How Can Law Firms Decide Which Prospects to Prioritize for Business Development?
A list of prospective clients can give a law firm a place to begin, but a list by itself does not tell lawyers where to spend their time.
Twenty companies may all fit the firm's target profile. Some may be growing quickly, changing leadership, making acquisitions or entering new markets. The firm may have strong relationships with executives at several of them and no meaningful connections to others. Certain companies may have business needs that align closely with the firm's experience, while others may be attractive names with no obvious reason for a conversation right now.
That is where prospecting becomes more strategic. Instead of treating every target company as equally important, business development teams can bring together company intelligence, relationships, firm experience and timing to help lawyers focus on the opportunities where there is a stronger reason to engage.
Start With More Than a List of Company Names
Prospect lists are often built around criteria such as industry, geography, company size, ownership, revenue or growth. Those criteria are useful because they help firms identify companies that fit a particular practice, sector or growth strategy. The next stage is understanding what is happening inside those companies.
Take a list of 25 companies a practice group would like to develop. Researching those companies may reveal that five recently completed acquisitions, three hired new general counsel, four are expanding internationally and several have raised capital or announced significant strategic initiatives. Other companies on the list may have had relatively little activity that connects naturally with the firm's capabilities.
The list now looks different. Instead of 25 names with roughly equal priority, the BD team has information that can help lawyers understand where there may be an immediate reason to pay attention.
A useful first exercise is to take a current prospect list and add a short description of what has changed at each company during the past six to 12 months. Look for developments that may affect the company's legal needs or create a natural reason for a lawyer to learn more.
Look for Business Developments That Could Create Legal Needs
Company developments become more valuable for business development when the team looks beyond the announcement itself.
An acquisition may create questions involving financing, integration, employment, intellectual property, privacy, tax, regulatory matters or future transactions. International expansion may raise issues involving local employment requirements, commercial agreements, data, tax and regulatory compliance. A new product or technology initiative may have implications for intellectual property, licensing, privacy or emerging regulation.
The appropriate analysis will vary by company and industry, and the objective is not to assume that every corporate development creates a legal opportunity. The research gives lawyers a reason to look more closely and decide whether their experience may be relevant.
BD teams can help by adding a second question to company monitoring: "Why might this matter?"
If a target announces an acquisition, identify the transaction and then look at what the combined company is likely to be doing next. If a company appoints a new general counsel, research the executive's background, previous organizations and publicly discussed priorities. If a business enters a new geographic market, identify the expansion plans and the areas where the firm's experience may connect.
This extra layer turns company news into business development intelligence.
Add the Firm's Relationships to the Picture
A timely company development becomes even more interesting when someone at the firm has a relevant relationship.
The BD team can look at the people connected to the target company and determine where relationships may already exist across the firm. A partner may have worked with the general counsel at a previous company. Another lawyer may know a board member. A recently hired lateral may have represented one of the company's investors. A firm alum may work in the legal department. Someone in another office may have an established relationship with a senior executive.
The existence of a connection does not automatically make a company a stronger prospect. The nature of the relationship matters.
Once a possible connection is identified, speak with the lawyer involved. Ask how they know the person, how well they know them, when they last communicated and whether there may be a natural reason to reconnect. A longstanding professional relationship carries different weight from having attended the same event several years ago.
For a priority prospect list, adding relationship information alongside company developments can quickly reveal companies where the firm has both a business reason and a relationship reason to engage.
Compare the Opportunity With the Firm's Experience
The next question is whether the firm has experience that genuinely connects with what is happening at the company.
Suppose a target company announces plans to acquire several businesses over the next two years. The firm may have significant experience advising companies in the same industry on acquisition programs, financing, regulatory issues and integration. That gives the BD team something specific to discuss with the lawyers who may approach the company.
The same analysis can reveal when a target is less compelling. A company may be growing rapidly, but if its current needs fall outside the firm's priorities or experience, another prospect may deserve more immediate attention.
This is also where firms can identify opportunities that extend across practices. A company development initially identified by the corporate team may also be relevant to employment, tax, regulatory, litigation or another practice. BD professionals are often in a good position to see those connections because they work across matters, practices and client relationships.
For each priority company, identify the two or three areas of firm experience that are most closely connected to the company's current activity. This creates a much more useful basis for outreach than a general description of the firm's capabilities.
Look at What the Firm Already Knows About the Company
Before treating a company as a new prospect, check the firm's history with it.
The company may have received a pitch several years ago. A practice group may have handled a small matter that is no longer active. Several lawyers may have met its executives at conferences. A lateral partner may have worked with the company at a previous firm. There may be previous proposals, meeting notes, alumni relationships or other information that changes the picture.
This internal history can help the team avoid duplicating outreach and can reveal useful context about previous conversations. It may also show that a company considered a prospect by one practice is already a client of another.
