Earlier this month, I had the opportunity to attend an inspiring conference focused on innovation in the law profession hosted by the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School. Many sessions focused on the concept of human-centric design: a design framework based on empathy—really understanding the customer—through observation, testing, failing, getting feedback, and iterating to deliver […]
I’ve just wrapped up three weeks in a row of travel to spend time with clients, host WPG’s Law Firm Leaders Roundtable and attend a conference. It’s been energizing to be face to face again, and while the logistics of traveling are still a little hectic, I love the uninterrupted time to read on airplanes. […]
At the upcoming CXps (Client Experience in Professional Services) Conference in Durham, North Carolina, on May 10-12, I’ll be facilitating a panel discussion with three very impressive CX (client experience) leaders in the accounting and consulting realm. The focus of our conversation will be to explore how three very different professional services firms approach the […]
In honor of Women’s History month, I wanted to write a blog post about business development for women. While many of the business development actions, approaches and challenges are universal to all lawyers, there are some differences and insights worth pointing out. I see far too many women needing both information and inspiration—questioning whether they […]
I recently read that Warren Buffett spends 80% of his workday reading and reads up to 500 pages a day. It’s a trait he shares with many other successful people. The article went on to talk about the importance of taking time to reflect on the reading. There is not much in the news lately […]
The LMA 2021 Annual Conference happened! It was good to be with colleagues and friends face to face to learn and share our experiences. One benefit of lighter attendance was the opportunity for many discussion-oriented sessions. On Saturday morning I attended a great workshop, “No Longer Taboo: Helping Lawyers Embrace the Power of Selling to […]
Wicker Park Group periodically revisits some of its most popular blog posts. This post, first published in October 2020, still offers worthwhile insights into innovation. Last week, I cohosted a workshop with Elevate founder, chairman and CEO Liam Brown at the 2020 College of Law Practice Management annual Futures Conference on “Breaking Away from Tradition to Become […]
As Thames recently mentioned, we had a great discussion with James Kane this summer about getting “Unstuck.” In advance of the conversation, we all took this Stuck Quiz to find out how much we really know about getting “Unstuck.” Candidly we didn’t know much! So we learned a lot. One of my favorite takeaways from […]
As we start to resume our back-to-the-office, back-to-normal lives, we are presented with an opportunity. As we’ve mentioned in previous blog posts, the forced pause of the pandemic has given us a unique opportunity to assess what we want to change and how we can pivot our habits, our goals and our priorities. It’s a […]
We recently hosted a Zoom meeting for a group of clients, and as you would expect the conversation included return-to-office plans (or in some cases, the lack thereof) and strategies for employee, attorney and client engagement as we all contemplate “reentry.” While plans for going back to work are all over the place in the […]
Recent research from Harvard Business Review shows that our personal and professional networks have shrunk by almost 16% during the pandemic. For lawyers and firms, that presents not only a challenge to maintaining existing relationships but also a massive hurdle to developing business going forward. The good news? It’s not difficult to reverse these pandemic […]
The start of 2021 hasn’t been the miraculous return to normal or dramatic improvement we’d all hoped for, but I’m still grateful for many things—including my oldest godchild delivering a healthy baby boy on January 1 and my team, the Crimson Tide, defeating Ohio State and setting a record for the most college football national […]
For our final blog post of 2020, I thought I would share what we have observed and learned in this year filled with unexpected challenges. While we face a cloudy future for at least the beginning of 2021 and we anticipate continued challenges for many in the industry, we are hopeful about the creativity, passion […]
Last week, I cohosted a workshop with Elevate founder, chairman and CEO Liam Brown at the 2020 College of Law Practice Management annual Futures Conference on “Breaking Away from Tradition to Become a Forward-Thinking, Client/Customer-Oriented Organization.” The setup for our session was a deep dive on innovation in the legal ecosystem, and we wanted to focus […]
Most of us have been working from home in the midst of a pandemic for more than three months. Depending on your situation, that has meant juggling children without school or childcare, caring for aging parents, significantly blurred lines between home and office, remote learning, endless cooking, economic struggles and, for some, battling illness or […]
Last year my stepdaughter took a class at her college’s January interim term called “Mindful Reading.” The class time and homework over the one-month minimester were dedicated to reading whatever books the students desired, discussing them and writing about them. That and a million other things about her college experience make me want to go […]
