Question: Who is the intended audience?
Answer: Law students, lawyers, particularly associates and solo practitioners, and members of the broader legal community.

Q: What is the book about?
A: The Opportunity Maker is about standing out in today’s stagnant economy. It provides a variety of techniques for defining a personal brand, leveraging creativity, and maximizing success. Each chapter addresses genuine strategies for connecting with people and establishing meaningful professional relationships. It is written for law students and lawyers, but its principles are universally applicable.

Q: Why are you the best person to write this book?
A: I am passionate about helping others create opportunities and have been honing these techniques throughout my entire career. I practiced law with large firms in New York City for nearly nine years and during that period published 125 articles. I served as a legal commentator for CNET Radio, hosted a public access cable television show in Manhattan, taught Internet law at Baruch College, and was interviewed on CNN. I am also the recipient of Apex awards in 2007 and 2008 for feature writing.

I address professionals internationally about the mechanics of getting published and dynamic networking, and have had the privilege of speaking at some of the largest law firms in the world. I teach techniques for leveraging writing and other activities as the foundation for business development through in-house training programs, personal coaching and strategic writing assistance.

Q: How is this book different from other books on this topic?
A: Most books on this topic identify all of the things you need to do to be successful, but few, if any, of them tell you exactly how. The Opportunity Maker teaches you practical techniques for distinguishing yourself in a genuine and positive way. It offers strategic perspective from over 100 people cited in the book, ranging from the president of MetLife International to the author of the Four-Hour Workweek.

It makes the case that business development is similar to investing because the earlier you start the greater your ultimate return. In professional services, particularly the legal industry, students and junior professionals are taught to hone their technical skills long before tapping their talent for business development. Ironically, this delay makes showcasing their finely tuned abilities much harder and more frustrating than it needs to be.

The Opportunity Maker discusses creating a public access cable television show, using Second Life and branding yourself, among many other methods for realizing your career potential and building client relationships in the future.

Q: Is there anything else we should know about this book?
A: This book is meant to encourage students and professionals to harness their ability to connect their work to their communities by customizing a platform on which to grow within their chosen fields. It is designed for all personality types and can be tailored to any area of practice.

Also, TheOpportunityMaker.com, which is constantly being updated, has mini-interviews of about 2-3 minutes with many of those featured in the book. Learn more about the author at AriKaplanAdvisors.com.