Weirdo doing BD Forum

[Anonymous User]

What are you supposed to do when (1) you’re a capable senior associate pushing for partnership and (2) you’re socially awkward?

I don’t think I’m going to win too many hearts and minds on BD outings. It’s not like I’m super into Star Trek or Dungeons & Dragons, but I’m still weird enough that I’m rarely if ever going to win over clients through sheer force of personality.

[Anonymous User]

I actually know someone who isn't a people person and ended up doing pretty well in sales. He told me that his directness helps. People sometimes appreciate someone who gets right to the point "here's my product, here's how I can save you money". He isn't trying to sweet talk them, doesn't comes across as desperate to make a sale.

You need to develop something like that. You won't be the one they play golf with. But you're confident in your competency and that counts for something. Come up with a pitch, give me your deals and I'll get them done, and more efficiently, I'll be more aggressive with terms, idk whatever is important to clients these days.

[Lacepiece23]

You could also win over clients by being super responsive and anticipating needs. Some lawyers don’t ever get that. It’s like 50% of what in house wants from outside counsel.

[Anonymous User]

You could also win over clients by being super responsive and anticipating needs. Some lawyers don’t ever get that. It’s like 50% of what in house wants from outside counsel.

This OP. Sure, there are a lot of lawyers out there who BD by wining and dining clients, taking them out on trips, etc. There are also a lot of lawyers out there who BD just by doing damn good legal work and being responsive, then you get a reputation for being good and will get referral sources.

[papermateflair]

Think about all the partners at your firm and be honest - are all of them really THAT charming? Nope! and yet they still have clients. You do not need (or really even want) to win clients with only your personality - that's usually not enough these days anyway. They need to have a pleasant enough experience that they want to come back and work with you, but you don't have to be magnetic to be successful at business development.

Also, your best source of work is your own colleagues and current clients, and if you work with anyone long enough you will discover that they are also weirdos. Form relationships and alliances across your firm. Be kind and a good ally to people and they will think about you when something comes up, and they can refer work to you without you having to go into hard sell mode. You may have to play the long game in a way that someone with one of those magical personalities doesn't have to, but those people are pretty rare and they still need to do good work to back themselves up.

[BansheeScream]

I don't know, sounds like you're at least introspective enough to realize you're a bit quirky which makes you more normal than a lot of the narcistic/crazy big law partners. There are probably a bunch of GCs and AGCs who are nerds too. I have a few colleagues who are really nice and do things like play D&D and are a bit socially awkward despite the fact that I'm not into stuff like that and am more outgoing. I would certainly hire them if I was a GC because they're capable and pleasant to be around. I don't think it would hold you back. People want their lawyers to be smart after all.

[Anonymous User]

What are you supposed to do when (1) you’re a capable senior associate pushing for partnership and (2) you’re socially awkward?

I don’t think I’m going to win too many hearts and minds on BD outings. It’s not like I’m super into Star Trek or Dungeons & Dragons, but I’m still weird enough that I’m rarely if ever going to win over clients through sheer force of personality.

As someone who is both super into Star Trek (though more Star Wars) and Dungeons & Dragons, but would not describe themselves as socially awkward, let me give you some advice. Be curious. If someone’s into D&D ask them about it, if they are into fishing ask them about it, if they are into haute couture, ect. Don’t give them your opinion, let them teach you theirs.

And maybe be a little less judgy about interests a sizable portion of your highly educated nerdy clientele might share

[Anonymous User]

Deleted repeated post

[Anonymous User]

What are you supposed to do when (1) you’re a capable senior associate pushing for partnership and (2) you’re socially awkward?

I don’t think I’m going to win too many hearts and minds on BD outings. It’s not like I’m super into Star Trek or Dungeons & Dragons, but I’m still weird enough that I’m rarely if ever going to win over clients through sheer force of personality.

Know your strengths and weaknesses. A lawyer I've known for a really long time is kind of a blonde bombshell of a woman, even as she has aged. She's one of the best trial lawyers I've ever met, but does she also use her femininity to win over dumbass male clients too stupid to realize that she's not sincerely flirting with them? You bet your balls. Well, that's her gift and so she uses it.

What are your gifts? Identify and analyze them. Then, implement and win over clients.

