How Midsize Law Firms Can Use AI to Compete for More Business
Midsize law firms face a particular set of challenges when it comes to business development. Many have sophisticated practices, longstanding client relationships and lawyers who regularly compete with much larger firms for significant matters. At the same time, they may have smaller marketing and business development teams, fewer dedicated research resources and limited budgets for technology and outside support. As these firms look for ways to grow, they need practical approaches to identifying new opportunities, strengthening client relationships and supporting lawyers who are expected to develop business while managing demanding practices.
Artificial intelligence can help midsize firms address some of these challenges by making research, prospecting, meeting preparation and client monitoring more efficient. Tasks that previously required hours of gathering information from multiple sources can often be completed more quickly with the right technology and processes. This gives business development professionals more time to work with lawyers on strategy, relationship building and outreach while helping firms provide more consistent support across practices and offices.
For midsize firms evaluating how AI fits into their business development efforts, the most useful applications are often connected to activities they are already doing. Here are seven areas where AI can make a difference, along with practical ways to incorporate it into everyday business development.
1. Build More Targeted Prospect Lists
Identifying the right prospective clients is an important part of any law firm's growth strategy, but developing a useful target list requires more than gathering company names. Firms need to understand which organizations fit their practices, where those companies are growing, what legal needs they may have and whether there are existing relationships that could help facilitate an introduction.
For example, a midsize firm looking to expand its corporate practice might want to identify private equity-backed businesses in certain industries, companies that have recently completed acquisitions or organizations expanding into markets where the firm has offices. AI-assisted research can help gather and organize information about these businesses, including ownership structures, leadership teams, transactions and other developments that may be relevant to the firm's capabilities.
Business development professionals can use this information to work with lawyers on narrowing the list to a manageable group of priority prospects. They can also identify potential reasons to reach out, such as a recent acquisition, leadership change or expansion announcement, and develop an outreach plan that reflects each company's circumstances.
2. Improve Preparation for Client and Prospect Meetings
Lawyers frequently meet with clients, prospective clients, referral sources and other professional contacts, but the amount of preparation that goes into these meetings can vary considerably. Some lawyers have dedicated business development support, while others conduct their own research or rely on information they already know about the organization.
AI can help firms develop a more consistent approach to meeting preparation by gathering relevant company information, recent news, executive biographies, transaction activity and industry developments. Instead of spending time searching multiple websites and databases, business development professionals can begin with an organized research briefing and focus on identifying the information most relevant to the upcoming conversation.
For example, before a meeting with the general counsel of a manufacturing company, a lawyer could review recent acquisitions, geographic expansion plans, regulatory developments and leadership changes. The business development team could supplement this information with the firm's existing relationship history, relevant matters and suggestions for topics to discuss.
This approach is particularly valuable for midsize firms because it allows a relatively small team to support more lawyers and meetings without sacrificing the quality of preparation.
3. Identify More Opportunities Within Existing Client Relationships
Existing clients can be an important source of growth, especially for midsize firms with complementary practices that may not always be working together on the same accounts. A client that initially engages the firm for corporate work may eventually need assistance with employment, intellectual property, litigation, regulatory compliance or other matters as its business evolves.
One challenge is keeping track of the developments that could signal these additional needs. Clients may announce acquisitions, enter new markets, hire senior executives, raise capital or introduce new products, and the lawyers responsible for those relationships may not always be aware of every development.
AI-powered monitoring can help firms stay informed about relevant client activity and identify potential opportunities for additional services. A business development professional could review these developments regularly and work with relationship partners to determine which ones warrant a conversation with the client or an introduction to another practice.
For example, if a corporate client announces plans to acquire a competitor, that development may create opportunities for lawyers who advise on employment matters, regulatory issues, commercial contracts or post-acquisition integration. Having a process for identifying and sharing this information can help firms coordinate their efforts and provide more comprehensive support to clients.
4. Make Better Use of Relationships Across the Firm
Relationships are central to law firm business development, but firms do not always have a complete picture of who knows whom. This becomes increasingly complicated as midsize firms add lateral partners, expand into new geographic markets and develop additional practices.
A lawyer in one office may have a longstanding relationship with an executive at a company another practice has been trying to reach. A recently hired partner may know several decision makers at organizations the firm has identified as priority prospects. Without a coordinated approach to relationship intelligence, these connections can remain largely invisible to the broader firm.
AI-assisted relationship research can help firms identify potential connections among lawyers, clients, prospects and professional contacts, depending on the information available to the technology. Business development teams can use these insights to determine where an introduction may be appropriate and coordinate outreach among lawyers who have complementary relationships.
This can be especially useful when firms are pursuing larger institutional clients that may have legal needs across several practice areas. Understanding the firm's existing connections can help lawyers approach these opportunities more strategically and avoid duplicating outreach.
