Letter from the Director

Derek Benton - Director, International Operations LexisNexis Martindale-Hubbell

Professional networking is the lifeblood of the business and practice of law. How often do we hear the phrase “…it’s all about who you know.”

Networking in this critical context, is all about securing and then leveraging trusted relationships or connections and collaborating with those individuals to get the right lawyer for the right job at the right time. After all, only by securing the appropriate talent for the task can the ultimate needs of the client’s organisation be met.

The most challenging aspect of networking, however, is when confronted with meeting a client’s overseas needs. The traditional ‘in-person’ approach isn’t always going to be efficient or effective. A recently completed global study of 700 private practitioners and in-house counsel, sponsored by Martindale-Hubbell, found that the greatest challenge facing the profession was making new connections and collaborating with colleagues across borders. In-person events, whilst useful, were found to be costly, both in absolute financial terms but also in the time that they consumed.

In response to this obvious demand from the profession, for a trusted destination where buyers and sellers of legal services around the world can connect and collaborate, share insights and best practices, Martindale-Hubbell is developing a new secure, lawyer-to-lawyer online environment within martindale.com called Martindale-Hubbell Connected.

In-house counsel and subscribing private practice members of the International Law Directory will be able to create their own ‘Connected’ profile which will complement their public profile at martindale.com. They will be able to invite their colleagues to join their network and manage their own private discussion boards as well as complete reviews of their peers or service providers. This new service will be launched in the autumn and if the findings of our recent research hold true, has the potential to transform the way the global legal profession collaborates and share insights cross jurisdictionally.

We look forward to welcoming you to a new ‘connected’ Martindale-Hubbell.

Last updated - 23 April 09

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