Executive summary xi About the editor xix About the contributors xxi Introduction xxix By Deborah B. Farone Part 1: Core Marketing and Business Development Chapter 1: Building a firmwide marketing strategy – a roadmap for law firms ready to grow 1 By Deborah B. Farone Why you need a firmwide marketing strategy 2 What can go wrong without one 3 How to start – match it to the firm’s direction 4 How to get buy-in 6 Keeping everyone on target and aligned 7 The bottom line 10 Chapter 2: Brand positioning and differentiation – a practical framework 15 By Brandie Knox, principal and lead strategist, Knox Design Strategy The process – a practical framework 16 1. Planning – setting the foundation 17 2. Discovery 18 3. Synthesis – making sense of what you heard 24 4. Strategy 25 Conclusion 27 Part 2: Getting into the Tactics Chapter 3: Client relationships as strategic capital – how to build an enduring key client account program 29 By JeanMarie Campbell, chief marketing and business development officer, Jenner & Block The new reality of client relationships in law firms 29 A practical framework to bring consistency to key client management – the RELATE model 31 How strong are your client relationships? 34 Case studies 37 Implementation is about making things stick 37 Chapter 4: Cross-selling to cross-investing – breaking silos to build enterprise value and win 39 By Julie Henson, chief growth officer, Decipher Investigative Intelligence Why cross-selling fails in most law firms (and why that’s the wrong diagnosis) 39 From transactions to trust – the cultural foundation of cross-investing 41 The economics of individualism – how compensation and metrics undermine collaboration 44 Cross-investing defined – a growth strategy, not a courtesy 47 Lateral integration as the ultimate stress test for collaboration 48 Leadership’s role – what managing partners must model (and enforce) 49 Building the infrastructure for collaboration 50 The firms that cross-invest will win 52 Chapter 5: Smarter collaboration analytics – turning data into performance 55 By Heidi K. Gardner, distinguished Fellow, Harvard Law School, and Ivan Matviak, CEO, Smarter Collaboration Why collaboration analytics is the new frontier for law firm growth 55 Moving from data → insights → action → growth 56 Firm-level insights – understanding the collaboration signature 57 Sector-level insights – where the market demands collaboration 61 Practice-level insights – the hidden pipelines between practices 62 Client-level insights – turning under-penetration into growth 65 Partner-level collaboration – the business case, the benchmarks, and the early warning system 68 Turning collaboration analytics into behavioral change and performance 75 Conclusion – collaboration analytics as a competitive advantage 79 Chapter 6: Content differentiation in the age of information abundance 83 By Andrew Longstreth, head writer, and Jamie Diaferia, founder and CEO, Infinite Distinctiveness over volume 83 Leadership sets the signal 84 Strategy sharpens the focus 86 Infrastructure for sustainability 87 Recognizing and rewarding what counts 89 Making it easy to leverage content 89 Great expectations 91 Chapter 7: Embedding a BD mindset – making it part of your professional identity 93 By Trish Lilley, chief marketing and business development officer, Barnes & Thornburg Speak a new language 94 Know what we’re up against 95 Recasting business development as a core professional responsibility 97 Making the shoe fit – authenticity as strategy 98 Sustainability – embedding BD in behavior 100 The nutshell 103 Part 3: Developing Human Resources Chapter 8: From knowing and doing to being – how lawyers become effective, whole person practitioners 105 By Diane Rosen, EdD, JD, MBA and Natalie Loeb, MS Old school law school 105 Professionalism, professional identity, professional formation 106 What competencies and characteristics do lawyers need? 107 Learning to be a lawyer 108 How individuals can maximize and self-direct their learning 111 Becoming a lawyer is not a solo endeavor 112 The whole-person lawyer – integrating identity, skills, and relationships . 115 Putting it together 116 Chapter 9: How internal communications impact morale and firm cohesion 119 By Allan Schoenberg, chief communications officer, and Renate Wagner, director of internal communications, Vinson & Elkins Culture as the operating system 119 The culture–communication–leadership loop 120 Translating strategy into shared language 121 Transparency – honesty, consistency, and judgment 123 Listening as a leadership discipline 124 Communications architecture – channels, cadence, and governance 125 Knowledge-sharing as a growth engine in an era of uncertainty 127 Recognition and learning – making culture visible 128 The manager cascade – where strategy becomes real 129 Measurement and accountability 130 Culture as competitive advantage