If you need event ideas for law firms, we’ve got you covered. Events are an excellent marketing channel to help promote your law firm. They can demonstrate lawyers’ expertise, provide discussion and networking opportunities for guests and raise your profile. Not to mention generating content for digital platforms and providing an opportunity to get to know key contacts better.
What’s not to like? Well, how many events have you been invited to that you really wanted to attend? How many have you attended that were not a good use of your time? Everyone is busy and time away from the office is at a premium so how do you run an event that will actually add value to attendees?
We’ve put together a list of event ideas for law firms as well as some guidance on a few different kinds of events and some top tips to bear in mind when planning them.
First things first
Before you start organising any event it’s important to consider the following:
- What are you trying to achieve? Events, like any marketing tactic are only effective if they are aligned to your overall marketing objectives. Are you trying to win more clients from a certain sector? Promote a new legal service? Or raise profile of one of your practice areas?
- Who do you want to attend? Are they new contacts, current clients, intermediaries? What kind of event would be suitable for them? Are you trying to educate, inform or entertain?
- What’s your budget? This might affect number of guests you can invite, venues, catering options etc.
- What is your process for managing the event logistics? Creating invitations, managing RSVPs, providing information to attendees etc.
Seminars
Seminars are a great way of demonstrating your credibility and expertise. They also crucially (should) provide your attendees with something genuinely useful – an update on a legal development that will affect them, for example.
Consider partnering with another related expert, that way you will have a broader appeal, can share the workload and benefit from more than one promotion source. Providing free seminars also have the benefit of boosting your CSR profile while hopefully collecting new prospect contact details. Don’t forget that webinars are well-received too, and can suit a smaller budget.
Round table discussions
Smaller and more intimate than seminars, round table events (often over lunch or dinner) offer an effective way of bringing guests together to discuss a hot topic. A solicitor or guest speaker can open the discussion and chair proceedings. A summary of the events can also be turned into high-quality content or a thought leadership piece.
Charity events
Charity events are a simple way of creating events without looking like too much self-promotion. If you piggyback existing events it also cuts down the workload and you can pretty much guarantee there is already some interest in the event. The charities themselves will also gladly promote your events.
The scale of the events can be vast, from anything small and in-house like staff dress down and bake sales, through to coffee mornings and taking part in fundraisers, right through to holding your own charity ball. The larger events have the added benefit of acting as your corporate hospitality vehicles to thank your clients, suppliers and staff.
Community events
Showing support for local community events while raising your profile is another simple way to add to your events programme. Join in with your local seasonal late night shopping events, carnivals and school and college open days. If you want a more measurable ROI, get involved with your local business chambers and trade organisations.
Trade Shows
Exhibiting at trade shows can get pricey so pick your event carefully. Research the delegates and make sure they are the best audience for you. Exhibitions can range from local and regional business shows to specialist sector events and careers shows. If you do decide to exhibit make sure you do all the prep and after-show work to make sure you get the best coverage and ROI, you will be amazed how many exhibition leads never get followed up after the show.
Networking
No one can deny the power of networking but how about holding your own networking events or business forums? These can range in size from small coffee mornings to flagship drinks receptions at an attractive venue. The mere mention of networking can put people off so how about running another activity alongside it that would appeal to your guests such as a gallery tour, wine tasting or drop in Q&A session.
Awards
Awards provide a whole range of opportunities. You can attend award ceremonies to show support for the community or industry sector the event is for. Perhaps use it as hospitality and take your best clients as your guests? Enter the awards yourselves for added PR and kudos or sponsor the awards to raise your profile. All these opportunities will come with the added benefit that the organisers will help you promote your presence in whatever form that takes. You could even create your own awards, promote yourself as the credible thought leader and create events that can demonstrate and cement your relationship with that sector.
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Editors Note: This article was originally posted in 2019 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.