Marathon training is often a series of runs that get longer each day to pull off the 26.2-mile race—a seemingly daunting schedule for those at home wondering if the hype is worth the effort.
It’s a similar feeling for anyone deciding to enter the long game of law firm business development, which can feel as complicated and hopeless as finishing a marathon with grace and energy.
The key to long-game business success is strategy. Instead of putting client development on the backburner, move it front and center to everything you do each day. For female partners in particular, business development is most successful when built out as a strategic plan based on creating collaborative client teams where partners trust each other, and in turn bring in business based on creating trusted relationships with potential clients.
The path to law firm partnership and leadership is often a race for business development. But female partners are often trying to run the race with a long list of expectations competing for their attention. Everything from office management to community appointments and family obligations infringes on the time available for business development.
With all this scrambling, it’s difficult to get everything aligned in a way that works—especially when it’s time to think about clients and numbers at the end of the year. A 2023 law firm diversity report from the National Association of Law Placement found that fewer than 28% of partners are women, and fewer than 24% of equity partners are women.
The key to building a book of business depends on capitalizing on business opportunities. These are found in strong (not large) networks and involve embracing a new networking paradigm. It requires building trust with current and potential clients by using the collective expertise, experience, and emotional intelligence of these powerful networks.
Strong Over Big
Business development isn’t a race to collect all the clients and connections. Focus instead on building a strong network of a core group of colleagues, clients, and referral partners who understand your expertise and how you serve clients.
The ability to reciprocate and share resources that are helpful to your network will allow you to stay relevant and relatable to your inner network. Successful women leaders often advance through the ranks of organizations with the support of a strong network of other women, according to research in the Harvard Business Review.
To Do: Identify two female colleagues in your industry and make the effort to get to know more about their goals.
Supporting Each Other
Those who successfully cross the finish line for both business development and marathons have a strong network cheering them on and challenging them to go the distance. This is especially true for female partners who support the goals and business development of their peers and in turn have been boosted by a strong network that identifies and brings in great clients.
Finding a support system of high-performing women aligned with your career goals continues to be a challenge with the limited numbers staying in practice and rising in firm leadership ranks. Yet female partners have found supportive organizations for just this purpose.
For example, MothersEsquire started as a Facebook group and evolved into a nonprofit organization that provides a platform for female lawyers to connect over law practice and family issues. Similar groups have evolved over common interests (exercise enthusiasts, empty nesters, and travel to name a few) and have provided the competitive edge that is often seen as necessary to get ahead.
To Do: Set a goal to support someone else’s practice each week. The exponential impact of helping other female partners out will support the growth of your practice and pay it forward in helping others out with their business development goals.
Tailoring the Network
The struggle to find time to network and nurture clients often competes with the demands on a female partner’s desk. Instead of trying to squeeze in business development, use daily interactions to engage in meaningful conversations with clients and referral partners.
Simple conversations can be more productive than large networking events where everyone is clamoring to get the attention of clients. Pausing for a meaningful phone call and following up consistently nurtures a relationship, building trust along the way.
To Do: Plan to touch base with current and potential clients monthly. Paying attention to what’s happening in their world forms the basis of a trusted relationship.
Outlook
Standing at the beginning of a business development journey often feels like a marathon that might not be worth the effort to enter. However, successful female partners who work and support each other’s goals and business development efforts can create endless opportunities to identify and win work without ever having to lace up their shoes.
This article does not necessarily reflect the opinion of Bloomberg Industry Group, Inc., the publisher of Bloomberg Law and Bloomberg Tax, or its owners.
Author Information
Deb Feder, CEO of Feder Development, is a business growth coach and strategist focused on helping lawyers and leaders build their careers.
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