• Get yourself on the radar of partners who can benefit from your expertise. Chris, a partner in the New York office of a global firm, uses this tactic: From discussions with colleagues or articles in the legal press, she gleans ideas for how her expertise in data privacy might be used in a corporate client’s strategy. She then researches companies that her firm already serves, and writes a one-page memo to the client relationship partner outlining what she can offer to that client and how her expertise solves a particular problem. The effort takes time, and not all of her colleagues are receptive to what they see as self-promotion, she says. But some are grateful, and enough of them welcome the offer that the tactic has resulted in multiple joint pitches for new work, and a few ongoing relationships.
• Acquaint power players with your clients. This shows you have class and integrity, especially key if you’re a lateral. Kevin, a veteran lawyer, transferred from a boutique IP firm to a broader corporate firm so he could apply his expertise to a wider array of more global clients. Soon after joining, Kevin identified three partners who were prime players in other practice groups. He invited each to lunch, but before dining spent hours studying their published papers, reading up on their clients, and talking to partners in his own practice who’d worked with them. Kevin found an opening to hold meetings at his clients’ offices with each of those partners; one developed into a small but promising stream of work. The partners grew to appreciate Kevin’s expertise and client-handling skills. And they learned of his intention to stay at the firm and build a thriving business. They began telling others of their impressions of him, and his prospects began to develop for work on others’ clients. The initial trick, Kevin explained, was to learn enough of others’ domain expertise to identify specific opportunities for them with his own clients and credibly discuss those opportunities.
