Leftfoot - Legal Business Development

Law Firms Are Poised to Offer Broad Solutions Lucy Bassli’s new adventure allows her to have a broad impact on the legal industry. Through her work at LawGeex and the organization she founded, InnoLegal Services, she provides both the ‘what’ of legal advice and the ‘how’ of a consultancy; advising on the effective delivery and receipt of legal services.   We summarize our LeftFoot Podcast, Episode 102, below. Today’s in-house legal departments shouldn’t have to pick a law firm and an alternative service provider. They shouldn’t have to piece together service efficiencies and legal tech.   Today it’s more common that law firms are coordinating legal administration and technology on behalf of clients. Law firms are perfectly poised to offer a broad legal tech and human resource solution. We’re at an inflection point, the volume of work is overwhelming and budgets aren’t unlimited. Lawyers need to get comfortable with other people and systems doing things on their behalf. It’s smart risk-taking. Relying on tec

Expertise and Reputation A lawyer labeled as ‘commercial’ is a good thing. Commercial lawyers are interested in quickly and cheaply resolving the client’s business problems as emphasized in a recent interview with Kirkland Partner, Dale Cendali.  Dale leads her firm’s Copyright, Trademark, Internet and Advertising practice group. It’s the age of competition and expertise. Even with the growing addition of professional marketing and business development resources within firms, there’s an expectation that partners manage their business; bringing in new clients; staying current, and important to clients. Being aware and accessible.  Seek out opportunities in your area of expertise.   Having started her career when specialization was less valued, Dale developed her IP expertise over time combing her interest in the arts and her work in intellectual property and fair use in support of artists and artist’s rights she researched and learned about her topic.  Enthusiasm alone will not get new clients you need to ma

  Think Dynamically About Your Clients In the 100th episode of LeftFoot our guest Katie DeBord, Chief Innovation Officer at Bryan Cave highlights the substantive changes taking place in today’s legal environment and how it’s changing the lawyer-client relationship at every level.   That the firms, practices, lawyers and legal service providers who are doing things differently investing in innovation and that have a culture of innovation from the top down are making an impact. Today outside legal providers are differentiating themselves by presenting tools to help clients operationalize their legal advice. There’s an increased awareness of legal operations and the integration of legal advice with the technology available. It’s about holistic legal service delivery, lawyers asking and addressing business questions.  Recognizing that a client may need both legal advice and the efficiency of an LPO. By offering a collaborative approach that’s authenticated and process managed you’ll making it efficient fo

Legal Tender Strategy Our guest on podcast episode 99, John de Forte has been advising law firms and other professional services organizations around proposals for over 30 years. He authored ‘https://www.amazon.com/Winning-Proposals-Essential-Services-Providers/dp/0692893733/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1519683750&sr=8-1&keywords=winning+proposals (Winning Proposals the Essential Guide for Law Firms and Legal Service Providers)’ in 2017. Legal Purchasing We begin our conversation talking about the growth and influence of professional purchasing within in-house legal.  Not yet the final decision makers these professionals are influencing the process and are focused on getting value for money spent while creating a more objective buying process. Value In today’s environment, legal providers should be focused on presenting themselves in the most objective way possible connecting work product to value.  Clients are looking for assistance in the management of legal resources and overall legal spend, gone

With David Pashman of Meetup For LeftFoot episode 98 we interviewed David Pashman, a former big law transaction lawyer turned startup general counsel and educator.  David is currently the Head of Integration following the WeWork / Meetup transaction. Reality #1: Going In-House is a Transition A big part of David’s transition was learning to work effectively with business people, presenting complex legal issues with an emphasis on ‘why his business partner should care’.   He also gained a comfort level working with risk and uncertainty, a necessity when delivering timely advice.   His approach is to rely on what he knows and doesn’t know.   For topics, you know use your own best judgment, for topics you don’t know rely on others.   Having a strong sense of what you know – and don’t know – is critical. Reality #2: Cost Isn’t Always a Priority  When evaluating outside resources, David’s focus isn’t locating a low-cost provider, noting by category that lawyers charge similar rates.  He’s looking

