Some of the most valuable business development opportunities begin during conversations that have nothing to do with winning new work. A client mentions an upcoming acquisition during a routine call. A general counsel talks about the challenges of managing a growing legal department over lunch. An executive shares plans to expand into a new market while catching up with a lawyer at a conference.
These conversations give lawyers valuable insight into what’s happening inside their clients’ organizations, where their businesses are headed and what kinds of challenges they may encounter. They also create opportunities for firms to provide more thoughtful advice, introduce colleagues with relevant experience and develop relationships with additional people within the organization.
I’ve spent much of my career helping lawyers strengthen client relationships and identify business development opportunities, and I believe there’s tremendous value in making better use of the information that comes from everyday client interactions. Lawyers are already having these conversations, and business development professionals can help ensure that the insights they generate become part of a coordinated approach to client service and relationship development.
Here are eight ways to make that happen.
1. Pay Attention to What’s Happening in Your Client’s Business
Imagine you’re on a call with a longtime client about a transaction, and toward the end of the conversation, they casually mention that the company is planning to open three new facilities. That comment could lead to an entirely different discussion. Where will the facilities be located? Is the company entering new markets? Will it need to hire additional employees?
A few thoughtful questions can reveal opportunities to help the client with issues that extend beyond the matter you’re currently handling. The expansion might involve real estate, employment, environmental or regulatory considerations, and your colleagues may have experience advising other companies on similar projects. If the client is still in the early planning stages, an introduction to the right lawyer could be especially useful.
These conversations become easier when you know what’s happening in the client’s business. Before an important meeting, spend a few minutes reviewing recent company announcements, leadership changes and industry developments. If the company just announced an acquisition or hired a new CEO, that information could help you prepare relevant questions and recognize opportunities to discuss additional needs.
Business development professionals can support this preparation by gathering useful intelligence, identifying colleagues with relevant experience and helping lawyers connect what they’re hearing from clients with developments across the organization.
And remember what clients tell you. If someone mentioned an expansion during your last conversation, ask how it’s progressing the next time you speak. Following up on those details shows that you’re paying attention and gives you a natural way to continue the conversation as the client’s plans develop.
2. Capture the Information That Comes Out of Client Conversations
Think about how much you learn about a client over lunch, during a phone call or while catching up at an industry event. A general counsel mentions that the company is considering an acquisition. An executive tells you they’re planning to expand into a new market. Someone else shares that a longtime member of the leadership team is preparing to retire. These details may come up casually, but they can tell you a great deal about what’s happening at the company and where it may need help.
Now imagine that three different lawyers at your firm have three different conversations with the same client. The corporate partner hears about the potential acquisition, the employment lawyer learns about plans to hire 200 people and a litigation partner discovers that the general counsel is retiring. Each lawyer has a piece of information that could be useful to the broader client team, but unless someone connects those pieces, the firm may miss an opportunity to understand the full picture.
This is why I encourage lawyers to spend a few minutes after important client conversations capturing what they’ve learned. What did the client mention about upcoming plans? Were there any leadership changes or new business priorities? Did you promise to introduce someone, send information or arrange another meeting? You don’t need to write a lengthy report. A few useful notes, recorded in an appropriate place and shared with the right people, can make a big difference.
Business development professionals can help make this easier by checking in with lawyers after client meetings and gathering information that may be relevant to the broader relationship. They can also connect what lawyers are hearing with company announcements, existing relationships and the firm’s experience. Of course, any information shared internally needs to be handled appropriately, particularly when it involves confidential client plans.
Make sure to review these insights before the next client team meeting or important conversation. Something a client mentioned six months ago may suddenly become relevant when the company announces a transaction, hires a new executive or moves forward with an expansion. Having that information available can help the team prepare more thoughtfully and follow up at the right time.
And think about what happens when a relationship partner retires or another lawyer takes over a client account. If important relationship knowledge exists only in one person’s head or inbox, the incoming team has to piece together years of conversations and connections. Capturing useful information along the way helps preserve that knowledge and gives colleagues a much stronger starting point for continuing the relationship.
3. Make Introductions That Help Your Clients and Create New Opportunities
Let’s say you’re having lunch with a longtime client who mentions that the company is expanding into Germany. You know your firm has lawyers who regularly advise companies on international expansion, but the client has only ever worked with your corporate team. This could be a great opportunity to introduce them to a colleague who can help with the next phase of their business.
The introduction doesn’t have to be complicated. You might say, “You mentioned that you’re expanding into Germany. My colleague Sarah has helped several companies with similar projects, and I thought it might be helpful for you two to connect.” You’re giving the client access to someone with relevant experience and creating an opportunity for your colleague to develop a new relationship.
Of course, making these introductions requires knowing what your colleagues do. That’s not always easy at a large firm with hundreds of lawyers across multiple offices and practices. You may know the lawyers you work with every day but have little idea that someone in another office has advised several companies in your client’s industry or has experience with the exact issue your client just mentioned.