Wicker Park Group periodically revisits some of our more popular posts. This one, written in July 2019, was one of last year’s most read blog posts. As we constantly hear from clients, they aren’t looking for outside counsel with the greatest number of Chambers rankings or the most impressive resumes. Beyond baseline expectations like responsiveness […]
Happy New Year! Last week Nat challenged us to take action in 2020—to listen to clients in order to adapt servicing offerings and better understand their changing needs, preferences and pressures. As he points out, listening well requires skill, collaboration, an open mind, courage to ask the hard questions, a long-term view and time. That’s a […]
Wicker Park Group periodically revisits some of our most popular blog posts. This article was originally posted in December 2018. While the holidays are filled with beautiful traditions and special moments, this time of year can feel dominated by the to-do lists, gifts and stress. Over the last several weeks, the topics of holiday stress, […]
Wicker Park Group periodically revisits some of our most popular blog posts. This article, originally posted in July, was one of the most read in 2019. There is a word that has been used in five of my last six client interviews, unsolicited, to describe what separates a lawyer or law firm from the others—intangibles. […]
This week I am being featured on a podcast called The Thought Leadership Project, hosted by Jay Harrington and Tom Nixon. As a point of reference, Harrington shared some interesting findings from a recent LinkedIn/Edelman study on thought leadership. The questions centered around what law firms must do to be thought leaders and how the […]
We recently received a very nice note from our youngest son’s baseball coach saying, “I’m bullish about his future, both on and off the field of baseball.” He talked about his potential, his attitude and maturity, his love for the sport and his willingness to work on his weaknesses and receive feedback. I don’t share […]
In a client feedback interview last week, I asked a senior in-house counsel what drives the most successful relationships with outside counsel. Without batting an eye, the counsel responded, “Understand what we are trying to accomplish as a business. Start there.” The conversation continued with similar comments: “It’s all there. It’s what we talk about […]
This is the third post in our 2019 Summer Reading Series. The first post, about driving client loyalty, can be found here. The second post, about improving meetings, can be found here. We’ve been talking a lot about the seven secrets to success and how to cultivate these skills in ourselves and in law firms. […]
As has become somewhat of a tradition here at Wicker Park Group, we use August as an opportunity to visit some essential themes in building client loyalty. So, it’s time to start planning for the end of summer and take stock of what law firms and more specifically individual lawyers can do to deliver extraordinary […]
There is a word that has been used in five of my last six client interviews, unsolicited, to describe what separates a lawyer or law firm from the others—intangibles. Sure, clients want smart lawyers who know their industry and business deeply and who have expertise, but in this market these qualities are expectations, not differentiators. […]
As we constantly hear from clients, they aren’t looking for outside counsel with the greatest number of Chambers rankings or the most impressive resumes. Beyond baseline expectations like responsiveness and capabilities, clients want outside counsel who are enjoyable to work with and approach matters with a creative, problem-solving mentality. One way to encourage those attributes, […]
Wicker Park Group periodically revisits some of our most popular blog posts. This post, one of the most read in the first half of this year, was originally posted in February. In recent months, we have been asked more than ever to help law firms improve their client service standards and initiatives. In essence, what we are […]
I am a big fan of podcasts. I love learning new things and being inspired, and podcasts often provide the added bonus of allowing me to multitask. I listen to them during travel downtime, in the car or on a run. Recently someone shared with me the podcast WorkLife by Adam Grant, and after listening […]
One of the biggest struggles facing law firms today is differentiation. Smart, capable attorneys are everywhere, and firms only stand out when they offer more than proficiency. Offering a superior client experience is one of the best ways to differentiate in the marketplace, and one of my recent favorite resources for improving the client experience […]
Wicker Park Group periodically revisits some of our most popular blog posts. This is the fourth in a series of posts updated from 2013. The qualities explored continue to resonate with what clients are telling us they desperately need from outside counsel. So far, we have written about Zest, Grit and Self Control, Gratitude and Optimism and Social […]
Wicker Park Group periodically revisits some of our most popular blog posts. This is the third in a series of posts updated from 2013. The qualities explored continue to resonate with what clients are telling us they desperately need from outside counsel. So far, we have written about Zest, Grit and Self Control as well as Gratitude and […]
Wicker Park Group periodically revisits some of our most popular blog posts. This is the second in a series of posts updated from 2013. The qualities explored continue to resonate with what clients are telling us they desperately need from outside counsel. Last week, we wrote about Zest, Grit and Self Control. The character traits we […]