5. Develop More Competitive and Personalized Pitches
Midsize law firms often compete against larger firms for sophisticated matters, and a well-prepared pitch can help demonstrate their understanding of a prospective client's business. While relevant experience and strong lawyer credentials remain important, firms also need to show that they understand the company's priorities, industry and potential challenges.
AI can support this preparation by gathering company intelligence, recent transactions, leadership information, competitive developments and other relevant research. Business development professionals can use these findings to help lawyers tailor their presentations and identify issues that may be particularly important to the prospective client.
For example, a midsize firm pitching a private equity sponsor might research the sponsor's investment strategy, portfolio companies, recent acquisitions, geographic focus and industry concentrations. This information can help the team select the most relevant firm experience, identify lawyers from complementary practices and prepare questions that demonstrate an understanding of the sponsor's business.
The technology can also help organize research and identify themes that inform the pitch, although lawyers and business development professionals still need to verify important information and exercise judgment about what to include.
6. Make Conferences and Events More Productive
Conferences, industry events and sponsorships represent a significant investment for law firms, particularly when registration fees, travel expenses, sponsorship costs and lawyer time are taken into account. For midsize firms with limited marketing budgets, it is especially important to approach these activities with clear business development objectives.
AI can help firms make better use of conference attendee lists by identifying existing clients, priority prospects, referral sources and companies that align with the firm's growth priorities. Research can also provide information about attendees' organizations, recent business developments and potential connections to lawyers at the firm.
Before an event, business development professionals can use this information to develop a prioritized outreach list, coordinate meeting requests and prepare background materials for participating lawyers. During the event, lawyers can focus their time on the people and conversations most relevant to their practices.
Afterward, the research can support more personalized follow-up by helping lawyers connect their conversations to specific business developments or areas of shared interest. Firms can also track which relationships progressed and whether the event generated additional meetings, introductions or opportunities.
7. Expand Business Development Support Without Significantly Increasing Headcount
Many midsize law firms have relatively lean marketing and business development departments, with professionals supporting multiple practices, offices and initiatives. These teams may be responsible for everything from pitches and proposals to events, content development, client research and strategic planning.
AI can help reduce the time spent on certain research-intensive activities, allowing business development professionals to devote more attention to working directly with lawyers. Preparing company profiles, gathering prospect intelligence, reviewing industry developments and organizing meeting materials are all examples of activities where AI can provide useful support.
This can also help firms extend business development assistance to lawyers who may not traditionally receive individualized support. For example, a firm could establish a process for preparing research briefings for partners meeting with priority prospects or provide regular intelligence updates to selected practice groups.
The goal is to develop repeatable processes that make the team's work more efficient while maintaining the personalized advice and strategic support that lawyers need.
How Gatsby Can Help Midsize Law Firms
For midsize law firms interested in incorporating AI into their business development activities, Gatsby provides tools designed to make company research and business intelligence more accessible and actionable.
Gatsby Intel helps lawyers and business development professionals research companies and individuals, prepare for meetings and pitches and gather information about clients and prospects. This can be particularly useful for firms that need to support multiple lawyers and practice groups without relying on extensive manual research.
Gatsby Aware helps firms stay informed about developments affecting the companies and relationships they care about. By monitoring relevant business activity, firms can identify potential opportunities for outreach, client development and additional services.
Together, these capabilities can help midsize firms establish a more consistent approach to business development intelligence while allowing their teams to spend more time evaluating opportunities and working with lawyers on next steps.
Getting Started With AI for Business Development
Midsize firms interested in adopting AI do not need to introduce new technology across every practice and office at once. A focused pilot can provide a useful way to evaluate the benefits, identify potential challenges and determine how the technology fits into existing workflows.
One approach is to select a practice group with clear growth priorities and identify a manageable group of clients and prospects. The business development team can then use AI to support company research, meeting preparation and ongoing monitoring for those accounts. Over the course of several weeks, the firm can evaluate how much time the technology saves, whether the research produces useful insights and how frequently lawyers act on the information.
It is also important to establish expectations around reviewing research, verifying information and protecting confidential client and firm data. The technology needs to fit within the firm's existing information security policies and professional responsibilities.
As the pilot progresses, business development professionals can gather feedback from participating lawyers and refine the process before expanding it to other practices. They can also establish measures of success, such as the number of prospect meetings generated, client development opportunities identified, introductions facilitated and hours saved on research.
For midsize law firms, incorporating AI into business development can create opportunities to support more lawyers, make better use of existing relationships and pursue prospective clients with more thorough preparation. Firms that establish practical processes for using these tools can strengthen their business development capabilities while making more effective use of the resources they already have.
About Gatsby
Gatsby helps law firms turn company intelligence into business development opportunities. Through on-demand research and ongoing account monitoring, Gatsby gives lawyers and business development teams information they can use to understand clients and prospects, prepare for important conversations and identify opportunities for growth.
Learn more at https://trygatsby.ai.