Why Law Firm Business Development Teams Spend So Much Time Searching for Information They Already Have

Business development professionals at law firms spend a significant amount of time researching clients, preparing for pitches, identifying prospective opportunities and gathering information for lawyers. Much of this work involves finding information that already exists somewhere within the organization.

A partner may need to know whether the firm has previously worked with a prospective client's subsidiaries. A pitch team may need to identify relevant matters involving a particular industry. A client relationship partner may want to understand which colleagues know executives at a company the firm is trying to develop.

Answering these questions can require searching multiple systems, reviewing previous proposals, examining contact records and contacting lawyers across the firm. The information may already exist, but locating it and connecting the relevant pieces can take considerable time.

When research becomes an exercise in reconstructing information from different sources, business development teams have less time to analyze opportunities, develop strategies and support meaningful conversations with clients and prospects.

Why Routine Research Can Become So Time-Consuming

Law firms maintain information in numerous systems that serve different purposes. CRM platforms store contacts, experience databases document previous matters, financial systems contain client and billing information and document management systems hold pitches, proposals and other materials.

Each system may provide part of the information needed for a business development project, but the team often needs to examine several sources to develop a complete picture.

Consider a business development professional preparing a briefing for a partner who is meeting a prospective client. The professional may begin by researching the company and its leadership, then review the CRM system to identify existing contacts. They may search previous pitches for relevant information, examine the firm's experience database and contact colleagues to determine whether anyone has a meaningful relationship with the people attending.

The research may involve several hours of work before the team can begin developing recommendations for the meeting.

The challenge becomes more pronounced when information is incomplete, inconsistent or maintained primarily through individual lawyers' knowledge. A contact record may exist without meaningful relationship context, while a previous pitch may contain useful information that was never incorporated into another system.

Improving access to these sources can help business development teams spend less time locating information and more time understanding what it means for the opportunity.

The Information Needed for a Pitch Often Exists in Different Places

Pitch preparation is one of the clearest examples of how fragmented information can affect business development efficiency. A strong proposal may require relevant experience, client relationships, industry knowledge, competitive context and information about the prospective client's business.

These elements are frequently maintained in different locations. Relevant matters may appear in an experience database, relationship information may be held by individual partners and previous proposals may contain useful descriptions of the firm's capabilities.

For example, a firm preparing to pitch for work from a private equity sponsor may need to identify previous transactions involving the sponsor, its portfolio companies and related businesses. The pitch team may also want to understand which lawyers know the sponsor's investment professionals and whether colleagues have worked with members of its leadership team at previous organizations.

Collecting this information manually can be time-consuming, particularly when the firm has multiple offices and practice groups.

A more connected approach can help the team identify relevant experience and relationships earlier in the process. With the research organized, business development professionals can devote greater attention to selecting the most persuasive examples, coordinating the appropriate lawyers and developing a proposal that addresses the prospective client's needs.

Relationship Research Requires More Than Finding Contact Information

A CRM record may confirm that a lawyer knows a particular individual, but it may not explain the nature of the relationship. The business development team may still need to determine whether the individuals worked together, when they last communicated and whether the lawyer would be comfortable facilitating an introduction.

This context is particularly important when researching prospective clients. A firm may have numerous connections to a company through different lawyers, offices and practice groups, but those relationships may not be immediately apparent.

Consider a partner who wants to approach the general counsel of a growing company. The business development team may discover that another partner previously worked with the general counsel, a colleague knows the chief financial officer and a recently hired lateral advised one of the company's subsidiaries.

Understanding these connections can help the firm identify a more informed approach to outreach. It may also reveal opportunities to coordinate with colleagues who possess relevant knowledge of the organization.

When relationship information is easier to find and understand, business development professionals can focus on evaluating the connections and developing appropriate next steps instead of spending most of their time determining whether the relationships exist.

Client Research Can Reveal Opportunities for Additional Work

Research also plays an important role in growing existing client relationships. Law firms may already advise a company on certain matters while having limited visibility into its broader business activities or the relationships held by lawyers in other practices.

A client relationship team may want to understand which services the firm currently provides, what developments are affecting the client's business and whether additional legal needs align with the firm's capabilities.

For example, a firm may advise a manufacturing client on corporate matters while the company expands internationally, makes an acquisition or encounters new regulatory requirements. These developments may create opportunities for lawyers in other practices to provide relevant advice.

The business development team can research the company's activity, examine the firm's existing relationships and coordinate with the appropriate lawyers to determine whether additional outreach makes sense.

Connecting client information with relevant business developments can help teams identify opportunities that may be difficult to recognize when information is examined separately.