Service is Personal Our discussion with Michael McGee, starts off with a point we can’t emphasize enough; it’s about the client. A client’s needs come first. Go beyond the legal deliverable and ease the concerns of the client. Get to know your clients, see them in person; get to know their businesses. Listen and continue to ask (and earn) their business. Others are asking you should be too. Mike’s firm has a yearly strategy for growth including a specific plan and targets for the year. The plan reflects known clients activities in the coming year; what’s happening in specific industry sectors; and what’s occurring more broadly in current events. He notes that the attitude of firm lawyers about the yearly strategy is important. Being smart is table stakes, it’s important that firm lawyers understand that competition exists; and that executing a strategy and plan with energy and enthusiasm matters. When addressing changing market conditions our conversation quickly turns to data and the ability to break

Legal Services Cost Money and that’s OK! We had the pleasure of interviewing http://herzberglawgroup.com/aliza-f-herzberg/ (Aliza Herzberg) on LeftFoot. Aliza started her http://herzberglawgroup.com (own employment law firm) in 2017 after a successful 24-year career working for others. Aliza’s key to business development success is making sure she understands and meets the business objectives of her clients. She gets to know her clients and presents them with solutions versus communicating solely about the law. She values a personal touch and makes time to get to know the people she works with at her clients. As a success story, Aliza shared an experience with a junior lawyer hired to assist with research at a client. While working on the case Aliza spent time and provided mentoring to this lawyer. This lawyer later went in-house and when an employment law matter was raised she recommended Aliza. Over the next few years, this organization became a sizable client for Aliza. A strong reminder that building rel

Strategies and Tactics for Today   The CEO and Founder of AltaClaro, Abdi Shayesteh is a corporate, bank regulatory, and finance attorney. He worked for a global law firm – a boutique firm – a powerful central bank – and a groundbreaking fintech company before starting the company he now leads. https://altaclaro.com (Abdi Shayesteh Bio) A proponent of experiential learning, Abdi implements what he’s learning from his network of advisors and mentors, going back to those advisors, with updates on outcomes after executing their advice and counsel. This process and the willingness to take risks and try new things has been key to his success. In turn when asked for advice Abdi looks to be part of the process sharing his approach and methodologies for executing on specific advice.  His advice specific to implementing strategies for growth?  Get in front of the right audience being strategic and surgical about it. Before you engage establish a strategy. Which industries and companies are th

The Business of Law with Mark Cohen of Legal Mosaic and Elevate Legal Services In Episode 94 we talk with Mark Cohen, former civil trial lawyer, big law Partner, national litigation boutique firm founder, and insurance industry outside general counsel. An early mover on Legal Tech and Legal process outsourcing, today Mark is the CEO of Legal Mosaic and Chair of the Advisory Board and Chief Strategy Officer at Elevate Legal Services. https://www.linkedin.com/in/legalmosaic/ (Mark Cohen Bio) Mark attributes his success as a lawyer and businessperson to being relentless, authentic, persuasive, and relating to people as people – telling stories and relying on complex, factual legal matters in a way that people can understand and resonate with.  Noting that in today’s legal environment sophisticated legal buyers look seriously at data related to outcomes and efficiency as criteria for selection and for continued use of a lawyer or firm. That the change in the industry is not being driven by the proactive co

Skills You Can Learn to Grow Your Practice Paula Davis-Laack, is the Founder and CEO of Davis-Laack Stress and Resilience Institute. A former practicing lawyer, Paula is a stress and resilience expert and has taught stress and resiliency skills to thousands of professionals around the world. https://www.pauladavislaack.com/about/about-paula/ (Paula Davis Laack Bio) For those not excited about executing tactical business development responsibilities; networking; pitching on business without success, and generally taking time to grow your practice when you prefer to practice law– this episode is for you. In LeftFoot episode 93 we talk with Paula Davis-Laack about lawyers and resilience and the relationship between resilience and business development. First, resiliency defined. Resiliency is the ability to deal with a challenge, change, and disruption: How to withstand it? How do you recover? How to bounce forward from these experiences and moving ahead more prepared. We began our discussion with some commo

