As always, the general counsel panel at the Legal Marketing Association Annual Conference is one of the most popular. Because of that, it holds a spot as a general session so everyone can attend.

This year, the session is titled: Pushing Through the Noise – What Gets The Attention of General Counsel and Business Executives

Moderator Heather Nevitt, Editor-in-Chief, Corporate Counsel, Inside Counsel and Texas Lawyer is interviewing:

• Kristen Albertson, Vice President Global Ethics and Compliance Administration, Walmart Stores, Inc.
• Maria Feeley, Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary, University of Hartford
• Ezgi Kaya, Corporate Counsel, Amazon
• Mark N. Klein, General Counsel, Burford Capital
• Alison Wisniewski, Chief Legal Officer, Epiq

This Is Important

Lawyers, when you go to conferences to speak, whether that be on a panel or by yourself, don’t be in such a rush to leave the room after you speak. Mark N. Klein, General Counsel, Burford Capital, just told a story about approaching a lawyer after attending a panel. He had business to discuss with that lawyer based on what he talked about. He said that lawyer wasn’t interested in talking and was only interested in getting back to his room.

Slow Down

If you spend the time and money to put together a presentation, and if your clients and potential clients and referral sources are in the room, don’t be in such a rush to get out of the room. If you’ve scheduled your flight too close, then don’t do that next time.

Think of the upside to sticking around to get to know people in attendance. If these people didn’t matter to your practice, then you wouldn’t have agreed to speak, right? If they aren’t important to your practice, then stop accepting those invitations to speak.

Every person on this panel indicated speakers and presentations at conferences are important to them in looking at outside counsel, so don’t underestimate your attendance, involvement, and participation in them. Don’t waste your time and resources, and, even more important, don’t waste theirs.

Kristen Albertson, WalMart shared: “If you are putting your lawyers on panels at things like ABA conferences, they can get my attention. We are there to make contacts, so it is beneficial.”

Maria Feeley, University of Hartford agreed: “When I go to conferences, I am going to find outside counsel.”

Bottom Line

Commit to being there. Slow down and stick around. Be the one.