Marco Buscema and Tom Brooker (centre) with potential recruits.
Among the many exhibitors at the BNI Global Convention in Bangkok in 2018 was an organisation named Linet. Linet stands for “Lawyers’ International Network”, and its point of difference is that it is a team of lawyers spanning the entire globe, whose members are all passionate BNI people. Formed in early 2017 by Italian lawyer Marco Buscema and three of his associates, Linet has steadily grown to the point where it is now represented throughout Europe, the Middle East, Africa, India, the Americas, South East Asia and as far as New Zealand.
Two Linet representatives with someone you might recognise
Mirjana Markovska (Macedonia) and Tom Brooker (Canada)
Ivan Misner and Mirjana Markovska from Macedonia (Lawyer, Linet partner and BNI executive director)
Linet was at #BNIGC18 promoting its services and actively recruiting new members, and the response was very encouraging. Representatives from Italy, Slovenia, Macedonia, Canada, the Philippines, Mexico and New Zealand manned the booth in the exhibition hall, attended the formal presentations at the Convention, and socialised with the delegates. Word quickly got around among the delegates to the Convention who have legal or related qualifications, as a result of which one Japanese member has already been accepted into membership and many more applications are in the pipeline.
Marco Buscema and Geoff Hardy manning the booth
Linet operates in much the same way as BNI, in that it facilitates referrals among its members. Members do not have exclusive territories as such, so that Linet can accommodate multiple members within a single country, but it does seek out specialists with proven expertise in a given area of law. Obviously its members need to have clients who operate internationally, and who from time to time require the services of a lawyer in another country. Because Linet has already established a network of such lawyers who communicate with each other and have face-to-face meetings on a regular basis, Linet can confidently recommend their services in much the same way as members of a BNI Chapter exchange work referrals.
Marco with Linet’s latest member Koh Matsuzawa from Tokyo
Linet actively seeks out lawyers who are BNI members because it shares the same values of Givers Gain® and active cross-selling of the goods and services they have to offer. You can find its website here: http://www.linet.world/ and its Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/LinetLawyers/. It is a classic example of how BNI connections can be leveraged into something far larger and more powerful than simply a network of businesses within a Chapter or a local area.
Linet member – Geoff Hardy from Auckland in New Zealand
Geoff Hardy, Partner, Martelli McKegg Lawyers
DDI: +64 9 379 0700 | Mob: +64 29 379 0700 Tel: +64 9 379 7333 | Fax: +64 9 309 4112
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