Every winning business development behavior begins with the same trigger: an attorney listening beyond the words.

Most lawyers think they’re doing this. Clients disagree. This is the dividing line of business development.

This Super Listening is the first – and most critical – of 6 business development activities clients use to determine which firms they trust with their most valuable matters.

The most effective business developers consistently excel at:

1. Super Listening

Hearing what’s said, implied and unsaid – and responding with precision, relevance and speed. It proves you know something no one else does: what your client is thinking.

2. Anticipating Needs

Identifying issues and opportunities before they surface – helping clients see around corners and prepare for what’s next.

3. Innovative Solutions

Delivering practical, business-savvy improvements tailored to each client – not generic “innovation theater.”

4. Creativity

Bringing fresh thinking, new angles and unexpected approaches that reframe problems and unlock better answers.

5. Educating

Sharing timely business intelligence, insight and context that help clients make smarter, faster decisions.

6. Co-Solutioning

Building answers with clients – creating alignment, deepening trust and accelerating buy-in.

Nothing beats these behaviors for developing new business. The best business developers know this.

Together, these behaviors define how clients decide who gets the call – and who doesn’t. The firms in The BTI Super Listener A-Team 2026: Clients Rank Law Firms Best at Business Development bring razor-sharp solutions – and find a way to get inside the client’s problem before it’s fully formed.

If you’re not inside the client’s thinking – you’re outside the opportunity.

See exactly where your firm stands across all 6 behaviors – where you lead, where you’re invisible, and where the next matters are already taking shape.

These are the firms clients name – unprompted – as the best at business development:

Law firms are yelling at clients.

They don’t know it – but corporate counsel tell BTI it’s deafening. And it’s all in the name of business development.

Firms are throwing every piece of thought leadership, alerts, webinars, briefings, and lateral announcements to gain an edge. To clients, it’s all noise.

Clients aren’t overwhelmed. They’re filtering. And the louder you are – the easier you are to ignore. Once a client filters you out – you don’t get a second look. You become invisible before you even open your mouth.

The antidote: Super Listening – a rare, high-octane skill – hearing what’s said, unsaid, and what it all means.

Super Listening is the gateway behavior. Every high-impact business development move starts here. Clients make time for known super listeners – immediately.

These are the lawyers who win premium, high-rate work – before competitors know it exists.

This is not a soft skill. It’s the business development superpower.

We’ll break down these skills next week.

But right now – we’re recognizing the firms clients single out as best at business development skills. These are The BTI Super Listener 40. These 40 firms didn’t just get lucky – they are the only ones clients say are actually hearing the unspoken and undefined needs.

Law firm CMOs can smell the success. They can feel it. But for some – the final 100 feet is like running into a brick wall.

We asked more than 130 first-chair legal marketers to describe their experience as CMO in three words.

The responses reveal something fascinating – and uncomfortable.

Together, they map the modern law firm CMO psyche.

The Breakthrough CMOs

The two most cited words were:

• • Challenging
  • Rewarding

These CMOs are pushing through resistance and making an impact. Their work is hard – but meaningful.

Their other words reinforce the story:

• • Strategic
  • Trusted
  • Valued
  • Respected
  • Collaborative
  • Impactful

These CMOs have the essential asset for success: a voice inside the room.

They don’t win every debate. But they are heard. Their perspective matters. They influence the direction of the firm.

The Blocked CMOs

This group sees no breakthroughs. Their words tell the story:

• • Frustrating
  • Understaffed
  • Underutilized
  • Exhausting
  • Busy
  • Demanding

These CMOs are working just as hard – often harder. But instead of driving strategy, they’re trapped managing activity.

Campaigns. Events. Internal requests. Endless execution.

It feels like progress. But it rarely changes the firm.

Strategic vs Operational

One word appears on the positive side: Strategic.

And it appears almost as frequently as the operational words: Busy. Demanding. Understaffed.

This equilibrium reveals something important. For every CMO operating strategically inside a law firm, there is another still fighting to escape the operational gravity of the role.

The gap isn’t talent. Most CMOs in large firms are extraordinarily capable. The difference is culture.

The Permission Problem

The CMO role may be the only senior position in a law firm where impact depends almost entirely on someone else giving you permission to succeed.

When firm leadership invites marketing into strategy, the role transforms. When leadership keeps marketing in an execution lane, even the best CMOs struggle to create meaningful change.

The same person can look strategic in one firm and operational in another.

