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Business Development Committee | Queen's Bench Bar Association
Standing Committee

Business Development Committee

We help members build their practices — through LEAADD, Cocktails & Couture, and the mixers in between.

How we work
Meets in the run-up to each program
Open to
Every member — especially anyone building a book of business
EDIT: one short sentence describing this photo
Past Presidents Alice Anne Shaw and Sophia Román with colleagues at the LEAADD Reception

Our charge

From the bylaws

It shall be the duty of the Business Development Committee to advance the interests of members in connection with business development and to work with other professional associations, as they are available, to arrange for the annual LEAADD dinner (Lawyers, Engineers, Architects, Accountants, Doctors and Dentists). This includes securing a speaker, the venue, and all other arrangements as needed. Bylaws, Article VI, Section D.3 · Restated 2024

In practice

Rainmaking is a skill nobody teaches in law school and few firms teach well. We work on that problem directly — through programming, through introductions, and through the referral relationships that come out of both.

The bylaws hand us one named event, and it is a good one: the annual LEAADD dinner, which puts our members in a room with engineers, architects, accountants, doctors, and dentists. Speaker, venue, and every arrangement in between are ours.

It is not our only night out. Cocktails & Couture — our annual networking evening with the local Bay Area businesses who partner with the association — has been on the calendar since 2016, and between the big events we host mixers with one job: growing your contacts and your referral network.

What we do

  • Plan and run the annual LEAADD dinner — speaker, venue, and all arrangements.
  • Build relationships with the other professional associations LEAADD depends on.
  • Produce Cocktails & Couture, our annual evening spotlighting the local businesses that partner with Queen's Bench.
  • Put on programming on practice-building, pitching, and client development.
  • Host periodic mixers that expand members' business contacts and referral networks.
EDIT: one short sentence describing this photo
Members networking at our annual Cocktails and Couture event

Signature programs

The LEAADD Dinner

Our annual dinner with Lawyers, Engineers, Architects, Accountants, Doctors, and Dentists — the one night a year our members are in a room with every other profession that refers work.

Cocktails & Couture

Our annual networking evening spotlighting the association's community partners — the local Bay Area businesses that open their doors to us. Wine, bites, and a room worth working; a committee tradition since 2016.

Who leads this committee

Kaelyn Romey

Chair
Visiting Law Professor in Tax, USF School of Law

Reach the whole committee at busdev@queensbench.org. It reaches the chairs and the Administrator, so nothing falls through when leadership rotates in January.

Good to know

Watch for our mixers

Several times a year we host mixers with one purpose: helping members expand their business contacts and referral networks. The next is set for early-to-mid September 2026 — details will run in the Weekly Digest and on the events calendar.

Your directory listing is a referral tool

Every member appears in the members-only directory, searchable by name, practice area, and county — and it is where a colleague with work to send looks first. Take five minutes on your member profile to add a photo, your firm, your practice areas, and a short bio that says what you do and what you want referred. A blank listing refers nothing.

You don't have to be on the Board

Committee chairs and members are drawn from the whole membership, not just the Board — the Executive Committee is the only exception. The President nominates each committee's chair and a majority of the Board approves the selection. Board service, more often than not, grows out of committee work. (Bylaws, Art. VI, §C.)

Join this committee

There's no application and no vetting. Tell us you're interested and we'll bring you in on the next round of work. Come to one meeting before you decide whether it's for you.

Committee leadership, programs, and meeting schedules are current as of July 2026 and change from year to year. Corrections and updates: admin@queensbench.org.

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