I attended one of the best General Counsel panels ever this month at LSSO’s Raindance conference (which is, by the way, the best law firm BD conference in the country).  John Cunningham is a master at running this “rapid fire” panel, successfully preventing it from turning into a hodgepodge of personal gripes and dislikes. He kept it on track to produce relevant, actionable info about how to approach in-house counsel for new work.

I thought about the panel’s very practical responses when I read Stephen Williams’ excellent post on Above the Law this week, ‘Biglaw Idol’ — Or, How In-House Lawyers Actually Select Outside Counsel.  As the panel conveyed, and as Williams confirmed, for all the systems, best practices and approaches designed to win the business, choosing a law firm for a seven-figure engagement can actually take less than five minutes.

Sometimes it comes down to simply returning a call and showing an interest in getting the work.  The basics never lie.  Make sure your clients know you want the work.  You’ll be surprised at the results.