2026: The Year of the Business Development Reset

Business development isn’t evolving in 2026. It’s resetting.

We asked more than 1,000 attorneys and legal marketers if business development would become substantially harder in 2026 than in 2025 – the same question we’ve asked for the past three years.

Business development rarely gets easier. Clients always treat today’s greatness as tomorrow’s expectation. This alone makes business development harder.

But – others believe the difficulty has already peaked. The numbers look like this:

• 2026: 50% think BD will get substantially harder
• 2025: 44% thought BD would get harder
• 2024: 53% indicated BD would be harder

Early 2025 saw a serious drop in those who thought business development would get harder. This reversed heading into 2026.

This marks a reset, not a continuation.

It’s an even split. And it’s a new starting line.

Here are the 4 major reasons why:

1. Winning feels harder because losing is faster
   Firms on the wrong side of the fault line aren’t slowly falling behind. They’re being eliminated earlier in the process – often before they know they were being considered.
2. Clients have less patience for pitches
   Clients aren’t rejecting business development – they’re rejecting wasted business development. Generic outreach, recycled thought leadership, and capability-driven conversations are filtered out faster than ever.
3. New decision makers are changing the rules
   Turnover inside legal departments is accelerating. New leaders bring new expectations. And little loyalty to incumbent firms. Past performance matters less than present relevance.
4. More firms sound the same
   As firms double down on content, alerts, and AI-assisted messaging, differentiation is collapsing. Clients hear more noise, not more insight. The bar hasn’t risen – it’s narrowed.

Why BD Will Be Easier in 2026:

Improving inbound lead flow

Inbound inquiries from both new and existing clients are growing – in some cases steadily over the last 2 to 3 years. This is an omen.

Expanded Business Development/Client Relationship Executives

Nothing is more effective than adding dedicated business development/client relationship managers to develop organic business. These firms continue to see big-time results – and expand their programs.

New CMO Programs Starting To Kick In

High CMO turnover has settled a bit – and now firms are starting to see the results of new programs. Optimism is high.

AI Tools

High hopes for growth from an AI-driven approach to pitching clients and learning more about them. These tactics are expected to overcome business development obstacles.

Training

Optimism abounds for the results of new training. These firms have invested in internal and external training. They report a large focus on process, LinkedIn, networking, soft skills, and behaviors. They see big near-term as a result.

Gaining Business Development Advantage

Corporate counsel feedback and preference point to the key advantages in business development for 2026 – and beyond. These include:

More Strategy And Precision Than Effort

Working smart has never been more important. Corporate counsel face more new and novel issues than ever – with big risk. Answers and insights are more important than the level of effort and prior work.

More Behavior And Less System

Clients want to see actions and opinions early. This means client are basing their decisions on behaviors. Firms with the best and most relevant behaviors generate more inbound leads than the best systems and processes.

More Future-Looking Insight And Less Interest In Past

Corporate counsel are starting to think firms emphasizing the past don’t have an interest in the new and upcoming issues. The firms pairing forward-looking thinking with their credentials will win more work.

The rewards only get bigger as the level of difficulty rises – and this is what drives the best rainmakers to stay at the top of their game. They know success demands they move faster than clients.