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Marketing, Business Development, Rainmaking for Women Lawyers

By Casey C. Sullivan, Esq. on July 14, 2015 | Last updated on March 21, 2019

If only legal skill and acumen were all it took to build a firm! Instead, those looking to grow a practice soon realize that marketing and business development are essential to success -- and sadly, these aren't skills typically taught in law school.

Women lawyers, in particular, can face unique challenges in building a practice and making it rain. Thankfully, Thomson Reuters, FindLaw's parent company, is here to help with "The Woman Lawyer's Rainmaking Game: How to Build a Successful Law Practice." Consider it a legal aid, just as essential as any practice guide on your shelf.

Learning to Make It Rain

Rainmaking is rainmaking, right? Sort of. As many female practitioners can attest, the legal profession presents unique challenges to women, from large disparities on who sits first chair at trial to gaining the respect of potential clients. However, men don't need to feel overlooked -- the authors swear that much of their information is applicable to guys as well.

"The Woman Lawyer's Rainmaking Game" seeks to help lawyers develop individualized marketing and sales plans. For lawyers who have already put together a business plan, the book promises to make it even more effective. According to Thomson Reuters, the text will teach lawyers to:

    • Learn how to modify traditional sales methods to build business
    • Find tips on turning contacts into clients
    • Discover the value of inactive clients
    • See how you can improve your existing client relationships
    • Sharpen your game at business-building events, such as cocktail receptions
    • Find out the secrets of successful rainmakers
    • Learn which marketing activities work best

Why Everyone Needs to Make It Rain

If you're looking to excel in the legal profession, whether by building your own practice or thrive at a firm, you need to know how to make it rain. By that we mean, simply, lawyers must learn how to build and bring in business. This requires thinking like a salesperson, not just a lawyer.

Yeah, "salesperson" is a gross world. It inspires images of used cars or Sham Wow's. But the best lawyers are salespeople, in the best sense. This means they're people who develop relationships, work connections, and build a reputation they see results from. Luckily, these are skills that can be learned, from learning how to make an meaningful introduction to closing a deal with potential clients. "The Woman Lawyer's Rainmaking Game" promises to help attorneys pick up those skills -- and grow a better practice as a result.

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