Q4 2024 Q&A
When did you decide to start to use LinkedIn to share posts, and why?
I am a pretty long-standing user of LinkedIn, starting my journey while working in a small boutique firm.
I started to post things that interested me, as I saw it as a way of engaging in a much larger community.
Did you have any fears about being authentic and sharing your opinions in your posts at first?
Yes! I played it very safe to start with - posting news articles and then engaging with the commentators.
After that, I became braver and realised that if I was willing to stand up in person and say it, then why not say it online?
Why do you think your posts encourage your followers to comment and engage?
Hopefully because they realise I am human!
Do clients ever say anything about your posts to you?
Yes!
Nearly every time I meet someone for a coffee (which, as anyone who knows me, is often!) I get told that my posts are really engaging and how much people enjoy them.
Would you recommend to all solicitors that they experience life at both sizes of firms at some point in their career?
I cannot recommend this enough! Where else do you get the opportunity to connect to people around the world from the comfort of your desk/armchair?
LinkedIn is an amazing platform to sell your services, learn from others and then, best of all, meet in real life and feel that you have already made a connection.
My personal brand has always been separate to the firms I have worked for, so it has been so helpful to be able to use that branding to be much more independent.
How do you go about growing your network? Is your network confined to Bristol, or do you have contacts elsewhere?
I've been growing my network a long time.
I have contacts all around the UK and indeed the world from the US to Singapore and Australia.
This might seem a little random for a UK-based solicitor, but you'd be surprised at who might need/want legal advice (if not for themselves, then for others).
Have you found real-life networking easier as a result of your profile on LinkedIn?
Without a shadow of a doubt.
Not only do we have something to talk about when we meet, but people recognise me and want to ask me about what I do - without having to do any sort of sales pitch, which is really refreshing.
How does work find its way to you? And have you won work through LinkedIn?
By and large, through word of mouth.
And very much so - I consider it a form of digital word-of-mouth platform. Reaching out via LinkedIn messages feels a lot less intimidating than trying to speak to me via the more formal channels.
I definitely notice that people like the ability to simply drop me (rather than my firm) a line.
Which creators would other legal sector professionals be wise to follow?
Obviously, make contact with those in the industry; but I find that following people in industries that are not legal incredibly helpful - because getting a fresh perspective from, say, people working in tech/software is incredibly useful to understand what challenges are coming down the line.
LinkedIn is a whole world of opportunity to learn.
Where did your love of coffee come from, and why is it that you mistakenly don't put milk into it?
Haha - this dates back to a truly heinous instant coffee machine experience - much coffee was consumed, but the powdered milk that came with it made the coffee unbearable!
What's your favorite coffee shop in Bristol at the moment, before we get going on our coffee campaign?
It has to be Spicer + Cole - but there are so many to choose from and I am looking forward to all the imminent coffee tasting!
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