There are, in fact, client decision-makers out there who value sophisticated, analytical lawyers who just know how to win cases or correctly predict that losing cases are headed to defeat (and therefore should be efficiently settled). If that's your target audience, know your audience and target them.

[jamestaylorrecordsas]

I would advise against using words like weirdo or socially awkward because repeating those words in your mind has negative consequences.

Just a practical suggestion. Find out what stocks clients and friends are into and keep a computer record of it. There are often class action cases, and due to address changes, the client may not be aware of it. So you be aware of it for them. Monitor pending class action cases and file the claim on behalf of the client should one of their stocks be involved in a case. Also it's easy to strike up a conversation or email about any new developments with their stocks.

Same thing if you know someone who manages money. Often, they don't bother to file the class action claim. You do it for them.

The Stanford Class Action Clearinghouse may be a good place to start.

[Anonymous User]

I would advise against using words like weirdo or socially awkward because repeating those words in your mind has negative consequences.

Just a practical suggestion. Find out what stocks clients and friends are into and keep a computer record of it. There are often class action cases, and due to address changes, the client may not be aware of it. So you be aware of it for them. Monitor pending class action cases and file the claim on behalf of the client should one of their stocks be involved in a case. Also it's easy to strike up a conversation or email about any new developments with their stocks.

Same thing if you know someone who manages money. Often, they don't bother to file the class action claim. You do it for them.

The Stanford Class Action Clearinghouse may be a good place to start.

This is absolute gold! Thank you

[butonawednesday]

I would advise against using words like weirdo or socially awkward because repeating those words in your mind has negative consequences.

Just a practical suggestion. Find out what stocks clients and friends are into and keep a computer record of it. There are often class action cases, and due to address changes, the client may not be aware of it. So you be aware of it for them. Monitor pending class action cases and file the claim on behalf of the client should one of their stocks be involved in a case. Also it's easy to strike up a conversation or email about any new developments with their stocks.

Same thing if you know someone who manages money. Often, they don't bother to file the class action claim. You do it for them.

The Stanford Class Action Clearinghouse may be a good place to start.

This is absolute gold! Thank you

[jamestaylorrecordsas]

Also try to get your client/friend as the Lead Plaintiff. A higher payout.

To help potentially harmed investors learn about new lawsuits and give them time to step forward, the law requires plaintiffs who filed the shareholder lawsuit to publish within 20 days a public notice containing certain information, including the claims asserted, the purported class period, the court where it was filed, the fact that any class member can serve as lead plaintiff, and the deadline for filing lead plaintiff motions. With the growth of the internet, these “PSLRA notices” have evolved from newspaper advertisements to online news releases beamed instantly around the world. Purported class members have 60 days from the first PSLRA notice to file a lead plaintiff motion with the court.

Though the PSLRA is mute on how to calculate financial interest, courts generally have looked at total class period purchases, net class period purchases, net class period expenditures, and most importantly losses, as calculated on a last-in-first-out (LIFO) or first-in-first-out (FIFO) basis. Since movants sometimes group together to file joint lead plaintiff petitions, the courts often consider whether to allow such a group to aggregate its losses in a single motion. The courts typically decide whether to permit such aggregations on a case-by-case basis. While the PSLRA does not provide any guidance about groups, the courts have considered factors such as the group’s size, whether group members knew each other before filing the motion, whether they have discussed how they plan to work together on the case, their experience as lead plaintiffs, and their choice of counsel.

When Congress enacted the PSLRA, it sought to empower institutional investors, reasoning that they would have larger losses—more “skin in the game”—and that their size, staffing, levels, and sophistication would give them better tools to fulfill their fiduciary duties to absent class members, including oversight of the attorneys. In that respect, the law certainly worked. Institutional investors, rarely involved in shareholder lawsuits prior to 1996, now are appointed lead plaintiffs in roughly half of all newly filed federal securities class actions; even in smaller cases where individual investors act as lead plaintiffs, the PSLRA’s lead plaintiff mechanism ensures an orderly, fact-based selection process. The increased involvement of institutional investors has in turn benefited all shareholders. Numerous academic studies have shown that shareholder class actions led by institutional investors are more likely to succeed than those led by individuals. Cases with institutional lead plaintiffs settle for more money and pay lower attorneys’ fees than other cases, even when controlling for the fact that institutions tend to file larger cases.