Client Development Become The Go To Lawyer

Developing the Next Generation of Rainmakers Client Development: Become the Go To Lawyer Seth Godin  posted a really short, to the point interesting blog on January 20. The title: Everyone is better than you are…  Take a moment to read it, at least the last line because in that one sentence he describes how to be successful at client development. His blog reminds me of his book:  Linchpin: Are You Indispensable? He makes many great, thought provoking points in the book. Here is one of them: Perhaps your challenge isn’t finding a better project or a better boss. Perhaps you need to get in touch with what it means to feel passionate. People with passion look for ways to make things happen. And here is another, explaining what it takes to be a linchpin. The combination of passion and art is what makes someone a linchpin. When I was a young associate, a partner in my first firm unknowingly gave me about the best piece of advice I have ever received. He said: Cordell, you are a very smart lawyer. After all you finished third in your law school class. But, smart lawyers graduate from law school every year and they are easily replaced by other smart lawyers. Your success in this firm will depend more on how well you attract, retain and expand relationships with clients. Lawyers with those skills are indispensable. Are you busy doing the work for senior lawyers in your firm and hoping they appreciate your work so much that it will be ok for you to never have clients of your own? I hope not. If you want to become indispensable: I practiced law for 37 years developing a national construction law practice representing some of the top highway and transportation construction contractors in the US.