Law Firm Insights: How to Navigate Business Development for 2024

Jennifer Tomlinson

As Executive VP of Marketing, I work to identify business needs and help QorusDocs’ clients generate revenue more effectively and efficiently. I spearhead efforts to increase brand awareness through digital marketing and client engagement.

Generating a reliable revenue stream from both existing and new clients underpins the health of a law firm. Yet faced with a shifting workplace model, intensifying competition, and a fast-moving digital landscape, how do law firms navigate business development in 2024? Our new guide for law firms aims to answer this question and more. 

Client business: positive outlook  

Amidst the uncertainty of rising interest rates , the recent collapse of three U.S. regional banks, and the expanding geopolitical conflict in the Middle East and Ukraine, demand for legal services is holding strong; forty-one percent of clients planned to increase legal spending in 2023 and only 20% expected to cut back. The Thomson Reuters Institute’s Law Firm Financial Index (LFFI) backs up this prediction, revealing a sharp increase in Q2 this year and a 1.5% year-over-year increase in demand for legal services. 

To set the stage for continued growth, law firms need to find a way to capitalize on demand and drive business from new and existing clients. Recognizing and overcoming the challenges impeding new business opportunities is a key step in building your firm’s business development and marketing strategy. 

Challenges impacting business development strategies for law firms  

Executing an effective business development strategy is complicated by a number of internal and external factors and challenges. Let’s discuss a couple of these obstacles and what you can do to help your legal practice find solutions. 

[For a more in-depth discussion of the top challenges facing law firms heading into 2024—and how your firm can successfully navigate the issues to thrive— read the comprehensive guide .] 

The workplace has changed. A lot.

The labor force and the workplace have both changed significantly since before the pandemic. In 2021 and 2022 , nearly 90 million Americans quit their jobs. The aptly-named Great Resignation precipitated labor shortages at many firms, with competition intensifying for both legal staff and marketing and business development professionals. To make matters worse, law firms are competing against all industries, not just the legal sector, for marketing and business professionals to power their pitch process. 

The pandemic also changed how and where people work, with many employees continuing to work from home or adopting a hybrid model in the name of work-life balance. Is your firm successfully navigating flexible work environments to attract top talent? 

In addition, the function of business development at law firms is transitioning away from a generalist approach characterized by traditional law firm marketing tactics to a growing demand for AI-driven digital marketing, data analytics, and strategic business development skills. Are you optimizing digital resources and skills as part of your business development strategy to produce results that translate to increased client revenue?

How can your law firm address these workplace challenges?

  • Outsource marketing and business development professionals (especially CRM and support roles) to ensure the necessary resources to execute your firm’s business development strategy. 
  • Implement applications and AI-powered tools that automate, accelerate, and streamline business development processes and tasks (e.g., email marketing platform, proposal management software , presentation templates) to create efficiencies that help reduce the need to hire additional staff.
  • Deploy cloud-based solutions and secure communication platforms to support hybrid and remote working models, enabling seamless collaboration among team members and with clients, regardless of their location.

The volume of data and content is exploding.

As the legal landscape becomes more client-focused, law firms are amassing vast volumes of data—from information about markets, sectors, and locations to the clients, prospects, and competitors that operate within them.

While this repository of data can help law practices leverage valuable data insights to personalize the client experience across business development (e.g., pitching legal services to prospective clients, cross-selling services tailored to an existing client’s needs) and billable legal tasks, ensuring data quality and integrity is a challenge.

In fact, when ILTA asked law firms what concerned them most about marketing technology, respondents said that “data quality” and “creating usable data,” were keeping them up at night. Did you know most CRM/ERM and eMarketing systems at law firms are rife with “ incorrect, incomplete, dated, and duplicated records ?” Are you sleeping soundly—or is the challenge of managing, organizing, and leveraging the data in your firm causing sleepless nights too?

Bad data can derail even the best-designed business development strategies. Poor quality data translates to inaccuracies in the information available to the team, costing your firm time, money, and potentially reputational damage.

Just think if your CRM data is incorrect or incomplete. The invitations to your latest webinar—perhaps a webinar intended to attract new client business—won’t reach the intended recipients, negatively impacting attendance, brand perception, and ROI.

On the pitch front, the quality of marketing content and the robustness of your content management capabilities directly impact your firm’s ability to acquire new clients and generate more business from existing clients.

Consider if your marketing assets (e.g., firm boilerplate, partner bios) are incorrect or outdated. Creating accurate, personalized pitches and presentations will be a struggle, regardless of the sophistication of your CRM or proposal management software.

How can your law firm address these data volume and quality challenges?

  • Implement a robust data governance strategy + robust tech stack to ensure your firm has accurate, relevant data available in a usable format.
  • Invest the time to proactively review, update, and organize data records and marketing content on a regular basis. Outsource this task if you don’t have in-house capabilities.
  • Adopt intuitive, automated tech tools to simplify the process of organizing, maintaining, and sharing up-to-date, accurate content and to help streamline the pitch process.

We’ve reviewed two of the major challenges impacting business development and marketing efforts at law firms—but we’ve just scratched the surface. Consider these additional challenges that may influence your firm’s business development strategy heading into 2024:

Ongoing modernization of the business of law — Is your practice keeping up with the industry

Overwhelming choice of business development tools and applications (e.g., CRM, proposal management, email marketing) — How do you select the right technology for your firm?

Inefficient workflows — Are manual practices, data silos, and disconnected stakeholders impacting your firm’s productivity? Have you considered how to leverage AI-powered technologies to drive efficiencies across the practice?

For an exploration of these business development challenges and solutions, check out our new resource, Rethinking Business Development & Marketing for Law Firms: A Guide to Navigating 2024 . This guide provides a framework to help you adapt your business development strategy and tactics to respond to the changing environment, enabling your firm to build a sustainable revenue stream.

Business Development & Marketing for Law Firms Guide

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Best Business Development Strategies for Law Firms to Succeed in 2024

Business Development Strategies for Law Firms

Attorneys and law firms have witnessed a series of changes across the legal industry, and one of the most significant is a transformation in business development areas. This transformation is majorly influenced by a trend in the market. It shows that prospects of law businesses are now able to choose and connect with their preferred attorney or law firm via any widespread web-based network or platform offering a large pool of professional attorneys or legal experts.

These platforms are found across the web in the form of new-gen websites helping law businesses and their prospects connect with each other. Considering the growing popularity and demand of these listing platforms that are setting a new trend, law firms are revamping their business development (BD) strategies to keep up with the game.

What do prospects actually expect nowadays?

They don’t seek a master of all jacks but a professional legal support provider with specialization according to their need

Improving the online aspects of a law firm is as crucial for business development as improving offline functioning

Competitive pricing and add-on client services are not sufficient; law firms are in sheer need of a strong plan covering the overall business development strategies

Law firms capable of aligning their BD strategies with these market trends and conditions are more likely to obtain unprecedented growth in the years to come.

Why should law firms have a business development plan in place?

As a law business owner, your BD plan will help lay the foundation for your law firm’s sustainable growth and expansion. It works as a framework to set things in motion and that also systematically. For example, you would be able to focus on strategy implementation and evaluate the firm’s growth in previous months so that you can take appropriate actions in time.

An effective business development plan will require your time, your attorneys’ and other employees’ opinions, and extensive data about your law firm’s performance over a period of time. However, since it would not be as easy as it sounds, here are the top BD strategies for law firms to obtain success in 2022.

Top Business Development Strategies for Law Firms to Succeed in 2024

1. go live with a well-designed website.

In today’s world, where digital adoption is increasingly spreading across business sectors and industries, it is becoming necessary to build a well-designed website for your law business. As it will mostly act like the first touchpoint, it will have a difference in how a potential customer learns about your business. An unorganized, poorly designed-website would not grab the attention of many. According to Google Research, customers will make a decision within a few milliseconds of reaching your website about whether to check more pages or not. Therefore;

Make sure to use high-quality images and videos – around 60% of consumers would pay more attention to search results that include images – source

Ensure your service offerings are clearly defined – 94% of consumers say one of the most useful features of a website is its easy navigation – source

2. Establish strong relationships with clients

An old saying suggests that the best approach to acquiring new clients is to ensure that you provide excellent services to your current clients. According to the 2020 Legal Trends Report, someone looking for an attorney will likely trust recommendations from friends or their loved ones before they look for their review online reviews, social handles, etc. – source

In order to ensure you get the maximum possible referrals from your current clients, you need to prepare and implement a client-centric strategy to establish and maintain strong client relations, both during and after their case. Your aim should be to deliver an exceptional client experience.

3. Maintain operational efficiency

To keep up with high efficiency, you need to consider tracking how your staff works and how many working hours are spent on which aspect. For example, you might be surprised to find that your attorneys spend more time on administrative tasks rather than less time on case-related tasks or vice versa. Here, help your staff ensure smooth functioning to maintain operational efficiency as high as possible.

Set clear instructions about your staff members’ responsibilities across the spectrum of operations. A well-synced team with complete awareness of their roles will ensure your law business operations remain efficient.

4. Plan for hiring new staff

As your law business grows, you will experience a need to hire more legal professionals to meet clients’ needs. However, you might have found it challenging to make a decision at the right time, not being able to decide what’s the best time to hire. To help you improve your decision-making, here are a few signs showing you may need to hire new people;

  • Your law firm is too preoccupied to take on new clients
  • Service quality is continuously reducing
  • Your staff works overtime due to workload, facing burnout
  • You are unable to focus on business development as you are busy fulfilling an attorney’s absence in your law firm

If you are dealing with the above-discussed situations, there’s a high chance that you need to hire staff; determine your firm’s requirements in advance and plan for hiring new staff.

5. Find where outsourcing can help

There are many instances where you need not hire a full-time employee, whereas you can simply use legal process outsourcing services to get support with some of the most tedious and time-consuming operations that drain your in-house resources fast. That way, your outsourcing partner firm will work as an extension of your team, reducing their workload and enhancing your law firm’s capacity.

By outsourcing some part of a process or an entire process, you allow your in-house staff to focus on other core business areas that need more attention and that can positively affect the overall business development.

6. Focus on branding & marketing

You must establish a brand out of your law business. For this, it is important to ensure your brand elements are consistent. For example, you are using one logo on the website and across publications. There are limitless opportunities to improve your brand, from becoming a sustainability-promoting, no-paper law firm to having it featured in a local newspaper or magazine. This is just a small example.

You may also invest in digital or traditional marketing depending on your needs and your target audience’s demographics. Your marketing and branding efforts count when it comes to using them for business development.

7. Ask clients to submit their valuable reviews

Positive reviews on business listings and review websites such as Google, Yelp, or BBB can not only help you enhance your online brand image but also have a direct impact on business development.

Even if a client wishes not to mention their name on the review, they can actually post as an anonymous user on some business review websites. You may also offer your attorneys some incentives for getting positive online reviews from satisfied clients.

8. Add new services to your portfolio

This is a challenging but very effective strategy you can use for business development; however, it cannot be done overnight. For example, you might not have sufficient resources to start offering a new line of legal services, and thus, it requires planning and investment.

You may begin by determining the gaps, such as shortage of resources or skills required to enter the new market; find if you have the relevant and industry-standard technology tools to provide new services effectively and proficiently. Adding new services and new clients reflects your business development strategies are performing well.

If you have not worked on business development strategies for your law firm, you most likely usually remain busy managing your core roles and responsibilities, having less time for marketing and business development. If so, get complete support from legal support world experts with your law firm’s back-office operations to get more time for business development.

We are a global provider of legal process outsourcing services , helping attorneys and law firms enhance capacity and efficiency, streamline operations and functionality, and optimize legal processes, adding value to their bottom line and playing our part in their business development and success. To learn how we can help your law firm, reach us at +1 646 688 2821 or send an email to [email protected]

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We’ve used the services of LSW, at both the lawyer and paralegal level, and have been satisfied with the quality of their deliverables. We value the association with LSW and will never be reluctant in working together with them in the future.

I have used the services of Legal Support World on more than one occasion. They always respond quickly to my enquiries and ask intuitive questions to deliver the reviewed contracts, exactly as per our requirements. Furthermore, they provide a quality service at a sensible price.

Legal services offered by LSW were a great find for me. The team listens very well, gets the brief and has helped us draw up some excellent contracts and other legal documents which have served our company well. I felt I was getting value for money and real expertise. I would recommend LSW anytime.

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business development strategy law firm

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Business development for law firms

Create a business development strategy.

Your strategy will keep your firm’s development on track and make sure progress is monitored.

