Join the Richmond Bar Association on Thursday, June 27 to kick off an enriching Professional Development series with a dynamic session addressing essential topics including marketing, business development, legal project management, and law firm finance.

How do you increase the success of your business development efforts? Manage business development as an ongoing project. How do you manage BD as an ongoing project?

Write it down. Document your plans and your network. Preferably in some form of a pipeline that includes…

While “curiosity killed the cat” (at least that’s how the old saying goes), it does wonders for your marketing and business development endeavors. Approach every new engagement and initiative with curiosity. Ask questions. Show interest. Dig into the data. Be the one to raise your hand and investigate. In doing so, you will differentiate yourself from your peers and the competition. Not to mention you’ll reach your marketing and business development goals faster.

We all know that growing existing client relationships is easier than landing a brand-new client. But we don't often translate that theory into leveraging those existing relationships for introductions to new business. Published on Law360.

This roundup features four, quick, easy, and actionable ways to elevate your profile and effectively connect with clients and prospects. Published on JD Supra.

This insightful panel discussion will include industry experts sharing their knowledge and experiences in developing and launching client-centric websites. Our panel will delve into the nuances of creating and renovating law firm websites – including key project management elements and pitfalls to avoid – that not only attract potential clients but also provide valuable information to current contacts. You’ll leave this session with insights and best practices to enhance your law firm's digital presence and client experience.

I can feel all of the eye rolls that occur after one hears the term ‘elevator speech.’ But, I also know that we can all do a better job of communicating what we do when we meet new contacts. Read on for how.

It’s easy to feel stuck. Stuck in your routine. Stuck in your career. Stuck in the wrong career. With distractions of everyday life, it’s not always easy to devote time to getting unstuck. This interactive session will provide space for attendees to think through what they want, what impact they want to make, and ultimately spark a renewed sense of purpose.

This month, LinkedIn guru Richard van der Blom, published his 2024 Insights Report. At 130+ pages, there’s a lot to dig into (free download if you want to check it out yourself). Included here are a few highlights to consider as you are crafting content for the platform.

The legal industry is constricting. In-house legal departments are growing, meaning less work for law firms. One way to stand out from the crowd is by conducting client feedback interviews.

There are many ways to obtain the feedback, but one of our favorite feedback avenues is “post-matter debriefs.” At the conclusion of a matter or deal, officially reach out to clients and ask about how you did. These sessions not only address any challenges or issues that arose during the matter from a legal perspective, but also service or process-related feedback that, by addressing, will help your law firm improve – and possibly cement – its relationship with that client moving forward.

It’s game time. This article includes a few plays to consider adding to your playbook this season.

What and who should be considered when creating a sales pipeline?

One of the things that I recommend to my attorneys is just thinking through who they know and making a running list of current clients, prospects, and referral sources. It’s going to be your current clients and that includes the individuals that are actively sending you work, as well as those who are your champions within the organization. Sometimes folks just think about who’s directing the work in the immediate, but not necessarily who has been the person who said, ‘you need to go to Sam because he’s fantastic,’ or who may be a board member, or the CEO, or somebody else, so that’s important. Prospects are clearly someone that needs to be in that pipeline, and prospects in this case are who could send you work in the future. Attorneys shouldn’t forget the people that they went to law school with, the people that coach their kid’s soccer team, or an alum that recently went in-house. All of those folks are important.

“What’s at the heart of a marketing and business development plan? Data. It’s what we rely on to build out an ideal client profile, to identify market penetration by industry or geography, to understand which piece of thought leadership is trending, and much, much more. This post is meant to help you take a fresh look at the data you already have that can be used to build business - including current client data, marketing qualified leads and contact data.”

This article provides five ideas on how to leverage the platform to streamline your marketing and business development efforts, including research, generating first drafts, brainstorming content, creating jazzy headlines and repurposing content.

What do you love most about what you do?

“Demystifying marketing and business development for attorneys. It can seem like this nebulous thing to attorneys who go to school to learn about the practice of law and then all of the sudden have to generate business. Seeing that light bulb come on when the tactics start to make sense –even more so when there is a conversion of new business – is such a rewarding experience.”

Q: What is your motto?

A: Clear eyes, full hearts, can’t lose.

In this session, we will share techniques to establish and deepen client relationships to grow business. In addition, they will offer insight on the importance of meaningful client relationships and what techniques can be used to deepen those relationships with business growth in mind.

This article provides tips on making the most of networking, including preparing, keeping your eyes up, listening intently, the importance of follow-up and more.

“It is safe to say that client service is one of the critical, few differentiators to be found in a crowded legal marketplace. Regardless of whether your firm has a functioning client team, marketing and business development professionals can drive initiatives to get closer to clients and grow relationships.”