Your Law Firm Has More Business Development Opportunities Than You Think. Here's How to Find Them.
Your Law Firm Has More Business Development Opportunities Than You Think. Here's How to Find Them.
Law firms spend considerable time and money identifying new clients, building prospect lists and pursuing business development opportunities. Partners attend conferences, marketing teams organize events and business development professionals research companies that might need legal services. Yet some of the most promising opportunities may already exist within the firm's current relationships and the companies its lawyers have been following for years.
The challenge is recognizing when something changes that creates a reason to reconnect. A company may announce an acquisition, appoint a new executive, enter a new market or raise capital. Each development can create new legal needs, but those opportunities can be missed when no one is consistently monitoring what's happening across the firm's client and prospect base.
For law firms looking to generate more business from existing relationships and priority prospects, identifying these developments and acting on them should be a regular part of the business development process.
Why Important Opportunities Get Missed
Most law firms have substantial amounts of information about their clients and prospects, but that information is often spread across different systems and people. The CRM contains relationship information, lawyers maintain their own contact lists, marketing teams monitor industry news and business development professionals conduct research when a specific request comes in.
The problem is that these activities aren't always connected. A partner may have a strong relationship with a private equity sponsor but may not know that one of its portfolio companies recently hired a new general counsel. Another lawyer may have worked with a healthcare company several years ago without realizing it has expanded into a new service area where the firm has relevant capabilities.
These developments can create opportunities for conversations, introductions and additional legal work. But if the right people don't learn about them at the right time, the firm may never have a chance to pursue them.
Business Development Starts With Recognizing What Has Changed
One of the most effective ways to identify opportunities is to pay attention to developments that may affect a company's legal needs. These changes can provide a natural reason for lawyers to reconnect with clients and prospects and offer relevant insights.
Here are several examples of developments worth monitoring:
- A company announces an acquisition. This may create opportunities involving transaction execution, financing, employment, integration, regulatory matters and other legal needs.
- A private equity sponsor acquires a new portfolio company. Lawyers may have an opportunity to introduce colleagues with relevant industry or practice experience and build relationships with the portfolio company's leadership.
- A healthcare company expands into a new state. That expansion may create regulatory, licensing, employment and operational considerations that the firm's lawyers can help address.
- A company appoints a new general counsel or CEO. Leadership changes can create opportunities to establish new relationships, understand evolving priorities and introduce the firm's capabilities.
- A business raises capital. New funding may support acquisitions, geographic expansion, hiring or other initiatives that involve legal advice.
The value comes from understanding what a development might mean for a particular company and identifying which lawyers are best positioned to respond.
Turn Company Intelligence Into Relevant Outreach
Knowing that something happened is only the beginning. Effective business development requires connecting that information to a company's needs and the firm's existing relationships.
Let's say a private equity sponsor that works with your firm acquires a healthcare services company. A generic congratulatory email might be appropriate, but the development could also create an opportunity for a more meaningful conversation. The relationship partner could review the new company's operations, identify potential regulatory or commercial issues and introduce colleagues who have experience in that particular healthcare sector.
Another example is a technology company that recently announced plans to expand internationally. A lawyer who has worked with the company in the past could reach out with a relevant article, offer to discuss cross-border considerations or connect the company's leadership with colleagues who advise on international expansion.
The outreach should reflect the company's circumstances and the relationship the firm already has. Clients and prospects are much more likely to respond when they can see why a particular development prompted someone to contact them.
Look Beyond the Individual Company
Many opportunities become clearer when firms understand the relationships among companies, investors and decision-makers.
A private equity sponsor may own multiple portfolio companies operating in related industries. A healthcare company may be connected to a broader network of investors, executives and strategic partners. A former client contact may move into a leadership role at a company the firm has been targeting.
Understanding these connections can help firms identify opportunities that might otherwise remain hidden. It can also support more coordinated business development efforts, particularly when several lawyers or practice groups have relationships with different parts of the same organization.
For example, a firm that advises a private equity sponsor on transactions may also have opportunities to support its portfolio companies with employment, litigation, regulatory or commercial matters. Recognizing those opportunities requires an understanding of the sponsor's investments, the portfolio companies' activities and the firm's existing relationships.
Make Intelligence Part of the Weekly Business Development Routine
Lawyers are busy, and most don't have time to monitor dozens of companies or research every development that might create a business opportunity. That's why firms benefit from a more organized approach to gathering and sharing intelligence.
Start with a manageable list of priority clients and prospects. Identify the companies that matter most to the firm's growth plans, the lawyers responsible for those relationships and the developments that would be especially relevant to monitor. For a private equity practice, that might include acquisitions, exits, portfolio company developments and leadership changes. For a healthcare practice, it could include funding announcements, geographic expansion, regulatory developments and strategic partnerships.
Business development teams can then review relevant updates and help lawyers determine where follow-up makes sense. A short weekly discussion about a handful of meaningful developments can be more productive than distributing a long report filled with news that no one has time to read.
It also helps to document what happens next. If a partner plans to reach out to a client, make sure that action is recorded and followed up on. If a development creates an opportunity for another practice group, identify who should make the introduction. This helps turn intelligence into coordinated activity and gives the firm a clearer picture of which opportunities are progressing.
How Gatsby Helps Firms Connect Research With Business Development
Gatsby helps law firms make company intelligence more accessible and actionable through two complementary capabilities: Gatsby Aware and Gatsby Intel.
Gatsby Aware helps firms stay informed about developments involving companies they care about, making it easier to recognize changes that may create opportunities for outreach. Instead of relying on individual lawyers to monitor news and announcements, firms can incorporate relevant company updates into their business development activities.
Gatsby Intel supports deeper company research, helping lawyers and business development professionals prepare for conversations, understand organizations and identify information relevant to their relationship strategies.
Together, these capabilities can help firms move from occasional, reactive research to a more consistent process for understanding clients and prospects. The information becomes especially valuable when it is connected to existing relationships, practice capabilities and clear follow-up actions.
Start With a Small Group of Priority Companies
Firms don't have to monitor every company in their CRM to improve how they identify business development opportunities. A focused pilot can help demonstrate the value of a more consistent approach.
Select 20 to 25 priority clients and prospects, ideally across a practice or industry group where the firm has clear growth objectives. Identify the types of developments that matter most, establish a regular review process and assign responsibility for following up on relevant opportunities.
Over the next 30 days, track the developments identified, the conversations they prompted, the introductions made and any opportunities that progressed. The results can help the firm refine its approach and determine where to expand the effort.
This process also creates an opportunity to improve coordination among lawyers, marketing professionals and business development teams. Everyone has a clearer understanding of which companies are priorities, what is happening within those organizations and where the firm may be able to help.
Make Better Use of the Relationships You Already Have
Many law firms already have strong relationships, experienced lawyers and substantial knowledge about the industries they serve. The opportunity is to connect those resources more consistently with what is happening in clients' and prospects' businesses.
When firms pay attention to company developments, understand the relationships surrounding those companies and make timely follow-up part of their routine, they can identify opportunities that might otherwise go unnoticed.
Gatsby helps support that process by making company research and ongoing intelligence easier to incorporate into business development. For firms looking to strengthen existing relationships, identify new opportunities and make more informed decisions about where to focus their efforts, that can be a valuable advantage.
Learn how Gatsby Aware and Gatsby Intel can help your firm identify relevant company developments, prepare for client conversations and turn intelligence into business development opportunities.