Wicker Park Group periodically revisits some of our most popular blog posts. This is the first in a series of posts written in 2013, which we will repost in the coming weeks. The qualities explored in these posts resonate with what clients are telling us they desperately need from outside counsel. A fascinating article in The New York […]
Fifteen years ago, celebrated business guru Jim Collins published Good to Great with the help of a team of researchers. The book is widely regarded as a modern classic of management theory. The author tracked 28 successful companies in an attempt to uncover those characteristics that separate great companies from good companies. What makes a […]
We speak a lot about time in our industry—lack thereof, making the most of it, how we bill for it, how it is often at someone else’s discretion and the best (and worst) ways we spend it. Yet I see little evaluation of how we spend our time and what we might want to do […]
In recent conversations with newly minted law firm partners, I’ve noticed a sense of obligation to go forth, find a worthy organization and secure a “board” position. Many see their mentors and other senior lawyers in the firm serving on boards and view it as another box to check on the partnership career trajectory. Most […]
In recent months, we have been asked more than ever to help law firms improve their client service standards and initiatives. In essence, what we are really being asked is to help law firms create accountability around client service. The reality is that most firms have client service standards, both formalized and implied. Most lawyers define client […]
Wicker Park Group periodically revisits some of our most popular blog posts. This post, one of the most read last year, was originally posted in January 2018. We tend to end our interviews with a parting question. It’s usually something along the lines of, “Is there anything we haven’t asked or discussed that you would […]
At two weeks into the New Year, some people are still diligently plugging away on resolutions to develop better habits, make healthier choices and cut through the “clutter” in their lives. And some have already given up on the effort. Some WPG team members, inspired by the new Netflix series, are Marie Kondo-ing their closets, […]
While the holidays are filled with beautiful traditions and special moments, this time of year can feel dominated by the to-do lists, gifts and stress. Over the last several weeks, the topics of holiday stress, wish lists and “managing it all” have become common discussions during our interviews or meetings with clients. We often ask […]
For most of my 30 years in professional services marketing and business development, I worked in house. It took many years for the profession to remove the stigma of marketing and business development support as unprofessional and unnecessary. I understood early on that in order to be successful (and remain sane), my team and I […]
I have been in the legal industry for almost 20 years now: two decades of working with lawyers and law firms trying to create change, inspire innovation, improve the client relationship and help lawyers deepen and grow their books of business. I’ve learned a great deal, including that change is hard for this industry and […]
Some people love attending industry conferences and events to network, get out of the office and learn something new. Others dread the scene entirely. But regardless of your attitude, conferences can be a rare opportunity to connect with clients, prospects and referral sources all in the same place. Follow these six tips to make the […]
My wife and I were on vacation last week. She and I have many things in common, including the fact that we both work for law firms and both own our businesses. She has a great team that supports her, and I have the world’s most amazing partners. We also both love our all-too-infrequent vacations […]
After graduate school and prior to attending law school, I taught college-level communications and theater arts for four years. What I enjoyed and remember most during those early years in my career was witnessing firsthand when a student would have an “aha” moment—understanding a concept or delivering a speech to an appreciative audience or nailing […]
Last week, I had the pleasure of conducting a workshop at a law firm on how to moderate a panel. It’s an unusual topic but one that comes up over and over again at firms. Too often, partners and associates are tasked with speaking at industry conferences—as stand-alone presenters, on panels and leading panels. In […]
Current news almost always creeps into the conversations during client feedback interviews. And lately, we are hearing a lot from sophisticated clients about the growing focus on managed services and the increasing legal professional headcounts in the Big Four accounting firms. As you would expect, it’s the tax and M&A folks in companies that have […]
Whenever I attend a conference, tradeshow or social gathering with people I have yet to meet, I make it a point to try and add a few new friends or professional contacts to my network. Sound familiar? Yet it is not unusual for me to forget the name of a new acquaintance. I am often […]
It was fourteen years ago, while CMO at a fast-growing law firm, that I interviewed—and eventually hired—one of the best sales professionals in the legal industry. Our candidate was introduced to me by a partner at the firm who understood the value a sales professional could bring to the success of the firm. Hiring new […]
