This article was written by TMG Executive Principal, Steve Nelson. For more information, please contact him at 703-312-6744 or snelson@tmg-dc.com.
We have been helping attorneys draft business plans for the last 20 years. Until recently, most of those attorneys were either lawyers coming out of government or in-house positions, or more junior attorneys who were in the process of developing a book of business.
Increasingly, our clients are asking laterals coming from other law firms to write a business plan. Moreover, many firms are requesting their partners, as part of their business development programs, to develop such a plan on a yearly basis. This article serves as a primer for those attorneys already in private practice.
The first thing to remember is that the focus of any business plan should be geared towards clients’ needs rather than the lawyer’s skills. So that should underlie everything included in the plan.
The business plan should open with a description of your expertise, along with why it’s relevant. The plan could also include a history of your practice, and how it was developed. If you are considering a move from your current firm, you can also discuss what may be holding you back, or more importantly, how a new firm’s platform may accelerate the growth of your practice. (More on this later). Then you should discuss your personal value proposition. That should be done by answering four basic questions:
- Why Will They Buy? What are the forces propelling the issues? Here is where you identify the important and relevant issues in your practice. If there are a few key events that have redefined your practice area, be sure to briefly address them. Talk about hot buttons, trends, growth areas,
- Who Will Buy? Based on the above, who has a great deal to win or a great deal to lose? What companies or individuals are potential clients, and why do they care about the issues raised above?
- What Will They Buy? What attributes or skills set will the companies or individuals described above look for when making decisions? What are the unique attributes that they are seeking from outside counsel? Obviously, this should signal strategies and tactics that these entities will need to deploy to maximize their upside or protect themselves from the downside? Without discussing yourself specifically, talk about the skills and experiences those entities are going to need to put their business strategy into effect.
- Why Will They Buy It from You? Why are you uniquely positioned to provide the services needed by prospective clients? Talk about both your successes and accomplishments and the reason why clients should choose you.
Then, a narrative that addresses the following:
Clients/Targets: In this section, you should list current clients, what business is expected to be performed in the next year, and what additional business could be sought from those clients. It should also list the leading targets for new business, based on contacts, leads, or opportunities. This section should also indicate the help that might be needed to land new business, whether that is in the form of marketing support, or other lawyers that you might want to accompany on a pitch.
Along those lines, there are certain practices, such as white-collar/investigations, which may be somewhat dependent on referrals from lawyers in other firms, so there needs to be attention paid to other lawyer contacts, either internally or at other law firms.
Challenges: This should indicate what hurdles there might be in obtaining the above business or other business opportunities generally. For example, if clients are migrating to providers with lower billing rates, that should be indicated. Also, if clients or their investment bankers are insisting on a “brand-name” firm to provide sophisticated corporate services, for example, that should be detailed here. Client conflicts may be posing issues as well.
For those who are not yet ready to change firms, this is a great opportunity to begin a dialogue with others at the firm to address institutional issues that affect business development.
Methods and Tactics: This important section should address how the lawyer will both confirm existing relationships and reach out to new clients. Among the things that should be addressed are the following:
- Social Media
- Writing Opportunities
- Speaking Opportunities
- Media Opportunities
- Involvement in Networking Groups
- Media
- Involvement in Business Associations
- Involvement in Civic Associations or Philanthropic Organizations
- Internal Marketing
Goals: At this point, you should outline what you want to accomplish, both short-term and long-term. The specificity may depend somewhat on the circumstance, but one should provide a range of originations for the next 1-3 years, as well as billable hours and the potential for cross-selling. As a general rule of thumb, practitioners looking to change firms should be conservative with regard to projections for the first year, given the difficulty that lawyers tend to face bringing existing clients to a new firm and the challenges that law firms face with regard to integration. However, you should be more assertive in your projections for years two and three.
