Kayaks on the Chicago River, bicycles on the lakefront, dinner and dancing, horse races, storefront theaters, offbeat restaurants, golf and the perennial Wrigley Field outing are among the ways Chicago lawyers say they entertain clients.
The unexpected key, several lawyers say, is to consider the client's need to be with his or her own family.
This article on entertaining lawyers' clients will be in two parts. The second part will run Wednesday.
"I usually try to include the client's spouse," said Joshua G. Vincent of Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP. "If you can include family, it takes the pressure off the client in terms of being able to spend time with you for a while."
Other lawyers interviewed for this article include John R. Weiss and Brian P. Kerwin of Duane, Morris LLP and Elizabeth B. Vandesteeg of Levenfeld, Pearlstein LLC.
One of Vincent's many suggestions for entertaining in good weather is a sailboat cruise on Lake Michigan with carryout food. The boat should hold four people.
"The city is a great selling point," Vincent said, "especially for out of town clients or clients who may live in the suburbs and don't have a chance to get down here as much."
"Go out there (on the lake) when the sun is setting. It's perfect," Vincent said.
"Another one that is a lot of fun is a Segway tour," he said.
He takes clients and spouses or family members during the weekend or in the evening to operate the two-wheeled, upright Segway Personal Transporters on downtown streets and on the lakefront.
"It's incredibly easy to learn to ride. People have so much fun, they have smiles on their faces the whole time," Vincent said.
"In winter, you're a little more stuck with typical type things."
"For music or theater," he said, "try to avoid the big five theater companies or (musically) the Aragon Ballroom or the Vic."
For music, Vincent recommended the Green Mill Jazz Club, 4802 N. Broadway St.; Buddy Guy's Legends, 700 S. Wabash Ave.; Schubas, 3159 N. Southport Ave.; or the Old Town School of Folk Music, 4544 N. Lincoln Ave.
For a winter dinner and theater, he recommended Chicago restaurants featured on the Food Network, such as Glenn's Diner, 1820 W. Montrose Ave., and then Theater Wit, 1229 W. Belmont Ave., or Shattered Globe Theatre, whose stage is at 1225 W. Belmont Ave.
For a quick lunch in good weather, Vincent recommends enjoying carryout food from Pret A Manger, 100 N. LaSalle St., while riding a water taxi on the Chicago River.
And for true outdoorsy clients, also on the river, "you can rent kayaks at the East Bank Club," he said.
"I go for activities that give the client a chance to experience you and the city at the same time," Vincent said. "What I have found is that some of the best client relationships that I have are ones that started out as business relationships and morphed into friendships."
John Weiss said he finds that entertainment "is more attractive to clients doing it during the day instead of taking them away from their families."
Thus, one daytime venue Weiss suggested in the summer and fall is Arlington Park in Arlington Heights to watch horse races.
"It's a train ride from downtown…," he said. "The first race is at 1 p.m. You can stay as long as you want and come back downtown on the train."
For the same reason, to avoid disrupting the client's family time, Weiss said he sometimes chooses day games at Wrigley Field. As a Cubs fan, he said he naturally prefers Wrigley to the White Sox.
"Another summer event," Weiss said, are concerts at Ravinia in Highland Park.
"This is more for the evening and the weekend," but can be good for groups of clients, he said.
The staff at Ravinia "really are accommodating," Weiss said. "If you have a large group, they'll give you a tent and they'll cater it for you."
Tomorrow: Taking your clients and spouses to dinner and dancing, but one female lawyer prefers golf.