I was chatting with a lawyer friend over breakfast this morning and she recalled for me, with a shudder, a business development torture session from her days as a first year securities lawyer.  She was told to attend a basketball game with a group of stockbrokers.  I can’t stand basketball, and the stockbrokers were appalling.  I couldn’t understand why I was there.  All I got out of the experience was being asked out on a date that I didn’t want to go on.

What was wrong with this picture?

Alignment.  Business development is effective when the lawyer’s goals, values, interests, and strengths are in alignment with the business development activity.  In my friend’s case there was no fit beyond the fact that she was a securities lawyer and those were securities clients.  This was a case of the classic rainmaker turn off.

One associates basketball horror story would be another’s great night at the game.

Sometimes you get just one chance.

So often when we are introducing marketing and business development to associates we really only get one chance.  As soon as you make the mistake of sending the wrong person to the basketball game you are sending a powerful message to that lawyer.  The message they get is:

Business development is a painful and useless activity.
 This is not me.
I don’t do this.

Business development becomes something other people do.

Values are important.  I have found that the clearest statements on personal values come from lawyers when you are trying to get them to do some business development activity that is in conflict with their values.

For example, one associate told me he couldn’t stand going to a particular industry networking event.  There always seemed to be more lawyers than potential clients and it appeared to him that the non-lawyers in the room were surrounded by a pack of lawyers with carefully prepared elevator speeches and business cards at the ready.

So does this mean this associate is not a rainmaker?  Does it mean that he is going to have to get over his inhibitions and jump into the fray?

No.  In further conversation it became apparent that he values relationships.  He values sincerity.  He is truly interested in the industry and is interested in getting meaningfully involved.  It’s simply a question of developing opportunities for him to meet with people from the industry that support his own further education and give him a chance to interact with the potential clients in a different setting.  We found just the thing for him but as it is still in progress I can’t reveal more!

All of this is to say that there are many different paths to business development. 

One partner I know in Victoria got involved in a cooperative daycare program when she had her first child. She got to know all the parents, contributed her one day a week at the centre, and no surprise, the parents who chose to trust their children to her care naturally decided to trust her to handle their legal affairs as well. 

There are as many unique paths to developing business as there are individuals.  The key is to support lawyers in building an approach to business development that aligns with their own goals, distinct skills, interests, and values.

Ban meaningless acts of business development.  If it turns your stomach or makes your skin crawl you know that it is not for you.  Instead, discover what is for you, and set it in motion.

This spring I was invited to contribute to the ABA Law Practice Magazine’s April/May issue: “First Years:  What every associate needs to know.”

The issue arrived in my mail last month and is now live on the web.  Have a look.  It’s a great guide for new associates to making the most of the first years and establishing a foundation for their legal practice.

My article is all about what new associates should know about marketing.  I was directed to answer the question – what do managing partners wish their associates knew about marketing? I interviewed a number of managing partners and practice group leaders to find out what was most on their minds.  Here’s what they had to say:

Understand that Law Firms Are Businesses 
Invest Early and Frequently
Invest Non-billable Time with Existing Clients
Talk Less and Listen More
Develop a Meaningful Introduction
Learn How to Close the Deal
Find your Personal Style

Associates, if you want to end up with a practice you enjoy and clients you like, it is critical that you learn to chart your own course. Marketing can help you do that. It is your time to discover the kind of work and clients you find the most interesting. It is also time to explore the kind of marketing and business development activities that you like best. It might be writing articles or maintaining a blog. It could be you have a flair for presenting. Find out what works best for you while advancing you toward your goals, and do it. Don’t wait until you have some free time.  Weave a little marketing into everyday.  Keep your own professional goals moving forward.

I attended a great LMA Vancouver lunch hour seminar today presented by Tim Leishman from Kerma Partners.  (Kerma Partners came into existence in late 2006 and has already developed into an alternative to Hildebrandt in the professional services consulting arena.) 

Leishman first penned an article on lawyer practices styles in 1998, and the ideas he set out provide a helpful tool for thinking about and understanding the contributions lawyers make to the success of a law firm.

Leishman sets out four categories of contribution that lawyers make to their firms:  Rainmaker, Point Person, Hired Gun, Brain Surgeon.  In very short form here’s how he describes each of these types of lawyers:

Rainmakers are interested in connections.  They are into meeting new people.  They are initiative takers.  They are high intensity networkers.  They approach business development from the standpoint of “how can I help this person?” Or, “how can I make it easy for them?”