For our first episode of 2018 LeftFoot is featuring 4 women associates from the Goodwin Private Equity and Mergers & Acquisitions business.   We share their perspective on business development and taking on business development responsibilities at the firm. First up was 2nd-year associate Serena Shi. Serena’s strategy for business development and client retention is ‘spot on’ noting that responsiveness, the ability to engage with others as a team player, and consistency in execution are differentiators.   She also notes the value of adding a personal touch without compromising your professional image in this very competitive space.   When it comes to the future and taking on responsibility for business development as a partner, Serena feels it’s should be a gradual process starting as an associate versus an abrupt change.   https://www.goodwinlaw.com/professionals/s/shi-serena (Serena Shi Bio) The second associate we talk with is 3rd year, Michal Netanyahu. Michal believes more client face time would be

A thank you to our audience and supporters… We’re sharing the 3rd of our 12 Business Development Challenges in this episode.  This Challenge is the first of three challenges in our Business Development Grit category related to networking. The LeftFoot 12-SESSION Challenge is divided into 3 categories: Business Development Grit: Tactical habits that lead to BD success – including networking Nailing Your Niche: How to focus and develop an expert reputation Commercial Savoir Faire: a discussion on business and the revenue side of law We believe: 20% of people are natural at business development 10% say ‘no’ to business development 70% are neutral and can adopt the skills necessary when presented in an organized, methodical way It takes focus and thought to ‘Lead with the LeftFoot’… Until next time

Data-Driven Outcomes   Today’s guest is Brendan McInerney, Manager of Legal Project Management at Dorsey chats with LeftFoot about applying diligent matter planning practices understanding the necessity of transparency and clear communication with clients on legal matters. https://www.dorsey.com/people/m/mcinerney-brendan (Brendan McInerney Bio) More than software: Legal Project Management (LPM) is about execution and communicating value to clients More LPM: means less administration for lawyers Matter data: Making client billing and scope change discussions easier Boost Client Communication: show value by sharing Legal Project Management data Now available: innovative data mining due to AI Disruption will continue: embrace and be part of it    

A Conversation with Olga Mack of Clearslide Olga Mack started her career as an IP litigator before going in-house and working for several start-ups. Today she is active in the startup world, is on the board of two early-stage starts and is the General Counsel and Assistant Secretary for the San Francisco headquartered, sales and marketing engagement platform ClearsSlide. http://olgamack.com/ (Olga Mack Bio) Contracting with Outside Resources: Referrals are important and powerful. Quality Expectations: Be explicit about what quality looks like. Communication is key. Legal Tech: It’s an expectation that providers embrace technology – including law firms. Added Value: The inclusion of technology within legal services is providing added value to both the client and the firm. Outcomes: Providers should proactively quantify service delivery value so in-house counsel can intelligently communicate with organization leaders, board members, and the CEO. We Like It: The efficiencies and improvements offered by l

Steptoe & Johnson, Partner, Lucinda Low is a widely recognized authority in the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Her practice focuses on the US and international anti-corruption laws. She is a member of her firm’s management committee and head of the Compliance Investigations, Trade, and Enforcement Departments. https://www.steptoe.com/professionals-Lucinda_Low.html (Lucinda Low Bio) Habits: Put yourself out there, it takes a certain kind of energy and willingness to engage with people and open yourself up to possible rejection. Referrals: Listen and being alert to opportunities. Events: Identifying key opportunities in your field. Time is our most precious commodity. Think carefully about how you are going to allocate your time. Build trust: Clients want to know how you can help them solve their problem. Don’t give up easily. The right opportunity may eventually come around. Deliver Value: Help clients and prospects avoid risks by anticipating trends. Advice: It is never too early to start deve