This is where business development professionals can be especially helpful. They often have a broader view of the firm’s experience, client relationships and capabilities. When a lawyer shares something they’ve learned about a client, the business development team can identify colleagues with relevant experience, gather examples of similar work and help coordinate an introduction.
You should also spend time getting to know colleagues outside their immediate practices. Attend internal presentations, participate in practice group meetings and ask other lawyers about the clients and industries they work with. The more you understand your colleagues’ experience, the easier it becomes to recognize when someone at your firm could be helpful to a client.
And once you’ve made an introduction, stay involved. Check whether the conversation took place, find out if the client needs anything further and keep the relationship partner informed. An introduction can lead to a new matter, but it can also help the client see your firm as a resource for a broader range of business challenges. Both are valuable reasons to make the connection.
4. Get to Know More People at Your Client Organizations
Imagine you’ve worked with a client for 15 years. You have a terrific relationship with the general counsel, you know their business inside and out and they regularly turn to you for advice. Then one day, the general counsel announces they’re retiring. Their replacement arrives with relationships at several other law firms, and suddenly you’re introducing yourself to someone at a company you’ve represented for more than a decade.
This is one reason I encourage lawyers to develop relationships with multiple people at their client organizations. Your primary contact may be the general counsel, but there are likely other executives, in-house lawyers and business leaders who could benefit from getting to know you and your colleagues. Building those connections can also give your firm a better understanding of what’s happening across the company.
Start by looking at the relationships you already have. Perhaps your corporate partner knows the general counsel, your employment lawyer works closely with the head of human resources and an associate has developed a strong relationship with someone on the legal operations team. Does everyone on the client team know about these connections? Are there opportunities to introduce additional lawyers or bring colleagues together for a meeting with the client?
Business development professionals can help by creating a relationship map that shows who knows whom, where the firm has strong connections and which important contacts it would be helpful to get to know. I’d pay particular attention to new executives, rising leaders and people involved in decisions about outside counsel. A new deputy general counsel, for example, may eventually become the general counsel, either at that company or somewhere else.
There are plenty of natural ways to build these relationships. Invite additional client contacts to a relevant event, introduce a colleague who works on an issue they’re dealing with or arrange a meeting that brings together lawyers and executives who have shared interests. When a client contact changes jobs, stay in touch and congratulate them on the new role. These are all opportunities to develop relationships that can continue throughout people’s careers.
I’d make relationship mapping and introductions part of regular client team discussions, especially when a senior partner is approaching retirement or the client is experiencing leadership changes. The more people who know your firm and have positive experiences working with your lawyers, the more opportunities you’ll have to understand the client’s needs, maintain continuity and grow the relationship over time.
5. Make Client Team Meetings More Productive
A lot can happen at a client between meetings. The company may announce an acquisition, hire a new executive, expand into another market or begin working through a challenge that affects several parts of its business. Meanwhile, different lawyers at your firm may be hearing different pieces of the story through their individual client contacts.
Client team meetings are a great opportunity to bring that information together. Imagine a corporate partner mentions that a manufacturing client is planning an acquisition, an employment lawyer shares that the company expects to hire 200 people and another colleague knows that a new general counsel is joining next month. When everyone shares what they know, the team can start to see how these developments fit together and where the firm may be able to help.
Business development professionals should come prepared to these meetings with relevant information. Look at recent company announcements, leadership changes, industry news and notes from previous client conversations. Find out what the lawyers have been hearing from their contacts and whether there are any outstanding commitments. Use that information to prepare a short briefing and identify a few topics that would be useful for the team to discuss.
During the meeting, spend time talking about what these developments could mean for the client. Does someone at the firm know the incoming general counsel? Has another practice advised companies on similar expansions? Would it be helpful to arrange an introduction or share information about an issue the client has mentioned? These discussions can reveal connections and opportunities that individual lawyers may not have recognized on their own.
Before everyone leaves, agree on a few specific next steps and who will handle them. The business development team can help coordinate introductions, prepare follow-up materials and check on progress before the next meeting. I’d also revisit previous commitments so the team can see which conversations have progressed and whether any new developments warrant attention.
6. Give Lawyers the Information They Need Before a Client Meeting
Think about how much better a client meeting can be when a lawyer walks in knowing that the company just announced an acquisition, hired a new general counsel or is preparing to enter a new market. Those developments give the lawyer something meaningful to discuss beyond the matter they’re currently handling and can lead to conversations about where the client may need additional support.
This is one of my favorite ways for business development professionals to add value. Before an important meeting, spend some time researching what’s happening at the company, reviewing the firm’s existing relationships and identifying any developments that could be relevant to the conversation. Then put together a briefing that helps the lawyer quickly understand what matters. I would much rather give a lawyer two pages of useful information than a 20-page research report that they’ll never have time to read.
Let’s say a partner is meeting with a client that recently announced an acquisition. The briefing could include an overview of the deal, the executives involved, the firm’s experience with similar transactions and any existing relationships with people at the acquiring company or the target. It could also identify colleagues who have relevant experience with integration, employment or regulatory issues that may arise as the transaction progresses.
