Lawyers are in the sales business, just like accountants, financial advisors and doctors. At one time, business walked through the door. Today, you need to raise your profile and be the first person they think of when they need a lawyer.
It is time for rebrands to become ‘business as usual’ for firms — becoming less about cosmetic changes towards being an inflection point for decisions about behavior, communications, and ambitions.
The firms that will navigate the next downturn best are those acting now — tightening alignment between marketing, communications, and client service teams so that everyone is telling the same value story.
Cross-selling is vital to law firm growth. Marketing and business development leaders inside firms can help with that growth by encouraging different teams to work together, rather than sticking to their own respective practice areas.
In today’s world, artificial intelligence is reshaping how journalists, businesses and, most importantly, your clients discover and trust brands. If your content and expertise aren’t showing up in AI-generated responses, you may be invisible in the very moments that matter most.
When skill and experience are equal, the attorney who demonstrates polished manners and respectful interactions is far more likely to earn the trust of clients, the confidence of colleagues, and the loyalty of staff. The key is to ensure the training is engaging, positive in tone, and delivered in a way that feels relevant to the modern legal environment.
As I reflect on our Women, Influence & Power in Law (WIPL) conference, one of the most powerful takeaways was the importance of leading with confidence in times of uncertainty.
Good stories inspire and create emotional connections. Great stories go one step further, staying with us, shaping our views of the world, our interactions with others, and our conversations about human experience.
Business development is a set of learnable, repeatable skills that are not reserved for rainmakers. In fact, you won’t get to be a rainmaker without them. If associates start building those skills and habits now, before the expectation hits, you’ll not only be prepared — you’ll be ahead.
The lawyers who are best at business developemnt are the ones who consistently grow strong books of business, aren’t “selling” in the traditional sense. They’re not always trying to “close” the next deal. Instead, they’ve adopted a different mindset. One that’s resilient, generous, and surprisingly childlike.
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