It’s your moment. You are asked to come in and pitch. The typical company will ask 14 law firms to respond to an RFP. Next, they ask 3 to 8 to come in and pitch. Your chance to make your compelling case is here. And, out of these pitches—clients say a mere 20 law firms really stand out as giving a great pitch. All the rest sound the same —or worse.
So…who are these firms and what makes a truly great pitch? Let’s start with the second part of this question. Clients tell us a great pitch:
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Starts with a discussion of the business or goals—not the law firm’s statistics
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Asks questions and engages clients
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Provides some unique high value snippet of insight into the company
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Offers up partners with great executive presence
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Gets into deep discussion of approach and strategy
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Places their feet clearly on the ground
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Goes off script and discusses any topic—and gets back quickly if they can’t
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Looks so natural they must have rehearsed it 100 times
The message: talk about the client, unequivocally; be confident and candid; be practical and know something meaningful about the company. Success demands more of a change in behavior than skill. Clients tell us law firms just love to start a pitch talking about who they are and how many times they have done what you need—and clients already know this. Or, your insight and demeanor will show clients everything they need to know about your experience.
Please join me in congratulating these 20 law firms who clients say deliver the absolute best pitches:
Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld
Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer
Cravath, Swaine & Moore
Dentons
Dinsmore
DLA Piper
Greenberg Traurig
Jones Day
Latham & Watkins
Locke Lord
Norton Rose Fulbright
O’Melveny
Orrick
Paul, Weiss
Shumaker, Loop & Kendrick
Skadden
Venable
Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz
Weil
White & Case
MBR