Why Law Firms Struggle to Build Rainmakers, and Why an Outsider Sees What Insiders Cannot.
The evolution of law firm cultures has shifted from a seniority-based model to a performance-driven one.
Loyalty has declined, mobility has increased, and origination revenue has become the defining metric of success. When cultures focus on production driven by billable hours, client control, and origination credit. The gap between natural business developers and future relationship developers widens.
Business Development is transactional, event-driven, and competitive. They usually require pitches, proposals, and support for sales and marketing.
Relationship development is personal, happens over time, and is built on trust. It’s Raining Clients is based on a relationship development and management system. While this system incorporates business development, it was created to maximize relationship development.
Relationship Development is not transactional. It is trust-based. You become known personally as a father, mother, son, daughter, and respected member of your community. Business development requires hard work throughout your entire life. Because you are always prospecting for businesses, you become another service provider and compete for business with pitches and RFPs. In relationship development, it is not hard, just be your authentic and best self.
Relationship Development is the Strategy, and Business Development becomes the result.
The Culture Gap
The one everyone sees and few talk about. The culture gap is the difference between stated values and actual behavior.
Most companies have Mission and Value statements. Warren Buffett said it best, “You can’t tell who is swimming naked until the tide goes out.” I believe that every attorney in every firm can generate at least one client per year if they have a system and are committed to it.
What happens when cultures block, discourage, or don’t promote and reinforce this career track? Proficient Future Rainmakers leave and become competitors.
Why Rainmaker programs fail
Many law firms don’t have true Origination cultures, and they don’t have true champions for that culture. All law firm cultures have Economic Tiers, Power Structures, Client Ownership protocols, Talent Development processes, and Old Guard Political issues.
It is clear that the next generation of equity partners will be defined by their ability to originate business, not just deliver legal services.
Is it time for the job description to reflect teamwork and team leadership?
I suggest a model based on the contributions and their relative importance. In my Life Insurance career, we had Finders (Originators), Minders (Associates), Grinders (Technical Associates), and Closers. Usually, the Closers were the Rainmakers. They closed the relationship gap.
Professionals, Entrepreneurs (Face of the firm and brand), Intrapreneurs (Accountability Partners and protectors of the brand), and Associates (Own, Work, and Live the brand message).
There are so many good law firm consultants who support these initiatives. One stands out, in terms of how I think. Harrison Barnes, CEO of BCG Attorney Search.
He wrote an article called “Maximizing Attorney Success: How Helping Others Drives Career Growth and Business Development.” He addresses the expanding Mindset. In all the industries I am aware of, Originators are the Holy Grail of business. Without originators, there is no business enterprise, no career, no jobs, and no expansion.