It can include:

  • growth objectives
  • who your target market is and how you can meet their needs
  • how to build awareness of your brand
  • how success is measured, for example how marketing activity results in new business enquiries

Learn how to prepare a strategic plan

Find out how to implement a strategic plan

Read about the challenges of implementing a plan in practice

Customer service

Focus on customer service, making sure that:

  • your clients feel listened to
  • your clients know you by name
  • your offices are welcoming
  • timeframes are realistic and services are delivered on time

Having a customer service policy can help regulate:

  • how often staff should contact clients
  • how quickly enquiries should be responded to
  • how to deal with client complaints

You may consider setting up a discount scheme to reward customer loyalty or encourage referrals.

Our client care resources  can help you to provide a good standard of service for your clients.

Flexible opening hours

Flexible opening hours can attract clients by giving them the opportunity to speak to you before and after their working hours. This will also allow your staff to work flexibly.

Our practice note on flexible working  discusses employee rights and types of flexible working your firm may like to consider.

Accreditation

Getting an accreditation shows clients that your firm follows best practice.

Lexcel  is our legal practice quality mark for client care, compliance and practice management. 

Cross-sell your services

Use client data to improve customer relationship management.

You can categorise clients into contact groups based on their areas of interest. You can then tailor promotional and cross-selling efforts can then be tailored to meet their needs.

For example, you could suggest complementary services or send targeted messages to certain client lists.

Make sure all marketing is compliant with GDPR .

Market your firm

Make sure all your marketing materials and advertisements look professional. Working with a designer can help you stand out.

Put your firm forward for awards and promote your success  if you win:

  • use the award logo on your communications
  • announce it on social media
  • hold a celebratory event
  • write and promote a press release

Website and social media

Your website should be clear. You should make sure:

  • the services you provide are easy to find
  • staff profiles are up to date and link to service pages
  • you don’t use legal jargon

You can take steps to make your firm easier to find online. For example, you can:

  • use Google My Business to improve your firm’s Google ranking – it will appear in Google’s local search results
  • share insightful content to draw readers to your site
  • promote your unique offering as a firm
  • create and share videos about your services
  • use effective calls to action on your site, for example ‘Call me today for a free consultation’

Make sure your profile on Find a Solicitor is up to date.

Use social media, for example Twitter and LinkedIn, to:

  • keep people updated on your firm's progress
  • promote any thought leadership articles your firm has produced

Our practice note on social media  sets out the benefits and risks of using social media and covers how to set a social media policy.

Build your network

You may choose to:

  • attend networking events and conferences
  • arrange drinks, activities or sporting events with contacts at different organisations
  • speak at your firm’s events or local or sector-based events
  • write for your website or the local or trade press

Make the most of training and mentoring opportunities  to improve your formal and informal networking skills.

Lawyers for your business  connects you with potential clients for a free consultation.

See our tips for expanding your business overseas

Starting your own business

This three-part series sets out what you need to consider when starting a new law firm:

  • top considerations

Looking to develop your business? Douglas McPherson suggests five development strategies that don't involve networking .

Watch our webinars on:

  • improving your profit margins
  • growing your client base

Our Financial Stability Toolkit helps firms to address common financial issues.

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business development strategy law firm

The legal industry is experiencing a transformative era driven by new technology, changing client expectations and a globally connected business landscape. As we head into 2024 in a few months, law firms need to devise and implement a fresh approach to marketing and business development, regardless of their size. Here’s how to devise a strategy tailored to your firm’s needs.

Why Your Law Firm Needs a Marketing and Business Development Strategy

Law firms, irrespective of their size or specialization, are vying for a share in a market where clients are more informed, discerning and cost-sensitive than ever before. A clearly articulated strategy not only provides direction, clarity and focus for a firm’s growth efforts but also serves as a compass, ensuring alignment in decision-making and resource allocation.

Writing it down crystallizes intent, fosters accountability and facilitates communication across the firm, making the strategy tangible and actionable. Not having a strategy document can lead to missed opportunities, rendering firms reactive rather than proactive. Crafting, documenting and implementing a strategy now allows law firms to seize opportunities, positioning them for the challenges and opportunities in the new year.

Understanding the Different Needs of Law Firms by Size

The same strategy and tactics for implementation of a law firm marketing strategy is not one size fits all because every firm is different, and has unique challenges and advantages, budgets, talent and practice and industry strengths. That being said, it’s important to understand the differences between the firm sizes so that firms can create a bespoke and effective marketing strategy.

Small Law Firms

  • Challenges : Limited resources, brand recognition and expansive competition from similarly sized competitors.
  • Strengths : Agility, personal client relationships niche specializations.

Mid-sized Law Firms

  • Challenges : Positioned between nimble smaller firms and resource-rich larger ones, these firms face competition from both sides.
  • Strengths : Broader service range, a mix of agility and resources, potential for strategic partnerships.

Large Firms

  • Challenges : Maintaining innovation, ensuring consistent branding across global locations, managing vast human resources.
  • Strengths : Established brand recognition, abundant resources, diversified expertise, global reach.

Key Takeaways

  • Adaptability is paramount. The landscape will continue evolving and rigidity can lead to obsolescence.
  • Understand your firm’s unique value proposition and communicate it effectively.
  • The era of digital dominance continues. Online marketing, social media marketing, virtual networking and remote consultations will remain crucial.
  • Client-centric approaches win. Understand their changing needs and adjust your strategies and tactics accordingly.

How to Create a Law Firm Marketing and Business Development Strategy

Let’s explore the essential components for a comprehensive marketing and business development strategy for law firms and how to create a strategy document.

  • Executive Summary : Begin with a concise overview of your strategy’s purpose, highlighting primary objectives and the anticipated outcomes. This provides a snapshot for stakeholders who need a quick understanding of the strategy’s direction.
  • Firm’s Vision and Mission : Reiterate your firm’s foundational vision and mission. This section acts as a reminder of your firm’s core values and the overarching goals you aim to achieve, ensuring alignment in all strategies.
  • Client Segmentation and Profiling : Detailed information about your current and potential client base. Recognize patterns in client industries, sizes and needs to tailor your services and marketing message.
  • Competitive Analysis : A thorough examination of direct and indirect competitors, understanding their strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT). This will help identify market gaps and areas where you can differentiate your services.
  • SWOT Analysis for Your Firm : Understand your firm’s internal and external factors that could impact future growth. This gives a holistic view of the environment in which you’re operating.
  • Digital Presence Assessment : With the growing importance of online platforms, review your website, social media channels, online reviews and any other digital touchpoints. Assess their effectiveness and areas for improvement.
  • Goals and Objectives : Set clear, measurable and time-bound goals. Whether it’s expanding into a new practice area, increasing client acquisition by a certain percentage or boosting online engagement, ensure every goal aligns with the firm’s broader mission.
  • Tactics and Initiatives : Outline specific actions to achieve the set objectives. This could involve launching a new content marketing campaign, investing in new CRM software or hosting regular client feedback sessions.
  • Budget Allocation : A detailed financial plan outlining the allocation of resources for each tactic. This should include projections for expected returns on investments.
  • KPIs and Metrics : Define key performance indicators to track progress against objectives. These could range from website traffic and conversion rates to client retention rates or revenue per client.
  • Feedback and Iteration : Establish a process for regular strategy reviews, allowing for adjustments based on results, feedback, and changing market conditions.
  • Stakeholder Engagement Plan : Outline how you will keep partners, associates and other key firm members informed and engaged in the strategy’s rollout and progress.
  • Risk Management : Identify potential risks and challenges that might hinder the strategy’s success, along with mitigation plans for each identified risk.

The Components of a Marketing and Business Development Strategy

Here are the key areas your marketing and business development strategy document should include. Putting this together will involve interviews with key stakeholders; research on clients, competitors and peers; analytics from past marketing initiatives; data on client revenues; and an understanding of market factors, including opportunities and challenges.

  • Objective : Clearly define what you aim to achieve, e.g., increase client acquisition by 15% in the next year, raise visibility of certain practices, support the marketing efforts of new laterals or a new office, etc.
  • Target Audience : Identify and understand your ideal clients by practice and industry.
  • Value Proposition : Articulate why clients should choose your firm over competitors.
  • Channels : Decide where you’ll promote your services – from digital platforms, to content marketing to events and everything in between.
  • Action Plan : List activities to achieve your objectives, assigning responsibilities and deadlines for strategies and tactics.
  • Budget : Estimate financial resources required for each activity (sponsorships, consultants, technology, training, etc.) and budget accordingly.
  • Monitoring & Evaluation : Define metrics to measure success and schedule periodic reviews of strategies and tactics.

Creative Implementation Ideas

Here are some innovative marketing ideas, segmented by law firm size.

For Small Law Firms

  • Localized SEO: By optimizing your website for local search terms, you can better position your firm to attract clients in your vicinity.
  • Community Involvement: Active participation in local events, pro-bono legal clinics or community-based activities not only boosts your firm’s visibility but also builds trust and goodwill within the community.
  • Testimonials and Case Studies: Showcase success stories or testimonials from satisfied clients to build credibility. This word-of-mouth marketing can be particularly compelling for small firms seeking to establish their reputation.

For Mid-sized Law Firms

  • Webinars & Workshops: Regularly hosting informative sessions on legal topics can solidify your firm’s position as an industry expert. These platforms also offer an opportunity for direct engagement with potential clients.
  • Strategic Partnerships: By joining forces with non-competing firms or businesses, such as accountants or financial advisors, you can extend your reach and offer complementary services to a wider clientele.
  • Referral Programs: Given their position between small and large firms, mid-sized entities can benefit immensely from referral programs, encouraging satisfied clients to refer others in exchange for certain incentives.

For Large Firms

  • Thought Leadership: Establishing your firm as a thought leader, through comprehensive research, insightful articles and opinion pieces, can significantly enhance brand authority and attract high-profile clients.
  • Tech Integration: Embrace the latest technological innovations. Implement AI-driven chatbots to handle initial client queries, utilize a sophisticated CRM system to enhance client relationship management and explore VR capabilities for offering immersive virtual office tours or client meetings.
  • Global Networking: Large firms often have an international presence. Capitalize on this by organizing or participating in global legal symposiums, workshops and conferences. This not only elevates the firm’s global profile but also helps in cross-border client acquisition.

Recognizing the nuanced needs based on firm size is essential. Small firms, while agile and specialized, grapple with limited resources and competition. Mid-sized firms have a blend of agility and resources but compete with both smaller and larger counterparts. Large firms, boasting global reach and abundant resources, must strive for consistent branding and innovation. Success hinges on adaptability, a strong digital presence and a client-centric focus.

Implementing tailored strategies—like local SEO for small firms, webinars for mid-sized ones or AI integration for large firms—can drive business growth. The takeaway? Be proactive, leverage unique strengths and keep innovation at the forefront for optimal marketing success in 2024.

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Nine Strategies for legal business development in 2020

Back to Law Firm Management Committee publications

Itzik Amiel THE SWITCH, Amsterdam [email protected]

Introduction

We see an interesting change in the business development of the legal market. This change is based on the wide, direct access that many clients have nowadays to lawyers globally. Macro trends indicate that clients have made fundamental changes to the ways they purchase professional services, which has driven lawyers to embrace new approaches to business development. What do these strategies mean for your practice? Here are some of the key implications:

• the days of trying to be ‘everything to everyone’ are numbered. The newer strategies favour specialist lawyers;

• as a lawyer, you need to combine both online and offline business development strategies. Do not ignore either area; and

• professional competence and excellent client service are no longer enough: these are merely the cost of entry. Your firm must develop a robust business development capability if it is to compete effectively.

We are certain that the lawyers who best adapt their strategies to these market conditions and execute the well-defined strategies we share in this short article will make the most progress in maturing their business development evolution in 2020 and beyond.

Alice asked: ‘I was just wondering if you could help me find my way.’

Cheshire Cat replied: ‘Well that depends on where you want to get to.’

Alice answered: ‘It doesn’t matter.’

And then the cat said:  ‘Then it really doesn’t matter which way you go.’

(paraphrased from Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland )

When it comes to your practice’s business development, this adage is nevertheless still accurate.

Whether your business involves individual professionals or is a large practice, you need to plan its development activities. This is well known.

Business development strategies for lawyers are changing. Old strategies, that have worked for many years, are losing their effectiveness and force.

New strategies, that can bring exciting opportunities for lawyers and help them grow their practices faster, are being favoured.

In the legal business world, the calibre of a business development strategy is essential. New tools (and their rapid evolution) have an increasing impact on the ways in which lawyers and law firms develop their practice.