The Final 100 Feet

Most CMOs today are closer to strategic influence than ever before. They understand the clients. They understand growth. They understand the market. But many are still standing just outside the strategy room. Close enough to see it. Not always close enough to shape it.

The Bottom Line

The difference between a strategic CMO and an exhausted one isn’t skill. It’s whether the firm truly wants marketing to drive growth – or simply support it.

Many firms say they want strategy. Their CMOs know the truth. And the truth is usually revealed in the final 100 feet – where permission is either granted or denied.

Law firm language is a lagging indicator.

Economics and behavior shift first. Vocabulary follows.

We are trading polite fictions for professional truths. Once the language changes, the culture rarely goes back.

And the biggest truth is this: The center of gravity has moved. From the Institution to the Individual.

You can hear the shift in the words lawyers now use. These 7 terms tell it all:

The 2026 Lexicon

Partnership → Platform

The old model resembled a guild.

The modern firm looks more like a platform – a powerful infrastructure of brand, technology, capital, and global reach designed to amplify the individual partner. It allows lawyers to team up and take on work no single attorney could handle alone.

Institutional Client → Relationship Equity

Clients don’t hire buildings. They hire people they trust.

73% of clients would follow their lead partner in a lateral move. These clients belong to partners – and the lateral partner frenzy only exacerbates this trend.

When partners move, relationships move with them. The market has stopped pretending otherwise.

Lockstep → Contribution-Based Equity

The old definition of fairness was patience: wait your turn. Or – everyone contributes to success.

Competitive lateral raids changed the equation. Money talks while opportunity shouts:
move to my firm.

Firms respond by protecting their highest performers – and the old all-for-one lockstep model struggles to survive.

Lockstep didn’t erode slowly. It cracked the moment firms proved they would pay whatever it took to break it.

Seniority → Realization Velocity

Years at the bar used to define standing. Now it’s output.

Realization velocity – what you bill, originate, and collect – defines relevance.

Tenure is a biography. Performance is currency. This used to be informal and casually recognized – now it’s said out loud.

Lifer → Institutional Gravity

Staying in one firm used to be assumed. Now it’s a conscious choice.

The partners who stay can provide something the lateral market cannot easily replicate: continuity, culture, and institutional memory.

They anchor the firm.

Rare Lateral → Strategic Mobility

Law firm leaders are all in on laterals. Clients are ok with it. It’s just another day at a law firm.

The key is to make sure you have the platform where your lateral can be successful. Know how they operate and what they need to succeed. Top laterals do things differently – embrace it.

Mobility is a structural feature of the modern law firm economy.

Golden Handcuffs → Shared Stakes

Compensation structures are evolving as well.

Instead of penalties for leaving, many firms are experimenting with longer-term equity, deferred compensation, and investment-style incentives.

The goal is alignment – not restraint. An alliance of interests rather than a lock.

The Bottom Line

One term hasn’t changed: Rainmaker.

But the meaning has. The rainmaker is no longer just a top partner. They are the CEO of their own practice – operating on a larger platform designed to expand their reach.

These vocabulary shifts aren’t merely cosmetic. They reflect an economic rewiring of the profession.

Strategic decisions are more centralized. Practice building is more decentralized.

Mobility is now normal. Individual leverage is growing.

The institution hasn’t disappeared; it’s the reason why the attorneys can do what they do. But the role of the institution has changed.

Gravity has moved. From the building to the people. The language simply caught up. And language rarely moves backward.

Behavior follows confidence.

New results from more than 1,000 partner survey responses reveal a Confidence Sinkhole blocking high-velocity business development.

Any partner who doesn’t believe they can develop business won’t. They will cling to one of thousands of reasons not to. It’s easy.

Our survey reveals the sinkholes are uneven and deep within a firm. And they’re gender and partner classification specific. Here are the details:

At The High End of Confidence

30% of all partners report the highest confidence in their BD skills – but even this hides gaps:

The Gender Gap

• • • • Confidence drops to 15.7% for women partners
      • It jumps to 36.8% for men

The Equity Trap

• • • • 37.0% of equity partners report the highest confidence
      • 23.9% of income partners are feeling the most confident

At The Lower End of Confidence

• • 21.9% of women partners say they lack confidence in the BD skills
  • 22.1% of male partners indicate little confidence
  • 10.9% of equity partners show minimal confidence
  • 37.0% of income partners report little to no confidence

The Frozen Middle

The remaining partners bring some degree of confidence – but not enough to comfortably lead a BD call.

