During my third year of law school, I was a member of the Lamar Inn of Court at Emory Law School. For those unfamiliar with the American Inns of Court, it’s an organization based on the English Inns of Court and designed to bring together law students (known in the Inn as pupils), junior practitioners […]
A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of meeting Cole Silver, attorney and certified marketing consultant. He interviewed me as a part of his Expert Audio Series, and we had a marvelous conversation about leadership development in law firms. (That interview will be coming soon on the blog, but if you would like to receive […]
I’ve been doing a lot of speaking and coaching lately on business development, and someone asked a great question: what are the top obstacles to rainmaking success?
I’ve identified three universal challenges. Do any of these sound uncomfortably familiar to you?
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Leaders are better rainmakers. Bold statement, isn’t it? But think about it. Would you easily place your trust in someone who manages a team of worker bees who don’t make much individual contribution - knowing that if the manager goes down, the team will at best miss a few beats? Or would you select someone who is […]
How often have you heard (or perhaps even said) that only a select few lawyers are good rainmakers? I hear it all the time, and though I agree that not everyone can be a world-class rainmaker, just about every lawyer willing to put in the effort can learn to bring in business. A variety of […]
The number one complaint by lawyers is they can’t find the time for rainmaking and new business development. But finding that time and knowing how to use it effectively is a vital requirement for successful practice development.
Don’t let this classic dilemma derail your success.
On May 27 and 28 at 2 PM ET, I’m hosting a free […]
I occasionally talk with associates, in the first few years of practice ranging through senior associate levels, who tell me that they don’t need to pay attention to business development. The reasons vary. Some lawyers feel they’re “too new,” some don’t plan to make partner and think business development is therefore irrelevant for them, and […]
Over the last several months, I’ve noticed more and more inquiries from lawyers wanting to focus on business development. Unlike some coaching topics (career path and work/life integration, most notably), law firms often provide some business development training in-house to midlevel and/or senior associates as well as partners. Many firms even provide coaching from external […]
Generally speaking, law firms use the phrase “client development” to refer to the process of signing clients that the firm will represent in litigation, transactions, etc. Today, I’d like to consider another type of client development associates must consider: internal client development.
As an associate, particularly a junior associate who receives work from more senior lawyers, […]
A few days ago, I posted on the difference between strategy and tactics and recommended identifying strategy first and then move to tactics. Selecting effective tactics depends, of course, on the strategy and the ultimate goal. Building relationships almost always comes into play, though. Strong client relationships form the foundation of a healthy practice; strong […]
July 18, 2008 