The relationship information is particularly important. You may discover that another partner already knows the company’s new chief financial officer or that a colleague previously worked with an executive at the acquisition target. Knowing about those connections before the meeting gives the lawyer an opportunity to approach the conversation with a more complete understanding of the client and the firm’s relationships.
Technology can make this preparation easier. Tools such as Gatsby can help firms bring together company and relationship intelligence so business development teams can spend more time identifying relevant information and helping lawyers put it to use. The research becomes especially valuable when it leads to a thoughtful discussion topic, a useful introduction or a better understanding of what the client is trying to accomplish.
Make this kind of preparation a regular part of the process for important client meetings. Even 15 or 20 minutes of focused research can uncover information that changes the direction of a conversation and helps a lawyer identify an opportunity that might otherwise have gone unnoticed.
7. Make Follow-Up Part of Every Client Conversation
We’ve all been in meetings where a client mentions something important, a lawyer offers to make an introduction or send along some information and everyone leaves feeling like it was a productive conversation. Then the week gets busy, other priorities take over and that great opportunity never goes anywhere.
Imagine a client mentions that the company is preparing to expand internationally. The lawyer offers to introduce a colleague who has experience advising companies on similar expansions. It’s a helpful suggestion, and the client is interested. But unless someone takes responsibility for making that introduction, the conversation may end there.
This is where business development professionals can make a difference. After an important client meeting, check in with the lawyer about what was discussed, what the client seemed interested in and what needs to happen next. If an introduction was promised, help prepare the email and coordinate the meeting. If the client asked for information, gather the relevant materials and make it easy for the lawyer to respond promptly.
Keep track of these commitments and revisit them during regular client team discussions. You may discover that an introduction led to another conversation, that a client has a new concern or that an earlier discussion has become more relevant because of a recent company development.
A client who mentions an upcoming acquisition today may need additional legal support several months from now. Staying in touch, remembering what matters to them and following through on the things you’ve discussed can help your firm remain part of those conversations as their plans develop.
8. Look Beyond Revenue to Understand the Strength of Your Client Relationships
A client can be one of your firm’s largest sources of revenue and still have a relationship that depends almost entirely on one partner. That partner may know the general counsel incredibly well, but what happens when either person retires, changes jobs or leaves the organization? Suddenly, a relationship that looked strong on paper may be more vulnerable than anyone realized.
Now think about a client that generates less revenue but works with lawyers across several practices, regularly invites the firm into conversations about upcoming business plans and has relationships with multiple partners and associates. There may be significant opportunities to grow that relationship because the firm has developed connections throughout the organization and understands more of what’s happening in the client’s business.
This is why I’d encourage firms to look beyond the numbers when evaluating their most important client relationships. Ask how many people at the client know your lawyers, whether the firm is being included in early conversations about new initiatives and whether introductions to other practices have led to meaningful engagement. Pay attention to whether the client calls only when there’s an immediate legal problem or also reaches out when they’re thinking through something new.
Business development professionals can help tell this story by tracking introductions, client meetings, new relationships and opportunities that develop over time. These activities may not immediately translate into revenue, but they can reveal whether the relationship is becoming broader, more connected and better positioned for future growth.
Make this part of every major client review. Look at the revenue, then look at the people behind it. Identify where relationships are concentrated, which connections have grown and where the firm has opportunities to get to know the client better. Understanding the people behind the numbers gives you a much clearer picture of the relationship and helps you identify where to focus your business development efforts next.
Turn What You Learn Into Stronger Client Relationships
Think about the last time a client mentioned something important during a meeting. Maybe they were planning an acquisition, dealing with a leadership change or expanding into a new market. What happened with that information afterward? Did it lead to another conversation, an introduction to a colleague or a helpful follow-up? Or did everyone return to their regular work and move on?
Lawyers and business development professionals should make a habit of spending a few minutes after important client conversations discussing what they learned and what might be useful to the client. Share relevant information with the client team, identify colleagues who have experience that could help and make sure someone takes responsibility for any promised follow-up. A thoughtful introduction or a timely email can build on a conversation and show clients that you’re paying attention to what’s happening in their businesses.
Business development teams have an important role here. They can help lawyers connect the dots between client conversations, company developments, existing relationships and the firm’s capabilities. They can also make it easier for lawyers to act by preparing introductions, coordinating meetings and keeping track of commitments.
The next business development opportunity may come from something a client mentions in passing during a call you’re already having. Pay attention to those details, share what you learn with the right people and follow through in ways that are genuinely useful to the client. That’s how everyday conversations can become stronger relationships and create opportunities for the firm to do more meaningful work.
For more on how to put business development practices into practice, check out this article.
Stay in Touch! Connect with me on LinkedIn, Threads, YouTube, Instagram, sign up for my email list and follow my blog. Obtain a copy of my LinkedIn Secrets guide. Sign up for my LinkedIn Mastermind.