I’d be willing to bet your email inbox and social feeds, on a regular basis, are full of opportunities for legal seminars, workshops, and conferences. The market for such events has become increasingly large, and we’ve heard from many of our clients that they struggle to decide what’s worth attending and what could be skipped. You just can’t do them all, nor should you. These events represent significant time away from the office. If you haven’t done your due diligence, you could find yourself spending weeks and weeks a year away from your firm without ever getting any real payoff. One of our primary objectives at Vista is to help firms and team members see the payoff. In this blog, we’ll help you identify tools for both selecting the right events and making the most of your experience there.

Picking the Right Industry Event for Your Needs

Too often, I think we don’t do a good job in selecting a handful of impactful, well-suited events and instead opt to stretch ourselves too thin and attend every conference whose ad catches our eye on our social media feeds. So many events in the legal industry promise magic bullets and millions of dollars in revenue increase in exchange for attendance

I’ve been in this industry for more than 20 years, and while I’ve seen some impactful and motivational speakers and walked away with some great nuggets, I’ve never received the secret pixie dust to transform a business (spoiler alert – it doesn’t exist. Well, maybe it does, but it involves a lot of hard work, solid processes, the right people, and a well-thought-out vision to implement with intention. It doesn’t involve a cut-and-paste recipe that looks the same for every firm and every business!) I’ve also grown a little weary of the same speakers with the same message or sales pitch. There’s a whole wide world of personalities, perspectives, advice, and ideas out there.

So, how do you find those events in a crowded market that will really help you grow your firm, inspire your team, and optimize your firm’s operations? Ask yourself some of these questions when you’re deciding if an event is right for you or not:

• Does it align with your firm’s practice area?
• Will you have opportunities to network with other firms and firm leaders?
• Does it align with your firm’s mission and vision?
• Will you/your team grow personally and professionally from attending the event?
• Is the company hosting it reputable?
• Is the company hosting it familiar with the industry?
• Is there diversity in the speakers/presenters that may help you find a new perspective?
• Are the speakers there to sell you a product or service or to really educate or inspire you?
• Are there sessions that provide practical experience?
• Is there sufficient time built into the agenda for relationship-building?

Once you ask those questions, you should be able to filter out some events that just aren’t well-suited to your current goals or otherwise clearly won’t benefit you. From that culled-down list, take the time to do your due diligence. Ask trusted contacts if they’ve attended previously and see what their experience was like. Would they go back again? Did they gain anything from the event? Our industry is tight-knit enough that you should be able to glean some great information from other’s experiences so you can best invest your dollars in the right events.

Crafting an Effective Strategy for Conference Participation

Once you’ve selected the right-fit conferences for your needs and the needs of your team, you must take responsibility to ensure your experience there is well-spent and worthwhile. Waiting for a magical conference experience to find you is a passive approach that will likely never yield any meaningful results. Take the initiative to enrich your time at the event and make every moment count. Here’s how:

