Speed networking event still impresses

Managing IP is part of Legal Benchmarking Limited, 1-2 Paris Gardens, London, SE1 8ND

Copyright © Legal Benchmarking Limited and its affiliated companies 2026

Accessibility | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Modern Slavery Statement

Speed networking event still impresses

Cheryl Black pretended to collapse on a table. “Maybe 18?” she said. “Wow, 18 people in one hour. That’s why I’m tired.”

Black, of Goodman Allen & Filetti in Richmond, Virginia, U.S. had just completed a Speed Networking session, where she met with a consistent stream of participants all in search of one thing: making a connection.

In its second year at the Annual Meeting, the Speed Networking event is so popular there were people who were unable to snag one of the 40 first-come, first-served slots at yesterday’s session. K.M. Aasim Shehzad of BFS Legal in Chennai, India, was among those who missed a seat. “It’s about recommending work or giving work to somebody,” he said, as he hung around in case a slot opened up.

Metin Calis of Calis Law Firm in Istanbul, Turkey, returned to the event after attending a session last year. He got several contacts from the Annual Meeting in San Francisco, he said, though he couldn’t quite pinpoint which ones he met through speed networking. This year, he knew what he had to do: keep notes, identify the brand with the lawyer, and send an e-mail upon his return home. “To get another brand—that’s my goal,” he said.

Missed yesterday’s session? Try to make one today, Tuesday or Wednesday.

more from across site and SHARED ros bottom lb

More from across our site

Tatiana Campello reflects on 30 years of practising at the firm, and urges women IP attorneys to think beyond the day-to-day
A David v Goliath battle involving TikTok, and Via Licensing Alliance adding new members to its Voice Codec patent pool, were also among the top talking points
Latham & Watkins bolstered its IP litigation bench in California with the addition of Kieran Kieckhefer, as partner demand for trial-ready expertise shows no sign of slowing
With the launch of a new patent eligibility AI tool, Sterne Kessler is leading a growing movement of law firms taking AI development into their own hands
UPC cases are (very) gradually becoming more distributed across other local divisions outside Germany, which can only be good news for the pan-European forum
Clarification concerning jurisdictional reach and latest stats released by the court were also among the top talking points in recent weeks
Although unanimous decision by the top court clarifies several aspects of the honest concurrent use defence, practitioners say ambiguities remain
Tristan Sherliker says he hopes to solve an access to justice issue by making the automated court bundle tool free to use
The team, comprising two partners and one senior consultant, plans to offer “highly differentiated” services to clients
HGF’s new ownership model frees it from the hiring constraints of traditional partnerships, its CEO told Managing IP
Gift this article