Because law schools rarely include business development in their curriculums, you may be among the majority of young private practitioners with little to no experience wooing clients. The prospect of facing your first potential client may be particularly daunting if you’re in a small firm or solo practice with limited resources.

Not to worry. There are plenty of things you can do to position yourself for success—remembering that business development is about the relationship. Below are a few tips.

Assess your knowledge. How well do you know your prospect and her business? Find the company’s website and learn about its operations. Read recent news articles, blog posts on the company’s website and from a browser search, and any other information you find relating to the company. Scan those articles for anything that could include legal issues. Connect with your potential client on LinkedIn. Search for other
people from that company and read their bios. Use other online resources like Hoover’s for a report on the company’s business operations. Some firms have subscriptions to services that summarize a company’s litigation history as well.

Know your firm. Invest time exploring your current firm’s website to understand the breadth and depth of the firm’s practices and the experience and expertise of the lawyers. Understand how your firm prices legal work. For example, be aware of what percent of the firm’s work is through alternative fee arrangements and what types of arrangements the firm offers in addition to hourly billing.

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