This is not a formula to drive revenue.

It’s either an amazing resource or a sinkhole for most firms.

Here’s what we recommend to turn this into an impressive revenue stream:

Train the Willing First  

These partners want to boost their confidence and skills. This boosts new business and shows other less confident partners there’s benefit to jumping into the BD fray.

Deploy Micro Training

These short on-demand sessions – 3 to 5 minutes each – boast 90% completion rates. Partners can watch and rewatch on demand to increase their understanding. They can move at their own pace – boost comfort, skills, and confidence.

Kill the “Only Wins Count” Culture

BD activity drives skills and new business. But few firms celebrate activity. Only wins.

Congratulate at least 2 partners who are not rainmakers on their BD efforts – even if they didn’t win – at every partner and practice meeting.

De-stigmatize the no and the loss.

Talk about the effort and prep. Stress the importance of trying and working at it. Add how any and all quality BD activity leads to wins.

Leadership dialogue on the value of BD effort is one of the most powerful motivators for partners outside the most confident.

Replace Training with Experience

Create a buddy system of partner pairs. Assign each an exercise in listening and talking to clients in a BD setting.

Create a time code to track and ensure it gets the time and gravitas it deserves. Set a minimum number of hours to be spent on this exercise. Rotate pairs to new partners every 4 to 6 months.

After one rotation – start sending these pairs to clients – with the rainmaker stepping back a bit to allow their buddy to play a meaningful role with a safety net in the room.

Track BD Confidence as a Leading Indicator

Revenue is a lagging measure – by the time it drops, you’ve already lost ground. Confidence surveys give you early warning signs and let you intervene before the sinkhole opens.

Create a single-question survey for partners. Make it confidential – but share aggregate results with the firm.

The market is too volatile to let 70% of your equity partners stay on the sidelines. Build their confidence in 3-minute increments, or watch your ‘Confident 30%’ find a firm that knows how to hunt.

Remember the childhood game where one person leaves the room, a secret leader is chosen, and everyone imitates their moves while the “detective” tries to guess who’s running the show?

Fun when you’re eight.

Alarming when you’re a corporate counsel staring at a half-dozen partners billing on the same matter.

Our latest survey of 350+ corporate counsel reveals something unsettling:

• 15% are certain they know who leads the relationship (down from 21% in 2022)
• 29% are “pretty sure”
• 56% don’t know

More than half of clients cannot identify who owns the relationship.

It isn’t confusion. It’s clients adrift.

Multiple lawyers. Multiple matters. And separate bills for each.

From the client’s seat, there is no orchestration – it’s a group of capable attorneys doing their work – disconnected from each other.

Corporate counsel want to know exactly who to call when:

• The C-suite fires off an urgent question
• Instinct says a new issue is emerging
• Something goes wrong

Our work with law firm leaders shows how easily this unfolds:

The Billing Partner Syndrome

Most firms have a billing partner assigned to each client. They receive credit for the new work. This does not mean they are the relationship manager.

Assumed knowledge

Everyone in the law firm believes it’s obvious who’s in charge. No one tells the clients. Communication rarely extends beyond matters and invoices.

Partner Turnover

Partners move. Clients shrug. If their relationship partner leaves – they wait to see what happens. Usually, it’s either nothing or outreach from the original partner at their new firm.

The Hidden Danger: Inertia

A partner leaves or gets reassigned. And the work keeps going – multiple attorneys and no relationship management. No reset. No reassignment. No signal to the client.

What to Do

The following 3 actions ensure you are protecting every client you value most:

1. Put billing partners in charge of relationships instead of just billing. Or assign someone to manage the relationship in addition to the billing partner.
2. Ask each major client – by voice – don’t email – call and ask: “Who do you consider your primary point of contact here?” Their answer might surprise you.
3. Add questions to any client feedback surveys/interviews to confirm who the relationship partner is in your client’s mind.

Relationship managers are part of a firm’s strategic infrastructure. They are foundational to systematic business development and client service. Their absence is an invitation for other firms to poach your clients.

Clients face more urgent and unexpected needs than ever before. When the C-suite is breathing down your client’s neck for answers – the first call goes to the best relationship manager – if they know who it is. And – 85% of clients aren’t exactly sure.

It’s either a dream come true – or a warning sign.

Law firms are going all in on business development. Not tweaks. Not encouragement. But all in with real money.

Everyone wants growth, a premium rate, and the profits to go with it.