Here are the top nine strategic opportunities that you may want to consider, in order to boost and switch your legal practice business development in 2020:

1. Identify and separate business development and marketing

It seems that many more lawyers and law firms understand the importance of business development for growing their legal practice.

Many have started to separate and switch the business development responsibilities out of the hands of marketing personnel, into the hands of a special business development manager and even partly (or completely) back to the hands of the lawyers.

This is an interesting development (and unique in some jurisdictions). It is to be encouraged because professional business development (and international business development) demands a completely different skill-set and mind-set to that required by marketing.

When we deal with business development, we speak about building and nurturing relationships with potential clients, referral sources, strategic alliances and so on. On the other hand, the core efforts of marketing centre on being found in one’s professional capacity (both offline and online).

This explains why, nowadays, joining a professional network as a lawyer is insufficient. A network can, in the best cases, help lawyers with the marketing efforts (assuming that those managing the network have marketing experience).

However, in many cases these marketing efforts do not lead to actual work. In order for this to be the case, such efforts should be supported by business development, within the professional network or within the professional legal practice. This demands a dedicated personnel to develop and nurture relationships with the potential clients.

Based on discussions with many lawyers, from 2020 even more lawyers will switch from traditional marketing to a relationships-centred, marketing-business development approach that helps them boost their practice growth.

2. Insert business development into the client engagement process

This is an opportunity for lawyers to use business development as an important part of client relationships and the client engagement process.

As you learn more about a prospect, your interaction with that prospect should be increasingly tailored and personal.

For example, you could invite them to a special event organised by you for like-minded prospects. Alternatively, you could send an item of value to them – for example, an interesting book that might provide some useful insights; an invitation for them to join you at a seminar, and so on.

In this way, your business development efforts will not only be more efficient, but will also be an easier and more pleasant part of your day-to-day operations. Moreover, you will continue to be at the forefront of their minds.

3. Create a niche for your practice and your business development efforts

In this ultra-competitive legal marketplace, lawyers are realising that a more effective approach to business development is focusing on a narrower group of prospects to guarantee success.

From a practical point of view, it will also be more efficient to invest your time in building relationships with a specific group of potential clients. 

It has been proven that individuals are only able to sustain a limited number of stable or meaningful social relationships. This is usually considered to be roughly 150 and is called ‘Dunbar’s number’. It is better to construct a focused and deep approach to business development, than to build one that is wide and shallow.

4. Know your business development ROI numbers

It seems that many lawyers cannot point to the direct results of and accurate return on investment (ROI) from each business development initiative within their practice.

It is time to change this. You need to learn to change practices based on these measurements. Why?

First, these measurements will help you reveal what works and what doesn’t. You will be able to intensify successful practices and stop business development projects that bring no (or little) ROI to you and your practice. Within a legal practice, ROI should not only be measured within monetary parameters (but that subject is for another article).

Second, the successful growth of your practice will result from knowing your numbers. The ROI for your business development efforts is very a important part of your legal practice numbers.

Lawyers who know their business development ROI numbers have a tremendous advantage over those who do not. The business development ROI numbers tell a story: understanding the story behind your numbers can be one of the most important ingredients for long-term business development success.

5. Stand out and differentiate

What are you known for? What is your law firm known for? Are you aware of your sustainable advantage?

You need to learn to stand out and differentiate your firm also by its innovative business development approach.

Focusing your business development efforts will also to help you stand out in the market place and receive the right exposure, attract new clients and gain global industry recognition.

6. Implement ‘attention leadership’

Today, there are many demands on our time and attention.

While marketing is all about ‘getting attention’, business development is more about ‘giving attention’.

As content has grown increasingly abundant and immediately available, attention becomes a limiting factor in the consumption of information by your prospects and connections.

As a leader of your legal practice, you should learn to practice ‘attention leadership’ as part of the business development of your practice. This means learning to give attention to your connections in order to stand out. Such attention will be used by your connections to filter out the most important information from a much larger pool of digital information (including information produced by your competitors, who also want your connections’ attention).

This approach will also stimulate the participation of various lawyers in your practice who will need to ‘pay attention’.

7. Switch from practice-focused to client-focused

Many lawyers get the opportunity to make proposals to clients with complex matters in their area of expertise.

This is a great opportunity for you, as a professional, to boost your practice’s business development, by taking a more strategic approach to these projects.

In other words, instead of pitching on only your specific capabilities, also include your strategic approach to dealing with client matters and serving their needs. Convey that you understand complex client problems and share how you’ve resolved issues for similar clients.

This, again, involves switching from focusing just on your practice (the ‘getting attention’ approach) — a mistake that many lawyers make — to showcasing client issues or case studies (the ‘giving attention’ approach), which is more client-focused.

8. Create a systems approach

Increasingly, a number of professionals are looking at ways of generating new clients leads and prospects for their practice.

Many lawyers see this task as being at the heart of their business development approach.

This coming year will mark a significant switch in the way lawyers address this need. Many of the professional firms to whom we have provided our services over the last two years have chosen to adopt and implement a lead generation system as part of their business development.

This system includes generating contacts through content distribution in the right channels (not only online but also offline), tracking activities with key prospects, measuring the results in different stages of the client engagement process and analysing data to identify potential clients.

These are important tasks that will become more useful and give the lawyers who use them a significant advantage over their competitors.

9. Look for new revenue opportunities

Many of your connections — people in your network that like and trust you — are willing to pay you money now for sharing with them your knowledge, experience and ideas. We have proven this again and again in recent years, with many lawyers.

You can learn (and we believe you should learn) how to effectively turn a cost centre in your practice into a new profit centre. The only thing you need to be able to succeed here is to have an open mind-set.

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Law Firm Business Development

For law firms, understanding and implementing successful business development efforts isn’t easy. Your firm’s success rests largely on your ability to attract and retain new clients without overspending on marketing.

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There are some deeply entrenched competitors for personal injury in Chicago, but to go from #180 on a list of 200+ competitors to the top 10 in a short time has been nothing less than remarkable!”

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Why does my law firm need business development?

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Many legal marketing companies will focus on what tactics you need to attract new clients; direct mail, paid search, SEO, etc. At Postali, we focus on the bigger picture first so that we can create long-term success for your law firm. We can execute your marketing tactics, but we’ll also help you set a vision for your firm that spans far beyond marketing.

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PracticePanther

A Definitive Guide to Master Law Firm Business Development

As a law firm, building robust, long-lasting client relationships can be challenging. After all, networking, client engagement, and lead generation tactics can be time consuming. However, adapting to modern business development strategies and incorporating new technology can streamline these processes.

In this article, we’ll discuss how to make connections, set your firm up for a prosperous future, and integrate innovative tools so that your vision of your firm’s success can become a reality.

  • What is Law Firm Business Development?

Five Business Development Ideas for Law Firms

How to create a law firm business development plan, law firm business development vs. law firm marketing, resources to support law firm business development, what is law firm business development.

Law firm business development refers to anything you do, intentionally and systemically, to generate your firm’s revenue and gain clientele. It focuses more on the big picture rather than smaller transactional tasks.

You may apply law firm business development strategies by:

  • Taking on new practice areas
  • Cross-selling to existing or former clients
  • Expanding the geography of your practice
  • Implementing a more robust client intake process 

Constructing a business development plan requires time, reviewing data regarding your firm’s performance, staying up to date on trends in the industry, and keeping an eye on your competitor’s performance. 

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Law firms of any size, practice, or location can use these law firm business development ideas to build their business:

When you hear “networking,” you may automatically think of attending happy hours or big legal conferences. That’s one way to do it, and it’s a good start. This way, you can feel more comfortable and make connections in a more relaxed environment. But don’t stop there.

After you’ve attended a few events and gotten the hang of how they work, it might be time to explore other ways to put yourself out there. You may want to base your approach on your clientele and practice area.

For example, if your clients are predominantly from the medical field or need health law related services, attend events that sponsor and host physicians. Should one of their patients need representation, a doctor you met at one of these events could direct them to you.

Online Forums

People with a common problem usually take to online forums to get answers to their questions. The conversation is a collection of posted messages, allowing multiple people to participate.

Drop into a forum and offer insights and advice to people seeking help. You might just land your next customer if you check out:

  • Social media groups
  • Thomas Reuters Legal Community
  • Bar Association forums
  • The Lawyerist Community
  • Law school alumni forums

Referrals/Reviews

Some lawyers might avoid asking for referrals or reviews since they consider it free legal marketing . As long as you comply with the American Bar Association’s (ABA) guidelines, there’s no need to worry.

Referrals and reviews are a great lead generation strategy for law firms. Referred leads tend to have a higher conversion rate as they come from clients you’ve worked with and established a line of trust.

Client Engagement

Receiving leads and, ultimately, clients requires you to build strong personal relationships with your current clients. You can do this by being attentive to their needs, providing emotional support, and maintaining constant and clear communication.

As cliché as it sounds, put yourself in their position and ask yourself what you would want. Take the time to ensure they understand everything regarding their case. When you get an update on their case, let them know immediately. 

Once the case resolves, ask them for feedback. Your proactivity and willingness to do better prove your dedication and care for them.

They’ll remember how you went the extra mile for them and may feel more inclined to share their experiences with their friends and family, who just may be your future clients.

Thought Leadership

Thought leadership increases brand awareness and is another avenue to convert leads into clients. In other words, what’s your niche? If one thing about your firm stands out, make sure your prospects know what it is. Showcase your expertise by focusing on the quality of the service or perk you can provide rather than the quantity.

If you’re a personal injury attorney, provide content about common mistakes people make when dealing with insurance companies. If you run an immigration firm , write a post or make a video on how the Green Card process goes step by step.

Creating a law firm business plan sounds intimidating, but when you break it down into simple steps, you’ll feel like you can do anything.

Define Measurable Goals

Start small, and list the goals you want to accomplish in the next year. This can look like reaching a broader clientele by taking on a new practice area or partnering with another lawyer. You may have specific revenue goals you want to achieve and want to better define your law firm’s finances.  

Goals combine your firm’s performance and aspirations to create actionable, tangible achievements. 

Create Actionable Strategies

As mentioned before, goals need to be tangible and elicit action. How will you achieve these goals? Some ideas for strategies are:

  • Increasing visibility on LinkedIn or Facebook
  • Attending networking events that are more clientele-based than colleague-based (See the doctor example above)
  • Setting aside time to answer questions on social media or forums

Prioritize Your Goals

Prioritizing your firm’s goals will help you make actionable steps that you can measure and adjust along the way based on their performance. Overloading yourself with too many goals at once can be overwhelming and may be hard to track.

For example, if you want to build a presence on Instagram the most, take steps like:

  • Converting your page into a business account
  • Learning the different tools and which hashtags to use
  • Deciding if you want to post photos, videos, or a mix
  • Figuring out how often you’ll post both on your account and stories
  • Leverage Instagram or Facebook ads

Your firm should aim to implement a set of goals over a defined period, likely on a quarterly basis. 

Develop a Timeline To Test and Measure Performance

Goals are nothing without timelines or creating processes to track them. You’ll want to set a cadence, pull reports, and gauge revenue generation. This way, you can see what’s working and what isn’t.

Law firm business development and legal marketing tend to go hand-in-hand, but there is a distinction. 

Digital marketing , such as Google advertising or pay-per-click (PPC), can generate immediate revenue.

In business development, your focus is still generating revenue, but it’s less of a focus on selling. Instead, it’s about building your firm and relationships and setting up revenue streams with the long-term end goal in mind.

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Investing in law practice management software can help maximize your firm’s business development and marketing. With PracticePanther, your firm has access to native resources to effectively attract and retain more business, including: 

  • CRM : From lead to closed business, easily collect and store important client data in PracticePanther’s legal crm . Use this information to populate documents, create audience lists for email marketing campaigns, and more! 
  • Custom tags : Easily track where leads came from with tags that can be customized to your firm’s liking. Create custom tags for “LinkedIn Ads” or “Website” to track the performance of a campaign. Then, you can easily filter your tags and generate reports to identify which marketing tactics don’t work for your firm.
  • Email management : Use PracticePanther to automate your firm’s email marketing. Once a contact is created in PracticePanther, you can use the MailChimp integration or another email automation tool to sync to your email contact list. Having a space with all the information on one platform can save you time from bouncing back and forth from different websites.
  • Client intake : Streamline the onboarding process with automated client intake forms . Add custom fields to capture the information your firm needs and add your logo. Embed intake forms on your website and email signature so clients can contact your firm from anywhere. Once a client’s information is captured, it automatically syncs to PracticePanther as a contact, so you always have the record. (Yes, you can even tag them!)
  • Integrated legal calendaring software : Easily keep track of deadlines, appointments, court dates, and meetings with a built-in calendaring system . Sync your Google or Outlook calendars to PracticePanther to keep track of your events, meetings, and tasks in one place without double entry. 

