Business development for lawyers: how to build a book of business

Your book of business is the client work you control: the clients who hire the firm because of you and the fees they pay. Firms usually measure it in collected fees credited to you as the originating lawyer, not in the hours you bill. A portable book is the part that would follow you to another firm.

You do not own your clients. Clients choose their lawyers. The ABA Model Rules bar agreements that restrict a lawyer’s right to practice after leaving a firm, except for retirement benefits. One reason: such agreements limit the freedom of clients to choose a lawyer [1]. A book is only as portable as the client relationships behind it. Firms weigh it in partner decisions and lateral partner hiring, and at many firms it shapes partner pay.

A practice can still be sold. Under the ABA model rule, a lawyer or firm may sell or purchase a law practice, including good will, if the rule's conditions are met [2]. The seller must give each client written notice of the sale and of the client's right to retain other counsel [3].

A rainmaker is a lawyer who brings in a steady flow of new clients and matters, usually more than they can handle alone, so their business keeps other lawyers busy. Lawyers use a shorthand for three roles: finders bring in the work, minders look after client relationships, and grinders do the work. Many partners are a mix of all three.

It depends on who the client is.

• Businesses and institutions, the core clients of large and mid-size firms, hire lawyers they already know or lawyers recommended by someone they trust. The work comes through in-house lawyers who have worked with you, former colleagues who moved in-house, other lawyers who refer work they cannot take, and partners at your own firm who serve the same client. A reputation in a niche, built through articles, talks and client alerts, makes your name the one that comes up.
• Individuals, in practices such as personal injury, family law, estates, immigration and criminal defense, often start with a search or a referral: past clients, other lawyers, accountants and financial advisers, community groups and online reviews. For these practices, a useful website and a complete local search listing matter.
• Small businesses often hire through their accountant, banker or another adviser, which is why relationships with those professions pay off for small-firm lawyers.

Larger firms back individual effort with marketing and business development staff, client teams for their biggest relationships, formal pitches and responses to requests for proposals. The relationships still run through individual lawyers.

You do not have to be outgoing to build a book. You have to be consistent. A routine that fits around billable work:

1. Pick a niche. Choose an industry, a type of client or a problem to be known for. "Commercial litigator" is hard to refer; "the lawyer who handles trade secret disputes for software companies" is easy.
2. List your people. Write down the clients, former colleagues, classmates, referral sources and in-house lawyers who could hire you or send you work. Mark the dozen or so who matter most.
3. Reach a few each week. A call, a coffee, a useful article with a line on why you sent it, congratulations on a new role. Offer something useful; skip the pitch.
4. Publish for buyers, not for lawyers. Write and speak where your clients read and gather: their trade groups, publications and conferences.
5. Grow what you have. The easiest new work comes from clients you already serve. Ask what else is on their plate, and introduce colleagues who can help.
6. Ask. When there is a fit, say so plainly. If the person is not a client or another lawyer, check the solicitation rule first (see the ethics rules below). For example: "If that dispute goes forward, I would like to help. Can I send you a short note on how we would approach it?"
7. Keep score. Track who you contacted and what came of it. Review the list once a month and drop what is not working.

Put the niche, the list and the routine on a single page. That is your business development plan, and it is worth bringing to a partnership committee or a coach.

Firms rarely expect junior associates to bring in clients, but the habits start early. Do excellent work for the firm’s existing clients, because the partners you work for are your first clients. Stay close to classmates and peers; some will become in-house lawyers, referral sources and founders. Build a visible niche, and keep a record of anything you help bring in. Expectations rise as you approach a partnership vote; see how to make partner at a law firm.

If your firm offers business development training or pays for a coach, take it. And if you would rather not carry a book, you can say so. Counsel and senior attorney roles exist for lawyers who want to practice without one, though at many firms pay and job security track the business a lawyer controls.

Business development time is not billable to clients. Firms usually record it on a non-billable code, and some count part of it toward an annual hours target, so check your firm’s policy before you plan around it. Client meals and events go through the firm’s marketing budget under its expense policy, not onto a client’s bill.

