Mark Swansiger  got to shake a lot of hands at the International Trademark Association (INTA) conference in Boston last week, with WRTG's display being placed so strategically at the front of the Westlaw Village this year.  It was a good year for Westlaw at the INTA conference as a steady stream of clients arrived for appointments, or just wandered into the (time to boast) clearly-most-cool-vendor-display in the vendor hall.

We call the display 'The Village', and joke that it should have its own zip code and mayor. If there is a mayor of the Village, its veteran Westlaw sales rep extraordinaire, Bob. Seriously, this guy is so good, that at last year's (pre-merger) INTA in Seattle, when I walked into the Westlaw Village to nab some swag, he pitched me on Docket (a Westlaw product) that I ended up subscribing to 3 weeks later...and have been exceptionally happy with ever since.

For me, (there Sunday and Monday) I got to meet up with some long-time colleagues, and spend some time talking with new ones. There was a uniform sense of optimism, both in the conference itself, and amongst the broader intellectual property expert witness industry represented there. My best three at the Boston INTA conference? The Halvah that one vendor was giving away, the story I heard about an entrepreneur who signed a napkin contract eventually worth 10s of millions, and the word from so many of the IP folks who stopped to chat, that litigation in their field is increasing. Look for the next post, on IP litigation trends gleaned from INTA.

  

 

I love London, and there are a couple of really good conferences our UK members (and any experts traveling abroad) might want to consider attending.

This year's Annual Bond Solon Expert Witness Conference is Friday the 12th of November, 2010 at the Church House Conference Centre in London. This is I believe the largest gathering of expert witnesses in the UK, and offers some terrific opportunities to develop your skills, grow your network, and build your business. Bond Salon offers training for expert witnesses with non-legal backgrounds. With a stellar reputation, this should be an exceptionally good conference. You can sign up now, and get a special 'early bird' price. 

You can develop your expert witness business by attending the "Marketing and Managing your Expert Witness Business" seminar on February 24th, 2010, presented by the Expert Witness Institute, a non-profit advocacy and training organization based in London aimed at working with expert witnesses.

The Society for Expert Witnesses is holding their annual conference on May 14-15th in Northampton. This non-profit organization is run 'by experts for exerts', and, among other benefits, offers a new expert mentoring program.

Maybe I will see you there?
 

Working from home is a growing trend, according to Caroline Tice, in her blog posting about "small business owners running viable businesses from their homes." or Homepreneurs. Anecdotal evidence has lead me to believe most expert witnesses also work from home-based office. If you are one of the over 13 million homepreneurs in America, you probably already know what I will be be suggesting, but for everyone else, especially new experts, just starting up in the field, here are some things every expert witness needs for working at home. Undoubtedly, this list will grow.

Get up to speed on  web conferencing and internet presentation skills, such as Webex. I tried the trial version of Webex and was pleasantly surprised on how easy it was to install, understand, and use! Its an easy way to show your clients that it does not matter where you work from. Get up to speed on video conferencing, and offer your clients the opportunity to see you, even if they don't have the ability to reciprocate. Most new laptops and monitors have small cameras built into them already, but you might also want to consider investing 30-80 bucks or so into a good web cam, which can mount on your monitor or rest on a desk or shelf. Tip: place it so that the background behind you reflects the type of image you want to present.
 
Make sure you have regularly scheduled professional face time with colleagues, at conferences, association meetings, continuing education, etc. One of the hazards of working from home, as opposed to a large office or university department, is isolation from your colleagues, and from potential clients! Professional conferences are an excellent way to keep up with the newest developments and ideas and people in your field.

My own personal necessity is a good a lock on the refrigerator, buts that's another story.

I's like to hear from other homepreneurs on what they think of this post!

Building your business means planning ahead. Plan ahead for 2010. Here are three links that every expert witness should check out for 2010

The INTA Conference, in Boston: Every expert should go to some upcoming conferences. Its a great way to build networks and insight. And if you possibly can, you should go to the International Trademark Association conference. Its well worth your time. There are so many people to meet, experts, entrepreneurs, lawyers, firms of all sizes, vendors, terrific guest speakers. I got to INTA this last year, 2009, in Seattle. It was a a really good conference, well manged, well attended. We met some terrific folks from West-law, and of course Bob and Shelly at Applied Marketing Science, and hundreds of experts and independent consultants who stopped by to say hi to us. This next year its in Boston, May 22 through the 26. Round Table Group will be there!

Learn Business Develop Ideas. I really like this Blog that Meredith writes for Expert Communications, an expert witness training and marketing firm. She writes better and more clearly than most  Every expert should learn how to promote themselves, and their business, and there are some good resources for experts in her postings. Check out her Blog posting on retainers, as well.

Hire the Best Expert: I just had my end-of-year sit down with my 'tax guy', who along with many other fine qualities, recognized early on my near total ignorance about taxes in general. It is always an hour well spent. Many experts work from home offices, or have a small business, and the tax implications of both are significant.When i went looking for a good tax professional a few years back, i wanted to see certifications, and industry standards (like the NATP or ACPA), academic degrees, evidence of continuing education, and specifically, i needed expertise in new home ownership, and work from home small businesses. What expertise do you need from a tax professional? Finding the right tax professional is a smart business development move.
Toby 

Round Table Group is proud to announce the launch of our new Expert Witness Intelligence Report, or Ewire, ! "This is one of several key developments initiated by RTG over the last 12 months to continue to provide our experts with world-class customer service and professional development within the expert witness industry. We are very excited about offering this new service to our registered experts," said Toby Edwards, VP of Expert Services at Round Table Group.

Each issue will be filled with useful data, helpful links, and the latest industry trends and developments. In future issues, key players in the expert witness industry will be featured, including revealing interviews and insightful commentary.

From this new newsletter format, experts can easily log on and update their profiles, and review current consulting opportunities. Check out our Conferences Section to stay abreast of professional gatherings and networking opportunities. And you can link to our Blog, The Expert Round Table, where you may join discussions on industry trends and connect with colleagues. There is also a link for easy access to our Expert Services Coordinators who are standing by to answer your questions and provide any assistance you need.

Round Table Group is committed to providing world-class personal customer service to our world-class experts.