Sponsorship to me is a lot more than a logo and a quick bio in a brochure. It’s about supporting and investing in businesses, events and relationships that I believe in and want to see succeed.
So, when the opportunity came up to sponsor Adviserly’s boutique lawyer event, it was an easy decision for me – I knew I had to say yes!
My golden rules for event sponsorship
We’ve all been to events and seen sponsorship arrangements that just don’t make sense. Poor fit, no alignment on values, and different customer bases all add up to sponsor relationships that feel clunky and forced.
For me to want to sponsor an event, it has to be right, that means:
- Familiarity with some of the event attendees – ideally, having worked with some of them.
- A shared client market between the sponsor and the organiser/attendees
- A strong working connection with the event organiser
The Adviserly event ticked all of these boxes:
✅ I’ve worked in small boutique firms and also supported them since launching the business.
✅ I’ve worked with Rob, Adviserly’s Founder, for several years and have become great friends. I believe in what he’s doing and want to support him.
✅ A client actually recommended me for event sponsorship; he’s an Adviserly member and thought I’d be a great fit.
✅ I’ve worked with several Adviserly members and made introductions through the network to link law firms together for work
✅ I run a boutique business myself
It’s all about the connections – why I love working with boutique law firms
Whenever I go to an event, it reminds me just how much I enjoy getting out and speaking to lawyers. I loved working in boutique law firms when I was a PA. The work is varied as you get involved in all areas, you learn so much more and you get to know colleagues and clients really well.
Boutique firms are special, and they often feel like a family. The event last week really captured that energy -the attendees came from New York, Sweden, Australia, and all across the UK, yet it felt like we all shared the same goals, ambitions and experiences.
The event really nicely combined structured work sessions with networking and social opportunities too. We got to hear Founder stories from Adviserly members, discuss boutique law firm values and explore the topic of negotiation in a skills workshop.
Stepping into the spotlight – being interviewed on law firm outsourcing at the event
Like I said, I didn’t just want to be a name on a programme…I wanted to get involved! So, it was great to sit down with Bill Cogan of Seven Legal to chat all about law firm organisation and outsourcing in an interview session. Bill is an Adviserly member and a long-term client of ours.
Law firm problems…outsourcing solutions
Bill shared some of the common challenges that he was facing before he started to work with us. These are the classic problems that a lot of law firms face:
- Labour-intensive tasks like marketing, invoicing, and onboarding are often neglected or delayed due to resourcing challenges – despite being business-critical.
- Not enough hours in the day
- High admin burden
We discussed how Kellie Simpson Legal Limited helped Bill and Seven Legal by:
✅ Providing Virtual Assistants (VAs) to work closely with Bill and colleagues
✅ Supporting with business development, admin, invoicing, client onboarding, and more.
✅ Reviewing, refining and streamlining key business processes.
✅ Providing scalable support that can fit around the rhythm of the business, increasing hours in busy periods and reducing them in quieter spells.
✅ Freeing up Bill’s time to focus on growing Seven Legal and taking on additional clients.
AI assistants and the future of outsourcing
One of the interesting topics we discussed was around AI assistance and if there was still a place for (human!) virtual assistants.
I’m really excited about the opportunities AI and automation can bring. I’ve actually just brought on a new team member, Kerri, who specialises in AI integration and he’ll be supporting our clients to streamline and automate their processes with AI.
However, there is still so much that needs the human touch. The legal sector deals with complex (and often emotional) human challenges, where working with people is always going to be the best solution. There’s also so much knowledge and experience that our VAs can bring that you just can’t get with an AI assistant.
So, would I do it again?
gave me that instant ‘in’ to every conversation. People knew who I was and why I was there and that was invaluable.
Businesses really do thrive and grow on the strengths of our connections and being at the event helped me to continue investing in current relationships and forge new ones.
Sponsoring the event was absolutely a great decision, and I’m glad it wasn’t just me who thought so. Here’s what the event organiser, and founder of Adviserly, Robert Flint, had to say:
“So glad you enjoyed it and thanks for sponsoring – you really were the perfect fit for us and our members. Boutiques for boutiques!”
The right fit for your business
If your business needs some additional support and you want to work with a virtual assistance firm that gets to know you and helps you to achieve your goals, then book a call. We’d love to help.