Origination credit is how a firm records who brought in a client or a matter. At many firms it is a major input to partner pay, and it can be split between lawyers. Depending on the firm, credit can end after a set period, or continue as long as the client keeps sending work [4]. Before you bring in work or join a firm, ask for the written policy. If there is none, ask how credit is decided. Either way, find out how credit is assigned and shared, whether it ends after a set period, whether associates and counsel can earn it, and how disputes are settled. Agree on credit in writing when a new matter comes in.

These matter most to solo and small-firm lawyers who serve individuals and small businesses.

Referral groups. Lawyers ask about referral networking groups such as BNI chapters and ProVisors. These groups work when the other members serve your clients’ other needs, you attend long enough to be trusted, and you send referrals as well as receive them. Read the ethics rules first. The ABA model rule says a lawyer may not give or promise anything of value to a person for recommending the lawyer's services [5]. The exceptions are narrow. One allows a reciprocal referral agreement, if it is not exclusive and the client is told about it [6]. Another allows nominal thank-you gifts that are not intended or expected to pay for the referral [7]. The not-exclusive condition matters in groups that seat one member per profession: BNI, for example, admits just one person from each profession in each chapter [8]. Check your state’s version of the rule, and its ethics opinions, before you join a group that expects referrals in return.

Search. Where clients search for a lawyer, as in personal injury, family law or estate planning, a fast, useful website, a complete local search listing and honest reviews are worth the effort. If you pay an agency, judge it on signed clients, not rankings, avoid long contracts, and make sure you own your website, domain and accounts. For lawyers who serve businesses, search matters far less than relationships.

Ads. Paid search can work for practices that serve individuals, if you know what a signed client is worth. Track the cost per signed client from the first month and stop what does not pay.

The ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct are a template; your own state’s rules control, so check its version. Three of the model rules shape everyday business development:

• Honesty. The rules bar false or misleading communications about a lawyer or the lawyer's services [9]. That covers your bio, website, posts and pitches.
• In-person solicitation. The ABA rule bars live person-to-person solicitation, such as in person or by phone, when a significant motive is the fee. Solicitation here means offering to handle a specific matter that you know, or should know, the person needs help with. The rule allows contact with other lawyers and with people who routinely use that type of legal service for business purposes [10]. It also allows contact with people with whom you have a family, close personal, or prior business or professional relationship. No solicitation of any kind is allowed once the person has told you no, or if it involves coercion, duress or harassment. Offering help to a small business owner who routinely hires lawyers for lease or contract issues fits the model rule; approaching a stranger after an accident does not.
• Confidentiality. You may not reveal information relating to the representation of a client [11] without the client’s informed consent, apart from narrow exceptions. The ABA’s ethics committee has said the duty applies even when the information is in a court record or other public record [12]. Get consent before you post about a deal, a verdict or a client’s name.

A business development coach will not bring you clients. A good one helps you choose a niche, build a target list, practice the ask and keep a routine when billable work crowds it out. Coaching helps most when business development has just become part of your job. That includes a senior associate heading toward a partnership vote, a new partner, a lawyer who needs to show a book before a lateral move, and a lawyer starting a practice. If a move is the goal, see coaches for job search and lateral moves as well.

Before you hire one, ask who they have coached in situations like yours, how they measure progress and what the contract commits you to. Be wary of long minimum terms and promised results. Among the listings in this directory that show a per-session price, the median starting price is $300; see what a lawyer coach costs. Business development appears as a specialty on 75 of the 198 listings in this directory. Compare business development and rainmaking coaches, see the ones who work with partners, or, if you run your own practice, see coaches for solo and small-firm owners. How to find and choose a career coach covers vetting in more detail, or you can answer three questions to narrow the list.

Try the free help first: your firm’s marketing and business development staff, bar association practice management programs and CLE courses, mentors inside and outside your firm, and, for firm owners, free small-business mentoring from SCORE.