in law firms 132 Chapter 10: Wellbeing as business infrastructure – why BD cultures fail without psychological safety 137 By Renee Branson, MA, RB Consulting The hidden infrastructure of business development 137 The neuroscience of professional risk 139 Why lawyers hesitate to cross-sell 140 Case example – a firm that changed the dynamic 144 Psychological safety as strategic infrastructure 145 Psychological safety readiness for BD initiatives 145 Red flags leaders should watch for 146 Leader behaviors that lower threat 148 The economics of psychological safety 149 From initiative to culture 150 A framework for BD culture – the collaboration infrastructure model 150 The infrastructure leaders cannot ignore 151 Part 4: Operations and Change Management Chapter 11: Leveraging AI as a strategic partner in business development 153 By Jennifer Leonard, founder, Creative Lawyers The AI moment in legal business development 154 The VOICE framework – five dimensions of AI-enhanced business development 155 Applications across firm types 159 Building a culture of creative experimentation 161 Identifying your highest-value opportunities 162 Seizing the moment 163 Chapter 12: Budgeting and ROI measurement – ensuring marketing investments deliver measurable value 165 By Monica Rodriguez Kuniyoshi, principal, MRK Strategies Reducing risk by taking a measurement-first approach 166 Understanding the starting point – the measurement ladder 167 Art of the possible – aligning ROI measures to the firm’s current level 171 The risks of over-relying on data 173 Expanding your field of view – budgeting for technology, internal resources, and external support 174 Budgeting through the ladder – pilot, improve, scale, and refine 179 Making progress – strategy meets stage 180 Chapter 13: Lateral integration and onboarding – using marketing strategy to accelerate success for new partners 183 By Jessica Grayson, chief growth officer, Stradley Ronon Reframing lateral hiring as a growth strategy 183 A different model 183 Before the search – aligning laterals with growth strategy 184 Market intelligence as a screening tool 185 Recruitment phase – using brand and experience to compete 185 Designing the candidate experience 186 Vetting beyond the portable book 187 Between signing and day one – building the launch plan 188 Market messaging and announcements 189 Aligning expectations before day one 190 Onboarding and integration – the first 90 days 190 The first 90 days framework 191 The lateral launch toolkit 192 Avoiding common integration failures 193 Beyond 90 days – sustaining success 194 Measuring what matters 194 Continuous improvement 195 Implementation framework – getting started 195 A self-assessment for your firm 197 Designing for success 197 Part 5: Client-Centric Focus Chapter 14: What the firm already knows – how integrated client intelligence drives business development 199 By Nat Slavin, managing partner, Client Insight Ventures and CEO, ClientSignal The real reason that business development struggles in law firms 199 What integrated client intelligence reveals 200 Market intelligence – objective and subjective 205 What firms need to do: five moves 207 A self-assessment for leadership, and what to do first 208 A culture, not a project 209 Chapter 15: Succession planning – ensuring client continuity when leaders retire 211 By Ida Abbott, founder, Ida Abbott Consulting Developing an effective client succession and transition process . . . . 212 The firm’s interests 213 The client’s interests 214 The retiring lawyer’s interests 214 The successor partner’s interests 216 Preliminary steps 217 Designing the client succession and transition process 219 Conclusion 226 Chapter 16: Partner compensation and incentives – how compensation models influence BD behaviors 227 By Tim Corcoran, principal, Corcoran Consulting Group Finding the motivation 227 The maths aren’t mathing 232 “Increase leverage and partner profits increase, if all else remains the same” 234 Penny wise, partner foolish 235 “Consider a team performance-driven firm. Everyone benefits if anyone’s performance improves. Partners help one another.” 236 Success is effortless 236 In money matters, only money matters 238 The origin of origination 241 Don’t hate the player, hate the game 246 Chapter 17: Digital presence and online reputation 251 By Jaron Rubenstein, tech strategist, Rubenstein Ventures Defining your target audience and personas for amplification 252 Your firm website – a strategic asset 255 Lawyer visibility via SEO and GEO 257 Social media strategies for practice and firm elevation 257 Measuring digital performance – the mandate for data analytics 258 Creating a culture of publication and self-promotion 259 Assessing your firm’s maturity 259 Law firm digital maturity and reputation assessment tool 260 Prioritizing for maximum impact 261 About Globe Law and Business 263