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Right there in plain sight. An insightful look into, if not the very definition of, your client’s world view. It’s on LinkedIn.

This isn’t a superficial glance at where they went to school—it’s about finding snippets of insight buried within the introduction, comments, posts, likes, connections, and frequency of their activity. And it’s your roadmap to a robust, resilient relationship. It’s also your guide to winning new work.

Legal Ninjas

As of this morning, no fewer than 48 corporate counsel describe themselves as legal ninjas. They have great agility and cut through their legal issues quickly. They move swiftly to the next matter, get things done using a combination of skill and strategy, and utilize all the tools around them—including their outside law firms.

You win work with ninjas by showcasing how you deftly move from gaining deep understanding of client needs through strategy and action. We recommend cutting your standard pitch time in half or more—pitch at the ninja’s speed and attention span. Let them know you know their secret through your behavior. Note: legal ninjas often have a bigger caseload to manage than their peers.

Legal Strategists

282 clients reveal themselves as legal strategists, in some cases, global strategists. Strategists want to know how you will approach things and why. What is your end game and how will you get there? Show them your analysis of the options and which approach you think is best—and quickly ask for their opinion. Strategists tend to have bigger budgets and wider responsibilities than others.

Legal Innovators

132 in-house counsel are self-described legal innovators. Almost half have posted content on LinkedIn in the last 30 days. Winning work with the innovators demands you not only read—but also really know their content—and can discuss it. Put your best innovation foot forward. Ask them if you can work together to make things better or what new technologies would make the most sense. Innovators want to work with you to create something novel.

The list goes on, but the point is: clients and potential clients are telling you and the world exactly how they think about their role, their philosophy, and in effect, what they want in outside counsel. This compels you to not merely read—but study and analyze your clients’ and prospects’ LinkedIn profile and posted content. These statements of philosophy may be buried in their comments. If you’re lucky, you will find clues right in the introduction. But even if they are—don’t stop there. A growing group of clients are telling you deep, dark secrets about themselves. They offer you great advantage. Dive in now before too many law firms notice.

MBR

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