It’s pivot time. Corporate counsel are downshifting to get into high gear for year end. This pivot is a rare mix of planning, action, and near-term goal setting. It is also the perfect storm for attorneys to develop business.

Here are 15 high-octane business development tactics especially powerful this time of year:

1. Ask what your clients see as mission-critical year-end needs – every client faces year-end needs – many of which surface right now
2. Advise them of your rate increase – early notice allows clients to plan for increases instead of retrofitting law firm increases in 2025
3. Ask how management pressure has shifted over the last year – this will drive your client’s legal strategy and needs
   1. And ask how they will shift in the 4th quarter?
4. Propose a plan outlining how you will help your client over the next year – include names, dates and times of the resources you plan to use. Ask your client to comment and refine.
5. Share efficiencies you have learned from other clients
6. Ask your partners what they are seeing at their clients in terms of risk and year-end pressures – share with your clients and other attorneys
7. Are they planning to hire any in-house staff – and for what. This will give you a sense of need and direction.
8. What’s on your radar for risk or trouble – the world is filled with risk – learn how clients see their own and position yourself to help
9. Offer year-end CLE/training – many clients face CLE requirements – make it easy for them to meet
10. Ask about special reports needs – Management will want to understand risk, upcoming risk and status of key matters outstanding. Articulate the risk and place it in context.
11. Ask clients if they are feeling any budget pressure or concern
12. Learn and share how your client’s competitors are engaging in M&A, joint ventures, spin-offs, major licensing deals, or key hires – share this insight with clients who rarely look at the world this holistically
13. Confirm goals for long-term matters – you may be surprised
14. Lay out a plan to ensure your client can hit the ground running in 2025 – help with planning and prioritizing
15. Ask your client how they are using Generative AI – whether you are a fan or not – always best to know – and perhaps learn from what clients are doing

Put it in Writing

We recommend preparing an unsolicited proposal to help in key areas. You can ask clients how you can help all day long – but it lacks the gravitas of a written proposal. And clients will comment and tell you how to make your proposal more relevant – engaging them in the process.

Few attorneys will jump on this opportunity – making your actions stand out even more. You have a rare opportunity to help clients, develop a stream of business, and become the standard against which others are measured. The lucky few will gain the kind of advantages others envy.

Your Year-End Power Play

The clock is ticking, but opportunity is knocking. These 15 tactics aren’t just a checklist – they’re your blueprint for dominating the year-end rush and setting the stage for a killer 2025. Engage your clients, showcase your value, and position yourself as their indispensable resource. This window doesn’t last forever.

Forget everything you thought you knew about law firm success. International consultant Patrick McKenna and The MAD Clientist surveyed 250 law firm leaders. It lays bare the metrics keeping the legal world’s power players awake at night, and the results are nothing short of an eye-opener.

Brace yourself for the raw truth:

Net Profit Improvement (37.7%) – The undisputed champion

Rewarding partners is only the beginning of this key metric — profits are the cheapest and lowest-risk source of capital. Higher profits mean more for:

• • • Training
    • Laterals
    • Technology investment
    • Entering new markets
    • Special bonuses
    • Client retention
    • Research and Development
    • Thought leadership

Firm Reputation (35.7%) – The dark horse climbing the ranks

First, notice how this rivals net profit improvement. This is a precursor to law firm marketers taking a big jump in value, respect and authority. Firm reputations can be a gateway to new business and growth (see below).

These leaders know a firm can’t grow without an impressive imprint on clients. This goes well beyond client awareness. It includes:

• • • Client perception
    • Understanding of capabilities homes in on:
      • Big deals
      • Private Equity
      • Complex litigation
      • Global delivery
      • Agency prowess
      • Private company needs
    • Positive branding
    • Ability to attract laterals
    • Creating differentiators
    • Client service
    • Thought leadership

Firm Growth (32.9%) – The eternal flame of ambition

Growth often equates with success in the eyes of the market — making it easier to attract laterals. Firm growth exceeding market growth (as measured by client spending) means the firm is gaining market share and clients. High-performing lateral partners are more attracted to growing firms.

Profit per Partner (30%) – The kingmaker metric

Partners feel good and enjoy the spoils. It can also be a tool to attract lateral partners. This yardstick becomes personal for so many partners.

Utilization (10%) – The fallen idol

Keeping everyone busy serves as a key component of profitability. Keeping the balance between business and attorneys is part science and part art — and a metric underlying profit and growth measures. It was once one of the top law firm leaders’ metrics — but no more.

Note: Total exceeds 100% as multiple responses were accepted

A Real Plot Twist

This isn’t just data — it’s the DNA of legal dominance in 2024 and 2025. The obsession with net profit screams volumes about the race to the top. But here’s the plot twist: firm reputation is breathing down its neck, signaling a tectonic shift in the industry’s soul. Law firms will start embracing client perception like never before.

Growth and partner profits still fuel the engine of ambition, while utilization — once worshipped by efficiency gurus — has been dethroned, left to lick its wounds in the single digits.

The competitive gauntlet hasn’t just been thrown down — it’s in every law firm’s face. Law firms are compelled to listen to these metrics — and watch for the new client-facing metrics driving the next wave of competition.