The Mad Clientist Archives - The BTI Consulting Group

Have Kirkland and Latham Taught Us Nothing?

Throw Paul, Weiss in this group too. You would almost think these firms were the hottest high-tech IPOs. Their growth and margins are stunning. They developed a competitive moat with strategies and approaches few firms use – or even try. The spoils go to the disruptors – and these firms…

BTIConsultingMarch 19, 2025

The Mad Clientist

The Stark Divide Driving Profit or Stranglehold for Law Firms

It’s a stark dichotomy. Corporate counsel today find themselves in one of two camps: either seizing strategic opportunities to change the business – or focusing on improving compliance and warding off risk. Either camp creates one of the most compelling business development opportunities for law firms – fueling new growth…

BTIConsultingMarch 12, 2025

The Mad Clientist

The Law Firm Leadership Crisis: Why No One Wants the Managing Partner Job

It’s the job of a lifetime. Or the job absolutely no one wants. I have worked with at least 4 high PEP firms where no one wanted to lead. The managing partners were ready to step down. No one wanted to step up. They all merged. At other firms, runoff…

BTIConsultingMarch 5, 2025

The Mad Clientist

Law Firm Growth Surges – But Business Development Investments Nosedive

Revenue is up – make it way up. Attorney headcount is up. Marketing and Business Development (MBD) spend as a percent of revenue is down. As law firms get bigger and fight for laterals and clients – they are allocating less to Marketing & Business Development. The numbers tell the…

BTIConsultingFebruary 26, 2025

The Mad Clientist

CMO’s Pinpoint 7 Make or Break Skills to Bet On

Law firms make a lot of bets. On Talent – Technology – Markets – Leaders and CMOs for instance. These bets offer keen insight into the market, competition, and the skills which can make or break your marketing and BD. This is one reason we asked 121 law firm marketing…

BTIConsultingFebruary 19, 2025

The Mad Clientist

Did Clients Just Go Sour on Rankings and Directories?

What a difference three years makes. Just three years ago, directories were on the upswing with clients – 28% of corporate counsel valued attorney rankings. But our latest survey of over 350 corporate counsel reveals a sharp decline in enthusiasm: Only 4% still find rankings valuable 18% like them but…

BTIConsultingFebruary 12, 2025

The Mad Clientist

Nobel Laureate Discovers Why Attorneys Undermine Their Own Business Development

It's a psychological minefield trapping even the brightest of legal minds. Prospect Theory – developed by psychologists Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky in 1979 – explains how people make decisions when facing uncertainty. It especially applies when outcomes are unknown. The following 4 key insights help you eliminate the negative…

BTIConsultingFebruary 5, 2025

The Mad Clientist

3 Law Firm Outlooks on 2025 in Trump 2.0

Law firms’ outlooks on the legal market are as divided as the nation. We asked more than 1,000 attorneys and client-facing business professionals in December 2024 how they saw the economic outlook for 2025 for their firms. The results look like this: 29.5% see 2025 as an amazing year 67.8%…

BTIConsultingJanuary 29, 2025

The Mad Clientist

Top Growth Practices and Industries for 2025

Law firms will be busy — or have the opportunity to be busy — over the next 12 months. Clients are trying to break through the growing demands, risks and complexities of the economy and the legal world. As we discussed in our 16th Annual BTI Market Outlook and Client…

BTIConsultingJanuary 22, 2025

The Mad Clientist

Hell No We Won’t Go: Partners Respond to RTO Mandates

Partners love their independence. Make it LOVE their independence. Remote work was the license for more independence — and a changed lifestyle for so many. And the Return to Office mandates are as much about taking this treasured independence away as it is about anything else. Maybe more. Hell No…

BTIConsultingJanuary 15, 2025