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By Margaret Grisdela, Legal Expert Connections, Inc.

Waves of change are sweeping over the legal landscape. Specialization is becoming more prevalent as state bar associations continue to offer board certification programs and the threat of malpractice drives small law firms and solo practitioners into more focused legal practice areas.

Law firm consolidation is accelerating, driven by a belief in “bigger is better” and demanding corporate clients who operate globally 24/7. Outsourcing, prepaid legal services, alternative dispute resolution (ADR) and the move to multidisciplinary practices (MDPs) outside the U.S. all pose challenges to the legal market.

What does all this tell us? The legal industry will continue changing at a rapid pace as law firms of all sizes scramble for work in an increasingly competitive environment. Proactive firms that wish to protect a dominant market position must aggressively pursue continual growth through new legal services, territory and billing arrangements.

Attorneys, legal practice groups and law firms must sharpen their business development skills in order to survive. In fact, this is happening at an accelerating pace.

The 2006 “Law Firm Business Development Practices Survey,” conducted by ALM ResearchTM in conjunction with The Brand Research Company, reports that more than one-third of the 157 large law firms surveyed have a business development budget of over $1 million. Almost two-thirds of the firms surveyed added business development staff in the past year.

This special HG.org series of excerpts from the book “Courting Your Clients” is specially designed to help those attorneys, practice groups and law firms who maintain a serious commitment to expanding their client base. Also known as “rainmaking,” there are certain predictable and proven steps that must be followed to generate high quality leads and convert these prospects to long term clients. 

Readers will learn why marketing and business development is a process, not an event. Attorneys who adopt the techniques outlined in this series of articles will gain a competitive advantage when they implement a disciplined, on-going approach to lead generation and client relations. Stay tuned for the next installment!

About the Author: Margaret Grisdela is the Founder and President of Legal Expert Connections, Inc., a legal marketing firm specializing in marketing and business development in the legal and litigation support  markets. You can reach her at mg@legalexpertconnections.com.