With over 5,000 participants from 2,700 law firms across 130 jurisdictions, the IBA can be daunting. 

With significant resources invested, it’s crucial to make the most of the event, and this article can help. Even if you’re not attending, the advice applies to any global legal conference.

As with many things, the rule of three applies here too – be strategic, make yourself visible and stand out, and don’t lose sight of the ROI (especially if you want your firm to send you again!). 

With that in mind, it’s important to discuss strategy, marketing, and business development.

Strategy

I highly doubt the average participant can network with 5,000 lawyers (just imagine trying to maintain so many relationships!!). Have a clear strategy and specific goals. 

Examples of strategy can include:

(1) To meet with law firms from jurisdictions that you, or your firm, will not travel to during the year. These could be from faraway countries or those firms with a growing interest to meet, but do not yet justify a delegation. 

This strategy allows you to meet colleagues you wouldn’t otherwise encounter, but it requires careful selection of jurisdictions. By focusing on a few key regions with referral potential, you can build connections that later lead to delegations, relationships, and collaborations, maintaining ties with law firms even without year-round contact.

(2) Follow your key clients and see which jurisdictions interest them the most or where they are most active.

This will allow you to improve your service, advance your client development program or attract more clients with similar traits, or a combination of the above.

(3) Setting concrete goals can fine-tune your strategy. For instance, aim to meet with law firms from five new jurisdictions to build long-term relationships that may foster close collaborations and create future leads.

(4) Additionally, reconnect with 10 global law firms you already work with to strengthen ties and increase collaboration in the coming year.

Marketing

It is difficult to stand out in a room with 50 other lawyers, so just imagine the hurdle at an event with thousands. 

The key is to be memorable, to add value and to be proactive. Easier said than done. 

Being memorable can be the way you present yourself differently, the story you tell, or something interesting about you that will stick. You want to be a lawyer people remember (e.g. I met this great lawyer from Tokyo). Adding value is the icing on the cake – this will make people want to get in touch with you after the conference, not just remember you. 

Two examples that come to mind, one professional and one personal are: 

(a) “I work with many VCs and banks and would be more than happy to connect you my contacts next time you are in Tokyo.

(b) “I happen to know the best sushi restaurant in Tokyo, let me know next time you are visiting and I will book us a table.”

Being proactive is the hard part, as we would like others to approach us. Think of it this way – other participants are just like you, waiting to be approached. Being proactive already makes you more memorable than most of the other participants. We jumped ahead. The first thing people you meet will do is connect with you on LinkedIn or visit your web bio. What you present at the IBA must align with your online presence. 
Before heading to the conference, it’s recommended to:

(1) Update your LinkedIn bio and website bio (make sure you clearly present how you add value) and create interest for people to want to meet with you.

(2) Connect with colleagues who you know you will be meeting – it will not only save you a lot of time during the meeting, but will also make the meeting more meaningful, as you can find mutual interests, insights and opportunities. 

(3) Let people know you will be attending the IBA and don’t be afraid to spell out who you would like to meet.

(4) Search, via LinkedIn, for colleagues you would like to reconnect with and reach out. They may well appreciate this and if they are not going, I am sure they will happily connect you with those from the firm who will be attending.

Business Development 

The conference is just an excuse. The real work starts post-conference. 

Again, we need to be strategic on whom we meet. Time is limited and there are thousands of participants and law firms. The real and meaningful BD is done outside of the lectures. That is why we need to identify potential targets and opportunities ahead of the conference.

During the conference, business development is mostly done in pre-scheduled meetings, but the best place to conduct BD in a more natural setting is the reception area and specific events. Don’t skip these and make sure you book enough time to attend.

Once the conference has finished and before everyone returns to their desks and clients, usually around the time the plane takes off, the conference becomes a distant memory and all the excitement around future planning can start to fade. 

Here are a few suggestions to maximise your BD efforts:

(1) Close any meetings with actionable steps. This will allow you to reconnect in the near future in order to follow up.

(2) Prepare a follow up email in advance, thanking the new contact for the meeting and the action items you wrote, with a timeline (e.g. I will introduce you to our Labor partner once back for them to connect on a zoom call next months).

(3) Add new contacts to your mailing list and make sure to connect with them on LinkedIn.

(4) Strive to have at least one actionable item per meeting, event if it is a periodic follow up call.

The more lawyers you will introduce, the deeper the relationship with the other firm will be, potentially leading to more referrals.

(5) Be targeted and focus on the 20% of firms/individuals met. You can never know for sure from where a referral might come, so cast a wide net, then foster those relationships with the firms that are aligned with your strategy and goals.

Enjoy the annual IBA in Mexico City!