Use These Tips To Effectively Invest in Your Firm’s Profitability

By adopting modern business development strategies and adopting legal-specific software, your firm can increase its visibility, generate more new business and enhance client satisfaction. As we’ve discussed, goals are nothing without processes to measure them. PracticePanther helps firms manage all aspects of their practice from business development to legal case management in one place.

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Kamron Sanders

Kamron Sanders is the Senior Content Marketing Specialist at PracticePanther, an all-in-one legal practice management software. She is responsible for creating engaging content across multiple channels including social media, articles, videos, and more. Kamron views marketing through a customer-focused lens and equips legal professionals with the information and tools to automate their practice.

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Business Development Strategy for Lawyers | Open the Playbook

Play to your strengths if you want your business development strategy to move the ball.

Watching the NFL playoffs has me reflecting on the Minnesota Vikings’ frustrating season. Earlier in the year, when our quarterback, Kirk Cousins, went down with a season-ending injury, I (along with everyone else) thought a bad season was inevitable. Then Josh Dobbs was brought in to replace Cousins and, after just a few days with the team, propelled us to an exciting win on Monday Night Football. I was not the only fan feeling optimism. But after a couple bad outings, Dobbs was replaced, and his replacement was replaced.

Just like that, we had gone through four quarterbacks on our way to a 7-10 record, missing the playoffs.

True, an injury to an elite player like Cousins made success unlikely. Still, I can’t help but wonder what might have happened if the Vikings had utilized Dobbs better. I’m no football offensive expert but I do know that Dobbs is a scrambler; yet the Vikings had him drop back and stay in the pocket because that’s their system.

Adapt Business Development Strategy to Your Talents

If there’s one thing I’ve learned from my many years of coaching lawyers, it’s to play to their strengths.

I’ve seen a lot of firms create boilerplate plans or a playbook of sorts for marketing and business development: Join an organization, write articles, give presentations ,  take referral sources to lunch . While any of these activities can be very effective, they can be equally ineffective depending on a lawyer’s personality, practice and execution.

Why would you attend a large conference if you stand by yourself at the reception or work in your room? Why would you write articles if it’s a torturous and unfulfilling process? Why would you give presentations if you break out in a cold sweat just taking the stage?

Of course, everyone should try to improve their weaknesses. Lawyers should be able to hold their own at an event. Lawyers should improve their writing skills. Lawyers should get comfortable in front of a room. But, with all the marketing and business development options available to you, the bulk of your activities should be things you like or want to do — and do well.

Focusing on What You Do Well

Some people like attending conferences.  But, if you’re uneasy at large events and have to go, find ways to make them feel smaller. Research the group and the attendees so you feel comfortable with the meeting. Contact some people ahead of time so there are friendly faces to greet. Set up some interactions during the conference, like scheduling breakfasts or coffees or planning to sit by someone you know in a session. Plan your conversation starters for breaks or cocktail parties so you’re ready. Sign up for pre-conference or small-group sessions.

Some people like preparing substantive and in-depth legal analyses. However, if you don’t have the time or interest, write short, conversational pieces that you can include in blog posts, firm blasts or LinkedIn posts. Interview clients, prospective clients, colleagues or other subject-matter experts to connect with people at the same time. Send personal emails to people who should know about the topic.

Some people like speaking to a large audience.  But, if you’re not comfortable with big rooms or formal presentations, participate in alternative forums. Organize a panel and be the facilitator. Invite co-presenters, like clients or colleagues. Find ways to break audiences into discussion groups to create a smaller feel or more interaction. Host small-group roundtables or do a podcast.

Business Development Has a Lot in Common with Sports

We often use phrases like “the long game,” “marathons, not sprints” or “advancing the ball.” This is yet another example: The best coaches put their players in a position to succeed; do the same thing for your business development.

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Check out these marketing and business development arti from Sally Schmidt: 

“Writing Your Annual Marketing Plan”

“ Moving a Client From ‘Satisfied’ to ‘Loyal’ “

“ How to Make the Most of Client Visits “

“ Turning Rate Increase Discussions Into Opportunities “

“Building a Solid Relationship With Clients Throughout the Client Journey “

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Sally J. Schmidt

Sally Schmidt, President of Schmidt Marketing, Inc., helps lawyers and law firms grow their practices. She was a founder and the first President of the Legal Marketing Association, is a Fellow of the College of Law Practice Management and was one of the first inductees to LMA’s Hall of Fame. Known for her practical advice, she is the author of two books, “ Marketing the Law Firm: Business Development Techniques ” and “ Business Development for Lawyers: Strategies for Getting and Keeping Clients .” Follow her @SallySchmidt.

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The best law firm business development and marketing strategies

Marketing a law firm can be challenging. In such a competitive industry, how do you set your law practice apart from promient law firm leaders such as Cravath or Swaine and Moore LLP? While there’s no one-size-fits-all approach to business development in the legal profession, a strategic marketing plan has the potential to pay off for years to come.

To grow in a chosen practice area, any existing or new business in the legal industry should consider the following best practices in law firm business development and marketing.

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What is law firm business development.

Law firm business development is the process of identifying and pursuing new opportunities to boost sales and generate streams of revenue. It also involves creating and maintaining relationships with potential clients. Business development activities include a wide variety of pursuits, from attending networking events to writing content for legal blogs and publications.

Building a strong referral network, creating a unique brand identity and cultivating an online presence are among the most effective strategic planning initiatives that law firms can use to expand their businesses. By focusing on these critical areas, law firms can optimize attorney lead generation and attract new clients.

Law firm business development vs. law firm marketing — what you need to know

Though law firm business development and law firm marketing are often used interchangeably, they often refer to two different concepts.

Business development generally entails growing a law firm by fostering new client relationships and expanding the services offered to existing clients. On the other hand, law firm marketing comprises promoting and selling the law practice’s services to potential clients.

Business development includes market research, target client identification and relationship development with referral sources. These approaches also help law firms expand their geographic reach or enter new practice areas.

The end goal of business development is to produce more revenue by increasing the number of clients or the amount of legal work performed for each client.

Leading experts in the legal industry, such as Deborah Farone and her business, Farone Advisors LLC, and the Legal Marketing Association , offer guidance on best practices in law firm business development and attorney marketing .

Law firm marketing entails the promotion of a firm’s services to prospective clients. Online marketing for attorneys can encompass advertising, public relations, media outreach, content marketing and social media engagement.

Often overseen by a strategic chief marketing officer (CMO), the marketing department aims to increase brand awareness to convert qualified leads into paying clients.

Top 5 law firm business development strategies

From prioritizing business needs to implementing content marketing strategies, there are several effective approaches when it comes to best practices in law firm business development and marketing. Tailor the following strategies to your specific practice area and target market to lay the foundation for sustainable growth and expansion of your law firm.

1. Establish a strong brand identity

A compelling brand identity will set you apart from competing law firm leaders and define how clients perceive your firm. Using the following guidelines, design a well-rounded brand identity that accurately reflects your firm’s values and mission:

  • Define your core values . What are the guiding principles that drive your firm’s culture? What do you stand for? Communicating your core values will help clients understand what makes your firm unique and why they should choose you over other options.
  • Develop a tagline or slogan . A catchy tagline or slogan will help clients remember your firm when they need legal services. Keep it simple and aligned with your brand identity.
  • Build a visual identity . Your visual identity includes elements like your logo, website design and marketing materials. These elements should consistently convey the overall message you want to send about your law practice.
  • Be consistent . Maintain consistency in how you communicate your brand. This means using the same language, tone and visuals across all channels, including your website, social media and directory profiles. Consistency helps reinforce your brand in clients’ minds, making it easier for them to recognize and remember your firm.

2. Develop targeted marketing campaigns

Design your campaigns to target your ideal clients and address their specific needs. For example, if your law practice is based in New York City, your campaign should reach an audience in the immediate metro area to more effectively market to potential clients.

To launch a successful marketing campaign, start by identifying your target audience. Consider factors such as age, gender, location and interests when determining who you want to reach with your campaigns. Then create marketing materials tailored to their needs based on your law firm’s practice area.

When planning your campaigns, carefully craft the type of messaging that will resonate best with your audience. Lastly, track the results of your campaigns so you can continuously improve your marketing efforts.

3. Leverage social media marketing

Social media platforms, such as Facebook and LinkedIn, offer an efficient way to connect with potential and current clients, as well as build your brand awareness. By sharing helpful and relevant content, you can position your firm as a thought leader in your field, which can go a long way in attracting new business.

In addition, satisfied clients may post word-of-mouth referrals and social media reviews for lawyers at your law firm. This serves as a form of free advertising that allows your brand to stay top-of-mind and generate high-quality leads.

4. Create informative website content

Whether through blog posts or webinars, your website should provide valuable information about your firm and relevant practice areas. Ideally, your content engages prospects and provides education and value to them. This helps your law firm demonstrate authority and thought leadership in the legal industry, especially if you have a niche practice.

Consider creating a resource center for your law firm’s clients. This resource center can contain FAQs that could be valuable to prospective clients. By providing helpful answers to common questions, you can connect with your target audience and increase your chances of receiving referrals.

5. Invest in SEO for your website

Search engine optimization (SEO) helps potential clients find your website when they are looking for legal services online. Using SEO, law firms can improve their online visibility in search engine results pages (SERPs), which potentially leads to more website visitors, clients and cases to your website.

Common SEO tactics include optimizing website content with keywords, building links, improving local search visibility and creating listings on lawyer review sites .

Grow your law firm with Broadly’s marketing solutions

Streamline your business development and marketing efforts with an industry-leading suite of software solutions by Broadly . Build long-lasting relationships with new and existing clients with the Campaigns tool, which allows you to personalize text and email campaigns with custom templates and automation features.

Whether you need to revamp your law firm’s website with a mobile-friendly, responsive web design or engage online leads with a simple Web Chat interface, Broadly provides the support you need to grow your business.

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Law Firm Business Development Strategies

So you’re interested in learning what law firm business development is, but you aren’t sure how to approach it. Most lawyers are familiar with marketing their law firm but developing it is an entirely different story. The former focuses on attracting new clients while the latter focuses on sustainability and long-term growth.

Law firm business development goes beyond simply generating more revenue. You want to stake your claim as a reputable law firm that is built to stand the test of time. Whether you’re an owner of a small law firm or part of a big one, there’s always room for improvement on the business end.

In this article, we’ll discuss everything you need to know about law firm business development so you can accelerate your law firm’s growth.

What is law firm business development?

Simply put, law firm business development means putting your business in the best position to succeed. Every law firm’s progression will be different compared to others, but the areas of development are likely to be the same. For example, you may need to expand your networks to pursue professional opportunities. Or, you may need to establish stronger client relationships to obtain quality referrals.

Some people confuse law firm business development with marketing. The main difference here is that with business development, you’re building for the future. Whereas with marketing, you’re focused on the “now” in terms of one-time transactions. Developing your business is a long-term commitment, one that requires sustained effort to achieve meaningful results.

The pursuit of accelerating business is a continuous process, especially in a competitive space like the legal industry. You want to make sure you’re constantly innovating your strategies to outgrow and outsmart your competition. By planning your law firm’s development, you can reach the full potential of your business and provide client-centric services to your audience.

Top strategies for law firm business development

There’s more to developing a law firm than simply generating more revenue. You have to improve your business in every aspect, from cultivating new partnerships to expanding geographically. Building a sound strategy is key to a successful law firm’s business development, so let’s take a look at the methods you can use to achieve just that.

1. Nurture existing clients

We always say that the legal industry is people-based. Thus, it should be in your best interest to look after your existing clients. Why? Because your current clients can lead you to new referrals. The goal is to provide your clients with exceptional service right from the start. When you satisfy their needs, they’re more likely to recommend your law firm to friends and family members.

You can elevate the client experience starting with communication. Be proactive when answering your client’s inquiries and update them regularly on their case. Keep in touch with them as much as you can and make sure they have a full understanding of what’s going on. That way, they’ll feel confident about you handling their legal needs.

Another way to nurture your clients is to offer more than just legal services. People come to your law firm not just to obtain legal help, but to receive professional advice and support as well. Showing a bit of empathy can go a long way towards making your clients feel more secure, and this can make a big impact on your law firm’s image.

