Business Development in Law Firms: An Insider’s Guide

Recently I was asked to speak to a group of individuals about how to get involved in business development in the legal space. It is not a career that necessarily has a straight path like other professions and many of the best doing it, fell into the profession and then fell in love with the profession.

What Is Legal Business Development?

At its core, business development in law firms bridges the gap between legal expertise and client needs. It can include identifying opportunities, understanding relationships, and creating value propositions that resonate with clients. Unlike traditional sales, legal business development requires an approach that positions people and expertise rather than products and vendors.

How Do Business Development Professionals Support Lawyers

Most business development professionals focus on their time on the following:

• Strategic Planning: Working with practice groups to identify target industries, clients, and growth opportunities
• Client Intelligence: Researching potential clients’ business challenges and their decision-makers to help lawyers approach conversations confidently and with intent
• Proposal Development: Crafting proposals that articulate value and differentiation in an easily digestible way that meets the needs of the client
• Relationship Management: Implementing CRM systems and processes that track interactions and identify cross-selling opportunities
• Coaching: Helping lawyers develop their personal business development skills, such as networking, branding, and pitch preparation

When lawyers use their business development professionals correctly, we can play a pivotal role as strategic partners, not just administrative support. We translate lawyers’ technical expertise into easily understood compelling solutions that clients and potential clients are looking for.

Getting Started in Legal Business Development

There are many ways to get started in this profession and some specific tools that will help make you successful:

• Strong project management, communication, and relationship-building abilities are essential. This career is about people so taking the time to understand how people work, what makes them excited is key to getting the most out of them
• Marketing or business development experience in other professional services provides valuable transferable skills to the legal profession – accounting, engineering, and financial services to name a few
• Legal industry knowledge is helpful but not always required. Being a lawyer is helpful but not required
• Understanding financial metrics and business operations sets top performers apart
• Be active! The key here is that you need to show you are willing to put yourself out there, whether that be in writing, boards, presentations, networking, etc., it will make a difference when asking a lawyer to do the same
• Schedule dedicated time for activities. Consistency matters more than grand gestures

Areas That Drive Success

If we blow out our ideas a little more, we can look at client experience, collaboration, analytics, and research. Starting with client experiences, it is a way to generate referrals and repeat business, creating a growth cycle. You do this by:

• Understanding the client’s business beyond their legal needs
• Anticipating issues before they arise
• Providing transparent communication about budgets and timelines
• Gathering and acting on client feedback
• Delivering value beyond billable services

Looking within the firm, lawyers are not always great at identifying cross collaboration opportunities. Whereas business development professionals often find the most valuable opportunities existing where practices intersect.

• Creating internal processes that encourage practice groups to collaborate
• Developing client teams that across specialties
• Implementing compensation structures that reward cross-selling
• Building a firm culture where collaboration is celebrated

Modern legal business developers leverage analytics too. This data-driven approach includes:

• Track return on investment on initiatives – we do not need to keep doing things because of the past
• Identify patterns in client acquisition and retention
• Forecast future needs based on industry trends
• Allocate resources to highest-potential opportunities

Being on-line and accessible is a must as today’s clients research firms extensively before engagement. You can highlight your digital presence and thought leadership programs in several ways, including

• A strategic content plan addressing clients’ business challenges
• Personal and firm-level social media presence
• Speaking opportunities at industry events
• Client alerts that demonstrate proactive thinking

Balancing Corporate and Commercial Perspectives

Corporate law and commercial practice areas often approach business development differently. Corporate firms tend to focus on relationship depth with key decision-makers; position the firm as a strategic business advisor, not just a legal service provider; and create client teams that mirror client organizational structures

Whereas firms that focus on commercial matters emphasize industry-specific expertise and practical solutions; build relationships with business units and operational leaders; and demonstrate ROI for legal services through metrics and case studies.

The most successful firms integrate business development into their culture rather than treating it as a separate function. Successful business development in law firms ultimately comes down to building trust and creating relationships.