Virtual Office NYC Lawyer, Vivian Sobers, maximizes pockets of downtime waiting in Court by networking with other attorneys.
I’m a big fan of trying to do squeeze business development into small pockets of downtime as I go about my day. Sometimes, it’s the only way for me to consistently get any marketing done.
Like, for example, I try to respond to legal questions on AVVO from my smartphone whenever I’m commuting anywhere. My colleague, Joleena Louis, does something similar. She updates her firm’s Instagram profile when she has pockets of downtime.
One of my favorite time-saving marketing hacks is to make a point to network while I’m in court. I have talked about this before in in this article.
On a recent appearance in New York Supreme I met an interesting attorney while waiting for the courtroom to open. It reminded me of some of the other contacts I’ve made at that courthouse.
Here are three examples:
1. “The Bankruptcy Guy.”
I met “bankruptcy guy” in court recently. He was a younger attorney, probably in his early thirties and described himself as a bankruptcy litigator.
We were sitting in court together but it was after his oral argument that I really took notice. The judge had dismissed his case because of a time lapse issue on behalf of the defendant. Both of us were surprised by the ruling because neither of us were fully aware of this particular law.
I asked him about it, we chatted, and the conversation eventually digressed to the standard “what do you do” questions and answers.
After a quick conversation, we exchanged information. All it took for us to meet was a quirky law that neither of us could fully comprehend at the time.
Shortly after, Bankruptcy Guy sent me a client referral. He also connected me to another lawyer, with whom I think there is a strong possibility of developing a good referral relationship.
2. “The Highly Specialized Attorney.”
I met another solo in court who was in court for a per diem appearance. He was using an iPad to help during his oral argument, which I found interesting. I asked him about it after his appearance and the conversation took off from there.
This guy is in his early forties and calling him “highly specialized” doesn’t even begin to explain his practice area.
His practice is focused on “asylum cases for people from China,” which was odd to me because he isn’t Chinese. But after explaining more I learned that he inherited the practice.
This relationship is still rather new and still requires more nurturing, but I am confident in its potential.
3. “The Blog Reader.”
The “Blog Reader” is somewhat of a special case that wasn’t as random as the others.
This was a more experienced female solo who specializes in insurance defense litigation. We are also on the same litigation committee at a local Bar Association, but didn’t really know each other.
She is also a dedicated reader of this blog series.
We ran into each other in court and my blog articles were the focus of much of the conversation. What was nice was that the blog made it easier for us to have a conversation. She felt like she knew me already, so we developed a rapport more quickly than normal. The conversation progressed to more meaningful topics (beyond “what do you do”), which I think was more enjoyable for both of us.
Within two weeks of having this conversation, I received a referral from this attorney.
These are just three examples of amazing attorneys I have met, just while taking a little extra effort to mingle while I’m waiting in Court.
What about you? Do you have any marketing hacks you do to maximize small blocks of free time? Leave a comment below.
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Vivian Sobers is a commercial litigator pursuing a solo law practice right out of law school. She is a client in Law Firm Suites’ Virtual Office Program. Vivian’s weekly blog series “Young, Hungry and Committed” documents the trials and tribulations of a young attorney navigating her way through the challenging world of self-employed legal practice.