It’s always a good idea to ask your clients for feedback after they’ve used your services. Ask them if they’re satisfied with how you represented them in court or how well you handled their case. The best way to take care of your clients is to hear straight from the source, so keep this in mind when nurturing your clients.

2. Expand your professional network

Building connections is crucial to the health and longevity of a law firm. When you expand your professional network, you open up new opportunities for your business. With networking, you want to create relationships naturally. By that, we mean getting out there and being comfortable with your skin.

Networking opportunities are everywhere. From attending bar events and conferences to charity programs and non-profit activities, these places are great for connecting with like-minded professionals such as yourself. When you interact with people, you’re already networking. Strike a casual conversation, and if the opportunity presents itself, feel free to mention your business and career.

While you’re in the process of expanding your network, you’ll discover nuggets of wisdom from other professionals. Listening to other people’s beliefs, ideologies, and knowledge will give you valuable insight not only as a lawyer but as an entrepreneur as well. It’s the sharing of ideas that broadens the scope of your professional viewpoint and stimulates the creativity that lies within you.

3. Work with law firm consultants

This strategy works best with small practices that are looking to elevate their law firm’s performance. If you’re running a small law firm, you should consider working with consultants in your field. Law firm consultants understand the ins and outs of the legal industry and can contribute to your business in more ways than you can imagine.

As a lawyer, you only have so much free time available. This is especially true with small practices where the performance of your law firm hinges on your efforts. When you hire law firm consultants, you obtain practical guidance on how to run your business more efficiently. Everything from case management, business development, and client strategies are taken into consideration, and you’ll find the expertise of consultants to be super helpful in certain situations.

When hiring law firm consultants, make sure to consider their experience. Those who’ve worked with multiple law firms are likely to recommend proven approaches to your business development than those who are new to the industry.

4. Explore new practice areas

If you have the resources, exploring a new geographical area is a great way to boost your law firm’s business development. Of course, tapping into a new location requires careful planning and consideration. You want to make sure that the area is prime for legal services and you have little to no competition to successfully establish a satellite firm there.

Another factor to consider when exploring a new practice area is the client’s travel time. Very few people are willing to travel long distances to visit an attorney. If you can shorten a client’s commute to your satellite office, you’ll have a greater chance of attracting new prospects within the location.

Establishing a new office is a decision that needs to be planned carefully. The last thing you want is to extend your law firm to an area where you can’t generate much revenue. Conduct market analysis on the location and determine whether a new office fits in with your law firm’s business development. If it does, then congratulations! You’re one step closer to reaching a milestone in the growth of your law firm.

5. Continue investing in your law firm’s growth

Most lawyers get way too involved with their legal work and forget that their law firm is a business itself. You have to keep track of your bottom line to ensure your law firm is heading in the right direction. Law firm business development requires you to invest your time, money, and resources to achieve long-lasting results. It may seem challenging at first, but once you start to make changes, you’ll notice a huge difference in how your law firm is performing.

Whether it be spending more time developing your professional relationships or upping your marketing dollars to reach more clients, whatever investments you make in your law firm will pay off in dividends. It takes a lot of work to get your law firm to where you want to be, and you need to be dedicated throughout the entire process to see meaningful results.

Putting it all together

Law firm business development doesn’t happen overnight. It takes a collective, sustained effort from you and your legal team to take your business to the next level. Set goals so that you know which areas of your business need the most improvement. Continue to innovate and look out for the latest trends in the legal industry. Find new ways to establish stronger connections with your clients.

It’s the small details that make a huge difference when developing your law firm. And most importantly, you should remain consistent with your efforts. Not only will your law firm grow, but you’ll most certainly progress in your career as well.

If you’re planning on developing your law firm, make sure to implement the five strategies we’ve mentioned. Formulate a game plan on how you can execute them so that you can position your law firm above your competitors.

If you’re in need of professional bookkeeping services and would like to grow your small law firm, we are here to help. Just fill out the form below and we’ll be in touch with you soon.

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While sustainability initiatives have existed at law firms for several years, the wider push for the private sector to participate in overall decarbonization efforts has put an increased focus on sustainability and the ‘E’ of ESG (or environmental, social and corporate governance) for organizations across all industries — including professional services firms. Many law firms are responding to this growing call by increasing their sustainability efforts. What may have started with recycling initiatives, double-sided printing and implementing energy-efficient solutions in the office has now grown to net zero commitments and decarbonization plans. In 2021, the Net Zero Lawyers Alliance, an organization committed to accelerating the transition to net zero carbon emissions by 2050, launched with more than 20 international law firm members 1 .

The pressure for firms to heighten their focus on sustainability issues is coming directly from clients, current employees, potential new hires and society at large. The client impetus is especially resonant. Most clients are under pressure from investors, lenders and other stakeholders to disclose their climate-related risks and plan a path for decarbonization. Forbes reported in 2021 that about one-fifth, or 21%, of the world’s 2,000 largest public companies have committed to meet net zero targets 2 . As companies announce their own climate commitments, many of those companies expect the vendors who contribute to their carbon footprint, such as outside counsel law firms, to align with their decarbonization plan.

The legal business developer or marketer can play an important role in progressing their law firm’s sustainability strategy. These positions lend themselves naturally to gleaning insight into the client’s perspective, engaging with various stakeholders throughout the firm to make the case for a sustainability strategy, and communicating the firm’s sustainability agenda and progress toward key benchmarks to the public in a transparent way. Most importantly, legal business development (BD) and marketing professionals can articulate the value proposition of having a sustainability strategy to prospective and current clients, and how the firm’s sustainability efforts will enhance client service and value.

business development strategy law firm

As the typical first point of contact for requests for proposals (RFPs), legal marketers are in an ideal position to gather intelligence on how clients are prioritizing sustainability. Many clients use the RFP process as an opportunity to outline their requirements outside of legal capability. Just as it has become common practice for a client’s RFP to ask about a firm’s data privacy protocol or diversity metrics, it is also becoming more common for a client RFP to inquire about a firm’s greenhouse gas emissions or efforts at minimizing environmental impact. The Law Firm Sustainability Network, an organization of U.S. law firms committed to promoting environmental sustainability in the legal industry, published its annual Landscape Survey in 2021 and found that 87% of approximately 50 law firm respondents reported receiving RFPs that asked about environmental efforts 3 .

Legal business developers and marketers are also well-positioned to help build and make the case for a sustainability strategy. A firm’s BD and marketing team is one of few business service teams within the law firm structure that has regular engagement with other administrative departments. From accounting to facilities, IT, recruitment, professional development and attorney stakeholders, a firm’s sustainability initiative will require the input and buy-in of nearly every department within the firm. A legal business developer and marketer with established relationships with multiple departments can play a pivotal role by inputting into the sustainability strategy in a way that acknowledges the priorities of each stakeholder group. If a law firm has a sustainability committee, the task of developing and making the internal case will be led by the committee, but a BD and marketing professional can bring their valuable insight to the process to support their work.

Once a sustainability strategy has been developed, a legal BD and marketing professional is ideally suited to develop a marketing plan that conveys the firm’s sustainability agenda to the public. They are also ideally positioned to build a regular communications plan that updates clients and other stakeholders with the firm’s progress toward meeting key sustainability benchmarks in a transparent way. The business developer and marketer must be sensitive to crafting messages that could be perceived as greenwashing or providing a lot of sustainability rhetoric without action. BD and marketing professionals are in the ideal position to develop messaging that is straightforward without embellishment, while at the same time compelling in its ability to articulate the value proposition of the firm’s sustainability agenda to all stakeholders.

As more law firms look to develop sustainability policies and frameworks, they will also hopefully look to their BD and marketing professionals to support this important work. With honed skills for understanding the client’s perspective, consensus-building and effecting change, the business developer and marketer can play a crucial role in advancing the firm’s sustainability agenda.

Christina Buensuceso is Director of Business Development at Eversheds Sutherland (US) LLP. The opinions expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the firm.

1  “Over 20 International Law Firms Launch Sustainability Commitment,” Law.com , June 30, 2021.

2  “A Fifth of the World’s Largest Companies Committed to Net Zero Target,” Forbes , March 24, 2021.

3 “A Road Map For Creating Law Firm Sustainability Programs,” Law360 Pulse , November 1, 2021.

business development strategy law firm

Christina Buensuceso is the director of business development at Eversheds Sutherland (US) LLP. She oversees the firm’s practice group business development efforts and leads on client relationship development for the U.S. priority clients. She is a member of the firm’s global ESG team as well as the firm’s sustainability committee. Her academic background is in economics, law and sustainability leadership.

business development strategy law firm

Related Content from LMA

Lawyer Compensation and Business Development: Traditions, Trends and Insights for Legal Marketers

David Freeman Consulting Group

  • Business Development Tips

Everyone must lead

Law firm business development – things to do:.

  • Thinking as if you are solely responsible for the success of the firm, make a list of what must be done to help the firm thrive.
  • Pick 1-2 areas where you have the greatest passion and could make the greatest impact.
  • Find groups that are engaged in these areas, form them if none exist, or take action on your own.
  • Work with the group (or yourself) to develop a personal action plan with timetables.

Break unproductive patterns

  • List your current methods of conducting business development and delivering client service.
  • Honestly assess which work for you and which don’t (you may need feedback from others).
  • Repair or discontinue 1 – 2 unproductive patterns of behavior Put more energy into your 1 – 2 best practices.

Death to the elevator pitch

  • Reframe your thinking – the goal is to initiate a new relationship by engaging in a memorable conversation, not give a speech about how great you are.
  • “Hi, I’m Fred Smith, I work with the law firm of ABC, and I help wealthy families keep as much of their money away from the government as possible.”
  • If they respond with something like “Oh really, tell me more”, have at it.
  • No matter how they respond, quickly engage them in conversation by asking questions.
  • If your questions identify areas where you can help (legal or not), get permission to follow up with them to offer assistance.
  • Identify a particularly challenging or slow moving initiative you’d like to complete.
  • Find people who would be equally interested in completing the initiative and discuss how you could help each other get it done.
  • Break the task into steps, with personal accountability and deadlines for completion.
  • Get help from the firm if needed – you are more likely to get support when more than one person demonstrates their commitment.

Business development measures

  • Articulate your goals and choose one or two appropriate “progress” measures.
  • Contacts made with high priority targets.
  • In-person meetings.
  • Meals with clients/prospects/referral sources.
  • On-site visits.
  • On-site presentations.
  • Size of key networks.
  • Referrals given and received.
  • New relationships built on both sides.
  • Communication tools – type and frequency.
  • Client feedback received.
  • Time invested in business development.

Provide exceptional internal service

  • Identify key partners/associates/professionals in your firm who are important “clients” of yours.
  • Think of ways you can exceed their expectations (fast turnaround, taking personal ownership of their issues, going the extra mile for their clients, etc.).
  • Ask for feedback on what they like about working with you, and also learn if there is anything they would like done differently.

Fourth quarter push

  • Review your plan and see what needs to be completed.
  • Pick one or two key initiatives.
  • Break the initiatives down into actions steps with deadlines for each step.
  • Have someone hold you accountable for each step.

Internal partnering

  • Identify a practice area that is complementary to yours.
  • Identify at least one lawyer in that group who would be good to work with.
  • Schedule time with that lawyer to discuss how you could work together for mutual benefit.
  • Build very specific action plans.
  • Agree to deadlines and schedule follow-up meetings to check on progress.

Find the silver linings

  • Think carefully about the opportunities that exist in this market.
  • If you have none, learn about opportunities from other practice areas in your firm.
  • Develop 3 – 4 Silver Lining questions (“I’m wondering what your company is doing to take advantage of … “).
  • Make a list of your best clients and contacts and engage them in conversation about these opportunities.

Enhancing key relationships

Questions you must ask yourself.

  • How many targeted people do I know?
  • In how many different categories (e.g. referral sources, GC’s, existing clients, potential clients, former clients, opposing counsel, lawyers in my firm who can refer work to me, etc.)?
  • How many times do I contact them?
  • In how many different ways?
  • How can I improve the quality of my key relationships?

Show the love

  • Identify your most important contacts, especially those who are in need during this slowdown.
  • Consider ways you can help these people.
  • Make contact, ask probing questions, learn their needs, and offer any possible assistance.
  • Make sure to act on what you promise.
  • Calendar a follow-up call to learn how your help played out.

Client advocate

  • Put yourself in the shoes of your most important clients and try to see their needs from their perspective (increase efficiency; enhance communication and feedback; reduce recurring risks; manage/decrease costs; support growth areas of their business, etc.).
  • Develop a list of questions to ask that will uncover those needs to learn how you can help them achieve their goals.
  • Determine what services, value, and/or contacts you can provide to serve those needs.
  • Schedule a meeting to present your first draft of suggestions and co-develop mutually beneficial solutions.

