What difference does a decade make? In the legal industry, which has often been voted ‘Most Resistant to Change,’ a lot and not much all at once. Ten years ago – almost to the day – I wrote a blog titled Law Firm Client...more
Driving client engagement is important. With demand for services remaining almost flat, firms are grabbing share of wallet from one another. Not sure what to ask clients? How to build long-lasting trusted advisor...more
In the complex landscape of modern law firm businesses, certain departments shine brightly while others linger in the shadows of misunderstanding. Among the latter group, the Marketing and Business Development Department...more
Receiving acknowledgement for a job well done, or for helping another business colleague or contact, or for ongoing work received from a client, is rewarding for the recipient. The inherent message is “you matter.”...more
A number of scholars have studied relationship development and the science/psychology around building relationships. Whether the perspective is from a psychology viewpoint using tools like Myers Briggs and others or from a...more
General Counsel today still report that most outside counsel do not know their clients’ businesses at a level the clients expect. Partners will respond by saying they do indeed understand their clients’ businesses. Here is...more
These are words every lawyer planning prospective and existing client visits needs to take under advisement. Busy lawyers tend to run from meeting to meeting, many ‘winging it’ when it comes to building relationships to win...more
Client Advisory Boards can help your firm stay on top of changing industry trends and clients’ expectations. Advising your strategic account teams on how best to add value is just one of the many benefits the firm will...more
Excerpted from “SAM-Legal: Turning Key Clients Into Strategic Accounts, a Guide to Law firm Strategic Account Management” by Steve Bell and Silvia Coulter. This excerpt, from an early chapter in the book, provides guidance on...more
Business research and analysis is one of the core competencies that law firms need to have on board as they seek to build out relationships with important existing clients and to…...more
This article was originally published through PinHawk’s Legal Administrator Daily on July 20, 2020. Many law firm professionals aspire to be leaders at either the practice, department, office, or firm level. As we know, there...more
I felt compelled to write this blog about keeping in touch. I am amazed at how many people who have been laid off or furloughed who have reached out to our team over the past few months. To me, this is similar to reaching out...more
In tough economic times, business development takes on added importance. Here are some truly simple, yet often overlooked ways of adding some fuel to your business development activities. These tips are for seasoned...more
Second of two blog posts by LawVision’s Steve Bell, Silvia Coulter and Yvonne Nath In our previous blog post, we noted the emergence in the public accounting sector (and hopefully in the legal profession) of a new era of law...more
A multi-million dollar revenue-generating client deserves a strategic account manager. This is someone who day to day is building relationships across the client organization, helps the lawyers with introductions to C-level...more
I was speaking with a sales person from a law firm a few weeks ago who told me the firm opened a new office in a new jurisdiction in the U.S. and their concern was about whether or not they will be able to attract talent and...more
Three discussions over the last two weeks have reminded me about the importance of making yourself known and invaluable. The first was a conversation with a client during a client interview. The client said, “You know, my...more
Excited about launching a new client team program, an 800-lawyer firm had everything in place. Leadership from the top and key stakeholders were strongly supporting the focus. They appointed five partners who had significant...more
Millennials, Gen-Xers, Baby Boomers, Silent Generation, etc. Much has been written and I dare say speculated about why things are not working well between the generations. This includes such generic statements such as,...more
I talk with a lot of lawyers. And everyone at one point or another has lost business to a competitor. Sometimes, one never gets the opportunity to compete in the first place. The secret to more wins is to turn an objection...more
Sitting in a client team meeting recently and listening to the lead partner confidently discuss his knowledge of the client and how the team can pursue new opportunities for gaining more client share was another one of the...more
I recently arrived in DC and grabbed a cab to the law firm where I had a meeting. En route, the cab driver asked me where I went to college. I told him and then asked him the same question and he told me he was currently...more
I’m going to start this post off by saying lawyers test the absolute highest of all professionals in skepticism. So it’s no wonder many lawyers have their own thoughts about the effectiveness of their firm bio and more...more
When you are pitching business and you hear “you gave the best presentation….but, we hired the other firm,” what happened? You likely educated the buyer and someone else closed the business. Remember to stay in “sales mode.”...more
When the Mesopotamian King of Gods, Enzil’s tablet was stolen and the young God Ninurta (thought of as powerless) rises to become the new king of gods, it is not without some harm. This story reminds me of the generational...more