Professional Documents
Culture Documents
3,
ISSUE
PAGE 4
I recently had the honor of moderating a panel, on behalf of the So-Cal Network of the
International Womens Insolvency & Restructuring Confederation (or IWIRC), entitled,
The Perfect Pitch. The panel, which sought to provide tips of the trade in relation to
developing and delivering an effective and compelling prospective client pitch, was comprised
of three distinguished professionals in the restructuring community:
Mette H. Kurth, Partner at Fox Rothschild LLP in Los Angeles (The Lawyer),
Teri Stratton, Managing Director at Piper Jaffray in Los Angeles (The Banker),
Victoria L. Creason, Senior Managing Director of VLC Associates, Ltd. in
Chicago (The Advisor)
While each presented a different take on the subject, their collective perspectives on how
best to develop and deliver a solid pitch produced a number of invaluable points. Whether
one has a budding practice in the making, or a blossoming book, each of these savvy professionals summarized what they believe it takes to deliver a perfect pitch. Here are some of
the key takeaways from our discussion.
In summary, while each pitch will differ by circumstance, our panelists suggested that proper preparation Know Your Audience. According to our panelists,
the second most important aspect to delivering a solid
requires, at minimum, the following:
client pitch is to know your audience. As an initial matter, this means doing some diligence on the people with
Knowing your prospects industry (or, if you dont,
whom you will be meeting. This includes having a solid
bringing someone to the pitch meeting who does)
knowledge of a prospects:
Understanding your prospects pain points
Being able to highlight situational risks and opportunities targeted to your prospect
Background
Asking insightful questions that reflect a genuine Position in and history with the company
desire to better understand what keeps your pro- Political and professional motivations (including, for
spective client up at night.
instance, an understanding of the reason(s) why
you were invited to pitch).
At the end of the day, a well-prepared presentation will
speak volumes about who you are (as a firm and proContinued on page 5
VOLUME
3,
ISSUE
PAGE
VOLUME
3,
ISSUE
PAGE
Marianne S. Mortimer is an attorney in Stradlings bankruptcy and restructuring practice. Ms. Mortimer has
a broad range of experience advising
clients on a variety of bankruptcy and
restructuring matters. She has represented corporate debtors, creditors,
and official and ad hoc creditor
committees in chapter 11 cases in
courts throughout the country.
MEMBERSHIP NEWS
Congratulations to IWIRC member Eve Karasik. Eve
was named Bankruptcy Lawyer of the Year by the
Century City Bar Association. She received the
award on March 23, 2015 during the Bars 47th
Annual Installation Banquet and Awards Ceremony.
Eve also recently joined Levene, Neale, Bender, Yoo
& Brill L.L.P., a Los Angeles-based law firm specializing exclusively in matters involving bankruptcy, business reorganization, commercial law, out-of-court restructurings and commercial litigation.