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 2025

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

Simon Tønners explains why IP provides the chance to work with some of the most passionate, risk-taking, and emotionally invested clients
The co-leaders of the firm’s new SEP practice group say the team will combine litigation and prosecution expertise to guide clients through cross-border challenges
Boasting four former Spruson & Ferguson leaders and with offices in Hong Kong and Singapore, the IP firm aims to provide fast, practical advice to clients
Partners at three law firms explain why trade secrets cases are rising, and how litigation is giving clients a market advantage
Delegates at a conference unpicking the UK’s relationship with the UPC are hopeful of strengthened UK involvement – so should we all be
News of a litigation funder suing its co-founder and a law firm over trade secrets infringement, and a strategic hire by Womble Bond Dickinson were also among the top talking points
Managing IP’s parent company, LBG, will acquire The Lawyer, a leading news, intelligence, and data-driven insight provider for the legal industry, from Centaur Media
In major recent developments, a team of partners broke away from Taylor Wessing to form their own firm, while Kilburn & Strode made a strategic UPC hire
General Court backs Christian Archambeau in some of his challenges against his departure, but dismisses others
Morgan Lewis adds three partners with technical depth, reinforcing the firm’s strategy to bridge legal and tech expertise in patent litigation
Gift this article