Midsize firms, broadly defined as boasting a lawyer count of 200-700 lawyers, often find themselves at odds with Big Law – where they can maintain a super-regional or even national presence but may lack the sheer attorney numbers, talent pool and big brand name of larger firms.
However, midsize firms capitalize on their smaller size to provide a more intimate experience to their clients by bringing specific regional expertise and a more nimble organizational structure to the table.
Our 2018 Market-Wide study of Business Development Demographics reported some interesting statistics: law firms that considered themselves "midsize" found several distinct patterns in business development strategy that, when coupled with a specific strategy for each lawyer vintage, drove the most revenue.
Lawyer vintages play strongly into which BD activities will bring the greatest return – the primary influencing factors being (1) the scope of the lawyer's experience and (2) the size of their network.
Senior associates' books benefit most from expanding their networks. At this point in their career, senior associates have usually amassed a significant amount of expertise and simply need more clients to whom they can provide their expertise. Expanding their network was found to be the most productive way for senior associates to gain new business, and the top-cited sources were committees, conference attendance, sales coaching and client education.
Junior partners are also good candidates for coaching but they tend to mature into client-focused business development methods earlier than junior partners at smaller firms.
Senior partners should focus on generating new business through their existing clients by way of site visits, CLE and client team initiatives. However, given that 88% of firms have chronically under-performing partners according to Altman Weil, mid-sized firms may benefit when they provide coaching to senior partners as well.
Download our free BD Demographics White Paper to learn more. The full white paper includes complete statistics on the most successful industry groups, practice areas and business development strategies, from "most effective" to "least effective."
Click below to download the free white paper.