Invest in relationships

  • Sign up with a newsfeed service to get automatic notification of information on your top targets.
  • Offer to participate in any of their important planning meetings.
  • Meet more people in their workplace.
  • Introduce them to your contacts for their mutual benefit.

Don't fly solo

  • Identify an initiative you’d like to accomplish/finish.
  • Find another person you would like to work with: a lawyer in your group or complementary group; your assistant; a marketing professional; referral source.
  • Schedule one to two meetings to get from thought to plan.
  • Schedule follow-up meetings to bring the idea to closure.

Refresh and revitalize

  • Whether you’re slammed with billable hours or searching for them, step back and evaluate how you’re doing on a personal level (how has this economy impacted you, your relationships, your health, your personal interests, etc.).
  • If you’re feeling drained, determine way to recharge your batteries.
  • There are many people you know who also need a boost, check in with them and do something together in your mutual areas of interest.

Maximize the client experience

  • Learn as much as you can about your client’s business.
  • Ask how your client likes to communicate and be highly responsive.
  • Find ways to deliver value above and beyond the delivery of a good legal result.
  • Take time to think proactively about your client’s needs.
  • Understand and manage client expectations.
  • Ask for and act on feedback you receive.

Stay visible

  • Identify which categories of people you want to be in front of.
  • Determine what they read, where they congregate, and which online communities they belong to.
  • Develop a message and information that is interesting and timely.
  • For online communities, start or join the conversation.
  • Go to events, conferences, and seminars.
  • Offer a free or discounted service to clients to remind them of your value.

Grow the quality and quantity of your network

  • Identify your favorite areas of practice.
  • Identify the companies and people who refer work or hire counsel in those areas.
  • Get specific contact information (name, position, phone, email) for key decision- makers.
  • Start with people you know.
  • Get introductions to people they know.
  • Contexts could include research you can share, documents you can review, presentations you can give, roundtables or programs you can invite them to, groups you want to form, visit on site, etc.
  • Develop a long-term plan for making ongoing contact. Studies suggest 80% of buying occurs between the 5th and 12th contact.

Recover. Refocus. Reunite.

  • Take a good, hard look at what didn’t work for you last year, and resolve not to repeat the same activities that were unsuccessful.
  • Develop one or two strategies for reengaging with people who can send work or refer work to you.
  • Connect with as many clients, potential clients, referral sources and colleagues as you can handle.

Build your New Year's plan

  • Identify personal goals.
  • Develop the strategies needed to achieve those goals.
  • Specifically identify your best client development opportunities.
  • Drill down to definite actions and commit to a specific time.
  • Develop a method for holding yourself accountable to your commitments.

Refine your focus

  • Take a comprehensive look at your contact list and prioritize your relationships.
  • Develop a fresh context for reaching out to your “A” list.
  • Learn what is important to them and find out how you can help.
  • Schedule follow-up calls to stay top-of-mind and to continue to be of service.

Visit your clients

  • Identify your top clients.
  • Conduct research to learn about needs, issues, and trends, and make sure to look for cross-selling opportunities.
  • Identify new people in their organization you’d like to meet (for you and other practice groups).
  • Come up with a reason to offer to visit them on site (haven’t been there for a while/ever; would like to meet to review last year’s work and learn what you have planned for this year; offer an on-site presentation; tour the plant; etc.).
  • Set a date.

Everyone leads

  • Identify an important area of your life that you would like to change (in yourself, with clients, in the firm, the community, or your family).
  • Map out a project management plan that details the steps needed to achieve that change.
  • Identify the support you will need to achieve the change (time, resources, money, education, etc.).
  • Obtain buy-in from others who will be key players in executing your plan.
  • Delegate when appropriate, establish deadlines, and track ongoing progress.
  • Regularly communicate progress and successes.
  • Generously share praise with the team, and provide rewards and recognition for achievement.

Solicit client feedback

  • Schedule feedback calls, or better yet, meetings, with your best clients.
  • Create a summary of the work you have done for them, and conduct research on them to learn any newsworthy information worth discussing.
  • Solicit feedback on your firm’s performance.
  • Learn about their legal needs for the coming year.
  • Act on any suggested changes quickly and visibly.
  • How many feedback appointments can you schedule between now and the end of the year?
  • Give yourself one point for conducting the meeting.
  • One extra point if the meeting is in person.
  • One extra point if the in-person meeting is conducted in their offices.
  • One extra point if you meet new decision-makers who could provide new work.
  • Two extra points if you uncover new opportunities.

Retreat to advance

  • Develop a plan for maximizing the final quarter of the year.
  • Identify how work has come in over the past two years and pinpoint trends.
  • Plan to do more of what has worked, and change approaches that have not delivered results.
  • Other rainmakers or mentors in your firm, other firms, or in other professions.
  • Internal or external marketing and business development experts.
  • Choose at least one initiative that could further your career, and carve out the time and resources to get it done.
  • Make sure your plan drills down to specific tactics and timelines.
  • Develop an approach that forces you to implement the steps you need to take.
  • Develop a strong 4th quarter push.
  • Reflect on the lessons learned from the last few years.
  •  Develop specific action plans for moving intelligently into the future.
  • Incorporate client feedback and insights into your planning process.
  • Tackle one or two issues that have blocked your group/firm from achieving the next level of performance.
  • Utilize a collaborative planning process to incorporate input from many parts of the firm and to facilitate initial buy-in.
  • Develop specific tactical plans, complete with action steps, accountability and timelines.
  • Incorporate a process for tracking the implementation of your strategy, and tie performance to compensation.

Contribute to a culture of business development

  • Find a business development mentor.
  • Offer to help partners do some of the leg work – research and write first drafts of articles, start a blog, track relevant social media, etc.
  • Form an associates marketing committee.
  • Meet associates in other practice groups, on other floors, in other offices.
  • Find business development opportunities for other lawyers in the firm and make introductions.
  • Find a “buddy” and co-market together.
  • Ask lawyers in complementary practice groups how you might work together to attract more work to the firm.
  • Take associates with you to functions and client development meetings.

Love your laterals

  • Develop a personal integration plan.
  • Identify and build relationships with key lawyers and leaders.
  • Work with marketing department to identify current and new opportunities.
  • Give opportunities to others to meet your clients and contacts.
  • Deliver “wow” levels of service to other lawyers in the firm.
  • Reach out to new laterals and engage in social activities.
  • Find opportunities to introduce laterals to your clients and contacts.
  • Create opportunities to co-market with new laterals.
  • Assign a mentor.
  • Have leaders of complementary practice groups and offices find opportunities.
  • Provide internal leadership positions to increase visibility.
  • Provide budget to visit other firm offices.

Making and granting business development wishes

  • Identify two or three people who could benefit from your help.
  • Proactively offer your assistance.
  • Help them build a step-by-step plan for achieving their goals.
  • Identify two or three goals that if achieved could significantly improve your practice.
  • Identify people who could be instrumental in helping you achieve your goals.
  • Let those people know about your “wish” for the new year, and ask if they can help you achieve your goals.

Building relationships through speaking

  • Before: Call targeted prospects to get ideas, feedback, and/or invite to speak on a panel.
  • During: Offer to provide additional information and collect contact information; stay around to answer questions; offer to follow-up to provide a more detailed response to their questions.
  • After: Call targeted attendees to get feedback, offer in-house presentations, etc.

Making personal accountability a habit

  • Hire yourself on a daily, weekly, or biweekly basis to engage in client development activities.
  • Create an accountability buddy system (choose someone from your office, practice group, marketing department, friend, etc.).
  • Put client development activities on the same calendar used for substantive deadlines.
  • Use your travel time for phone calls, thinking about strategies, etc.
  • Use your personal assistant to help you remember commitments and track progress.

Building your referral network

  • Identify existing referral sources.
  • Identify potential referral sources.
  • Calendar regular contacts with your referral sources.
  • Identify occasions to give referrals, leads, and other business development opportunities to your referral network.
  • Devise other contexts for reaching out to, educating, and providing value to this network.

Cross-selling: Educate complementary practice groups and attorneys

  • Target practice groups and individual lawyers who can be good sources of referral business for you.
  • Interview key lawyers to learn what topics would serve their clients.
  • Prepare a “cheat sheet” of questions they can ask their clients on your behalf.
  • Conduct a training session for a group, or have an educational meeting with an individual lawyer.
  • Give yourself one point for conducting the session.
  • One extra point if hand out a “cheat sheet”.
  • One extra point if you ask the group/individual lawyer for names of clients that might need your help.
  • Two extra points if you get another lawyer to arrange a meeting with, or a presentation to, one of their clients.

Collaborate with your best clients

  • Choose one high priority client.
  • Meet with other members of your firm to brainstorm ways to deliver higher levels of service.
  • Reach out to the client, present your ideas, get their feedback on their most important needs and schedule a meeting with key people on both sides.
  • Conduct the meeting and facilitate a discussion of their most important needs, including goals, suggested actions steps, roles, reporting, tracking and measuring progress.
  • Develop an internal tracking and accountability process that  guarantees  you/the firm will act on any new initiatives.
  • Schedule check-in meetings with your client contact to evaluate progress and make any necessary adjustments.

Maximize teams

  • Identify specific clients, prospects or initiatives.
  • Invite core members to join the team, and get their commitments to work together.
  • Convene an initial meeting to establish goals, clarify roles and responsibilities for leaders and team members, agree to standards of team conduct, develop measures of progress and success, and set a schedule for ongoing meetings.
  • Use technology to track activity. Adjust compensation to reward team successes.

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Practice Management

Law Firm Web Design Best Practices

In 2013, a Google survey confirmed that 96% of people looking for legal advice used a search engine for guidance. Fast-forward more than 10 years, and the percentage today is likely even higher.

That means a law firm must have an online presence to grow and gain new clients. While there are other ways to establish a firm online, none is better than a website—where you can optimize the content and design to reflect your firm's unique identity and expertise.

Use this guide to design a law firm website that engages prospects and converts them into new clients. You'll learn what good design can achieve as well as the best practices that contribute to an effective law firm website.

Unfortunately, poor law firm website designs can also lead to ethical violations, as discussed in the next section.

Are There Any Legal Considerations When Designing a Lawyer Website?

The American Bar Association (ABA) has published several guidelines that pertain to law firm web design. Key rules and opinions to understand are highlighted below.

Rule 5.5 Unauthorized Practice of Law and Formal Opinion 495

Rule 5.5 addresses issues related to lawyers practicing in multiple jurisdictions or in jurisdictions where they are not licensed. Formal Opinion 495 describes conditions under which lawyers can practice remotely.

The key takeaway for both guidelines is to define the firm's legal jurisdiction clearly. Your website should at least describe the state in which the team is licensed and the state or region in which the firm takes cases.

Rule 7.1 Communications Concerning a Lawyer's Services

Rule 7.1 succinctly prohibits lawyers from making false or misleading statements about themselves or their services. A website that materially misrepresents a lawyer's background, qualifications, or areas of specialty would be in violation.

Rule 7.2 Communications Concerning a Lawyer's Services: Specific Rules

There are two components of Rule 7.2 that apply to law firm websites. The first explains that a lawyer is not allowed to imply specialization in a certain field of law without requisite certification, authorization, or accreditation in that field.

Two, lawyers cannot compensate anyone for recommendations or referrals. There are a few exceptions outlined in the rule, but client testimonials is not one of them. That means it's best to avoid compensating clients with gifts, money or free services to write testimonials for publication on your website or elsewhere.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has also established rules pertaining to the use of client testimonials online. They include:

  • Companies are required to publish all reviews, not just positive ones. In a related point, the attorney website design should not highlight the positive reviews more prominently than the negative ones.
  • If the reviewer has a material connection to the business or received compensation for the review, it must be disclosed.
  • It's best practice to describe how the firm collects, processes, and displays reviews and testimonials.

Additional best practices include getting written permission from clients before publishing their testimonials and specifying that experiences described in testimonials may be atypical.

Formal Opinion 498

Formal Opinion 498 addresses issues of communication, diligence, and confidentiality that can arise from lawyers working remotely. The theme of the opinion is that working remotely is not an excuse or opportunity to deviate from ABA's Model Rules of Professional Conduct—even if technological ignorance or failure comes into play.

If the firm uses its website to deliver client communications or invoices, that website must maintain the highest level of security to discourage cybersecurity attacks and keep client information confidential.

Why Does Your Law Firm's Website Design Matter?

