain how good you are. Ask something you would like to know the answer to, then pay attention to what comes back.

“What are you working on at the moment?” might open up a discussion about expansion, recruitment or a change in direction. “What's changing in your industry?” could help you understand pressures that legal updates alone won't reveal.

Let their answer influence your next question. If they mention plans to open a second office, you could ask what prompted the decision. You don't need to jump immediately to leases or employment contracts.

Allow the exchange to be reciprocal. Share a relevant observation, answer their questions and give them a chance to find out about you. Even well-intentioned questions become tiring if the other person feels they're being interviewed.

You might spot a useful introduction or know an article relevant to something they've mentioned. Offer it if it would help, without manufacturing a favour to create an obligation. A worthwhile conversation can also be enough on its own.

What if you hate networking?

If walking into a room of strangers makes you uncomfortable, preparation may help. Knowing why you're there and who you'd like to meet removes some of the uncertainty. Making contact beforehand can also mean you have someone to look for when you arrive.

You can choose settings that make conversation easier. A small industry roundtable has a different feel from a drinks reception. A one-to-one meeting gives you more time to think. An online discussion lets you contribute in writing. Introversion or shyness doesn't have to stop you from developing professional relationships.

Be careful, though, about allowing discomfort to make every decision. If the people you want to know regularly attend a particular gathering, it’s worth building the confidence to take part. Try a manageable goal and assess the experience afterwards.

You don't have to enjoy every format. You do need to give a potentially useful approach a fair shot before deciding it cannot work for you.

Don't leave a good conversation without a next step

When you've enjoyed speaking with someone and there's a reason to continue, agree what happens next while you're still together. You might offer to send an article you discussed, arrange a coffee or introduce them to someone.

A specific next step is easier to follow through on than a vague promise to keep in touch. Make sure it's welcome and proportionate to the conversation you've had.

I recommend following up within 24–48 hours after a worthwhile initial conversation, particularly if you've agreed to do something. It's a practical preference: the conversation is fresh, and you can fulfil your promise before client work takes over again. If you've agreed a different time, follow that agreement, but if you leave it too long, you run the risk of losing momentum or being forgotten altogether.

For example, after a hypothetical conversation about opening a second office:

‘Good to meet you yesterday. I enjoyed hearing about your plans for the second office. Here's the article on hiring your first local manager that I mentioned. Let me know how the search goes.’

The message refers to the conversation and does what you said you would do. There's no need to attach a brochure and ask whether they have any legal work for you. A new connection may develop into a commercial opportunity, but meeting someone and winning their instructions are separate stages.

How do you know whether your networking is working?

Give relationships time to develop, while checking whether your choices are proving useful. After an event or a period of regular participation in a group, ask:

• Am I developing relationships with people who could realistically become clients or relevant referrers?
• Am I meeting people relevant to the clients or referrers I want to know?
• Are worthwhile conversations continuing beyond the first meeting?
• Am I learning more about the people and industries I want to serve?
• Have I followed through on the things I agreed to do?
• Which settings give me good reasons to return?

If you're repeatedly attending an event without developing relationships or learning anything useful, reconsider it. Be honest about your own approach, but also about whether the events you are attending are a good fit for what you want to achieve. You may need to prepare differently, participate more actively or spend your time elsewhere.

A simple networking checklist

Good networking starts with knowing why you're there

Before adding another event to your diary, be clear about the relationships you want to develop and why the event could help. You'll have a better basis for deciding whether to attend, how to prepare and what to do once you arrive.

Networking is one part of developing business as a lawyer. You also need to recognise genuine opportunities, understand what a prospective client wants to achieve and handle the commercial conversations that follow. Those skills can be learnt and practised.

The BD Breakthrough Blueprint®️ gives lawyers a structured way to develop those broader capabilities, including consultative conversations, relationship-building, follow-up and objection handling. If you're putting time into networking but want to get better at what comes next, take a look at what the course covers.