As the membership co-chair of the Maryland State Bar Young Lawyers Section, I am often approached at various events and aggressively asked in so many words, “Do you have a job for me?” I always cringe at this. As John F. Kennedy meant to say: “Ask not what your bar association can do for you, ask what you can do for your bar association.” Or ask yourself what you can do for that community association or for that person you are meeting at the networking event. When you meet people you should be asking yourself, ‘How can I help the other person?’ Networking takes time. Exchanging a business card is just the beginning, it isn’t the end. Networking takes time because networking is really about trust and trust takes time to build. There will always be people who I will describe as “political hacks”, who are seemingly able to network with ease. They do little work and they skyrocket to that dream job or to that position despite the lack of work. Maybe this is because they were born into the right family or work at the right firm. Long term success, however, will ultimately depend on your consistency and reliability to others. There really shouldn’t be an “I” in networking.
But there should be a “U” in “success.”
What do YOU think?
All lawyers are guilty of “Humblebragging.” Young lawyers maybe even more so are guilty. What is humblebragging? Humblebragging has been defined as “bragging in the guise of humility, putting a thin veneer of humble over a clear expression of proud.” A lot of times the humblebrag is over social media but sometimes the humblebrag is executed to your face. This usually leads to sudden urges to slap someone.
Check out some of these examples of the legal humblebrag:
“I wasn’t able to get into the University of God’s Father’s Law School so I will have to just settle and go to the University of God’s Law School. I am still grateful for this opportunity!”
“I only got my client a million dollar settlement. I guess my kids will just be going to the local private school instead of boarding school. So happy for my client.”
“I’m so honored to be named a leading lawyer! My firm only had to make a $5,000 donation to the publication which named me a leading lawyer this year!”
“I’m so honored to be named a super duper attorney! I filled out a form and got my friends to say I am a super duper attorney! This is awkward because there are people who have been practicing law for 30 years and are not super duper attorneys! #feelingblessed.”
“It is such a pain in the ass to be invited to this prestigious conference for the 5th year in a row. Boooring!”
“I am so busy with clients. My phone keeps ringing. I don’t even believe I can write this sentence to you!”
“I don’t know how I am going to manage my crazy life. I just got invited to give a presentation to the entire state on my area of law. It is such a pain being this authoritative and sought after.”
“I’m humbled to be named a leader in my community. Every year right before this admirable and respected award is given out, I brave the elements outside of my firm for a quick photo opportunity and take a picture of myself giving homeless people food. It’s cold out there but I gave up one billable hour to those in need. #sacrifice. #frostbite. #theregoesmybonus.”
If lawyers would only say what they mean… I am very busy. I have money. I have influence. I piss excellence. I $#!t gold. I am the cat’s meow.
Anyway, I am so happy to be the one to bring this problem to your attention. I’m excited to hear if you have any other examples of legal humblebragging. (Special thanks to Elizabeth Morris for inspiring this entry by posting an article on Facebook on the subject. I am humbled and honored to know this great lawyer!)
What examples of humblebragging did I miss?
MORE IMPORTANTLY, is there a better way to self-promote or market oneself than the humblebrag?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WwkAro3q9js
Press Release for Scott MacMullan Law, LLC
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 21, 2013
Scott W. MacMullan appointed to the Maryland State Bar Association Judicial Appointments Committee.
This Committee, made up of local and at-large members, receives and reviews a copy of each judicial application for every judicial vacancy statewide, and contacts references; assigns the application to a Committee member for the preparation of a summary and presentation to the Committee; then conducts an in-person interview of each applicant; and votes on the applicant’s qualifications. It then submits the Committee’s confidential findings to the Judicial Nominating Commission (JNC) and the Governor for consideration (some JNCs request and receive an oral presentation from the Committee Chairs prior to their interviews of the applicants). The Committee provides each JNC with its peer evaluation of each applicant’s qualifications, which stands as the MSBA’s formal position with regard to that applicant for a period of 18 months.
