Ask any practicing lawyer, and they will tell you that lawyering and networking go hand-in-hand. Lawyers thrive on people skills and community building. And for a good reason – in this increasingly digitized and tech-driven world, there still is no alternative for the human connect. This is true even for those at the helm of this tech wave. Humans are, ultimately, at the centre of all thing’s tech, especially when your target consumers, for the most part, are professionals who rely on relationship-building as their key growth strategy. This is the reason why being a part of and engaging with a community should be of paramount importance to you as a LegalTech founder or CXO.
BENEFITS OF INTERACTION IN THE AGE OF INFORMATION
Community building and engagement offer a host of benefits to LegalTech brands. Being part of a community ensures you are consistently exposed to different perspectives, opinions, and ideas, broadening your horizons and offering a holistic understanding of the industry. Interacting with fellow LegalTech founders and CXOs helps you learn from their experiences and mistakes. Talking to industry stalwarts and other lawyers might spark a new idea, inspire a new product, and give you a fresh perspective on an issue you are attempting to resolve. Interaction, thus, leads to constant learning.
Community-building also helps you network better. It not only ensures you are meeting the right kind of people who can add value to your LegalTech business but also forges deeper in-person connections. In the times of social media, it is easy to focus on the numbers instead of individuals. Being part of a network helps build closer and deeper relationships based on shared interests and common goals. This helps your business penetrate new markets, generate and convert leads, and gain a better visibility within the industry.
Connecting with people in similar professional positions offers unparalleled support and guidance. If you are just entering the LegalTech space, chances are that you aren’t aware of a lot, and this is where your community will come to the rescue. Building and nurturing a relationship with industry seniors and veterans will help you navigate the murky waters through effective mentorship.
Sounds good, right? But how and where do you find the right communities? As a LegalTech brand, what kinds of communities should you be a part of?
MUST EXPLORE COMMUNITIES FOR LEGALTECHS
Every community is different in terms of the people engaged in it, and consequently, so are its specific advantages. As a LegalTech brand, you should consider being a part of the following communities:
Startup incubators
Startup incubators and accelerators help in building businesses from the ground up by supporting new entrepreneurs and early-stage companies. They support you through commonly encountered business and industry-related issues. Being part of a LegalTech incubator like Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas’ Prarambh, or Berkeley’s SkyDeck, can help your LegalTech through its initial challenges like building the right core team, strategic financial and management planning, connecting with investors, coming up with a tailored marketing and branding plan, and more.
Legal data centres
Legal data centres are an excellent source to access free law databases, and serve as research and advocacy centres. The importance of data for a tech-driven business, LegalTech included, cannot be overstated. Membership of a legal data centre, engaging with a community that operates its own legal data centre, or engaging one for your LegalTech business can help you with staying on top of cutting-edge research, innovation and offer key data to scale your business to unimagined heights.
Research and academic centres
Institutional or non-profit research and academic centres, particularly the ones focused on technology, law, or both, are a brilliant way to get in touch with academicians, legal practitioners, entrepreneurs, and tech-fiends. Innovation is at the core of technology, and research centres are great places to engage with people who share this belief. Communities like the Bucerius Centre for Legal Technology and Data Science, ABA’s Legal Technology Resource Centre, William & Mary Law School’s Centre for Legal & Court Technology, are at the forefront of exploring tech-based solutions for legal issues, thus, providing seeds of innovation to LegalTechs. India seems to be currently lacking research in this sphere, but given the tremendous growth of LegalTechs in the country, we are likely to witness world-class research and academic centres soon.
Industry-specific communities
Industry-specific communities can work in two ways – the ones which connect fellow LegalTech founders and CXOs, and others that target potential LegalTech consumers in a particular sector. The former is a great place to look for mentorship, guidance and build relationships with harbingers of the LegalTech revolution. The latter provides bottomless opportunities to directly connect with potential clients and consumers; understand their needs, issues, and hopes; and, of course, generate and convert leads faster. The kind of community that will offer the maximum benefits for your LegalTech will depend on the nature of your business and your product. If you are in the market with a legal practice management software that tracks upcoming hearing dates, you are better off being a part of a community of litigators. If you offer a computational solution for taxation professionals, being a part of a community of Chartered Accountants and Company Secretaries will serve you better.
WONDERING HOW TO CONNECT WITH THE RIGHT PEOPLE?
A brand positioning expert can help you navigate the endless sea of communities and choose the ones that fit the needs of your LegalTech. Our services allow you to focus on revolutionizing the legal industry while we take care of everything else! Get in touch with us to know more.