• NETWORKIf you picked an event that is well-suited to your role, position at the firm, location, or practice area, then you’re likely sitting in a room full of potential new network members. Go find them! Attend all networking events like happy hours and after-event dinners, take advantage of breaks in the event, read nametags, introduce yourself, bring business cards, and hand them out generously. This can be tough for introverts, but hopefully, you’ve chosen your events wisely, and you can flag people you’d like to meet from the list of attendees, the introductions, or the curated connections conference facilitators can make. Try to view that networking as a chance to expand your trusted circle. It doesn’t have to be you on a stage doing karaoke. Take the approach that feels authentic for you and your personality!
• BE IN THE MOMENTI know, I know. This one is tough. You’re busy, and you likely feel an immediate panic that stems simply from being away from the office. So, put in the work ahead of time so that at the event, you can truly leave work behind. Make a plan with your team for your absence. Assign out duties ahead of time and ensure your team has ample time to ask questions and prepare for your absence. Make sure they know you’ll be offline and unavailable during the event. Remember, sometimes letting go can result in incredible gains. If you’ve prepared in advance, then really check in to the event. Listen to the speakers. Engage with them. Take notes. Embrace the time at the end of the day to digest everything you’ve learned.
• ASK QUESTIONSIf you’re attending an event that features insightful, experienced presenters, take advantage of that! Most events encourage attendees to ask questions, so be the first to raise your hand and pick the brains of the industry’s best minds. Bounce ideas off them, ask them to clarify information they relayed in their presentations, and try to get a feel for their approach. It may be different than yours, which could present bountiful opportunities to expand your firm’s potential and paths toward success. Great minds always seek out knowledge and insight from others. The more involved you are, the more valuable the experience will likely be. Allow your hunger to learn to fuel and enrich your event experiences.
• TAKE NOTESDuring the event, take thorough notes. These will serve as a valuable reference point after the conference and will help you to better retain the information and ideas presented at the event. Include details like the speaker’s name, company information, and key questions asked during the presentation. Was there any content that was impactful to you? Did you have any aha moments during the presentation? Take time after each day of the event to review your notes and reflect on what you have learned. This will help solidify your understanding and allow you to identify key takeaways that can be applied back in your firm.
• DIGEST BEFORE YOU IMPLEMENTThis is a big one!!! Don’t start sending emails during a presentation asking your team back home to implement some idea you just heard or purchase a new practice management system you just demoed. That’s a poor approach that will almost certainly guarantee failed projects, frustrated teams, and feelings of wasted conference dollars. Instead, take a beat. Listen and learn, then, digest and consider. Take good ideas back home and meet with your team to review and discuss their viability. As a firm leader, you’re likely not aware of some of the nuanced details that go into firm processes. Your team, however, is. They need to be included in plans for big overhaul projects and sweeping changes. You can always put big ideas that aren’t yet ready for implementation into your “parking lot” for later. That way, you’ve captured the idea and can tackle it when the time is right.
• DON’T SIT AND SOAKIt can be tempting to come to a conference and let the information wash over you. Resist that temptation. While sitting and soaking can be fun and educational, you bring value simply by being in the industry and having experiences unique to you, your firm, your market, or your position. Much of the beauty that comes from conferences is the validation that you’re not alone. Share your firm’s challenges, successes, and questions. Validate others who are struggling with similar issues. Some of the most magical moments I’ve seen at conferences happen when firms share information with each other.
• DON’T HIDE FROM SPONSORSMost events come with sponsors and often feature an exhibit area. It can feel tempting to walk past those tables without making eye contact as you make a beeline to get a cup of coffee. The most successful people I know are lifelong learners who make it a point to be “in the know” about our industry. Many service providers can give you amazing education on processes or services you weren’t aware of or haven’t visited in some time. Stop by, say hello, and see what’s out there. Even if something isn’t right for you at this time, it’s good to make contacts and be aware of the products and services available to law firms.
• BE OPEN TO NEW IDEASAttending a conference offers an opportunity to step outside of your comfort zone and explore new concepts. Be open to ideas that may challenge your pre-existing beliefs or methods of operation. You might discover a more efficient process, a fresh perspective on a persistent challenge, or an innovative solution to an ongoing issue. Even if an idea doesn’t seem immediately applicable, it could spark a thought process leading to significant improvements in your firm’s operations.

Enjoy the Ride

As you embark on your conference journey, remember that the biggest investment you’re making is not financial, it’s an investment of time. You’re taking hours, days, or even a week away from your daily responsibilities to focus on your personal growth and the advancement of your firm. Make the most out of this sacrifice by actively participating, learning, and networking. Find the balance between absorbing new ideas and sharing your own.

Getting conference attendance right can make all the difference in receiving a valuable ROI on your investment. That means you must invest time and effort in finding the right events for you, and when event time comes, you have to make it count. Don’t let those dollars dissolve into wasted time away from the office. The payoff? Achieve new goals. Grow your firm. Empower your team. Expand your reach. What’s not to love? The experience will be what you make of it, so set clear goals, stay open-minded, and, most importantly, enjoy the ride.