To some it is just a buzzword that leads to awkward evenings spent over wine and canapes with people you may not know or even like. But a networking programme has taken off that aims to replace the pain, strain and drain with meaningful gain. Steven Raeburn speaks to the woman with the plan.

You have probably noticed over the last 12 to 18 months how many more networking events you may have been invited to than in the past, and how many more networking groups have started to spring up.  The trend is certainly organic, and it coincides with a fracturing of the established order of the legal profession in the face of uncertain change that has been long heralded, but remains hard to predict. As the Law Society faces challenge to its universality, and business has shrank while the recession bit hard, practitioners young and old have sought a crutch in one another, seeking new business, fresh certainties and stronger, broad alliances across professional disciplines other than their own. Perhaps it is the professional manifestation of the community spirit that some media tell us is being reborn in these austere times. Whatever it is, it is real, tangible and upon us.

Ann Davidson runs WS Connections, perhaps the archetype of the change in networking emphasis during 2009 that is certain to continue this year and which – assuming it thrives- may change the closeted nature of the legal profession permanently, transforming it into a practice area that looks outward to seek better relations with former partners as well as former competitors. The Unique Selling Point of the group is its longer term focus, aiming to encourage networking connections to be made not for tangible commercial benefit now, but perhaps five or ten years down the line. Anyone who is already that length in the tooth of the legal game will know already how much of today’s business and personal contact is the fruit yielded from the casual connections of years gone by. The idea manifested itself into reality after some tentative feelers were put out across the professional disciplines of banking, surveying and accountancy to see if such a forum – where young professionals could meet without the pressure to produce a business result- could be established and supported.

“We had some meetings with RBS, discussing options how we could work together. They were very keen to bring together some of their young professionals to meet people working in practice, and felt that some of them were isolated working in the Bank, in house.  We decided we would try and do an event, and the WS had just changed our category of membership to allow affiliate members to come in.  So we had a ready made focus group of newly qualified young lawyers who had become affiliate members of the WS Society.

“We took some of them to an evening meeting at RBS to discuss some of the key issues affecting them, and how they would like support from professional bodies and employers. The key thing coming out of that was networking. The idea of doing a networking event has come from the young lawyers we took to the meeting. We didn’t start with that. It grew from two organisations sitting round the table, and coming up with the common theme of networking.

“It wasn’t the intention but we all recognised that three professional bodies round the table and our respective young members were all saying exactly the same thing – we need to meet other people from other professions and want to network. The business model grew out of all the discussions, which we can take to Aberdeen and Dundee at the end of the year.

The result that had developed over the last year is a formal collaboration between The WS, ACCA and RBS, launched under the umbrella of “Connections: Making Contacts.,” Committees have been formed in Glasgow and Edinburgh to instigate local events, open to young professionals from law, accountancy, banking, finance and surveying.

The Glasgow committee consists of representatives from Burness, Mclure Naismith. Harper Macleod, Dundas & Wilson, RBS, Resolution plc and several accountancy firms, and the Edinburgh committee is made up of  representatives from Tods Murray, Dundas & Wilson, Pinsent Masons, RBS, Hilton Hotels and several accountancy firms including Ernst & Young.

It is intended to develop the movement outwith the central belt, with plans in place to set up Connection groups in Aberdeen and London, and there are plans to bring the different local groups together for a joint conference event.  Davidson is already looking north and if you are based there, she may already have been to your door.

“I will look for firms in Aberdeen who have WS connections, look for young affiliate members, approach them directly to see if they would like to come to a meeting, with a view to forming an Aberdeen Connections committee to see if they are keen to take the model forward in Aberdeen. Likewise ACCA and RBS will do the same with their contacts in Aberdeen,” she says.

“They start as social events because that is what they are comfortable with, but they will by definition become business events. We have given each committee free rein to run with whatever events suit their particular area. It is very flexible.”

For many young lawyers, “networking” can consist of being dispatched to an event you have no interest in, meeting people you have nothing in common with and small talking with a partner or chief executive you are unlikely to have any business overlap with. Davidson observes that not only are many networking opportunities wasted by careless social planning, it can also negatively affect the confidence of young networkers, and fail to convince them such connections have any benefit at all.

“A lot of networking events aren’t suitable for younger professionals. Sometime there is pressure to go along, and the events weren’t always suitable: they wouldn’t be meeting people at the right level,” she says.

“Senior people also find that when they go to networking events, young people have been sent along, and it isn’t who they want to meet either, so there is no mix. A lot of young lawyers and trainees don’t even have business cards and are not in a position to take peoples business or pass on their own. But you still want to network, raise your personal profile and represent the firm.”

It is worth observing that the initiative has come out of the WS Society, the formerly moribund operation that had all but faded into dusty history, until rejuvenation under Chief Executive Robert Pirrie that has transformed the dynamic imperative of the Society, which now acts as a driver of change for member firms and the wider profession.  Establishing the Connections strand under the umbrella of the WS is likely to be a slow burning project that may take a long time to yield visible results to member firms and those in other disciplines, but the reciprocal soft benefits in the meantime should easily equal the potential bottom line benefits that will doubtless arise in the future.

“That’s really what connections is all about. Connections is a medium/long term game plan for networking. It is not about going to these events and getting business now. It is a lot more relaxed for people, and is a safe environment for people to practice their networking skills. The pressure is not on them,” Anne says.

“They are still representing the firm and demonstrating tangibly that they can network, but it is very much for them to practice networking in a safe environment. It’s not about what you can get now, but maybe five or even ten years down the line, your contacts will be those you have made through connections.  At the moment they are not in a position where they can give somebody business, but they will be, and that’s what connections is all about. In 3 or 5 years time, people going to these events will be able to refer business and get those referrals back.

“Connections suits the individual, although it serves the firm’s needs too. I’d always get behind the firms and any organisations to get 100% behind it. If your young lawyers or young professionals are attending connections events, you just have to look at the committee to see who they are networking with. We have people from financial services, chartered surveyors, lawyers and accountants.  It has great firm benefit, and the individual is raising their own profile. It really is transportable.”