We asked more than 1,000 law firm leaders and legal marketers what was happening with BD inside their firms.

Then we pressure-tested the findings against Google Trends.

The goal wasn’t to confirm that BD activity is rising. It clearly is. The goal: to understand why.

Because when an entire market leans this hard into business development, something has shifted. The results split the market into 2 distinct camps:

Fully 87% of law firms are increasing their BD budgets. It’s the “why” revealing the 2 different law firm camps:

Camp One: The Accelerators

These firms are winning. They’re expanding inside existing clients. They are feeling pricing power. They report getting called into matters earlier. And – their inbound lead flow is growing.

BD is working – so they’re doubling down.

Camp Two: The Anxiety-Driven

These firms feel pressure. Some are posting strong numbers – but it doesn’t feel strong.

They sense clients are cutting their list of go-to firms. They also see client access narrowing.

They’re increasing BD intensity to protect or jumpstart growth – and avoid slipping further.

The market is almost evenly divided between the two – with roughly 15% of firms experiencing both acceleration and anxiety at the same time. The 15% aren’t sure if the additional budget is an investment or a life jacket.

And here’s the kicker:

Google Trends reveals searches for Business Development are the highest in 22 years. Law firm leaders are looking for clues on how to improve and increase their knowledge base. They want more meaningful discussions around BD. They’re actively looking for how to do even more of it – and get better.

It’s a rare moment when the data from 1,000 leaders and 22 years of search history align so perfectly. BD has moved from the sidelines to center stage.

The question isn’t whether your firm will spend the money – the stats say you probably will. The question is: Will that spending be an investment in your future, or a tax on indecision?

Whichever way – the race is on.

Almost no one understands why firms keep hiring lateral partners – except the people running them.

On paper, it looks like a bad bet. Laterals have, at best, a 50% success rate. They can dilute morale, alienate “homegrown” talent, and cost a fortune in guarantees.

But behind closed doors, the conversation is different. As the Chair of a 1,000-attorney firm recently told me: “I can’t squeeze more business development out of my current partners. The bet on a proven rainmaker is worth the risk. One ‘hit’ pays for all the misses.”

The Sullivan & Cromwell “Nuclear” Event

S&C represented xAI in the largest announced merger involving a private target in history – at $250 billion.

The two lead partners on that deal? They didn’t grow up at S&C. They moved over from Skadden in May 2024.

This is lateral recruiting in its purest, most lethal form: The right partners bringing the right “monster” client at exactly the right time. Every Managing Partner in the Am Law 200 is looking at this deal today and asking: “Who is our Skadden pair?”

The Calculus Has Changed

Why is this working now when it failed so often in the past? Because client stickiness shifted from the institution to the individual.

New BTI research shows that 73% of clients will follow their lead partner to a new firm – a massive jump from just 44% in 2023. Clients are choosing continuity over brand names for three reasons:

• Institutional Knowledge: They don’t want to re-explain their business
• Risk Profile: They need a partner who already knows their “red lines”
• Ongoing Dialogue: They value the partner who is already fluent in their 2026 initiatives

The Bottom Line

Partner turnover is no longer a “crisis” – it’s a line item. Corporate counsel will gladly trade the administrative headache of a new firm for the peace of mind that comes with a trusted advisor.

If you’re recruiting, stop looking for “portables” and start looking for indispensables. Test for those three criteria, give them the platform to run, and wait for the “SpaceX” moment to land.

Hats off to Sullivan & Cromwell. They didn’t just hire two partners; they bought a 250-billion-dollar relationship.

It’s a scramble for clients.

Clients are cutting way back on issuing RFPs. As one corporate counsel put it: “It’s about as efficient as a dating app – maybe less so.”

Clients aren’t swiping right on RFPs because:

• Clients have more new and novel matters than anyone can remember
• Fresh ideas and approaches are at the top of client’s must-haves
• It’s the 4^th year of peak workload
• A clear understanding of client risk tolerance and business objectives is mandatory for the high-rate work
• Urgency surges as corporate counsel constantly engage with their CEO about meeting strategic objectives

The odds of getting all this from a firm hired through an RFP? About 1 in 13 – less than 10%.

Our new survey of 350 corporate counsel uncovers clients’ plans to issue RFPs to hire law firms in 2026. It’s no surprise the results look like this:

• Absolutely yes – 8% – down from 11% last year
• Thinking about it – 15%
• Hasn’t thought about it – 31%
• No way, no how – 46%

Only 23% are even considering more RFPs. This means initiative – not participation – wins.

