(from someone who never got either)
Attracting clients is important to both sole practitioners and law firm associates. As a sole practitioner, it’s simple - procuring clients and work means survival. As an associate at a firm, it’s one of the main variables relied upon by partnership and compensation committees when deciding which lawyers will be promoted to partnership and how partnership distributions are determined. In my experience, associates who bring in large clients sometimes leapfrog into equity partnership positions, leaving many hard working but clientless associates (who might, if they’re lucky, be able to shoehorn into a non-equity partner position) with a less lucrative compensation structure and position within the firm hierarchy. In my law firm days (and probably still today), partners also jealously guarded their clientele, and generally were unwilling to share the origination credit (the credit received by the attorney who courts and initially brings in a client). I remember many tense infights between partners at my firms regarding who should get origination credit for various clients and matters.
For women associates working in a law firm, the statistics on client origination credit can be sobering. Legal Clarity notes that “Origination credit systems have a well-documented adverse impact on women, racial minorities, and LGBTQ+ attorneys….[T]hese groups receive less origination credit, face more disputes when they claim it, and find it harder to build the book of business that equity partnership typically requires.” For sole practitioners, while there’s no competition for origination credit, it can be harder to convince a large client that you have the resources to meet their needs. In either case, it’s important for women lawyers to know how to market their practice, approach a potential client, and get the engagements needed to reach their financial and career goals.
I must confess here that other than when I had my own marketing business promoting consulting firms in the 1980’s, I have never had to develop my own clientele. I hate to admit it, but after ten years of practicing law, I had no idea how to court or close a client relationship. Of course, my law firm(s) encouraged us associates to engage in business development, but the reality was that in a big firm with a huge billable hours requirement I barely had time to eat, let alone engage in NON-billable activities. Luckily, there’s lots of guidance for this online, and I would also encourage women associates to use their mentor/sponsor relationships to get real life, practical advice on how to build their clientele.
Chelsie King Garza, a Texas personal injury attorney, has written a terrific guide for women lawyers seeking to start, or expand, their book of business. She advises women lawyers to ”step up their marketing efforts” if they want to build a clientele. “Relationships, word-of-mouth, and social media remain the best forms of marketing and business development.”
First and foremost, Ms. Garza points out that women attorneys need to pull together their networks. Not only are these individuals, consisting of peers, colleagues, professional allies, and former clients excellent advocates to bring new business your way, teaming up with them for cross-referrals allows women attorneys to reduce time spent on business development. It’s a little lonely out there! Knowing others are working to help you build business can reduce stress and make the whole process a little less intimidating. You might even consider a monthly coffee, lunch, or happy hour with key members of this group to talk about needs and requirements; this would help ensure no opportunities for you or other team members are being missed. But be selective - Garza advises women attorneys to skip the “general networking events” with few potential clients, as well as bar events with only other attorneys attending. Instead, go to industry events and join civic groups that cater to the type of clients you’re seeking.
Garza also recommends active listening and communicating solutions - two skills women are generally better at - to help generate new clients and new business from existing clients. “The best women rainmakers are the best client diagnosticians, listeners and relationship stewards,” says Garza. After all, “clients want you to bring them ideas and be proactive in letting them know how you can serve their needs.” See the marketing and sales possibilities in everything you do, and prioritize activities that have more potential.
Of course, social media and other online activities can play a big role in finding new clients in today’s world. Garza quotes a startling statistic in her blog: “Today, 78% of executive-level buyers go online to search for outside legal professionals, and 67% of C-level decision-makers use the Internet as their primary source of business information.” This means you (or your firm) must deploy some form of social media branding to stay relevant in the marketplace. If you’re at a firm, there are likely rules in place for any individual activities on social media. You will want to work through the social media management at the firm to get your articles published on the firm website. You may also need to get firm approval for any individual online accounts you are using to promote yourself, such as LinkedIn, Instagram, TikTok or Facebook.
If you’re on your own, or have firm approval, Garza suggests the following online steps at minimum: set a Google Alert for your name, firm name and relevant topics, which will help you stay abreast of developments in your practice area as well as mentions of you in social media. Write blog posts that can be published online and shared, and connect online with potential clients and other lawyers you’ve met at conferences or through work. Try to keep up with your social media; attention spans are short, and followers can abandon you if they don’t see interesting posts and information originating from your account. Search engine optimization (SEO) is important too, and can be accomplished through a number of websites. If you’re at a private practice, your firm may already be using SEO to keep the firm at the top of the search engine lists.
In all these areas, continuity is key. Women lawyers have to keep connections strong; have to network proactively and listen actively; and have to continuously refresh their social media presence and brand to ensure they still have relevance. Of course, this article is not meant to shortchange the importance of high quality work. Satisfied clients can be one of the biggest sources of business. As Garza notes, “If you deliver business results for clients, you will earn your clients’ ongoing business, loyalty, and referrals.”
As a veteran of thirty years of legal practice, Melanie Houk welcomes the opportunity to look back on a career nearer to completion than commencement. A graduate of Loyola Law School, Melanie initially took a nontraditional direction, leaving a first-year position at Whitman Breed Abbott & Morgan to take a job as a consultant. Eventually returning to private practice, Melanie spent nearly a decade developing further public law expertise with redevelopment agencies and municipalities before gravitating to an in-house position at Lennar Corporation, where a markedly convoluted path led her to a promotion to Deputy General Counsel, a position she has held for close to fifteen years.
