The Pitch Is For Practice, But the Clients Are Real

Your firm has been asked to respond to an RFP by a potential new client seeking legal representation in a proposed acquisition. The company, a leading provider of cloud-based B2B solutions, has been on an acquisition binge and is seeking new deal counsel.

Are you in?

OK, full disclosure, this RFP isn’t real. But the opportunity to impress prospective clients is legit.

ALM’s Perfecting Your Pitch program— Oct. 10 in New York and Nov. 14 in San Francisco—is a forum for women lawyers to practice pitch delivery, perfect their presentation skills and get business development tips straight from top in-house lawyers.

The event was developed based on feedback from in-house lawyers who said they want more diverse teams pitching for their business and from women attorneys who know that delivering a killer pitch is essential to closing the gender gap.

Here’s how it works: Law firms send teams of up to five women lawyers who are prepared to pitch in response to a detailed fact pattern laid out in a fictional RFP. Teams present pitches to two panels, each comprised of three in-house lawyers representing different companies. Each pitch session lasts one hour and provides direct feedback on what in-house lawyers are looking for in a pitch.

The half-day program culminates with a networking lunch where in-house leaders share their business development dos and don’ts.

➤➤ Click here for more info on Perfecting Your Pitch, New York on October 10. In-house participants include top lawyers at Addivant, Auro TFP, Browz, CBS, ComScore, DHL, Eastman Kodak, Fleishman, FS Card, IAP, ING, Luxottica, Marsh & McLennan, Mastercard, MetLife, Nestle Waters, Panasonic, Pernod Ricard USA, Purdue Pharma, QBENA, Rosetta Stone, SIGA Technologies, and Undertone.

➤➤ Click here for more info on Perfecting Your Pitch, San Francisco on November 14. In-house participants include top lawyers at Adobe, Airbnb, Broadcom, Conco, Criteo, Delicato Family Wineries, Echelon Corp., Electronic Arts, Facebook, GoPro, Greenhouse, McKesson, Nationbuilder, Netflix, Novo Ventures, Ouster, Proteus Digital Health, Salesforce, Seagate Technologies, Smule, Sophos, Splunk, Square, Twitter and Zynga.