PointBlank Newsletter #4

itigation Partner Paul Genender at the law firm of Hughes & Luce, LLP in Dallas, says this about engaging new clients: "Business development is about relationships. If you listen to clients and earn their trust, you can build strong client relationships. I think that clients appreciate lawyers who solve business problems, not just legal problems."

"Business development is about relationships...."

If you've read previous issues of PointBlank Newsletter, then you know that helping lawyers build and maintain relationships is what I do at PointBlank. What Genender, a top business developer at his firm, is saying is that business develops out of the relationships you build. The relationship comes first.

How does that happen?

"If you listen to clients..." In other words, let the client know that what he or she has to say is what matters, not what you, the lawyer, has to say. That will come down the line when the client is certain that you are his lawyer, that is, the person entrusted to solve problems.

I cannot stress enough the importance of listening to a potential client. This immediately sets the tone of all future dealings, because it not only centers the client as the object of concern, but it also communicates confidence and professionalism. It says, "I am confident enough in my capabilities that I don't feel the need to convince you, or sell myself to you." A potential client is looking not only for someone to understand and act on her problem, she also wants someone who shows the confidence necessary to solve them.

Again, you will sign up business when you show clients that you understand not only the legal ramifications of their difficulties, but also grasp their business, and so are instrumental in helping the business itself run better. You see the legal problems as the gateway to solving business problems. At this point, you have become invaluable.