How do I build my network?

For quite a few people in legal operations they may be the only person in their organisation that does this type of work - especially those working in-house. Finding yourself with little in the way of network makes it difficult to assess what is 'best practice' or take inspiration from projects that others have done, for example. It is therefore useful to build up a network that not only helps your professionally - but also personally in the event you ever need to move on to new pastures.

1. Get the most out of LinkedIn

2. Attend in-person conferences

3. Become a member of a Legal Operations group

Get the most out of LinkedIn

The LinkedIn social media platform can be a powerful way of networking with others in your space. It's also a useful way of tracking what's happening in the market, tracking latest available jobs as they come up, and a good way of absorbing thought leadership in your area of interest.

The great thing about the legal operations community in general is that the people in it are fairly open to be asked questions. So if you're interested in understanding more from a thought leader or interested in connecting with someone in your space that's local to you then feel free to connect with them. What's the worst that could happen? They don't connect. If they do though, you're well on your way to building up your online network.

You may also want to output some of your own thought leadership too. If it is good enough quality and done consistently enough you will also create your own following - further building up your network and providing the possibility of a sounding board for your content.

Attend in-person conferences

Another good way of building up your own network is to go to in-person events or conferences. There seems to be more than ever at the moment - including some particularly big ones. If you're just starting out then I would pick some of the smaller events first where you can easily chat to people in intervals between speakers. The bigger events are also getting more and more pricy so hopefully your workplace can pay for you to attend!

Become a member of a Legal Operations group

Join organisations like Corporate Legal Operations Consortium (CLOC) which allow for member participation in special interest groups and projects where you can mingle with others on the projects and build up your network while doing career development activities.