We tend to end our interviews with a parting question. It’s usually something along the lines of, “Is there anything we haven’t asked or discussed that you would like to talk about and/or we should have asked?” Interestingly, the last three of four interviews I have held concluded with the same response: diversity. Maybe it […]
Adaptability. In every conversation I have with in-house counsel and the lawyers who support and serve them, the single most important trait clients value and lawyers pride themselves on is adaptability. Often other words are used to describe this highly valued trait, but it really comes down to adaptability as the key to successful relationships. […]
As part of a recent business development workshop, we invited a friend (we will call him Bob) who is the “partnership partner” for a well-known venture capital fund to serve as the “prospect” for our case study. The context for the case study was intentionally sketchy because our prospect was neither responsible for—nor likely much […]
Last week, we spent two days facilitating business development workshops for two different groups of attorneys at one law firm. The participants came from different offices and practice areas, and there was a diverse mix of experience levels, comfort with business development and communication styles. At the end of each day’s learning, we asked participants […]
Wicker Park Group will periodically revisit some of our most popular blog posts. This post, one of the most read in the first half of 2017, was originally posted in January. Howard Schultz recently announced he is stepping down from his role as CEO and Chair of Starbucks to focus on the company’s plans to build high-end […]
At WPG, we read a lot. In the spirit of back to school and reporting on “summer reading,” I share recommendations for two great books about the skills that clients we interview often describe as the traits distinguishing extraordinary from average legal service. Empathy, emotional intelligence, communication skills and the ability to cultivate relationships are essential […]
Firms today are missing out on work because they’re failing to invest in a hugely important client contact: the in-house legal operations professional. Building relationships with GCs and in-house counsel is very valuable, but it often fails to translate into more work if you’re not also communicating regularly with the director of legal operations team. […]
It is the rare firm these days that does not offer some form of career and/or business development coaching services to its attorneys. Just about everyone in legal marketing has been asked to “coach” lawyers. Often, however, coaching attorneys in business development is easier said than done. And it can be complicated when succession issues […]
We will periodically revisit some of Wicker Park Group’s most popular blog posts. This one, originally posted in June 2016, was one of last year’s most read posts. At the recent Client Experience in Professional Services conference in Durham, North Carolina, Stan Phelps shared his insights about winning the hearts of customers and influencing positive […]
The following article, written by Susan Kostal, was posted June 1 as part of JD Supra’s Perspectives series. I’ve attended many panels where in-house counsel share their likes and dislikes, but in the last year the tone has changed. In-house attorneys are increasingly dissatisfied, they tell us, because they can’t have the kind of conversations they […]
If you are like me, most weeks you find and save an article or two about legal marketing and business development. This past week, while sifting through the stack, I was reminded of a scene from the movie Finding Forrester. Released in 2000, it is the story of an unlikely friendship between a reclusive writer […]
For the last decade, we have worked with firms to launch, lead, develop and support client feedback interviews. And in almost every firm, the managing partner or chair is either already conducting relationship visits or planning to do them as soon as possible. They often come to us to discuss how to both train the […]
We have quite a few clients in the process of updating their websites and/or going through a brand overhaul. As many of you know, it is a massive undertaking both from a time and money perspective. But it is also a perfect opportunity to offer clarity to the marketplace on what your firm and lawyers […]
The bar is low. Despite tremendous progress in the past 20 years, law firms continue to lag behind their clients’ industries and other professional service firms when it comes to innovation, client experience and client engagement. Again and again, we hear law firm clients say the attorneys and law firms that stand out from the […]
As an alum of Chico State in California, I get the college’s newsletter a few times each year. I recently received one that caught my eye and reminded me of my current work training lawyers on business development. The business school staged a “Sweet Sixteen” competition that tested students’ strategic selling skills. The students, all […]
An IT lawyer recently made a striking observation to me. He works in the flat-screen TV industry and noted that a flat-screen TV from twenty years ago could cost $20,000 or more and lacked much of today’s technology. But every year, the technology has gotten better as the cost has declined. You can now buy […]
