Why law firms can’t/shouldn’t ignore business development
Business development is typically not something that the majority of lawyers take time to consider or enjoy. It is not a part of the typical legal qualification and lawyers typically want to focus on legal matters, not ‘selling’, as they see it.
Additionally, in the current market, many firms are extremely busy and it’s a challenge to recruit the right lawyers to work on the matters to support existing clients.
There’s then the conundrum of chargeable time and carving out time, therefore, focusing on business development feels less like an imperative.
However, this is a dangerous mindset, whether a conscious or unconscious one. Here’s why:
Markets change - There might be plenty of work now, but what when/if the market changes? For law firms offering a wide range of services, this might only affect a department or two, but it will still impact the revenue and profitability. Those lawyers who have a business development culture in place will be most likely to win available work.
Risk of business development relying on a few individuals - Firms that haven’t got a sustainable business development culture are likely to rely on a minority of people to bring in work, usually Partners. What happens when one or some of those people are no longer around to do this? Yes, there are usually planned events, such as retirement, but lots of unplanned ones, too.
Clients are not as loyal as they once were - In decades gone by, a family might use the same firm through the generations, whether for personal or business matters. This is less frequently the case and new generations who are now making the decisions are likely to look at the broader legal market.
Upskill juniors to embed new skills and behaviours - By not establishing a business development culture and involving non-Partner fee earners, these people are not building this skillset and understanding that the work doesn’t usually come from nowhere! With increased seniority, there is almost always a need to bring in work. It’s easier to start this earlier in a career, especially as you can’t build a network when you need one.
Maybe you are one of those Partners focusing on business development and it feels like too much hard work at this point to build a business development culture.
In one sense, you are right, as in the short term, there will be work involved in putting the foundations in place so that more people can get involved meaningfully in law firm business development.
However, in the medium to long term if you want to grow or even sustain your revenue and profitability, then it’s vital to put a business development culture in place.
If you’d like to discuss where you are now and how business development happens in your law firm, book a call with me.
If you’d like to understand what foundations you need to focus on most to enable more people to get involved with business development sustainably, then spend 3 minutes taking my Successful Business Development Indicator.