Point Persons are the client managers par excellence.  They are most interested in loyalty.  They approach their client service from the standpoint of how can I make this person look good?  They are natural team players and consensus builders.

The Hired Guns are motivated by credentials.  They like to focus on publishing, presenting and building their profile and reputation.  They help strengthen the firm’s reputation for expertise.

Brain surgeons are those lawyers whose insight, and intellectual prowess, put them in a category all to themselves.  They are highly knowledgeable in key niche areas of law and are known for their outstanding legal abilities. 

Leishman’s point is that firms would be best to work to lawyers strengths rather then trying to get them to improve in their weak areas.  Trying to get a Brain Surgeon become an effective practice group leader is likely an exercise in futility!  Leishman sets out two priorities for law firms:

First, lawyers should be guided to develop in accordance with their relative strengths and talents.

Second, firms should learn to identify the natural abilities and talents that are associated with certain practice styles and learn from lawyers with those abilities so that those abilities can be developed in others.

Once you know your strength you can then maximize the intensity you are putting into it, and get the most out of it.

Attendees at the seminar also offered some of their own thought provoking questions and comments.  One person commented that the difficulty for many firms is that they have a number of lawyers who fall into neither of the above categories.  In these cases, coaching can help to support the lawyer in discovering and developing their strengths. 

Another point raised was that there is a lot to be gained for firms in having practice group leaders learn to manage their groups by leveraging the strengths of their group members in each of these areas.  Rainmakers, Point Persons, Brain Surgeons and Hired Guns when brought together as a team can bring about some powerful results for a firm.  The challenge is that there are currently few practice group leaders given the time, training, and support from the firm to effectively manage, or learn to manage their groups in a way that maximizes the strengths of the members.

I encourage you to take a moment to read Leishman’s article.  It’s a valuable tool for thinking about lawyer marketing and business development strengths and maximizing our investments in them.

I had the good fortune to attend a panel discussion today held by the LMA Vancouver Chapter on How Public Sector Counsel Select Their Outside Counsel.

It was a dynamite session. Paul Reynolds of 2nvision consulting moderated the discussion.  He spoke with three public sector in-house counsel on the factors influencing their retention of external counsel, what distinguishes the great lawyers they have worked with, and why they fire some firms.

Doug Jasinki, from Skunkworks Creative, and I are developing a five minute podcast with highlights from session for posting to the LMA Vancouver website.  In the meantime here’s a brief excerpt from my notes on the session:

The best lawyers are:

• Responsive.  They are prompt and respond in a timely manner to requests.
• Pragmatic.  They work the file appropriately.
• Aware of context.  They repeatedly invest in learning about the organization, not just for the initial sales call, and are sensitive to the organization’s particular requirements
• Team players.  They work closely with in-house counsel, communicate well, and keep counsel well apprised of what is going on in a file
• Flexible.  They are able to work at odd hours and on short notice when  necessary.
• Pleasant to deal with!  They are well mannered, and treat their clients with respect.

Listening between the lines today it seemed to me that the panelists had experienced some atrocious examples of bad client service.  Here’s my take on the five easy ways to get fired:

1. Don’t meet deadlines.  If the client requests the Opinion for their very important meeting at 2:00 pm then hand it in at 4:00 pm. 
2. Communicate with the client as little as possible.  Keep them in the dark.  Don’t keep them updated on the file.  If nothing happens on the file for weeks or months, you don’t have to contact them! Better to just let them wonder what is going on.
3. Bill the client for the friendly chat you had with them on the phone.
4. The client is a public agency and under public scrunity, but who cares?! Advocate as aggressively and sharply as possible, regardless of any negative media fallout.
5. Be as arrogant as possible.  When the CEO enters the room don’t stand up, don’t shake his hand.  Turn up late for meetings and act like you are doing everyone a favour for being there.

The panelists were refreshingly candid and many of us left with a stack of notes on such topics as how to structure your business development approach, how to respond to RFPs, how to stand out as great counsel, and what are the most effective marketing tools.

The feedback I am hearing about the event has been overwhelmingly positive.  As one lawyer concluded, it was great to have the opportunity to get “find out the answers to those questions that lawyers typically don’t have the guts to ask!” (Guts is my word.  He used a more descriptive one!)