Andrew Spielman is the Chair of Wilmer Hale’s Energy, Environment and Natural Resources Practice, and the ‘partner-in-charge’ of the Denver office. Prior to working at two top firms, he served in senior positions at the US Environmental Protection Agency. https://www.wilmerhale.com/andy_spielman/ (Andrew Spielman Bio)   Adopt a client service approach Be a team player Regularly evaluate your business development investment and adjust Have a plan and execute the plan – in a deliberate manner Show value before the client is a client through knowledge sharing Today’s in-house council is under pressure to be efficient It’s a business relationship – have direct business-to-business conversations Last Points: Learn your client’s business Get to know them Celebrate their success And thank them for letting you contribute  

  David Douglass is the Managing Partner of the Washington, D.C. office of Sheppard Mullin and a partner in the Government Contracts, Investigations & International Trade Practice Group.  He’s represented companies and individuals in criminal and civil, False Claims Act (whistleblower), investigations and litigation. He draws on this experience to strengthen his clients’ compliance and risk management programs. https://www.sheppardmullin.com/ddouglass (David Douglass Bio) If you want to have a practice, if you want to represent clients, you have to ask people to hire you Have a goal, have a plan, and execute against the plan Outcomes: I owe it to my client to give them my best assessment of my ability to achieve their objective. Focus on who you are as a lawyer the kind of practice you want and let everything flow from there If you enjoy what you’re doing, you will do well and success, including financial success, will follow Invest in your practice and the development of your practice Make

Steven Zager is a partner in the NY office of Akin Gump. He’s been recognized by Chambers; Best Lawyers in America – and as a Law 360 Trial Ace for his significant record of trial victories for clients nationwide. He serves as the global head of his firm’s intellectual property practice. https://www.akingump.com/en/lawyers-advisors/steven-m-zager.html (Steve Zager Bio) Clients look for lawyers who listen, who internalize what their hearing in a meaningful way and are prepared to act upon it. Involve your Millennial team members at the beginning, get them involved in discussions on case strategy, introduce them to the client, take them to court. There’s high demand for low-tech conversations. “What would you attempt to do if you knew you couldn’t fail?” If you don’t have something unique that you bring to the table, something that’s a value-add, then don’t fill up your client’s email inbox. Business detests uncertainty. Give the client certainty. “Buy the ticke

We talk with the Zenefits, GC, Joshua Stein  Joshua Stein, is the General Counsel and VP of External Affairs at Zenefits. He leads his company’s legal, compliance, regulatory affairs and government relation’s efforts.  He brings a variety of experience to his current role having served as a Sr. Associate at Quinn Emanuel; an Asst. US Attorney; a federal judicial court clerk; and an Intelligence Officer for the US Army – a 4-year period which included leadership with a U.S. Army company deployed to Bosnia. https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshuastein/ (Joshua Stein Bio) In-house: the pace is relentless and your focus and time are much more fragmented. Homework: Doing your homework shows that you value our business. Demonstrate: your expertise and analytical ability. Have a plan and provide insight. Budgets: ‘I live and die on that budget number.’ Stage your proposal: It’s understood it’s difficult to provide an estimate. Project phasing and communication are key. Let’s huddle: It’s effective and cost-

  Andrew Sherman is a Partner and Chair of the Washington, D.C. Corporate Department of Seyfarth Shaw LLP. He focuses his practice on issues affecting business growth for companies at all stages, including licensing and leveraging intellectual property and technology assets. He has served as a legal and strategic advisor to dozens of Fortune 500 companies and hundreds of emerging growth companies.   Andrew has written nearly 30 books on the legal and strategic aspects of business growth. He has appeared as a guest commentator on CNN, NPR, and CBS News Radio, among others, and has been interviewed on legal topics by The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Forbes, U.S. News & World Report, and other publications. http://www.seyfarth.com/AndrewSherman (Bio Andrew Sherman) How Andrew succeeds at Business Development:  a genuine passion for helping people; being incredibly well organized; an educator at heart. Strike the right balance between being excited to meet new people and help them and not being th