For decades, law firms have searched for what might be considered the holy grail of practice growth: a genuine firmwide culture of business development.
Most firms have a small group of exceptional rainmakers who consistently generate new opportunities. But firm leaders have long struggled with the same challenge: how do you get a much larger percentage of lawyers engaged in the activities that strengthen relationships and lead to new work?
Despite years of training programs and strategic initiatives, the challenge persists.
Lawyers are highly independent professionals focused on serving clients, and business development often competes with immediate client demands. As a result, BD activity frequently becomes episodic rather than consistent.
...how do you get a much larger percentage of lawyers engaged in the activities that strengthen relationships and lead to new work?
The issue is not that lawyers are unwilling to participate in business development. In fact, most lawyers recognize its importance.
The real challenge is sustaining the behavior.
Rainmakers Are Defined by Behavior
After decades of working with lawyers on business development, one lesson has remained remarkably consistent: rainmakers are defined less by personality and more by behavior.
Successful rainmakers consistently take actions that keep them visible in their networks and strengthen relationships with clients and prospects. They reconnect with contacts, follow up after meetings, and look for opportunities to bring colleagues into conversations with clients.
These actions may appear small in isolation, but repeated regularly they create the momentum that ultimately leads to new work.
In other words, rainmaking is not a single event. It is the result of consistent behavior over time.
The question for firm leaders is how to make that behavior more widespread.
Why Business Development Often Stalls
Many firms attempt to address this challenge through training programs, retreats, or business development workshops.
These efforts can be valuable, but they often focus primarily on teaching lawyers what they should do.
The real challenge comes afterward.
Once the training ends, lawyers return to demanding schedules and immediate client needs. Without structure or reinforcement, the intended behaviors can gradually fade.
This is why building a culture of business development requires more than inspiration. It requires systems that make consistent action easier.
Making Business Development Manageable
For many lawyers, business development feels overwhelming because it appears vague or time-consuming.
But when BD is broken down into clear, manageable actions, it becomes far more achievable.
Busy professionals are much more likely to engage in business development when they know exactly what step to take next—whether that means reconnecting with a former client, reaching out to a contact, or following up after a meaningful interaction.
When those actions become part of a regular professional rhythm, business development begins to feel less like an additional burden and more like a natural extension of relationship management.
From Individual Effort to Firmwide Culture
Ultimately, building a culture of business development is not about turning every lawyer into a traditional rainmaker overnight.
It is about encouraging consistent relationship-building behavior across the firm.
Senior partners deepen relationships with key clients. Mid-level partners expand networks and identify opportunities. Associates begin building visibility and internal connections.
Over time, these small but consistent actions accumulate.
And when they happen across a broad portion of the firm, they create the momentum that leaders have long sought: a culture where business development becomes a shared capability rather than the responsibility of a few individuals.
The Next Phase of Law Firm Growth
As law firms continue to gain greater visibility into client relationships and engagement signals, the opportunity to drive meaningful business development becomes even stronger.
Insight can help firms see where opportunity exists.
But opportunity only turns into growth when lawyers act on it.
The firms that succeed in the coming years will be those that connect these two elements—combining relationship intelligence with consistent business development behavior.
Because in the end, rainmakers are not created through inspiration alone.
They are created through repeated action.
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Meghan Van Dalinda is JD Supra's Director of Data Integration & Strategy. Connect with her on LinkedIn. Follow her latest writings here on JD Supra.
For over 30 years David Freeman has trained and coached well over 10,000 lawyers and leaders in hundreds of firms worldwide (including more than half of the Am Law 200).
