Professional Development: Teaching Business Development Skills to the Newest Lawyers

In the past, law firms instructed their young associates to focus on honing their skills and expanding knowledge in their chosen legal field. Firms actually reminded associates to not worry about business development. That has changed. With the tanking economy and subsequent contraction in the legal profession, the only way for firms to increase revenue is to gain market share. This means everyone is expected to contribute to the business development game. Along with increasing expectations, firms have started to teach essential business development skills to their youngest attorneys. Here are few ideas for you to implement in your firm.

Staying in Touch

When your new associates join the firm, often there is a press release or some other type of announcement. Ask the associates to make a list of all their law school classmates, undergraduate friends, family friends, professors and anyone else, and send each the same announcement. Encourage the associates to begin collecting addresses and e-mails to start a contact list. Teach your associates how to use their secretaries to assist with maintaining and growing their contact list.

Building an Internal Reputation

No matter the size of your firm, it is important for your junior associates to work with a variety of partners and senior associates. This allows the associate to develop many working relationships, which gives everyone an opportunity to train and develop the associate's skills. Hopefully within a year or two, attorneys will reach out to use these associates because they are known for their ability as well as being team players. Teach your associates that their internal reputation precedes them and is one of their most important assets.

Finding a Niche

If an associate had the opportunity to work with others, then it follows that the associate was exposed to myriad legal areas. There is a good chance that the associate has found an area that she enjoys and is interested in pursuing. By all means encourage this endeavor, unless it does not align with your firm's overall strategy. Encourage the associate to develop a deeper level of knowledge in the area either through self-study or by attending CLE conferences. Teach your associates that being an expert in an area can lead to an exciting and challenging career.

Building an External Reputation

At some point within the first two to three years, the associate who has found a niche should feel quite comfortable with his or her extent of knowledge in the area. This is the time to direct the associate to begin writing and speaking. In the past, the associate attended conferences, but now the associate, possibility along with a partner, should submit requests to be a speaker. Finding places to get articles published is also a good route to pursue. There are countless journals, association newsletters and other sources for publication. As with a stellar internal reputation, a solid reputation in the legal field is built over time. Teach your associates that being known as an “up-and-comer” or even as a new expert in a field is key to acquiring future business.

The New Networking

Every associate should learn the ins and outs of person-to-person networking. The skill of “schmoozing” and small talk is key to socializing and making connections at events and conferences. The key now is to capitalize on the junior attorney's skills in social networking. The younger generation knows how to surf the net to find people, places and information. Show this generation that it is the personal touch that creates relationships in the legal world. Teach your associates how to parlay those wired connections into live connections.

Communicating with Clients

As most lawyers know, it is easier to get additional business from current clients than it is to find new business from prospective clients. Role model the appropriate behavior that demonstrates to your younger attorneys that communicating with clients involves asking questions, listening, handling complaints and most especially, offering business solutions that go beyond legal advice. Teach your associates that communicating with clients is a fundamental skill in developing future business.

Cross-Selling Services

When an attorney has an open line of communication with his client, he is able to delve into issues that go beyond her practice area. This is when knowing others in the firm pays off. The associate can introduce the client to the experts in the firm who can handle the client's needs. Proliferating the business you currently have by knowing the depth and breadth of what your firm offers is a foundation for
developing an ongoing client relationship. Teach your associates the benefit of learning about the firm and help them match the client's needs to internal experts.

Ask for Work

Once an attorney makes recommendations for business solutions, offers business advice and matches legal needs with fellow colleagues, it is time to ask for the work. It is odd to think that a client you have a good relationship with would not give you work, but it is possible. If a client thinks you are overwhelmed with work because you are not responsive or you often mention your tight schedule, he or she may choose not to burden you with more work. Teach your associates how to ask for work and not complain about their workload to clients.

Goal-Setting Is Business Development Planning

Anyone who has run a marathon or purposefully lost weight can tell you the importance of goal setting. Planning smaller action steps in an effort to achieve a larger goal leads to success in most endeavors. Taking the time to create a business development plan, even for the youngest attorneys, will make the business development easier by setting a direction.

All of the above ideas can be categorized or outlined in a plan to fit the individual's personality and skills level. Goals need to be SMART: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Results-oriented and within a Timeline. Teach your associates that the time they take to write a business development plan should be as important, or more so, than the time they take to complete year- end evaluations.

Conclusion

Associates and partners alike should be focused on business development in this economy. The next step is to envelop the paralegals, secretaries, receptionists and other staff in the business development mentality.

Dr. Sharon Meit Abrahams, a member of this newsletter's Board of Editors and Director, Professional Development at Foley & Lardner LLP, has been training lawyers in major international law firms for over 20 years. Her second book “100 Plus Pointers for the New Partner,” was published last year by the American Bar Association Young Lawyer Division. She may be reached at 305-482-8521 or via e-mail at [email protected].