It can also improve client service by giving relationship partners a more complete understanding of the client's activities and the work being performed across the firm.

Reduce Repeated Research Across the Firm

Another challenge arises when different business development teams repeatedly research the same companies, contacts and industries. A team preparing a pitch may gather information about a prospective client, while another group conducts similar research for a meeting several months later.

If the information isn't organized or accessible, the second team may need to reconstruct much of the work.

This can happen across offices and practices, particularly when research materials are stored in individual folders, email threads or previous pitch documents.

A more coordinated approach allows firms to preserve useful information and make it available for future projects, subject to appropriate access controls and confidentiality requirements.

For example, a company profile prepared for a pitch may contain information about leadership, recent transactions, business priorities and existing relationships. Maintaining that information in an accessible location can provide a useful starting point for future meetings and business development initiatives.

The information will still need to be reviewed and updated, but teams can begin with existing research instead of starting from the beginning each time.

This creates opportunities to improve consistency, reduce duplicated work and make better use of the knowledge developed through previous business development activities.

Give Business Development Professionals More Time for Strategy

Research is an important part of business development, but gathering information is only one stage of the process. The greater value often comes from interpreting that information, identifying relevant opportunities and helping lawyers determine how to act.

When a business development professional spends most of the day searching databases and requesting information from colleagues, there may be limited time left to develop a thoughtful approach to the opportunity.

For example, identifying that a prospective client has recently completed an acquisition provides useful background. Understanding that the firm has relevant experience, that a partner knows the company's leadership and that the acquisition may create additional legal needs allows the team to develop a more informed strategy.

That analysis requires an understanding of the firm's capabilities, the client's business and the relationships involved.

Making information easier to access can give business development professionals more time to work directly with lawyers, develop client plans, prepare for important conversations and coordinate opportunities across the firm.

It can also help teams respond more effectively when an opportunity arises unexpectedly or when a partner needs information on a short deadline.

How Gatsby Helps Turn Research Into Business Development Intelligence

Gatsby helps law firms turn scattered information into useful intelligence for business development, client growth and relationship management.

By helping firms connect relationship information and identify relevant connections, Gatsby can support the research involved in preparing for meetings, evaluating prospective clients and identifying business development opportunities.

For business development teams, a clearer understanding of the firm's relationships can reduce the time spent trying to determine who knows a particular person or organization. It can also provide useful context when coordinating outreach and preparing lawyers for important conversations.

This allows teams to focus more attention on interpreting information, developing recommendations and helping lawyers pursue opportunities.

Technology supports the research process, while business development professionals provide the judgment, firm knowledge and strategic perspective needed to determine how the information can be used.

Make Existing Information Work Harder for Your Firm

Law firms have invested substantial resources in technology, data collection and business development research. CRM systems, experience databases, previous pitches and individual lawyers' knowledge contain information that can support future opportunities.

The challenge is making that information easier to find, connect and apply when lawyers and business development teams need it.

Firms can begin by examining the research tasks that consistently require the most time. Pitch preparation, prospect research, client meeting briefings and relationship mapping are useful areas to evaluate because they frequently require information from multiple sources.

Understanding where research becomes repetitive or difficult can help firms identify opportunities to improve access to information and make better use of their existing resources.

When business development teams can locate relevant information more efficiently, they can spend more time developing strategies, coordinating relationships and helping lawyers turn research into meaningful business development activity.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does law firm business development research take so much time?

Law firm business development research often requires information from multiple systems, including CRM platforms, experience databases, financial systems and previous pitches. When these sources aren't connected, professionals may need to search several locations and contact colleagues to develop a complete picture of a client or prospect.

How can law firms make business development research more efficient?

Law firms can improve research efficiency by making existing information easier to access, reducing duplicated research and connecting relevant relationship, client and experience information. Establishing consistent processes for preserving useful research can also help teams avoid starting from scratch on future projects.

What information is important for law firm pitch preparation?

Pitch preparation may require relevant matter experience, existing relationships with the prospective client, company background, industry developments and information about the client's business needs. Connecting these sources helps business development teams prepare more relevant proposals.

How can relationship intelligence improve prospect research?

Relationship intelligence helps firms identify which lawyers know people within a prospective client's organization and understand the context surrounding those connections. This information can support introductions, meeting preparation and coordinated outreach.

How does Gatsby support law firm business development research?

Gatsby helps law firms turn scattered information into useful intelligence for business development, client growth and relationship management. Its relationship intelligence capabilities can help teams identify relevant connections and prepare for business development activities.