Getting better results from your law firm's networking and events strategy

Ask any legal marketer what keeps them awake at night and you’ll hear a familiar trio: more visibility, better conversions and happier clients. Yet in the rush for clicks we sometimes forget that the strongest ranking signal is still human trust. During a recent Law Firm Marketing Club (LFMC) podcast, Parker Bullen’s Marketing Partner Karen Clarkson unpacked how deliberate, relationship-first networking can accelerate every stage of the funnel, from awareness right through to advocacy.

Law-firm marketing has never been just about glossy brochures or perfectly timed social posts. As Karen told the LFMC audience, “our marketing strategy at Parker Bullen focuses really heavily on networking… if our lawyers and the team aren’t living and breathing those values, there’s going to be a disconnect between our brand and reality.” Her point is simple: in-person (or camera-on) encounters remain the fastest shortcut to know-like-trust.

When prospective clients meet the people behind your logo, they attach real personality to the promise. Karen reminds lawyers that “you’re not at a networking event to collect business cards - you’re there to build real relationships and genuinely add value.” Every handshake, Zoom wave or LinkedIn follow-up becomes an opportunity to demonstrate insight in a context algorithms can’t replicate. Search engines notice those signals too: branded mentions, authoritative backlinks and social proof all start with someone remembering a talk, a tip or even just a smile.

Networking is too big, and too human, to outsource to marketing alone. Karen’s approach is to arm fee-earners with event intel before they walk into the room: “find out who else is going to be there… ask the organiser to introduce you to people.” Pre-event preparation short-cuts awkward small talk and ensures you meet targets, not just attendees. Back in the office, she works with partners to map who met whom, what was promised and how to follow up. That shared CRM view turns scattered encounters into a coherent, cross-referring contact network.

Traditional metrics, organic traffic, keyword ranking, email open rates, matter. But Karen urges firms to “give networking time; I’ve been networking heavily for about two years, and only in the last year have I seen a consistent flow of referrals come back.” Lead-time clarity lets you benchmark success properly. Track first-touch source, referral value and velocity alongside those digital KPIs. When your finance team can see that the biggest litigation instruction of the quarter began with a random Tuesday breakfast club, budgets for future events suddenly look less like “soft” spend.

Here are a few practical tips you can action this week:

• Audit your diary – strip out events that no longer match your ideal client personas and identify one new room (physical or virtual) where those people gather.

• Prepare your elevator question – instead of a tired pitch, craft an open starter that invites stories, then listen.

• Follow up within 48 hours – a personalised LinkedIn note referencing the exact moment you connected signals genuine interest.

• Log interactions – lightweight CRMs such as HubSpot or even a shared spreadsheet beat memory every time.

• Repurpose the result – a single panel debate can become a blog (like this one), a podcast sound-bite and multiple social posts, multiplying SEO touch-points.

• Mentor the introverts – pair quieter colleagues with natural connectors so they can observe and gain confidence without pressure.

• Leverage LFMC resources – the Law Firm Marketing Club hosts monthly virtual sessions offering both practice and peer feedback; pencil one into your calendar now.

Karen’s final challenge is to diversify venues: “think of other ways to be involved: webinars, panel discussions, community days that feel more informal but still carry our brand.”

The pandemic normalised online gatherings; hybrid formats now let you reach regional niches without burning half a day in transit. LFMC’s own monthly virtual networking sessions, for example, attract firms from all over the UK.The skillset is the same: preparation, participation, follow-up—but the scalable reach is dramatically higher.

Networking is not a separate channel; it is the heartbeat that powers every other marketing activity. Done with intention, it feeds SEO (fresh links, brand mentions), content (client-driven questions), PR (speaker slots) and, crucially, the bottom line. As Karen concludes, “only when networking weaves into your overall marketing fabric does it really work.”

Take her advice, give it time, and watch conversations compound into clients.

Listen to Karen's podcast episode here: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1721052/episodes/17380782