In the past, law firms instructed their young associates to focus on honing their skills and expanding knowledge in their chosen legal field. Firms actually reminded associates to not worry about business development. That has changed. With the tanking economy and subsequent contraction in the legal profession, the only way for firms to increase revenue is to gain market share. This means everyone is expected to contribute to the business development game. Along with increasing expectations, firms have started to teach essential business development skills to their youngest attorneys. Here are few ideas for you to implement in your firm.

Staying in Touch

When your new associates join the firm, often there is a press release or some other type of announcement. Ask the associates to make a list of all their law school classmates, undergraduate friends, family friends, professors and anyone else, and send each the same announcement. Encourage the associates to begin collecting addresses and e-mails to start a contact list. Teach your associates how to use their secretaries to assist with maintaining and growing their contact list.

Building an Internal Reputation

No matter the size of your firm, it is important for your junior associates to work with a variety of partners and senior associates. This allows the associate to develop many working relationships, which gives everyone an opportunity to train and develop the associate's skills. Hopefully within a year or two, attorneys will reach out to use these associates because they are known for their ability as well as being team players. Teach your associates that their internal reputation precedes them and is one of their most important assets.

Finding a Niche

If an associate had the opportunity to work with others, then it follows that the associate was exposed to myriad legal areas. There is a good chance that the associate has found an area that she enjoys and is interested in pursuing. By all means encourage this endeavor, unless it does not align with your firm's overall strategy. Encourage the associate to develop a deeper level of knowledge in the area either through self-study or by attending CLE conferences. Teach your associates that being an expert in an area can lead to an exciting and challenging career.

Building an External Reputation

At some point within the first two to three years, the associate who has found a niche should feel quite comfortable with his or her extent of knowledge in the area. This is the time to direct the associate to begin writing and speaking. In the past, the associate attended conferences, but now the associate, possibility along with a partner, should submit requests to be a speaker. Finding places to get articles published is also a good route to pursue. There are countless journals, association newsletters and other sources for publication. As with a stellar internal reputation, a solid reputation in the legal field is built over time. Teach your associates that being known as an “up-and-comer” or even as a new expert in a field is key to acquiring future business.

The New Networking

Every associate should learn the ins and outs of person-to-person networking. The skill of “schmoozing” and small talk is key to socializing and making connections at events and conferences. The key now is to capitalize on the junior attorney's skills in social networking. The younger generation knows how to surf the net to find people, places and information. Show this generation that it is the personal touch that creates relationships in the legal world. Teach your associates how to parlay those wired connections into live connections.

Communicating with Clients

As most lawyers know, it is easier to get additional business from current clients than it is to find new business from prospective clients. Role model the appropriate behavior that demonstrates to your younger attorneys that communicating with clients involves asking questions, listening, handling complaints and most especially, offering business solutions that go beyond legal advice. Teach your associates that communicating with clients is a fundamental skill in developing future business.

Cross-Selling Services

When an attorney has an open line of communication with his client, he is able to delve into issues that go beyond her practice area. This is when knowing others in the firm pays off. The associate can introduce the client to the experts in the firm who can handle the client's needs. Proliferating the business you currently have by knowing the depth and breadth of what your firm offers is a foundation for
developing an ongoing client relationship. Teach your associates the benefit of learning about the firm and help them match the client's needs to internal experts.

Ask for Work

Once an attorney makes recommendations for business solutions, offers business advice and matches legal needs with fellow colleagues, it is time to ask for the work. It is odd to think that a client you have a good relationship with would not give you work, but it is possible. If a client thinks you are overwhelmed with work because you are not responsive or you often mention your tight schedule, he or she may choose not to burden you with more work. Teach your associates how to ask for work and not complain about their workload to clients.

Goal-Setting Is Business Development Planning

Anyone who has run a marathon or purposefully lost weight can tell you the importance of goal setting. Planning smaller action steps in an effort to achieve a larger goal leads to success in most endeavors. Taking the time to create a business development plan, even for the youngest attorneys, will make the business development easier by setting a direction.

All of the above ideas can be categorized or outlined in a plan to fit the individual's personality and skills level. Goals need to be SMART: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Results-oriented and within a Timeline. Teach your associates that the time they take to write a business development plan should be as important, or more so, than the time they take to complete year- end evaluations.

Conclusion

Associates and partners alike should be focused on business development in this economy. The next step is to envelop the paralegals, secretaries, receptionists and other staff in the business development mentality.

Dr. Sharon Meit Abrahams, a member of this newsletter's Board of Editors and Director, Professional Development at Foley & Lardner LLP, has been training lawyers in major international law firms for over 20 years. Her second book “100 Plus Pointers for the New Partner,” was published last year by the American Bar Association Young Lawyer Division. She may be reached at 305-482-8521 or via e-mail at [email protected].