In a recent Platforum9 Session, Hugh Owen, a seasoned M&A lawyer and law firm strategist, shared valuable insights on winning work in the legal profession. With extensive experience in Central and Eastern Europe, Owen offered a insightful view of the challenges and opportunities in business development for lawyers.

Understanding Your Position in the Market

Owen emphasised the importance of self-awareness and market understanding:

1. Know Yourself: “Who are you and what do you do?” This fundamental question should guide your approach to winning work.
2. Understand Market Trends: “You have to look at the market, what’s going down, what’s coming. You have to look at macroeconomics and geopolitics.”
3. Identify Opportunities: “Where is the work coming from? What kind of work is coming? And where do you fit into that?”

The Impact of AI and Legal Tech

Owen acknowledged the changing landscape due to AI and legal tech:

“Is there going to be bonds work or is there going to be lots of real estate work? It’s about taking another step back in order to look ahead to the nature of legal services themselves.”

He advised lawyers to consider:

• What aspects of legal work might become commoditised
• How to position oneself in the evolving market
• The balance between embracing new technologies and maintaining premium services

Creating a Business Development Plan

Owen stressed the importance of having a concrete, actionable plan, which is not just a once off event, but a continuous process throughout the year and a live document reflecting the status and action items at any point in time in the firm.

“Make a plan, right? And, you know, it’s funny because I’ve got experience of this where you make a plan, but there’s a real lack of specificity in a lot of people’s BD plans, which makes them difficult to deliver.”

Some key elements discussed that should be in a plan include:

• Specific clients to target
• Scheduled meeting dates
• Clear objectives for each meeting
• Understanding of what the client wants to achieve

Building Client Relationships

Owen emphasised the importance of a client-centric approach to business generation:

1. Listen First: “You need to be walking into these meetings saying, hi, how can I help you?”
2. Build Trust Over Time: “This is key in the relationship… It’s to sort of live and breathe the dreams of and fears of the clients with them and be along with them all the way.”
3. Understand Client Needs: “You’ve got to deliver on time and within budget if you possibly can. And if you’re out of budget, you’ve got to explain to them and convince them why.”
4. Be Pleasant to Work With: “Working with people needs to be a pleasure… You need not be intimidated by picking up the phone to your lawyer or irritated by listening to them on the phone.”

Cross-selling and Firm Knowledge

Owen highlighted the importance of understanding your firm’s capabilities, something that most firms do not do particularly well as they struggle with internal communication:

“I think it’s fundamental to educate yourselves on what everybody else is doing… It’s fundamental to educate yourself on what their successes have been, what they’re really good at, and worked examples.”

This knowledge enables effective cross-selling and provides immediate value to clients, in addition to building a stronger internal team and sharing of clients.

Handling Rejection and Persistence

Owen provided valuable advice on dealing with lost opportunities:

1. Don’t Be Discouraged: “Don’t worry if you lose… There’s enough work to go around.”
2. Seek Feedback: “Look, I care about this. I care about the fact that I didn’t win this project… What do I have to do next time to do that?”
3. Be Persistent: “No might become a yes in the future… Just because you get knocked back the first time, you just roll with it and understand that that’s part of the process.”
4. Learn and Improve: “You’ll learn something from it. And the next time you go back, you’ll be better.”

Understanding the Competition

Owen stressed the importance of honest self-assessment and competitor analysis, a factor that many firms overlook or misrepresent when evaluating why they’ve lost pitches:

“Be honest with yourself about what your weaknesses are. And be honest with yourself about what your competitor’s strengths are.”

He advised either improving your practice in areas where competitors are stronger or enhancing your PR if the perception doesn’t match reality.

Conclusion

Winning work in the legal profession is an ongoing process that requires self-awareness, market understanding, strategic planning, and strong client relationships. Owen’s insights provide a roadmap for lawyers at all stages of their careers to enhance their business development skills and adapt to the changing legal landscape.

Key takeaways:

1. Understand yourself, your market, and your position within it
2. Create specific, actionable business development plans
3. Focus on building long-term client relationships
4. Continuously educate yourself about your firm’s capabilities
5. Be persistent and learn from rejections
6. Stay aware of market trends and technological changes
7. Be honest about your strengths and weaknesses compared to your competitors

By following these principles, lawyers can improve their ability to win work and build successful, sustainable practices in an competitive legal market.