Most attorneys know they should engage in marketing and business development. The bigger question is how to do it effectively and consistently. Unlike most marketing tactics, which increase website traffic, media impressions and overall visibility relatively quickly, law firm business development is a long game with no end point. Because of this, it’s very common for attorneys and managing partners to fall into the trap of ad hoc marketing with no defined objectives, no measurement and no clear results.
Marketing and business development are one of the best ways to fuel firm growth. In relationship-driven legal services, more authentic connections mean more business. Business development can help you expand key practice areas, retain important clients and generate new referral sources. Plus, when business development is integrated with marketing, it creates a pipeline of new clients and strengthens relationships with existing ones. The final result is more matters, more revenue and more business won versus your competitors.
How Law Firms Actually Grow
At the most basic level, there are three ways a law firm can sustain and grow its business: retain clients, increase work from existing clients and get new clients. The common denominator across all three areas? Relationships. Legal skills alone don’t guarantee success. Measurable growth can only happen when clients and referral sources continue to trust you with their business.
This is why marketing and business development are so closely tied to growth. Marketing creates the visibility and credibility that keeps you top of mind among prospects. Business development helps you refine the client experience, improve client retention and maintain authentic relationships. When done in tandem, these tactics create the foundation of firm growth: client trust.
Marketing and Business Development at a Law Firm
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Law firm marketing |
Law firm business development |
|
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Primary goal |
Awareness, reputation, credibility |
Relationships that lead to new matters, referrals, expanded work |
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Who leads |
Marketing team, firm leadership, practice groups |
Lawyers, BD professionals, client teams |
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Time horizon |
Medium-to-long term |
Relationship-driven, ongoing |
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Core activities |
Website, SEO, thought leadership, PR, events, branding, marketing content |
Client meetings, referral nurturing, pitch strategy, cross-selling, follow-up |
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Best metrics |
Traffic, visibility, engagement, rankings, media mentions |
Pipeline, pitch wins, referrals, retention, new matters |
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Main risk |
Activity without conversion |
Relationships without structure or follow-up |
Law firm marketing and business development are separate disciplines, but they operate on parallel tracks. Marketing tactics like thought leadership and media relations create awareness that opens the door to new or deeper relationships. When relationships are fostered through business development, marketing to prospective clients and referral sources feels more authentic. It’s not about choosing one or the other but using them in sync.
Business Development for Lawyers
Many attorneys believe they are either “good” or “bad” at business development, but the truth is BD isn’t a personality type; it’s a scheduled, disciplined practice. Much like exercising or learning a language, when you put consistent effort into business development, results will come.
Scheduling BD in your calendar is the easiest way to make it a habit. For example, a business development pro might:
- Take 30 minutes every Monday to email referral sources with a brief check-in or interesting article
- Join a professional organization and attend monthly networking events
- Devote every other Friday afternoon to getting coffee with key clients and prospects
Consider who these efforts are targeted toward as well. You never know when someone will need legal services, so a BD plan should devote some time to existing clients, former clients, referral sources and prospects. Casting a wide net ensures you’ll catch more fish.
If you can only do one thing to improve your client development skills, consider seeking out professional coaching. According to the Legal Marketing Association’s 2025 Legal Marketing Decision-Makers Survey, respondents ranked business development coaching as the most impactful activity to increase client relations.
Building a Business Development Strategy at the Firm Level
An effective growth plan requires individual effort as well as coordinated, firm-wide goals and systems. This can be led by an in-house business development team, a managing partner, an outside agency or some combination of the three.
The foundation of a law firm BD strategy starts with identifying the right people. Determine which target markets are most relevant to the firm and potential avenues to connect with them. This includes new clients and existing clients who may have additional untapped business. Internally, consider how to structure client teams to maximize client experience and prioritize business development.
Next, implement processes to automate BD and build it into your firm culture. CRM systems can help you send automatic follow-ups, track your client pipeline and pinpoint your top sources of business. Some CRM platforms even use AI to track relationship intelligence, which is an even deeper way of analyzing interactions and mapping the “web” of relationships across the firm. On an individual level, BD mentorship programs and coaching can help turn attorneys into confident business development professionals.
Tracking and measurement is the final step in effective BD strategy. Business development is an ongoing process, so tracking metrics is essential to maintain attorney motivation. Key indicators might come from your CRM system, website, SEO tools, or simple relationship tracking and reporting from attorneys. Client feedback programs are another useful way to get insight into client retention and satisfaction.
Ethics Considerations in Law Firm Marketing and BD
Many aspects of marketing and business development in the legal profession, particularly direct solicitation, testimonials and referral arrangements, fall under attorney advertising rules. These professional conduct rules vary from state to state, so it’ s important to check with the relevant bar association before committing to a specific plan. Consider some of these state-level examples:
- Like most states, California requires marketing materials to include a disclaimer that past results do not guarantee future outcomes, even if the testimonial is 100% truthful.
- New York’s Rules of Professional Conduct includes clear limits on solicitations, but many of these requirements are less strict when the recipient is an existing or former client.
- In Illinois, an attorney can accept a potential client through an intermediary connecting service (ICS) but must disclose the relationship to the client and whether any fees were paid.
- Under the Florida Bar Association’s Rule 4-7.19, law firm advertisements must include certain identifying information and receive Bar approval before they can be used.
Common Pitfalls That Stall Firm Growth
Over the years, we’ve talked to many managing partners who haven’t seen results from their past marketing and business development plans. It’s not because these approaches don’t work, but because success is hindered by a few common missteps. Here are some of the typical pitfalls we see.
- Engaging in business development efforts with no structure. BD is often simplified as “networking.” Attending conferences and events can certainly be useful, and organic meetings sometimes result in great partnerships, but to guarantee results, strategic planning – the who, what, when, where and why behind business development – is necessary.
- Focusing on client acquisition with no follow through. Website optimization, SEO strategy, digital ad campaigns and other marketing tactics can help you generate leads. But if you stop there, you’re missing out on opportunities to nurture and retain these relationships with business development efforts.
- Failing to track sources of business. Without tracking and measurement, you have no way to determine what’s working and no opportunity to adjust things that aren’t. Knowing exactly where your business comes from allows you to invest your time and money in marketing and BD strategies that lead directly to growth.
- Constantly chasing new clients. It’s true that firms need more clients to grow, but converting new clients from scratch is cost- and time-intensive, with no guarantee that the relationship will be fruitful in the long run. Working to expand existing client relationships often results in more stable growth with lower marketing and business development costs.
Working With a Law Firm Marketing Agency
If you want to refine your business development strategy, meet more prospective clients and integrate your marketing efforts, a law firm marketing agency like Berbay can help. Our team has more than three decades of experience focused on marketing and public relations for legal services. We can support your goals for business growth with media placements, thought leadership, legal rankings and awards, website design, SEO, social media, speaking engagements and more. Whether you’re looking to expand your existing marketing department’s capabilities or you’d like an outside agency to handle it all, we have the expertise to help. Contact us at (310) 405-7343 or info@berbay.com to learn about our services.
This blog post is informational only. It is not legal advice. Legal advertising rules vary by jurisdiction and can change. Consult the relevant state bar to confirm current rules before engaging in marketing and business development activities.