The two main components of a website are content and design. Content is the text, images, and videos published on a website. Design is the site's overall layout and organization. These elements work together to attract potential clients, showcase your firm's expertise, support the website's position in search engine results, and convert prospects into clients.

Effective design, specifically, contributes to:

  • Visitors finding the information they need quickly and without frustration
  • Visitors having a good experience on the website, which leaves them with a good impression about the firm
  • Visitors engaging with the content and staying on the site longer, which is likely a search ranking factor
  • Visitors choosing to inquire with your firm about legal representation
  • Existing clients finding information, bill payment options, or other account features easily

In short, a good attorney website design attracts and retains new clients. Poor website designs creates negative impressions and can repel new business.

Law Firm Website Design Best Practices

Keeping those rules and guidelines in mind, it's time to begin the process of creating an intuitive lawyer website design. The seven best practices below will get you moving in the right direction.

Conceptualize Your Site

As a first step, outline your site's content and main features. When doing so, consider your target audience—that is, your ideal client. Think about that client's pressing needs and concerns at different stages. For example:

  • What information would prospective clients need in the early research of a legal issue?
  • If a prospective client were considering retaining your firm, what information would sway them to reach out? What factors might prompt them to look elsewhere?
  • How do existing clients want to use the firm's website? Are there specific features they expect?

If you don't know the answers here, try interviewing or surveying existing clients to learn more. It'll be worth the effort. A lawyer website design that aligns with client needs drives new business and positive client experiences.

Basic features to consider for your law firm website include calls to action, contact information, lawyer bios, a detailed description of your practice area, and a client communications hub.

  • Calls to action are phrases that direct the website visitor to do something. On the firm's website, for example, you might encourage people to call or complete a form. Note that there are external applications that provide contact as well as intake forms for lawyer websites. MyCase, for example, offers client intake forms that are easily embedded on a webpage.
  • Accurate contact information should appear on every page. If prospective or existing clients search for your phone number, you want them to find it easily.
  • Lawyer bios should be friendly and genuine. They should list professional qualifications and accomplishments along with some personal information. Including a photo is also best practice.
  • A good description of your practice area can win business. Consider highlighting successes (without divulging client details) and explaining why you're passionate about what you do.
  • An integrated client portal keeps communications clearly linked to a client's case file. For an option that is easy to implement, see the secure client portal included with MyCase's case management platform.

Choosing Your Host

Once you organize your thoughts around content and features, it's time to get technical. You'll need to choose a web host and a domain name. Many hosts support domain name registration, so you could complete these two tasks through the same vendor if you prefer.

The following four items should be primary considerations when choosing a hosting provider.

  • Uptime performance: You want your website to be functional around the clock. Ask prospective hosts if they have a minimum guaranteed uptime.
  • 24/7 support: Ideally, the host should provide chat or phone support at all times.
  • WordPress hosting: WordPress is the web's most popular content management system. In this context, a content management system is an application that supports the creation, publication, and organization of webpages. Wordpress is used and loved by both agencies and DIY website builders. Find a host that offers one-click WordPress installation.
  • Free SSL certificates: SSL certificates enable an encrypted connection between the web server and the visitor's web browser. Many hosts offer free, one-click SSL installation.

Other nice-to-have features include:

  • Daily website backups
  • A staging environment where you can build the site before pushing it live.

Optimize for Mobile

Mobile-responsive design is the default approach for websites today. A mobile-responsive website has one design that adjusts for different screen sizes, including desktops, laptops, tablets, and smartphones.

If you use a free or paid WordPress template to build the site, verify that it's mobile-responsive. Most of them are. If you pay an agency to build a custom law firm website design, make sure the contract and scope of work specify that the finished project will be mobile-responsive.

As an added note, Google Search primarily uses a website's mobile version to determine how and when it appears in search results. A website that doesn't display well on a mobile device may get limited traffic from Google as a result.

MyCase offers customizable website designs as an add-on to its case management solution. The websites are mobile-responsive, SEO-friendly, and seamlessly integrated with the MyCase case management system.

LP-Blog-LawFirmWebsites-BodyImage-1

Make It Accessible

An accessible law firm web design can be used and enjoyed by everyone, including those with disabilities. There are many components to accessibility, including:

  • Using sufficient contrast to differentiate links from unlinked text
  • Ensuring the website can be navigated with a keyboard and not just a mouse
  • Adding labels to form fields
  • Using alt tags to describe images

Form field labels and alt tags are two features screen readers rely on to describe web pages to people with visual impairments.

Prioritize User Experience

User experience (UX) is a broad discipline that emphasizes ease-of-use. UX principles are applied to all types of products but are particularly relevant to digital applications, including websites.

An easy-to-use website is intuitive and understandable. In practice, this means user actions align seamlessly with expectations. For example, if a website user taps on a button that reads, "client testimonials," a page containing client testimonials should load immediately. If the website navigates back to the homepage or displays an error, there is a mismatch between expectation and result. That creates a negative user experience.

The most reliable way to prioritize UX is to ask people to complete tasks on the website and record their actions and reactions. You can even do this informally before the website is built by using hand sketches on paper to represent web pages.

Add Online Payment Options

A legal website can do more than market the firm's services to new clients. It can also streamline the legal process for existing clients. One feature that benefits clients and the firm is online payment functionality.

A secure and compliant online payment application like LawPay gives clients easy ways to pay while expediting payments and creating back-office efficiencies. LawPay accepts payments in various forms, including credit cards, eChecks, scheduled payments, and legal fee financing. And because the software is designed specifically for lawyers, all payments and refunds are handled in compliance with IOLTA and ABA guidelines.

LawPay additionally offers integrated time and expense tracking plus invoicing for even greater efficiencies.

You can give clients easy access to LawPay's secure payment pages by adding a link to the firm's website.

LP-Blog-LawFirmWebsites-BodyImage-2

Monitor and Improve Web Design

Website development for your law firm is an ongoing effort. Websites are never done; they can always benefit from improvements that will drive more traffic, client leads, and positive user experiences.

A good analytics application collects the data you need to monitor your website's performance and identify potential improvements. The default choice is Google Analytics, which is free.

It's also smart to install a heatmapping and session recording tool for more data. A heatmap is a visualization of how users interact with a web page in aggregate. The map highlights areas of the page where users tap, scroll, or hover their cursor. A heatmap might show you, for example, that most users only scroll halfway down a page. In that case, you'd want to place the most important information on that page above the halfway point.

Session recordings capture an individual's actions on a website, including clicks, scrolls, and movement from one page to another. These recordings document how visitors browse the website as a whole.

Microsoft Clarity is a free heatmapping and session-recording application.

Is SEO Important for Law Firm Website Design?

Search engine optimization (SEO) is the process of optimizing a website, so it gets more traffic from search engines like Google, Yahoo, and Bing.

In today's digital world, the website's design must support the SEO strategy. If it doesn't, the website will struggle to generate traffic without paid advertising.

Before finalizing your website, consider how you will approach SEO and what that means for site design. For example, say your SEO strategy involves publishing a weekly article covering frequently asked legal questions. In that case, your site probably needs a blog. Without it, the navigation and site organization will quickly become unmanageable.

Should You Hire a Law Firm Web Designer?

If some of the points above sound like a foreign language, you might consider hiring a law firm web designer rather than doing it yourself. Key considerations here include:

  • Your budget. Website development for a law firm can cost between $2,000 and $9,000 if you use an agency or professional designer. You could also build your own website using a purchased WordPress template for $100 or less.
  • Your comfort level with technology. You can learn the basics of website building, but only if you're comfortable with technology. If not, it's better to hire someone.
  • Your time. Designing your own site takes time. You may find your time is better-spent networking, marketing , or doing client work.

If you decide to have someone else build the website, ask family, friends, and other attorneys for recommendations.

Final Notes

A customer-centric and accessible law firm website design generates new business and contributes to your firm's growth over time. Take the time to consider the features prospects and clients expect to see on your firm's website. At a minimum, look to include engaging content, inviting lawyer bios with photos, a description of the firm's service area and specialty, client intake forms, a communication portal, and online bill payment options.

MyCase-designed websites, integrated with LawPay, include all these features. You can also easily integrate MyCase intake forms and secure client portal, plus LawPay online payments, into your own website design. To learn more about MyCase and the enhancements it offers to the firm's website, schedule a demo . To see firsthand how LawPay works, schedule a demo here .

business development strategy law firm

business development strategy law firm

Saudi Arabia Lures Big Law Firms to Lucrative New Legal Market

By Mahira Dayal

Mahira Dayal

At least 30 multinational law firms have opened branches in Saudi Arabia in the past nine months or have applied for the right to do so, racing to establish a foothold in the oil-rich kingdom now allowing outside legal work.

Several had affiliations with Saudi-based firms since the early 2000s, but for the first time were allowed to create their own practices in the country without the constraints of a local partner. Others are entering the marketplace for the first time.

“What’s happening now dwarfs anything we’ve seen here in 25 years,” said Nabil Issa, managing partner of King & Spalding’s Middle East offices, whose firm has established a team of nine lawyers in Riyadh since announcing its license in September, and said it hopes to expand two to three times that number in the next nine months.

For global firms it’s a rare opportunity to enter a new and potentially lucrative legal market, albeit with considerable conditions set by the kingdom, several law firms already in the region or entering the space told Bloomberg Law.

“If it’s infrastructure, you’re building towns and cities that are hundreds of thousands of people and you will never get to work on that again,” Nick Aiyegbusi, a manager at search firm Robert Walters, said of the opportunity. “That can take you anywhere in your career in five to 10 years.”

But convincing lawyers from the US or other countries to move to Saudi Arabia—where women weren’t able to practice law until about a decade ago—can be complicated by the country’s human rights record.

Simmons & Simmons, a British law firm, faced backlash from staff over its announcement last month that it would open a Saudi office, The Telegraph first reported .

“As with all international businesses, we operate in a number of diverse regions, some with different local customs and laws,” a spokesperson for Simmons & Simmons told Bloomberg Law. “We have strict processes in place to ensure that all mandates we take on align with our values and those same processes will be applied here.”

The evolving legal market coincides with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s relaxing of other aspects of Saudi culture and moving to diversify its economy. His Vision 2030 modernization plan is backed by a $700 billion sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund.

The PIF disrupted the professional golf world in 2022 when upstart LIV Golf dropped hundreds of millions of dollars to lure star players away from the PGA Tour. While critics and some pro golfers criticized LIV Golf as an effort to “sportwash,” or use Saudi wealth to deflect from its human rights record, LIV Golf is now in talks to merge with the PGA.

Beyond sports, PIF has backed ambitious infrastructure projects in the kingdom that bring business and legal work, including the development of Neom —a sprawling set of futuristic luxury developments to be constructed across the desert, with both snowy mountains and sunny beaches.

“You’re building a ski resort in the middle of the desert,” said Aiyegbusi.

Saudi Rules

Among the law firms operating Saudi Arabia independently since last March are US giants Kirkland & Ellis, and Latham & Watkins, and UK “Magic Circle” firms Clifford Chance and Linklaters.

All the newly opening firms must adhere to a requirement that their staff be comprised of at least 70% Saudi national lawyers, which can be challenging because of a dearth of local talent.

Saudi lawyers are now in high demand, with firms bidding against each other to secure homegrown talent. The average tenure of a local associate is only about one year in a new firm before they typically switch to another, said Aiyegbusi of search firm Robert Walters.

Law firms are competing with each other for that talent, as well as employers like oil behemoth Aramco, the PIF, and government entities like the Ministry of Finance.

The residency rule prevents the market from being “taken over by UK or US law firms,” said Catherine Workman, head of Middle East region for international law firm Pinsent Masons.

“There is a future for bright, young, and ambitious Saudis who want to become lawyers,” said Workman. “There should be a market for them.”

Practicing Sharia

Firms operating in Saudi Arabia must have at least two partners living in the country. And many find it important to be able to navigate Islamic Law, commonly known as Sharia, and the local legal landscape, especially as the region elevates its local procedures to better match international standards.

Not all lawyers need to be trained in Islamic Law, and some have evaded Sharia and local practices by drafting documents for large transactions in English law or US law. But this can sometimes lead to errors, especially when international documents or precedents do not match the laws and practices of the Saudi kingdom, according to several lawyers.

“I continue to pick up documents, as of this morning, from other law firms that I’m reading and saying, ‘I know this actually doesn’t work in Saudi Arabia, but I appreciate that it’s what makes sense for that law firm, based on the lawyers they have, their training and so forth’,” said King & Spalding’s Issa last month.

