Eckert Seamans Hires Business Development Director

Eckert Seamans Cherin & Mellott Chief Executive Officer Timothy P. Ryan makes no bones about the fact that not all of his firm's attorneys were born with the sales gene.

“What we have in our law firm are lawyers who are, generally, not good salespeople,” he said. “They're not the best at asking for the order and you need someone to ask for the order.”

Enter Harold F. Balk, the Pittsburgh, PA-based firm's first director of business development, whose job is to do just that. Ryan said he envisions Balk taking over from the firm's marketing department “all the more hardcore business development functions” such as cross-selling and client-care programs.

A Nexus Between Practice Groups

Balk, who joins Eckert Seamans from Reed Smith, where he was business development manager, said he views cross-selling as one of the most important focuses of his new position.

“What I hope to do is learn the firm and almost be a nexus between practice groups,” he said. And Balk's certainly no stranger to asking clients for business, having worked as the national account executive of broadcasting and promotions for the Pittsburgh Pirates baseball team for 10 years. “I was there to learn how to sell,” he said. But after that, Balk went to learn how to be a lawyer, graduating from Duquesne University School of Law.

Selling the Firm

Ryan said the firm was attracted to the fact that Balk is both a salesman and an attorney, “and understands our business a little more insightfully than a nonlawyer might.”

And although his legal practice never extended beyond handling a few matters for family and friends before he decided he was a better salesman than a lawyer, Balk said the experience continues to inform the work he does for law firms today.

“A lot of people that go to law school, especially right out of college, do so not because they love the law but because they don't want to be salespeople,” he said, explaining that “25, 30 years ago, lawyers didn't even have business cards.” But times have changed, he said.

“If you're going to be successful and you want to stay at the firm, business development is one of the top things you need to learn,” he said.

“And it's not taught in law school.”

So, Ryan said, Balk's job at Eckert Seamans will be both to sell the firm's services and to “coach” attorneys on how to sell the firm's services themselves. Balk said attorneys are generally very good at servicing clients within their own specific expertise, but the goal now is to expand that service by incorporating Eckert Seamans' other practice groups. One of the ways Balk and Ryan envision this happening is through the creation of client teams comprising attorneys from many different practice groups at the firm.

“Our idea is to have [attorneys] more involved and more educated in what other areas of the firm do,” Balk said.

Balk, who will be based in Eckert Seamans' Pittsburgh office but will spend a fair amount of time making the rounds of the firm's other locations, said his new position will include similar duties to his role at Reed Smith, though on a smaller scale.

“Reed Smith has such an international practice that crosses so many borders,” he said. “This is much more focused regionally.”

And while Balk said he “loved” working at Reed Smith, he admitted that moving to a firm with a regional platform would allow for a more streamlined approach to business development.

“It's a little bit easier, just because you're dealing with less people and [at an international firm] you're dealing with a lot of different cultures,” he said. “There's a totally different culture of business development in Paris than there is in New York or Los Angeles or London.”

The Role of Marketing

In the past, Eckert Seamans relied solely on its marketing department and its lawyers to attract new clients, according to Ryan. But the addition of Balk is part of an effort to separate the firm's marketing and business development functions, Ryan said.

Under this new model, according to Ryan, the firm's marketing department will continue to focus on brand-building through advertising, press releases and firm-sponsored CLEs, while Balk will have more direct interaction with clients to try to find out how the firm can best serve them. Balk said “nothing beats a one-on-one session” for both learning about the needs of a client and explaining to the client how the firm can satisfy those needs.

William F. Brennan, a consultant with Altman Weil Inc., said the recession has prompted a number of other firms to develop a similar philosophy.

“Law firms are dedicating more resources toward personalized, face-to-face sales, as opposed to traditional marketing and branding,” he said, but added that most firms leave it to their partners or marketing departments to spend more face-time with clients and potential clients, rather than creating a position specifically focused on business development.

“A lot of firms have marketing and business development all together, so strictly working in business development is kind of unique,” Balk agreed, but noted that accounting firms have been successfully separating the two functions for more than a decade.

And, as Ryan was quick to point out, “neither Harold nor our marketing group will be in silos at the firm.” The two will work together often, he said, particularly with regard to responding to proposals.

Ryan said he foresees the firm eventually building an entire business development department around Balk. “We're going to let Harold get his feet on the ground here,” he said. “We've already assigned one person to assist him and, as his responsibilities grow and his role matures, we'll add staff to his group as necessary.”

Zack Needles is a reporter for The Legal Intelligencer, an ALM sister publication of this newsletter.