But This Unlocks Major Opportunity

We describe the 2026 legal market as The Opportunity Rich market in our BTI Practice Outlook 2026. Here are 7 ways firms are replacing RFPs with opportunity:

1. Go Unsolicited: Learn to Love Unsolicited Proposals
   Send a short, insight-led proposal based on what the client is facing – business transformation, novel matters, workforce risk, supply chain exposure. No credentials. No “capabilities.” Just problems and solutions.
2. Run a 90-Minute Strategy Session
   Meet with the client to pressure-test business goals, obstacles, and risk tolerance. Bring a second partner who can add an “outside-in” perspective. These sessions regularly convert into new matters – and often feed the unsolicited proposal.
3. Deliver an Anticipation Brief
   “Anticipating needs” is a 2026 differentiator. Go beyond alerts: track job postings, IP filings, litigation patterns, and footprint shifts. Have an associate help build it (training + leverage). Share it with the client – they love forward-looking signal.
4. Deploy Rainmakers Where the Growth Is
   Cut territorialism. If access is the constraint, leadership can fix origination mechanics when it wants to – even informally. The firms doing this are reallocating rainmaker time to clients with the highest upside – and it shows up in revenue.
5. Create a Client-Facing Diagnostic Tool
   Clients love checklists and questionnaires – because they trigger action. Build a simple diagnostic around privacy, due diligence, geopolitical risk, data governance, or another industry-specific hot zone. Use it to surface issues the client didn’t know to ask about.
6. Build a Monthly “Top Risks” Signal Loop
   Email a short prompt to select clients: “What are your top 3 risks this month?” Aggregate the trends into a brief, high-signal insight you share with clients and attorneys. Ask clients to add to it. This creates a network effect and fuels organic BD.
7. Aim at Industries with the Most Acute Needs
   Your best BD target is urgency. In BTI Practice Outlook 2026, the industries with the most acute practice needs include High Tech, Pharma, Consumer Goods, Manufacturing, and Healthcare. Align outreach and insight with where demand is peaking.

Use the RFP drought to create an idea wheel with clients – proof you can help before they ask.

And before anyone gets too nostalgic for the good old days of RFPs, remember this: 80% of clients report no change in their law firm lineup 6 months after issuing an RFP.

Opportunity belongs to those who create it.

Clients flipped the BD script on law firms.

They’re living in a new world – and most BD pitches are still rooted in the old one.

The data is clear:

• 89% are advising their CEOs on business decisions
• 39% are now growth enablers
• 84% of clients are going through a company transformation

Corporate counsel are under more pressure than ever. They don’t need more lawyers; they need partners who exhibit these 11 specific behaviors and habits.

The 2026 Business Development Playbook

1. Business Outcome (The North Star)

I have a business goal. My outside counsel needs to integrate this into everything they do. Knowing they see the business outcome is a clear signal they deserve my trust.

2. Situational Intelligence

My attorneys have done this before. Apply what they’ve learned from past patterns and situations to help unravel new and novel matters.

3. Sitting Here in the Trenches with Me

I want outside counsel as committed to the outcome as I am – if not more. They feel a sense of loss if they don’t meet our goal.

4. Reframe This

I need new ways of thinking about our risks and decisions. The old rules don’t apply to the new and novel matters and technology transformations underway.

5. Make It Happen

No is easy. Yes is hard. I want an attorney who sees “No” as a hurdle to jump over or move out of the way.

6. Business Fluency

Our outside attorneys understand how we think about the business risk.

7. Visible Compounding Value

Immediate and lasting value is the start. Then build on it so insight, momentum, and impact compound over time.

8. Anticipate

I don’t reward responsiveness. I reward foresight.

9. Frictionless

Make it easy to hire and mobilize your firm as my outside counsel. Make administrative procedures fast and simple. Give me easy access to what I need.

10. Early Wins

I need firms delivering meaningful and obvious value early in the relationship and matters. This gets me comfortable with the current matter – and in giving them new business.

11. Stakes Adjusted

The risks I manage and advise on can turbocharge my company’s revenue, profits, valuation, and strategic positioning. My essential outside counsel adjusts their approach, team, and commitment to match.

Firms don’t lose work because they lack capability. They lose it because clients don’t experience these behaviors consistently.

Attorneys can’t adopt all 11 at once – but they can adopt one or two. One or two done consistently becomes momentum. This is how business development compounds in 2026.