Small Law Firms

Sometimes A Random Cold Call Reaching Out Can Lead To A Chauffeured Ride To A Lawyer's Office

You never get a second chance to make a first impression, and when you're a lawyer, those first impressions really matter.

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Networking sometimes requires making cold calls. Or cold emails. Occasionally, I contact a professional out of the blue. Sometimes, I get ignored. Other times, they politely decline for a number of reasons with a subtle hint that they don’t want to be bothered.

But usually they will agree to meet with me. We meet over lunch or coffee or at their office where we exchange war stories, business development strategies, and sometimes other personal interests. Some of them I remember, while others are soon forgotten.

Today, I want to share three stories where I met a fellow lawyer for the first time. I had never spoken to these people before and we didn’t know much about each other except what we had seen on the internet or by word of mouth. Each encounter was unique and left an impression.

Lawyer #1. He and I agreed to meet at a local coffee shop although we didn’t specify a time. I followed up with him the night before and suggested a location which I thought was close to his office. He replied and agreed to the time and location. However, he didn’t show up. Twenty minutes later, he emailed me telling me that his meeting went on later than he thought and asked if we can meet an hour later.

When we finally met, he was dressed in street clothes. While I normally don’t mind being casual, it made me wonder what kind of meeting he was in that prevented him from alerting me that he would be late.

We got the chance to get to know each other and learn about each other’s practices. We spent about 45 minutes chatting before he excused himself to attend another meeting.

I wish he would have contacted me ahead of time to tell me he was going to be late. However, I won’t hold it against him. I understand that things like this happen and it could just be bad timing. Otherwise, he was pleasant and seemed knowledgeable. While I will contact him if I need his services and send potential clients his way, I get the feeling that I will forget his name very quickly and I’ll only look him up if others who immediately come to mind are unavailable.

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Lawyer #2. We agreed to meet at his office. When we met at the lobby, I noticed he was well-groomed and was wearing a nice suit.

We walked out to the nearest coffee shop. We got along fairly well. We talked about our practices and how we could help each other in numerous ways.

Afterwards, he invited me back to his office and I noticed it was very spacious and clean. We then had an off-topic discussion about my travel plans and he offered some suggestions on places to visit.

We spent an hour and a half together. It could have lasted longer but I did not want to take too much more of this time so I excused myself.

Lawyer #2 impressed me. He looked professional and he was also very knowledgeable. We developed a good rapport during our short time together and I appreciate his going the extra mile by offering some travel suggestions. He seemed like an intellectual and was very thorough. I will make it a point to keep in touch once in a while.

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Lawyer #3. Lawyer #3 was the managing partner of a well-known small firm in the city. I honestly did not expect him to get back to me. But he did, and he suggested that we meet at a hotel lobby. When we met, he looked like he was about to leave on a tropical vacation. He was wearing a Hawaiian-style shirt with a straw hat.

We hit it off well. We talked about a variety of topics including business development, future trends, and possible collaboration.

After the chat, he offered to show me around his office. He then escorted me to the hotel entrance where he called his chauffeured luxury car.

We then went to his office where he introduced me to some of his partners and staff. I was impressed with the office set up and I got the impression that he works on some high-profile cases.

As we re-entered his car, I expected he would take me home. But instead, he offered to take me out to dinner with his wife. We went to his very nice house where he invited me in and introduced me to his wife.

When they asked me what I wanted to eat, I did not want to them to take me somewhere fancy and expensive. But at the same time, I did not want to insult them. So I suggested that they take me to their favorite hometown hole in the wall that only the locals know about. They then suggested one of their favorite ethnic restaurants.

Over dinner, the conversation was casual. They talked about their children and I talked about why I don’t have any yet. We also talked about the places we have been to and places we want to go in the future. It was a pleasant evening. We talked about other things, but I can’t remember them all.

I thought I would be chatting with Lawyer #3 for an hour at most, but it ended up being a very enjoyable evening. He was gracious, intelligent, humorous, and wise. While he was a bit flashy, he was also very genuine. I get the impression he got to where he was through talent, hard work, and good people skills. His name will be etched into my long-term memory for a long time, and I hope to find a way to collaborate with him in the future.

As the old saying goes, you never get a second chance to make a first impression. Each of the lawyers I profiled left an impression on me. It’s one thing to see their profiles on their website, their awards, the articles they write, or their online reviews. But it’s also another matter to see how they are in person. Assuming all things being equal, you’re going to refer a client to the first person you can think of. And if you want to be on the first page of someone’s long-term cerebral search engine, you have to get to know someone and figure out what triggers their long-term memory. I don’t need a chauffered ride to a lawyer’s office to be impressed. But it doesn’t hurt either.

Shannon Achimalbe was a former solo practitioner for five years before deciding to sell out and get back on the corporate ladder. Shannon can be reached by email at sachimalbe@excite.com and via Twitter: @ShanonAchimalbe.

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