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There are lawyers who develop a genuine curiosity and passion for a field or industry, and then they take another step and dive deep into the field and cultivate expertise beyond the law. Enthusiasm, combined with in-depth knowledge, has a unique value. By aiming to be the best possible practitioner in a firm or industry and knowing the key players as well as the legal nuances, lawyers of all ages become more than legal experts for their clients. Instead, they become subject matter experts, with the ability to spot trends before they happen and strong personal connections with others in the field. These are the lawyers with whom clients stay in touch even when there is no active legal issue or transaction that needs to be settled. Clients call him to discuss business strategy, ask others in their industry for ideas, and network when they need career advice. These rainmakers have the essential tools to handle a legal case, but beyond that, they are genuinely interested in the scope of practice. I was terrified. I had taken a job 1,000 miles from home, where I didn`t know anyone.

I came from a working-class background and didn`t have many business contacts anywhere, let alone in Southern California. How on earth could I convince a large corporation to pay my company hundreds of thousands of dollars for legal services? The fear of this question haunted me for years. It`s a bit ironic that exactly twenty years after I started my career as a lawyer at a large Southern California law firm, I`m writing an article about becoming a “rainmaker.” I remember very well that in the first days in the company, I was introduced to the concept of business development. I may have been greener than most new lawyers, but before that day, I believed that all I had to do to succeed in my firm was to be a great lawyer. False. Now, I know that the word “sale” or “sale” is due to many photos of car dealerships, infomercials, QVC, whatever. But that`s exactly what rain is. That`s what we do to attract customers – we sell our services; We sell our reputation; We sell our brand. And as tasteless as it may be for some people, the people who are most successful at making rain are those who have the characteristics of, well, salespeople. Successful rainmakers really care about others.

When building a new relationship, the most successful rainmakers don`t focus on customer engagement. You really want to get to know the other person and focus on building a personal relationship. Even though I was convinced I was right, I had no data to back it up. And we know how much lawyers love data. So I contacted my friend and one of the founders of Lawyer Metrics, William Henderson of Indiana Law. He and his team agreed to investigate whether the personal characteristics of the rainmakers differ from those of other lawyers. Founded in 2006, Bill4Time`s cloud-based lawyer management software was developed under the guidance of law firms and consultants. Today, professional services firms large and small trust Bill4Time to automate their daily tasks. Bill4Time has developed easy-to-use, intuitive and user-friendly software at a fraction of the cost of other practice management systems. With a focus on convenience, Bill4Time provides anytime, anywhere online access to your account and mobile apps.

Bill4Time`s goal is to streamline the time tracking and billing aspect. Research has found that rainmakers tend to score higher and consistently report the following traits or traits in interviews: Attracting high-quality A players are really waiting rainmakers. They provide the basic skills such as integrity, passion, courage, ambition, etc. Having these qualities means that they just need proper training to improve those skills and truly become a rainmaker. However, companies rarely train their employees to become rainmakers. I quickly learned that business development was not a requirement that my company had invented. All law firms need to attract new clients and new business in order to make money. I had only naively assumed that I could avoid the task by making myself a worker bee indispensable to real rainmakers. Again, this is not true.

In fact, even non-lawyers such as paralegals and administrative staff have a much easier life within the firm when they attract new clients. The term rainmaker exists in politics, although it is not usually visible. However, the term can be used to refer to previous incumbents who have built networks of political power as well as the wealth that makes them influential. Thus, a person who has the ability to influence voters (Sinfluence Votes) can be considered a rainmaker in this case. Rainmaker is an employee who brings a significant amount of new business to a company. This term is often used in the context of a financial services company such as a brokerage. A rainmaker can also be someone who creates a lot of business for himself. A rainmaker is also someone who can initiate progress, take on a leadership role and have the will to succeed. It is important for a business to grow new generations of rainmakers because a rainmaker is considered a key person who continually brings new business or improves the existing business. The study found that background was much less important to future customer development success than personality. Most of the rainmakers didn`t go to an Ivy League school and weren`t law reviewers.

They often came from workers. Having a job in the service industry as a teenager or college was a more accurate predictor of rainmaker success than an Ivy League education. A study by Lawyer Metrics concludes that rainmakers at successful law firms share important personality traits. Key findings from The Rainmaking Study: How Lawyersâ Personality Traits and Behaviors Drive Successful Client Development were presented by Pat Gillette in his keynote address at the 2018 Women`s Transformative Leadership Forum, sponsored by Stikeman Elliott. Lawyers who want to become what`s called a “rainmaker” need to understand several concepts that are key to success, says Jaimie Field, who trains rainmakers to have access to enthusiastic employees who are ready to grow your business and grow your business. Just ask. Any lawyer in your law firm can become a rainmaker. Here`s a more compelling reason why you should share, most companies don`t want to. Some companies are willing to lose $2 million in fees simply because a paralegal negotiated the deal. This attitude is devastating for businesses in the long run. It is also a wonderful set of golden handcuffs for you if you decide to share.

Employees won`t want to leave if you`re willing to build them. The study also assessed the history of people who successfully make rain. The findings raise questions about many traditional notions about what makes a lawyer successful. For example, attending one of the best law schools is not necessarily a prediction of success as a rainmaker. People from working-class families tend to be better rainmakers than people from privileged backgrounds. Wouldn`t it be wonderful if every lawyer in your firm was a rainmaker? In an internal context, Gillette indicated that the equivalent is building strong relationships outside the department; Always initiate the next connection in the company and look for new projects to get to know the company and demonstrate value. The external rainmaker, learning that his in-house lawyer is unhappy and willing to move on, sees an opportunity to intensify the relationship by putting him in touch with someone who wants to take a position or put together a panel of speakers. Traditionally, the term “rainmaker” has been applied to members of the legal profession, such as law-educated politicians who retire from public life to practice at nationally recognized law firms. Over time, however, the term has gained use in many other industries and activities, including investment banking, political campaigns, and public speaking. Create events (webinars, seminars, conferences or events) focused on an area of activity (e.g., minimizing legal taxes).

Have experts present, ask connectors to befriend those who don`t want to keep your business, and ask salespeople to shut down those who are ready. Feed the Mavens with information; Identify areas of activity, legal topics, or topics that interest them. Pay for education, training and support. Once they`ve reached the appropriate skill level, give them a forum where they can share their knowledge on your blog, guest posts, or partner sites. The main risk that rainmakers are willing to take is the risk of discharge; They do not perceive don`t perceive ânonâ as meaning “yet”.