As I have mentioned previously, I am nothing if not a connoisseur of free lunches; and with my recent foray into the art of networking how could I say no to a free Bar Association event which was called a “networking luncheon.”
I have been showing up to pretty much any and all free CLE and legal meetings you can imagine in my geographic area. I think I am CLE compliant for my next 2 reporting periods at this point. A fair number of them involve free food which is obviously a nice draw for me personally.
Before I go further, I want to explain to the uninitiated how the listing of CLEs and Bar meetings are arranged. The bar assoc. is composed of the huge main organization and within it there are multiple subcommittees which you often have to pay an additional fee to be a member. So for example the criminal law section of a local bar association often has private section organizational meetings and also private CLEs which are only free to the Criminal Law Section members, but which other attorneys can show up to by paying a small fee for the CLE. This information is always listed and you can usually tell which are the public meetings by the listing of a fee for non-section members and also by how it is described on the master calendar.
Anyway, the Bar Assoc. calendar of events listed a networking luncheon being presented BY the women in law society. This is important, because often subsections of the Bar will put on a public CLE every so often to drum up membership in their section. The listing stated no fee and said it had open registration. You can probably see where this is headed.
I showed up to the luncheon and sat down with a nice boxed lunch I was handed at the door. I look up at the projector screen to see the presentation title “Something Legally Related and Very Boring, presented TO the Women in Law Society Section.” I turned over the change in preposition in my mind and how it was a rather large distinction. I turned around from where I was sitting to quickly scan the room and saw I was the only guy in the room of about 50+ women. Yes… the only one. I considered this for a moment. It was too late to leave as the talk had already begun, and I already had my food. So I inwardly shrugged, ate my lunch and left without talking to anyone.
Not my best networking attempt.