Reviewing the firm's existing information before outreach gives the lawyer a better understanding of where the relationship currently stands and who else may need to be involved.
Pay Attention to Changes in People as Well as Companies
Companies change, and so do the people inside them.
A new general counsel, chief financial officer, chief executive or other senior leader can change priorities, outside counsel relationships and decision making. Executives also move between companies, sometimes taking established professional relationships with them.
For priority prospects, monitor significant leadership changes and look at the backgrounds of the people entering important roles. Where did they work previously? Does the firm have a relationship with them from another organization? Have they worked with any of the firm's lawyers? Are there alumni or other connections that may provide context?
This can be particularly useful when a longtime contact moves to a new company. The relationship may create an opportunity to reconnect, learn about the executive's new role and stay connected as they settle into the organization.
The company intelligence and the relationship intelligence become more useful when viewed together.
Separate a Good Prospect From a Good Reason to Call
A company can be an excellent long-term prospect without there being a good reason to contact someone today.
This distinction can improve outreach considerably.
If the firm has relevant experience and a strong relationship but nothing has changed at the company, the team may decide to continue monitoring it. A significant company development without an existing relationship may lead the team to look for other paths into the organization. When a meaningful development, relevant firm experience and a credible relationship come together, the opportunity may warrant more immediate attention.
For each priority company, write down the reason for outreach in one or two sentences. The explanation might be that the company has announced a series of acquisitions, a partner knows the general counsel well and the firm has substantial experience helping similar businesses execute acquisition programs. Another prospect may be entering a regulated market where the firm has significant experience and a lateral partner has an established relationship with a senior executive.
If the team struggles to articulate why a conversation makes sense now, continuing to research and monitor the company may be more useful than rushing into outreach.
Give Lawyers a Short, Useful Prospect Brief
Once a company moves higher on the priority list, the lawyer needs enough information to decide what to do.
A prospect brief can include the reason the company is receiving attention, recent developments, key executives, existing firm relationships, previous firm activity involving the company, relevant experience and several possible next steps. It can also flag information that still needs to be confirmed.
Keep the most important information near the beginning. The purpose of the brief is to help the lawyer understand the opportunity and make a decision, not to document every fact available about the company.
For example, the next step may be speaking with a colleague who knows the general counsel, inviting an executive to an industry event, sharing a relevant piece of thought leadership, reconnecting with a former contact or arranging an introduction to a lawyer with experience related to a recent company development.
The research becomes more valuable when it ends with a decision about what happens next.
Revisit the List Instead of Treating It as Finished
Prospect prioritization works better as an ongoing process because the factors that make a company interesting will change.
A company that ranks lower today may announce a major transaction next month. A lawyer may discover an important relationship that was not previously known. A new executive may join the company. The firm may hire a lateral with relevant experience or relationships. An industry development may suddenly make one of the firm's practices particularly relevant.
BD teams can revisit priority prospects on a regular schedule and update the information that matters most: company developments, people changes, relationships, firm activity and possible reasons for outreach.
This also helps prevent prospect lists from becoming static spreadsheets that are discussed once and then forgotten. The list becomes a working business development tool that changes as the companies and the firm's relationships change.
Build a Simple Prospect Prioritization Process
A firm can begin with a small group of target companies rather than trying to evaluate every prospect at once. Choose 10 or 15 companies that are already important to a practice, industry team or group of partners and review each one across the same areas.
Look at what has changed at the company, the people involved, existing firm relationships, previous interactions with the firm and the experience that may be relevant. Then identify whether there is a credible reason for engagement and what the next step could be.
The BD team can revisit the companies regularly and update the lawyers when something meaningfully changes. Over time, this creates a much clearer picture of which prospects are becoming more interesting and why.
It also creates a useful record of what the firm has already tried, which relationships have been explored and which opportunities need follow-up.
How Gatsby Can Support Prospect Prioritization
Gatsby is designed to help law firm business development teams bring company and relationship intelligence into the same business development process.
Gatsby Intel can help teams research companies and identify developments that may be relevant to prospecting and client development. Gatsby Aware can help firms better understand relationships across the organization. Used together, that information can help a BD professional see both what is happening at a target company and who within the firm may have a relevant connection.
The technology can make it easier to gather and organize the information, while the business development team and lawyers provide the judgment that determines what deserves attention.
For a firm exploring this approach, start with an existing target list and choose a manageable group of companies. For each company, document what has changed recently, who the firm knows, which experience is relevant and whether there is a natural reason for a conversation. Assign the appropriate next step and revisit the list as new information emerges.
A prospect list becomes far more useful when it helps lawyers understand where to spend their time, why a company deserves attention and what they can actually do with the information in front of them.