In last Friday’s Business Development Forum session, Barbara Koenen-Geerdink, Founder of Beyond Billable Hours and former Business Development leader at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, shared how law firms can achieve sustainable growth through stronger strategy, client focus and commercial discipline. She was joined by Andrew Hutchinson, Founder of Rebel.Group, who has more than 20 years’ experience helping law firms leverage business development, technology, and data to drive growth. Together, they argued that as AI reshapes legal services, firms must move beyond traditional revenue-led thinking and adopt more structured, client-centred growth strategies.
Session Overview
The discussion examined how AI is challenging the traditional law firm business model and forcing leaders to rethink growth. Rather than focusing solely on increasing revenue, firms should define success more broadly through market position, specialist expertise, client relationships, and long-term resilience.
Koenen and Hutchinson introduced a practical growth framework built around planning, execution, and continuous review. A clear strategy acts as a filter for evaluating opportunities, ensuring firms invest only in initiatives that support long-term objectives. They stressed that decisions should increasingly be guided by data and client intelligence rather than assumptions or partner preference.
The speakers also highlighted the growing importance of client feedback and differentiation. As AI automates more routine legal work, firms will need deeper industry expertise, stronger commercial understanding and closer client relationships. Rather than reducing marketing and business development functions, they suggested firms may require greater commercial support to help partners build stronger pipelines and respond more effectively to changing client expectations.
Key Takeaways
- AI is accelerating the need to rethink traditional law firm growth models.
- Growth should include reputation, market position, and client value, not just revenue.
- A structured planning framework helps firms prioritise opportunities and adapt faster.
- Client feedback should play a central role in shaping business strategy.
- Data becomes valuable only when it informs clear commercial decisions.
- Firms will increasingly compete through specialist expertise and stronger client relationships.
- Marketing and business development teams will play a more strategic role in supporting sustainable growth.
