How to speak to sell better to in-house counsel. Strategies on how to develop a successful in-house counsel – outside attorney relationship. Negotiating fees for legal services to meet clients’ expectations. Personal branding for legal professionals. These are some of the themes that will be discussed from 23 to 26 May at the AIJA Half-Year Conference in Warsaw.
AIJA invites all in-house and outside counsel and other legal professionals interested in improving their communications and negotiation skills to attend the Conference seminar titled “Happily ever after! Perspective from in-house counsel and law firms on how to develop a successful client-attorney relationship”. The Seminar is organised by the Skills, Career, Innovation, Leadership and Learning (SCILL) Commission of AIJA.
In the run-up to the Conference, we asked Štěpán Holub, SCILL President and Organising Committee Member at AIJA, about the main highlights of the seminar. “This will be the best place to understand what in-house counsel expect from outside lawyers and the other way around. The seminar will combine theory with practice and will seek to share examples from real-life situations”, Štěpán said.
For in-house counsel, it is important to assess whether a legal issue can be solved in-house, or if there is a need for outside expertise or additional resources. That is when usually a company decides to outsource and reach out to law firms, for instance. He says that “you have to act quickly on it, so you don’t lose a good business opportunity. As legal professionals, we need to be able to see our limits and handle legal cases and our clients both from a legal and commercial perspective”.
The seminar will also address best practices on how to best serve clients as an in-house or outside counsel. Developing a successful relationship with clients can be challenging, but there are ways to improve the likelihood of building a successful and lasting partnership. Štěpán believes that “in order to be successful, we need to see the issue through the eyes of the client and understand what is needed. Knowing the law is not enough, we need to know the industry and business we work for. It is easy to say but difficult to do. This is why AIJA will host a seminar dedicated to this subject at the Half-Year Conference in Warsaw".
To conclude, Štěpán says that the key to success is listening. “Listen first. We have two ears and only one mouth to listen twice as much as we talk. Sometimes it may seem difficult to do something as basic as listen. This goes beyond just noting down the basic facts related to the legal issues of the client. You need to listen to understand essential things, such as your client’s goals, needs and expectations”.
The Half-Year Conference will be divided into two seminars. The first one will focus on current trends and developments in corporate governance, while the second one will focus on the relationship between in-house and outside counsel and their clients. Other exciting news will be announced soon, so stay tuned on our social media channels and website to get the latest updates.
See you in Warsaw!