About Scott MacMullan Law, LLC
Scott MacMullan Law, LLC provides general legal services in the State of Maryland the District of Columbia. The firm provides counsel and advocacy in a wide range of civil, criminal and family law matters. The firm’s motto is “Local Knowledge You Can Trust.”
For more information contact 443-494-9775 or [email protected]
The Maryland State Bar Association is a professional, non-profit, voluntary organization comprised of over 23,000 attorneys and judges across the state of Maryland. It monitors judicial and legislative issues in the state, offers legal education opportunities and promotes leadership within its programs that ensure the delivery of quality legal services to all citizens. MSBA is committed to furthering the efficient administration of justice and equality for all under the law.
Founded in 1896, the Maryland State Bar Association celebrated its Centennial over the course of 1996, following the theme “Striving for Justice.” In addition to special events, a 300 page Centennial Book and other promotions, a public service project was an integral part of MSBA’s Centennial.
MSBA is known for its outstanding membership services, dedication to public service and voluntary pro bono efforts. MSBA offers an array of membership services and benefits for its members and works to continually better the legal profession. MSBA promotes the spirit of public service and the spirit of volunteerism. It functions as an excellent mechanism to channel the volunteer efforts of Maryland attorneys to help society, serve to those in need and tackle some of the state’s most pressing problems, like the current legal service to the poor funding crisis. The strength of MSBA lies in its members, and their willingness to volunteer for the public service.
“Come to me when you need a lawyer.” That is what Legal Marketing Guru Micauh Buchdahl suggested you tell people and friends when marketing yourself. This is against the conventional wisdom that a lawyer should tell someone that they specialize or have a “special emphasis” (ridiculous ethics rules) in a certain area of law. The idea being that when something happens to the person in that area of law they will immediately think of you.
Not everyone has a family law issue or gets injured or has a complex business transaction on a daily basis. Years might pass before anything happens to them or even someone they know. In this high-tech world, let’s be honest, people forget. And when they forget, they go to the internet. They want to remember that nice lawyer they met a few years back, but their problem is immediate and they need immediate answers.
A happy medium might exist between the general: “Come to me if you need legal help” and the specific: “I am a global climate change lawyer that focuses on the Chesapeake Bay” or “I help injured people and families going through tough times.” (*What I do.) Maybe the happy medium is that we tell other lawyers what we specifically work on and we tell clients a more general picture of us. But this seems to change when we are networking with attorneys that are not from our region. When that is the case, wouldn’t we rather be, for example, their “Maryland Lawyer” or their “Annapolis Lawyer”? It also might change if you are working with more sophisticated business clients who know their industry better than some newer lawyers who practice in that industry.
The idea being that if someone comes to you as their lawyer, you can refer them to a lawyer that you know specializes in their specific problems area of law. That lawyer you refer work to can then refer work that you do back to you.
I guess in the end it is all about finding information about the person you are networking with, connecting with that person, and, most importantly, making sure you are remembered by that person. (I like to mention sometimes in the conversation that I’m a Scottish guy named Scott or Scott (the Scot). You might laugh, but it works on a lot of levels.) I like telling people to come to me if they need a lawyer. I hope to have built trust with them that they will feel safe that I will either handle their matter or I will refer them to a lawyer who will deftly handle it. Continuous and respectful follow-up is vital.
The best kind of follow-up networking is becoming friends with the person you connected with. People seem to remember people who are going to benefit themselves as friends or colleagues on a long term basis. Clients that you help that become friends are the best kind of clients and the best kind of referral sources. Remember: “It can take a long time to make an old friend.”
What do you think? Do you like the general pitch or the specific pitch? Or does it depend on the situation and person?
The Maryland State Bar Association Young Lawyers had our orientation today. We went sailing in the Inner Harbor of Baltimore. It was a great way to begin our bar year. Here is a video recapping the day:
http://youtu.be/2C0aHgDNA9g
Here is a funny sailing video from the classic movie “What About Bob” that really sums up the general enthusiasm for the day.
“What About Bob” Funny Movie Clip