Many years ago, one of my prior firms looked to hire its first business development “lead generator.” The candidate we selected had graduated from law school and served as a client of the firm. He had an impressive network of contacts and understood his role—linking potential clients with attorneys at the firm. To avoid potential […]
Howard Schultz recently announced he is stepping down from his role as CEO and Chair of Starbucks to focus on the company’s plans to build high-end coffee shops that charge as much as $12 per cup of coffee. That makes me think of the top end of the lawyer’s hourly billable rate. The $2,000 hour […]
As is customary, the New Year brings with it a variety of resolutions, plans and promises. As such, this is a great time to outline and schedule business development training for the year. Along with the traditional marketing and communication responsibilities, today’s CMOs are expected to oversee new and evolving business development and sales initiatives, […]
End-of-the-year travels have had me on more airplanes, staying in more hotels, eating in more restaurants and visiting more law firm offices than usual. During my travels, I experienced some of the best and some of the worst hospitality imaginable. On one trip, weather and travel delays typical of the season resulted in missed connections, […]
Wicker Park Group recently had the opportunity to speak with Doug Luftman, the Chief Innovation Officer and General Counsel at Lecorpio. He shared insights on what GCs are looking for from outside counsel and how to develop and strengthen those relationships. Luftman said, “The most valuable thing is outside counsel being savvy about my business and having true […]
While I was talking to a law firm partner about one of her most significant clients last week, she said, “Every time we have face time with the client, we walk away with several new projects. But that is so hard because we are so busy just managing the work and their complicated financial reporting […]
In the past month, I have moderated multiple in-house counsel panels (both in public forums and at private law firm retreats), interviewed more than a dozen in-house counsel and led client service workshops at law firms. In every instance, I was struck by the widening gap between what clients want from their outside counsel and […]
Every Saturday morning, five baby boomers including myself join together for a 4- to 5-mile run. We’re not fast, but we are committed and make it whenever we can. Four of us work in legal: one is a solo practitioner, two work in different mid-size firms and me (the token business development consultant). Bob, the […]
Wayne Gretzky is famous for being one of the greatest hockey players in history. He is also known for inspiring thousands with his quotes. One of my favorite Gretzky quotes is: “I skate to where the puck is going to be, not to where it has been.” It is simple but incredibly powerful and exactly […]
I was recently challenged to explore what client service will look like in 2026. The good news is the conversation has already started, but the bad news is law firms have a long way to go. It is great that the idea of “client service” is authentically being explored within law firms, but what many […]
Summer reading has remained an ingrained habit from school days. At WPG, we are all avid readers and share book recommendations across genres. We read everything from current bestsellers and biographies to cookbooks and of course business books. Our 2016 summer reading focus at WPG has been on understanding the “client experience,” and we’ve all […]
At the recent Client Experience in Professional Services conference in Durham, North Carolina, Stan Phelps shared his insights about winning the hearts of customers and influencing positive word of mouth. Phelps is the author of What’s Your Purple Goldfish?, and his crowd-sourced stories resonated with the audience of engineering, design, architectural, construction, legal and financial […]
The massive uptick in how corporate legal departments and law firms are collecting data to make smarter decisions in any number of areas may very well disrupt the legal industry. But Big Data is not a replacement for Little Data: the voice of the individual client. From IBM’s ROSS and Watson to Mitratech’s March acquisition […]
In my career, I have had the opportunity to be general counsel for a bank holding company, a large state medical center and a state bar association. Each entity was different in terms of its leadership and operating procedures. However, there were certain common principles that guided outside counsel selection. Keep these mandates in mind […]
We play and watch games throughout our lives. Own a frequent flyer card? You qualify as a player. Buy an occasional lottery ticket? Play recreational sports or video games? Yep, you’re a player. Games are everywhere in our culture, and they can be an effective tool to help lawyers succeed at business development. After all, […]
You’ve recruited good candidates for business development, and they’ve participated in a productive group training program. So what’s the next step to success? After participating in the group program, your lawyers are ready for one-on-one coaching sessions in order to adapt what they’ve learned and make it relevant to their individual practices. One-on-one sessions work […]
Business Development coaching takes time. It takes money. And it takes a lot of effort and dedication on the part of the firm, the coach and the lawyer. Ideally, firms are confident from the outset that the investment in coaching is worthwhile and the coaching candidates will take advantage of the opportunities. Otherwise, everyone ends […]
