Rachel Kennedy, Business Development Director at Kinstellar, and Charlotte Ford, Head of International BD & Relationships at Charles Russell Speechlys, joined this live session from The High Tide in Copenhagen, a pre-event to the International Bar Association annual conference attended by around 250 business development professionals. Kennedy has over 15 years of international BD experience, while Ford coordinates business development and relationships across her firm’s international offices. They were joined by a technology vendor and by Ron Given, who contributed from Chicago.

Overview

The speakers asked how BD teams can move AI from theory into everyday practice, and what must stay human as they do. The day’s organisers had deliberately mixed blue-sky thinking with hands-on work, including a group exercise in which participants, most of them new to “vibe coding”, built working applications in about 60 minutes. One speaker said that, for a non-expert, the value lay in turning familiar frustrations into tools rather than simply tolerating them.

The most useful ideas were about scope and collaboration. The vendor advised against trying to build a CRM, document management or finance system, and suggested layering narrow, specific solutions onto existing structures. Speakers argued that problem-solving should not sit only with innovation teams, and that peers facing similar challenges can solve them together and take a tested answer back to their firms. That also helps with partners, who often ask which other firms are using a tool before trying it. The vendor accepted that technology suppliers have not invested enough time with the community to solve its real problems. A word cloud of the skills teams will need was led by “curious”, with adaptability and critical thinking also prominent. These are qualities rather than technical skills, which makes them hard to write into job descriptions.

On practice and leadership, trust was the recurring theme, and the speakers said it runs both ways. Clients may question fees when AI is available, and firms must trust that clients will not put privileged material into public tools. The speakers described relationship building as long-term investment that may pay off years later, often through referrals. They cited the IBA’s international network of firms as an example. One speaker reported that a top 25 US firm had dropped most thought leadership events in favour of small, human-connection events, though the speakers cautioned that firms must still demonstrate expertise. Cultural barriers also emerged: the speakers criticised the term “non-lawyer” and favoured “business services professionals”, so that BD colleagues can engage partners as equals.

Key Takeaways

• Start with narrow problems rather than enterprise systems. Building small tools on top of existing structures is realistic for non-technical teams, whereas replacing a CRM or finance system is not.
• Treat problem-solving as everyone’s job. BD professionals who know their own frustrations can prototype fixes, so do not leave this solely to innovation teams.
• Use peer learning to win internal buy-in. Partners often ask who else is using a tool, so sharing what other firms have tried makes adoption easier to argue.
• Hire and develop for qualities such as curiosity, adaptability and critical thinking. These are hard to specify but obvious when absent, so create space for people to develop them under deadline pressure.
• Invest in trust as AI spreads. Clients may question fees, and firms must trust clients with privileged information, so lasting relationships and human judgement become the main differentiators.
• Normalise respectful language and equal partnership. Using terms such as business services professionals helps BD colleagues contribute with confidence alongside lawyers.