What Are Entrepreneurial Law Firms Doing In A Sluggish Economy

Developing the Next Generation of Rainmakers What are Entrepreneurial Law Firms Doing in a Sluggish Economy I recently read LawMarketing Portal’s Sluggish Growth in the Demand for Legal Services. The writer suggests that this is not good news for “under performers,” which includes lawyers who are technically sound, but not attracting business. What are entrepreneurial law firms doing? I was asked to write an article to answer this question. You can read the article here. The points I made in the article remind me a little of Washington politics. Firms that view developing the next generation of lawyers as an “Investment” are doing it. Firms that view developing the next generation of lawyers as a “cost” are cutting spending. Whether your firm is investing in you or not, you must invest in yourself. How can you overcome being considered an “under performer?”  Begin by realizing that client development has changed. It is more focused than ever on  the client, becoming a remarkable lawyer in the client’s eyes and in  building a relationship based on trust. You can no longer just do good  work, get a Martindale A-V rating, be active in the Bar and wait for the  phone to ring. You can also no longer rely on who you know. You can no longer be content to just do work generated by other lawyers. Instead, with significantly more lawyers seeking the same business you are,  it is more important than ever to stand out from the crowd and increase the number of potential clients and referral sources who “know what you know.” How do you accomplish this goal? You have to narrow your target market, study their business and become visible to that market by creating content the potential clients and referral sources find valuable. I practiced law for 37 years developing a national construction law practice representing some of the top highway and transportation construction contractors in the US.