Alternative fee arrangements (AFAs) are often studied, often debated and only sometimes tried. But with clients becoming more sophisticated in their choice of outside counsel and use of fee arrangements, you need to be prepared to answer this question: “Can we use an alternative fee arrangement rather than hourly billing in the matter your firm […]
In early December, I was talking to a law firm senior associate about his successes for the year and goal setting for next year and made the obvious comment about the rush to get in hours for the year. He responded, “Oh, I hit my hours last month so now I can coast.” I don’t […]
The following was posted October 26 by Lindsay Griffiths on her blog, Zen and the Art of Legal Networking. Griffiths is the International Lawyers Network’s Director of Global Relationship Management. If you’re a regular reader of Zen, you’ll know that I love in-house counsel panels. During the recent Legal Marketing Association’s Technology Conference, we had one […]
In recent decades, many firms have embraced the transition of certain administrative and management duties such as pricing, project management and process improvement from the attorneys to professional staff. Yet there is continued reluctance to the hiring of client-facing business development (i.e. sales) staff. Why does this reluctance to sales support still exist? And how […]
I recently attended a meeting of the Customer Experience Professionals Association (CXPA) at the new PIRCH store in Atlanta to learn more about how the appliance store has created a customer-centric culture and earned a top 25 spot on the Forbes list of “America’s Most Promising Companies.” Granted, PIRCH offers $48,000 custom French ovens in […]
Last month, I spent two days with my dear friend Sanju Kripalani at Wicker Park Group’s annual client event. Sanju has one of those careers that very well may be unique to him: pedigreed education, New York law firm, Portland partner, DJ, marketing partner, patron of the arts, club owner, general counsel, yachtsman and now, […]
Last summer, we shared a list of books that engaged us and encouraged us to rethink how we approach our work and personal lives. Adding to that list, these insightful books address everything from the power of optimism to the importance of decluttering your spaces. Check them out and let us know what you think: […]
As we discussed in a recent post, the significant benefits that come from working with a business development coach include a personalized business development plan, accountability and access to fresh ideas. Identifying the right coach for your particular situation is the first, and often the most important, step in working with a coach. Take a […]
Everyone benefits from coaching. It’s rare to find any high achiever who doesn’t look to a coach for candor, reassurance and advice. Professional athletes, entertainers, CEOs and others at the top of their game often employ multiple coaches to stay fit and focused. In a similar manner, individual business development coaching helps lawyers focus on […]
During the 2015 Legal Marketing Association Annual Conference, keynote speaker Daniel Pink discussed many themes related to the role sales plays in the lawyer-client relationship. For decades, lawyers have pushed back aggressively that they aren’t in the business of sales. Of course, they are wrong. Sales is not something out of Glengarry Glen Ross (Pink redefines the […]
Early in my tenure as in-house counsel, I learned that our company possessed eight key decision criteria reflecting our company’s core values. We used those criteria as we began consolidating our outside legal work to fewer law firms. Those eight key decision criteria were: The firm’s relationship to us (including years of service to our […]
Recently, I interviewed an assistant general counsel for a large global organization, a man who has spent 30 years working both within law firms and as in-house counsel. His range of positions and experiences give him far-reaching perspective on the evolution of the legal industry, current trends and the ways in which firms are (and […]
In law school, they don’t teach you to work in teams. In fact, most of the programs are designed to encourage competition with your classmates. However, when you enter the workplace and as your career evolves, some of your most important and interesting work will depend on your ability to provide excellent legal services as […]
Part 1: Intro to the Grid In this multi-part series, we explore the basics of creating an integrated business development training curriculum. We know lawyers are incredibly busy people. And we also know lawyers, like everyone else, each learn differently. These two facts—lack of time and individual learning styles—reinforce the need for firms to create […]
We can all benefit from revisiting the essential expectations clients have of outside counsel. Even though none of this is groundbreaking, it’s too easy for outside counsel to get lost in the weeds of day-to-day work and forget about the most important expectations they must meet. Take a moment to reflect on how well you’d […]
Our partner, Nat Slavin, recently had the privilege of moderating the general counsel panel at the LMA West Legal Marketing Technology Conference for the third time. The panelists were brutally candid in their assessments of how to strengthen relationships with in-house counsel, and we thought it was worth sharing their insights. Panel Kendra Clark, VP, […]