Being well versed in Sharia has been a competitive advantage for the firm, Issa said.

‘Evolving Really Quickly’

The Saudi Center for Commercial Arbitration released rules in 2023 that align with international arbitration best practices, providing a dispute resolution procedure that foreign lawyers are familiar with.

“The regulatory landscape is evolving really quickly in Saudi Arabia,” said David Charlier, Middle East managing partner at London-based Ashurst. “It is becoming increasingly sophisticated. They recognize that they need to make improvements and have been working hard to do that.”

The amended rules also mean there will be fewer instances of lawyers drafting documents in foreign law and trying to apply them to fit Saudi law.

“The view that Saudi law isn’t clear, or that you would just take a contract and draft it based on one legal system and then change the governing law provision, is changing,” said Waleed Rasromani, national managing partner for Saudi Arabia at Linklaters.

Human Rights

Critics point to Saudi’s human rights record, including the murder of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi, and the imprisonment of women’s rights activists and political dissidents, in questioning the morality of doing business in the country.

Simmons & Simmons staffers are protesting the London-based firm’s announcement last month of its expansion into Saudi Arabia, calling it hypocritical while the firm lauds its commitment to LGBTQ+ rights in the UK. Saudi Arabia considers homosexuality an offense and trans people can face prosecution in the kingdom.

Kevin Gold, executive chairperson at Mishcon de Reya, another international firm based in London that has applied for a license to operate in Saudi Arabia, said: “We’ve built up an element of trust, where people will believe that we will do our utmost to run our own office in a way that is consistent with our values.”

Saudi leaders say the Vision 2030 plans emphasize the importance of women for Saudi’s economy, promoting job opportunities, and allowing women to drive cars, in keeping with Sharia.

“When I go to Saudi, I run meetings and I am heard and respected,” said Workman. “It is changing, but it only comes if people tell people it’s changing, because they won’t be able to see it for themselves sitting hundreds of miles away.”

‘Slightly Different Strategies’

Latham & Watkins, Baker Botts, and White & Case were among the big firms that previously operated in the country through affiliations with Saudi-based firms.

While those arrangements gave global firms an avenue into doing business in Saudi, differences in goals, work styles, and expectations could be challenging for some firms, said Charlier of Ashurst, which launched its presence in Riyadh in 2018.

Allen & Overy ended its association with Khoshaim & Associates in 2020 and has not announced a Saudi license or new local affiliate since.

Clifford Chance, one of the earliest to enter the kingdom, had first developed Al-Jadaan, a joint Saudi and foreign-owned law firm that was licensed by the Saudi Ministry of Commerce and Investment in 2013, the first of its kind. But local courts questioned whether the license was obtained lawfully, and in 2016 it scrapped its model and entered an association with Abuhimed Alsheikh Alhagbani (AS&H).

“What we’ve seen over time is lots of divorce, marriage, divorce, marriage for many firms,” said Charlier.

Allowing law firms to open their own businesses should change some of that.

Clifford Chance last year dissolved its earlier association and formed a true joint venture with AS&H to form AS&H Clifford Chance.

King & Spalding ended its more than 16-year-long affiliation with Mohammed AlAmmar’s firm. Others absorbed affiliated partners into the larger global firms.

“Each firm may adopt slightly different strategies and target different clients and sectors in seeking to build their practices, and some will be seeking to enhance pre-existing operations under different structures whilst others are entirely new to the market,” said Guy Norman, Senior Clifford Chance Partner at AS&H Clifford Chance, in a note.

To contact the reporter on this story: Mahira Dayal in New York at [email protected]

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Gregory Henderson at [email protected] Alessandra Rafferty at [email protected]

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Design-Build Contractors & Firms in Lytkarino

Location (1).

  • Use My Current Location

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Featured Reviews for Design-Build Contractors & Firms in Lytkarino

  • Reach out to the pro(s) you want, then share your vision to get the ball rolling.
  • Request and compare quotes, then choose the Design-Build firm, that perfectly fits your project and budget limits.
  • Building Design
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What is a design-build firm?

Questions to ask a prospective lytkarino design-builder:, find design-build contractors near me on houzz, business services, connect with us.

IMAGES

  1. Taking Law Firm Business Development to the Next Level

    business development strategy law firm

  2. A Step-by-Step Guide to Law Firm Marketing Strategy

    business development strategy law firm

  3. Business Development And Marketing Plan For Law Firm

    business development strategy law firm

  4. Law Firm Strategic Planning: Where should Legal Project Management fit

    business development strategy law firm

  5. 10 Effective Approaches to Law Firm Business Development

    business development strategy law firm

  6. An Unconventional Business Development Strategy for IP Law Firms

    business development strategy law firm

VIDEO

  1. Corporate Strategies and Public Policies for the Challenges of the 21st Century

  2. Business Development: From Start to Scale

  3. Four business laws

  4. Business Law Group 17 (Sec.1) Presentation

COMMENTS

  1. PDF Rethinking Business Development & Marketing for Law Firms

    Business development in a law firm is the process of expanding revenue streams by identifying and acting on strategic opportunities, such as building client relationships and strategic partnerships or expanding the practice areas and legal services of the firm.

  2. Your Guide to Law Firm Business Development

    Business development for law firms means pursuing strategic opportunities for your law firm. This includes building new relationships and identifying new revenue streams and sales opportunities. Examples are cross-selling to existing clients and adding new practice areas to your firm.

  3. Law Firm Insights: How to Navigate Business Development for 2024

    The Thomson Reuters Institute's Law Firm Financial Index (LFFI) backs up this prediction, revealing a sharp increase in Q2 this year and a 1.5% year-over-year increase in demand for legal services. To set the stage for continued growth, law firms need to find a way to capitalize on demand and drive business from new and existing clients.

  4. Six Business Development Strategies for Lawyers

    Six Business Development Strategies for Lawyers By Sally J. Schmidt The usual lawyer business development tactics changed during the pandemic, but there are always things you can do to stay in the game. Table of contents 1. Cross-Sell 2. Be Visible 3. Make Proactive Pitches 4. Expand Institutional Relationships 5. Respond Immediately to Inquiries

  5. Business Development Strategies for Law Firms to Succeed (2024)

    Blog Best Business Development Strategies for Law Firms to Succeed in 2024 Last updated: 02 Feb, 2024 By Ritu Kaushal Attorneys and law firms have witnessed a series of changes across the legal industry, and one of the most significant is a transformation in business development areas.

  6. Business Development Strategies for Law Firms in 2023

    Five Business Development and Marketing Trends Impacting Smaller and Mid-Size Law Firms in 2023 Plus Strategies for Success by: Christina R. Fritsch JD , Dave Whiteside of CLIENTSFirst Consulting -

  7. Business development for law firms

    Guide 07 Oct 2019 2 minutes read Business development activities grow your firm and help it stay competitive. This guide sets out how to create a strategy, attract clients and market your practice. Create a business development strategy Your strategy will keep your firm's development on track and make sure progress is monitored. It can include:

  8. Law Firm Marketing and Business Development Strategy

    Why Your Law Firm Needs a Marketing and Business Development Strategy Law firms, irrespective of their size or specialization, are vying for a share in a market where clients are more...

  9. Nine Strategies for legal business development in 2020

    Nine Strategies for legal business development in 2020 Back to Law Firm Management Committee publications Itzik Amiel THE SWITCH, Amsterdam [email protected] Introduction We see an interesting change in the business development of the legal market.

  10. Law Firm Business Development

    Here's what you can expect from Postali: Give Us a Call. 614-556-4618. Or send us a message with our. Online Form. >. Business development is vitally important for growing law practices. For help with your law firm business development, call Postali today at 614-556-4618.

  11. An Essential Guide to Law Firm Business Development

    Law firm business development refers to anything you do, intentionally and systemically, to generate your firm's revenue and gain clientele. It focuses more on the big picture rather than smaller transactional tasks. You may apply law firm business development strategies by: Taking on new practice areas Cross-selling to existing or former clients

  12. Law Firm Strategic Planning: Steps to Create a Winning Plan

    One of the first things you need to do is to get the leadership team in your law firm to commit to law firm strategic planning. In a solo law firm, this would be easier. But if you have some partners in your firm, you need to get everyone on board with creating a strategic plan.

  13. Business Development Strategy for Lawyers

    Play to Win Business Development Strategy for Lawyers | Open the Playbook By Sally J. Schmidt Play to your strengths if you want your business development strategy to move the ball. Watching the NFL playoffs has me reflecting on the Minnesota Vikings' frustrating season.

  14. The best law firm business development and marketing strategies

    Tailor the following strategies to your specific practice area and target market to lay the foundation for sustainable growth and expansion of your law firm. 1. Establish a strong brand identity. A compelling brand identity will set you apart from competing law firm leaders and define how clients perceive your firm.

  15. Law Firm Business Development Strategies

    Building a sound strategy is key to a successful law firm's business development, so let's take a look at the methods you can use to achieve just that. 1. Nurture existing clients. We always say that the legal industry is people-based. Thus, it should be in your best interest to look after your existing clients.

  16. The Role of Business Development and Marketing in a Law Firm's

    The legal business developer or marketer can play an important role in progressing their law firm's sustainability strategy. As the typical first point of contact for requests for proposals (RFPs), legal marketers are in an ideal position to gather intelligence on how clients are prioritizing sustainability. Many clients use the RFP process ...

  17. Business Development Strategies For Law Firms

    Business Development Strategies For Law Firms - Law Firm BD Tips Business Development Tips Everyone must lead Law firm business development - Things to do: Thinking as if you are solely responsible for the success of the firm, make a list of what must be done to help the firm thrive.

  18. Business Development Strategies for Law Firms

    This leaves many law firms scrambling for business when they have no work, and leaving money on the table when they are overwhelmed. An effective business development strategy can provide a consistent client work pipeline throughout the year. Join Joshua Lenon, Clio's lawyer in residence, as he explores the best practices for law firm ...

  19. How To Grow Your Law Firm Through Online Marketing

    Practice Areas. Demand differs for business-to-consumer law (i.e., family, criminal defense, personal injury, etc.) and business-to-business law (i.e., intellectual property, contracts, etc.), so ...

  20. Bird & Bird CEO: 'We Want to be a €1B Law Firm in 5 Years'

    Bird & Bird is introducing a five-year plan for its global business, with the stated ambition of reaching €1 billion in revenue by 2029. Speaking to Law.com International, the firm's CEO ...

  21. Law Firm Website Design: Guide & Best Practices

    Poor website designs creates negative impressions and can repel new business. Law Firm Website Design Best Practices. ... the website's design must support the SEO strategy. If it doesn't, the website will struggle to generate traffic without paid advertising. ... Website development for a law firm can cost between $2,000 and $9,000 if you use ...

  22. Saudi Arabia Lures Big Law Firms to Lucrative New Legal Market

    Law firms are competing with each other for that talent, as well as employers like oil behemoth Aramco, the PIF, and government entities like the Ministry of Finance. The residency rule prevents the market from being "taken over by UK or US law firms," said Catherine Workman, head of Middle East region for international law firm Pinsent Masons.

  23. 382 Jobs in Lytkarino, Moscow, Russia (36 new)

    Be an early applicant. 1 week ago. Today's 382 jobs in Lytkarino, Moscow, Russia. Leverage your professional network, and get hired. New Lytkarino, Moscow, Russia jobs added daily.

  24. Architects, Architecture Firms, & Building Designers in Lytkarino

    Search 5,702 Lytkarino architects, architecture firms & building designers to find the best architect or building designer for your project. See the top reviewed local architects and building designers in Lytkarino, Moscow Oblast, Russia on Houzz.

  25. CJSC LYTKARINSKY MEAT PROCESSING PLANT

    As per our global import database, CJSC LYTKARINSKY MEAT PROCESSING PLANT made total import shipments with a total import value of $2465688 in 2021. Top Import Markets or Countries: Serbia(743123 USD), Ukraine(671000 USD) and Italy(1003265 USD). Major Import Product Category along with HS Code: Under HSN Code : 3504009000 Product Description - Others, Under HSN Code : 8309909000 Product ...

  26. Design-Build Contractors & Firms in Lytkarino

    Design-build firms take on the responsibilities of architects, contractors and construction companies, all under one roof. These full-service firms focus on a streamlined design-build process — from the initial design to the estimating phase to physical construction — in the hope of creating an efficient experience for both the client and ...

  27. TEIL Firms, LLC

    1 likes, 0 comments - teilfirmsllc on February 15, 2024: " Exciting Announcement for Women in Business! I am thrilled to share some fantastic new..."