A Stellar Business-Building Opportunity

AYLA PRESIDENT'S COLUMN

A Monthly Mixer For the Entire Austin Legal Community Already Exists— and It Is One of the Best In Town

BY BLAIR LEAKE, WRIGHT & GREENHILL, P.C.

It was mentioned by more than one person at a recent Austin Bar Association meeting that the Austin legal community needs more events that provide a place for people who practice in different legal fields to socialize and network with one another. Such events already exist and have been going strong for years.

The AYLA Sustaining Membership—available to attorneys of all ages and experience levels— grants access to free monthly AYLA Docket Call happy hours, as well as numerous other AYLA events. Both an AYLA Regular Membership and Sustaining Membership only cost $75 each, either one of which will pay for itself in refreshments alone based on my liberal arts math skills—and will become a bountiful compounding monetary investment if even one referral source develops as a result.

From left to right: Jessica MacCarty, Sarah Harp, Sam Denton, and Dave Floyd.

As our legal community grows, it simultaneously becomes more insular. Gone are the days when everyone knows everyone. As more specialized sections and CLEs are operated, it becomes easier and easier for construction-law attorneys to only attend construction-law events and to only communicate with construction‐law attorneys, and on and on for each specialized field of law, respectively.

Anecdotally, during my first several years of practicing in Austin, I knew exactly one probate attorney and exactly one criminal defense attorney. I must have sent those two attorneys a dozen referrals each because I simply did not personally know any other attorneys in those fields. I first met and spent some time with both of those attorneys at AYLA events, including a Docket Call happy hour or two.

For anyone worried about engaging others at AYLA events, don’t be. I invite anyone who attends and is looking for conversation to come find me or another AYLA officer—look for the metal name tags—and we will personally spend time with you and introduce you to other attorneys at any given event. Beyond monthly Docket Calls, AYLA offers regular community service opportunities, the Judicial Reception, Health & Wellness Committee events (e.g. yoga and bouldering), Family Fall Festival, the AYLA Tailgate fundraiser, the Diversity Mixer, the Crawfish Boil, and more. Upcoming Docket Calls (or similar events in lieu of the same, where indicated) are currently scheduled for Oct. 27, Nov. 12 (Tailgate), Dec. 15, Jan. 19, Feb. 16, March 23 (Diversity Bar Mixer), April 15 (Crawfish Boil), and May 18.

Referral opportunities aside, AYLA creates a regular space to meet and socialize with other attorneys outside of one’s legal bubble, and there are numerous social and wellness reasons for doing so that have nothing to do with monetary gain. For those looking to build or sustain a client base—or to lay the groundwork for potentially doing so in the future—the benefits of an AYLA membership of any flavor crosses the threshold of being a no-brainer. If even just one referral comes to fruition then the $75 membership cost will have paid for itself tenfold. If one regular referral source comes to fruition then the benefits will compound for years to come. Even if none of the above pans out, you will have gained good conversation and libations. Conventional advertising opportunities can’t beat that level of return on investment with a stick. AL

AYLA Docket Call

THURSDAY, OCT. 27, 2022

Star Bar, 600 W. 6th St. from 5:30 – 7:30 p.m.

RSVP: ayla.org. Visit ayla.org for a complete list of events and updates.