Eckert Seamans Cherin & Mellott Chief Executive Officer Timothy P. Ryan makes no bones about the fact that not all of his firm's attorneys were born with the sales gene.

“What we have in our law firm are lawyers who are, generally, not good salespeople,” he said. “They're not the best at asking for the order and you need someone to ask for the order.”

Enter Harold F. Balk, the Pittsburgh, PA-based firm's first director of business development, whose job is to do just that. Ryan said he envisions Balk taking over from the firm's marketing department “all the more hardcore business development functions” such as cross-selling and client-care programs.

A Nexus Between Practice Groups

Balk, who joins Eckert Seamans from Reed Smith, where he was business development manager, said he views cross-selling as one of the most important focuses of his new position.

“What I hope to do is learn the firm and almost be a nexus between practice groups,” he said. And Balk's certainly no stranger to asking clients for business, having worked as the national account executive of broadcasting and promotions for the Pittsburgh Pirates baseball team for 10 years. “I was there to learn how to sell,” he said. But after that, Balk went to learn how to be a lawyer, graduating from Duquesne University School of Law.

Selling the Firm

Ryan said the firm was attracted to the fact that Balk is both a salesman and an attorney, “and understands our business a little more insightfully than a nonlawyer might.”

And although his legal practice never extended beyond handling a few matters for family and friends before he decided he was a better salesman than a lawyer, Balk said the experience continues to inform the work he does for law firms today.

“A lot of people that go to law school, especially right out of college, do so not because they love the law but because they don't want to be salespeople,” he said, explaining that “25, 30 years ago, lawyers didn't even have business cards.” But times have changed, he said.

“If you're going to be successful and you want to stay at the firm, business development is one of the top things you need to learn,” he said.

“And it's not taught in law school.”

So, Ryan said, Balk's job at Eckert Seamans will be both to sell the firm's services and to “coach” attorneys on how to sell the firm's services themselves. Balk said attorneys are generally very good at servicing clients within their own specific expertise, but the goal now is to expand that service by incorporating Eckert Seamans' other practice groups. One of the ways Balk and Ryan envision this happening is through the creation of client teams comprising attorneys from many different practice groups at the firm.

“Our idea is to have [attorneys] more involved and more educated in what other areas of the firm do,” Balk said.

Balk, who will be based in Eckert Seamans' Pittsburgh office but will spend a fair amount of time making the rounds of the firm's other locations, said his new position will include similar duties to his role at Reed Smith, though on a smaller scale.

“Reed Smith has such an international practice that crosses so many borders,” he said. “This is much more focused regionally.”

And while Balk said he “loved” working at Reed Smith, he admitted that moving to a firm with a regional platform would allow for a more streamlined approach to business development.

“It's a little bit easier, just because you're dealing with less people and [at an international firm] you're dealing with a lot of different cultures,” he said. “There's a totally different culture of business development in Paris than there is in New York or Los Angeles or London.”

The Role of Marketing

In the past, Eckert Seamans relied solely on its marketing department and its lawyers to attract new clients, according to Ryan. But the addition of Balk is part of an effort to separate the firm's marketing and business development functions, Ryan said.

Under this new model, according to Ryan, the firm's marketing department will continue to focus on brand-building through advertising, press releases and firm-sponsored CLEs, while Balk will have more direct interaction with clients to try to find out how the firm can best serve them. Balk said “nothing beats a one-on-one session” for both learning about the needs of a client and explaining to the client how the firm can satisfy those needs.

William F. Brennan, a consultant with Altman Weil Inc., said the recession has prompted a number of other firms to develop a similar philosophy.

“Law firms are dedicating more resources toward personalized, face-to-face sales, as opposed to traditional marketing and branding,” he said, but added that most firms leave it to their partners or marketing departments to spend more face-time with clients and potential clients, rather than creating a position specifically focused on business development.

“A lot of firms have marketing and business development all together, so strictly working in business development is kind of unique,” Balk agreed, but noted that accounting firms have been successfully separating the two functions for more than a decade.

And, as Ryan was quick to point out, “neither Harold nor our marketing group will be in silos at the firm.” The two will work together often, he said, particularly with regard to responding to proposals.

Ryan said he foresees the firm eventually building an entire business development department around Balk. “We're going to let Harold get his feet on the ground here,” he said. “We've already assigned one person to assist him and, as his responsibilities grow and his role matures, we'll add staff to his group as necessary.”

Zack Needles is a reporter for The Legal Intelligencer, an ALM sister publication of this newsletter.