DRI Means Business.

DRI recently completed a membership drive titled “DRI Means Business” highlighting the opportunities DRI membership provides to grow you and your firm’s business. A recent survey of DRI members showed that approximately 50% of DRI members had received or referred business to another DRI member in the last two years, and approximately 50% of those referrals generated more than $50,000 in business to the receiving firm. The slogan’s main message was obvious, but I believe it also had a secondary meaning. The idiom that a person “means business” has meanings “to be focused about achieving a goal” or to do something in a “very earnest way.” DRI membership shows DRI “means business” about being the most important asset in a defense lawyer’s toolkit and provides more than just referrals.?

My personal involvement in DRI has made me—first and foremost—a better lawyer. Second, DRI membership has made me a better leader. Finally, DRI membership has made me a better person. However, DRI membership is different for every person, and it provides unique opportunities for each member.? DRI membership enables members to seek out opportunities in different areas and allows them to grow their expertise in whatever area she or he chooses. And DRI means business about providing the specific tools and opportunities that each of its members wants and needs.?

DRI means business about being the gold standard in legal education for lawyers representing business that will in turn make its members better lawyers. DRI has long been known for its first-class education provided at in-person seminars. However, a DRI member does not have to attend seminars and get involved in a substantive law committee to make themselves a better lawyer. DRI membership provides access to one of the preeminent legal research databases in the country. LegalPoint is a member-only service that provides exclusive access to every DRI-produced publication, whether it be a seminar presentation, For The Defense article, newsletter article, Defense Library Series offering, or any other DRI publication. All a DRI member has to do to gain access to the best scholarly legal defense writing from the premier lawyers representing business is log in to the website and search LegalPoint. You’ll instantly gain access to insights from leading civil defense lawyers in the country on the topics every defense lawyer needs. LegalPoint may or may not provide the pinpoint cite to the relevant case in your circuit, but it will at least provide you a great starting point to answer the questions your client is asking. Additionally, DRI membership provides discounted access to the best online database of presentations regarding topics relevant to your practice area.?

Finally, DRI’s Expert Witness Database provides access to information regarding expert witnesses we all face daily in litigation that provides crucial information necessary for cross-examination. Personally, I have used DRI’s Expert Witness Database to find information on experts I was cross-examining on multiple occasions, which led to the successful exclusion of said experts. My clients’ defense has been directly benefited by my DRI membership.?

DRI also means business about providing opportunities to its members to become better leaders. At DRI, you can serve on one of our 29 substantive law committees or affinity groups. Whether you want to write for DRI’s multiple publications, help market a seminar, or help a committee with social media, you can leverage multiple opportunities to get involved. As DRI leaders will tell you, the more you do with your role in the steering committee, the more opportunities you will get to take on additional and greater roles. And when you take on greater roles and responsibilities, you have to lead others. The lessons I learned in how to lead people in the substantive law committee roles I had have directly contributed to the manner in which I lead in my law firm.?

Additionally, through The Center for Law and Public Policy, DRI has created the voice for the civil defense bar in the national discussion of substantive law, constitutional issues, and the integrity of the civil justice system. The Center has become the thought leader for issues relevant to business, and lawyers representing business, through the materials prepared by The Center. With access to these resources, DRI members can become thought leaders in their jurisdiction or practice area.?

DRI also means business about providing opportunities for its members to become better people. The DRI Foundation’s DRI for Life group contains invaluable wellness resources to help members navigate the stresses that plague civil defense lawyers. As the DRI Foundation’s philanthropic arm, DRI Cares provides opportunities for members to give back to the communities in which they practice. And membership gives you the opportunity to meet not only some of the best lawyers in the country but some of the best people you will ever meet. Through the networking opportunities membership provides, you will meet lifelong friends and colleagues. Those will be the people you reach out to when you are having a difficult issue with a case. Those will also be the people you reach out to share great case results. They will become friends on whom you will rely for practice-related issues, as well as non-practice-related issues.?

In conclusion, DRI means business because it can result in business referrals for you and your firm. But DRI also means business about providing benefits to its members that they cannot get anywhere else. Those benefits will make you a better lawyer, leader, and person. If you agree, I ask that you think about what fellow lawyer representing business you know who is not a DRI member and then pick up the phone and call them to tell them about all DRI has to offer. And when you tell them membership in DRI means business, please also tell them DRI means business about providing all the tools they will need to assist them in becoming a successful lawyer, leader, and person.?