Business Development Planning for Lawyers: Your Blueprint

The successful lawyers I speak with know that exceptional legal skills are table stakes. Beyond the law, their differentiator is their ability to build relationships, attract ideal clients, and generate consistent referrals. This is where strategic business development planning becomes your competitive advantage.

Without a plan, lawyers may find themselves randomly chasing opportunities which leads to inconsistent results. A good business development plan helps you stop chasing and help transform or eliminate those reactive ideas so you can spend your precious time pursuing opportunities that will lead to business.

After working with hundreds of professionals across solo practices and large firms, I can tell you that the highest earners aren’t always the most brilliant legal minds. They are the ones who treat business development like any other skill – with intention.

What Goes Into Your Plan?

Your plan should answer four basic questions:

• Who do you want as clients? Look at your best current clients. What do they have in common? What industries are they in? What size are they? Start there.
• What are your goals? Be specific. “Get more clients” isn’t a goal. “Sign 5 new clients worth $50K each by December” is.
• How will you reach them? This is your strategy. Will you network? Write articles? Speak at events? Pick what makes sense for your practice and is in your comfort zone.
• How will you know if it’s working? Track! New inquiries, referrals, speaking gigs – whatever matters to your practice.

Business Development Activities

Don’t overcomplicate this – focus on activities that build relationships and showcase your expertise.

Your clients are your best source of referrals and will have additional work, so check in with them regularly, not just when you need something. These conversations may reveal new opportunities within their organizations or connections they can make for you.

When you network, go where your ideal clients and referral sources actually spend time. Quality beats quantity every time. Try to have meaningful conversations with five people rather than collect fifty business cards you will never follow up on.

Create content that genuinely helps people solve real problems. Write articles, give talks, post on LinkedIn. Share what you know in plain English that non-lawyers can understand. This positions you as the go-to expert in your field and gives people a reason to remember you when they need legal help.

Build relationships with other professionals who serve your target clients. Accountants, consultants, bankers – they all refer legal work to lawyers they trust. Take them to lunch, refer business to them when appropriate, and stay on their radar through regular communication.

Get involved in your community through volunteering, joining boards, or sponsoring events. People hire lawyers they know and trust, and community involvement builds that foundation of trust over time while also expanding your network beyond just other legal professionals.

Using Your Plan All Year Long

Lawyers that create a plan in January and forget about it by March fail at BD. Don’t be that lawyer.

Every three months, sit down and honestly assess what is working and what isn’t. This isn’t about being perfect – it’s about being smart with your time. If networking events aren’t generating any leads after six months, maybe it’s time to try content marketing instead. On the flip side, if speaking at industry events is bringing in great clients, look for more speaking opportunities.

Break everything down into bite-sized pieces which may mean your annual goals become monthly actions. This means you should be researching and applying to speak at events every single month. Want to publish 12 articles? That’s one article per month.

Business development doesn’t have to consume you, even 30 minutes a week of consistent business development adds up to real results. Use that time to send a few LinkedIn messages, outline your next article, or follow up with someone you met at a recent event. Be consistent. It’s better to do something small every week than to do a big push once a quarter.

Work with your calendar not against it by paying attention to your busy times. Most lawyers get slammed in March and again in September when everyone’s back from summer vacation. Don’t schedule big networking events or plan to launch new initiatives during these times.

Track, track, track! Be mindful of what you are doing and the results you are achieving. A simple spreadsheet works fine – you don’t need fancy software. Note what activities you did each month and what came from them. Did that chamber of commerce event lead to any inquiries? How about that article you published? You can’t improve what you don’t measure, and you’ll be surprised by what works versus what you think works.

How Technology and AI Make This Easier

The right tools can save you hours and help you be more efficient. Use technology to do the routine stuff so you can focus on building real relationships.

CRM systems keep track of all your contacts and conversations. Email automation can nurture prospects while you focus on billable work. Social media scheduling tools let you plan posts in advance. These do not have to be expensive programs. For a few hundred dollars, you may free yourself from hours of work.

AI writing tools can help you create content faster. Need a LinkedIn post or newsletter article? AI can give you a first draft in minutes. Use AI to scan news about your clients or research prospects who might need your services.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Don’t try to be everything to everyone. Focus. You will be more memorable and referable.
• Don’t neglect your current clients while chasing new ones. Your best clients are sitting right in front of you.
• Don’t give up too quickly. Business development takes time. Most lawyers quit after a few months when they don’t see immediate results.
• Don’t forget to follow up. Most business development opportunities are lost in the follow-up, not the first meeting.

Getting Help with Your Plan

If you are with a firm, involve your marketing team in the process. They can help with content creation, planning, and tracking results. Talk to your most successful partners – they’ve figured out what works for them and may have ideas of how to build your profile.

If you are a solo practitioner, you don’t have to go it alone. Join your local bar association’s business development committee. Find other professionals to meet with regularly and share ideas or consider hiring a coach or consultant who specializes in working with lawyers.

Start Simple

Without a plan you are just hoping clients will show up and hope is not a strategy.

Start simple by picking a few activities that make sense for your practice and your schedule. Do them consistently. Track your results. Adjust as you go. The time you invest in planning now will pay dividends for years to come.

Business development planning doesn’t have to be complicated, but it does require discipline. The lawyers who grow their practices are the ones who plan their growth and work their plan consistently.

Stop hoping for growth and start planning for it.