Reaching Out to Immigration Lawyers: Top Tips to Grow Your Network

You might recall my blog post a few weeks back where I advised I was starting a bit of a series that goes into more depth on some of the most common (and important!) frequently asked questions I get.

Well, next up in the series is probably one of my most asked questions from many within the community: how do I connect with immigration lawyers and attorneys and grow my network?

I’m putting together some of the key methods I’ve utilized throughout my career to grow my network in this space. I hope they help you as you get started on your own professional journey with immigration evaluations.

5 Tips to Grow Your Professional Network with Immigration Lawyers & Attorneys

Growing your network in this space can be done in a few different ways – some of them will work better for you than others, and it’s worth trying a few to begin with to see if they’re suited for you and your community:

1. Do some research.

First and foremost, it’s important to do a little research. Discovering who is operating in your local area is essential. 

Find out who the main immigration lawyers are and learn more about their practice. You can also do a soft approach of adding them on LinkedIn, with a message to say you’d love to add them to your professional network – perhaps even offer to meet for a coffee to discuss potential ways to work together.

2. Focus on quality, not quantity.

Your network should consist of individuals you work well with – you’re not going to be able to do this with every single person you meet (which is normal). 

It’s essential to ensure you focus on developing quality relationships with lawyers you work well with and can continue building positive, stable, long-term working relationships. It’s better to have a handful of solid relationships with people who keep coming back to work with you than dozens of one-time contacts you never hear from again.

3. Develop your own knowledge.

Having a strong understanding of how immigration attorneys work and some of the challenges they face can help you when you’re initially having conversations to develop new partnerships.

Listen to some podcast episodes – such as those from the Immigration Lawyers Toolbox Podcast – and read up on some blogs dedicated to immigration law.

Developing your knowledge in this way will help boost your confidence when you’re having discussions and meeting with potential lawyers to partner with, as you’ll have a greater understanding of how they operate and some of the things they might want to talk about with you.

4. Host a meet and greet.

Once you know who’s who, a meet and greet can be a fun way to get to know attorneys in your area further and help them get familiar with who you are and what you can offer. You could host one at your office (if space allows) or in a local coffee shop as a casual event. 

It could also be a great idea to do this in partnership with one or two other immigration evaluation therapists in your area. This means you’ll have support and demonstrates a united approach as a professional group.

Try not to just focus on who you are and getting referrals. Use your knowledge to pick a current topic or a challenge in the community and discuss solutions. Prioritize offering value as a professional instead of ‘selling’ as such.

5. Join the Immigration Evaluation Directory.

If the idea of networking sounds daunting or you simply don’t have the time, let the Immigration Evaluation Directory do the work for you!

Access to the Immigration Evaluation Directory includes:

• An effortless way to market your practice to immigration attorneys 24/7 and have prospects finding and hiring you when they need you most!
• Opportunities to match with immigration attorneys who need your help with their cases.
• The ability to change or add details to your listing anytime, add to your specialties, upload photos, videos, and more.

Creating your own personalized profile is a great way to showcase your skills, experience, and specialties. We’re always promoting the directory out to new networks and finding other ways to market and showcase the amazing individuals who are a part of it.

And One Last Tip

Growing your professional network in this space, especially as someone new to offering immigration evaluations, can take time – and that’s okay!

There are no quick shortcuts for developing positive relationships with others apart from putting yourself out there. Focus on building great relationships over any other outcome, and I promise you’ll reap the benefits of doing so.

What do you think? Have you tried any of these ways to grow your professional network, or perhaps you’ve got some other tried-and-tested methods that have worked for you? 

I’d love to hear about it – feel free to drop me an email.