Tips for Would-Be Rainmakers (Be Nice!)

Perhaps the hardest part of being a rainmaker, for many lawyers, is figuring out how to go about generating business.

Having the right mentor introduce you to clients and help you with your career, of course, can be very helpful. But even without one, a lawyer can develop expertise in a specialized practice area—and, at least as important, make sure that others know about it. Being the first to publish an article on a new development in the law, for instance, is a surefire way to gain attention, reports the Legal Intelligencer, in an article reprinted in New York Lawyer (reg. req.).

Existing clients are the best source of new business, those interviewed for the article agreed. And, while it's important to ask for more work, it's also important to get to know a client's business and form relationships with client representatives before too-aggressively seeking additional income. Simply being personable can be a big plus, points out Robert Heim, a rainmaker at Dechert.

“It’s always surprised me how very personable, engaging people treat their clients as if they are just representatives of the problem rather than people they would enjoy in their own right as people,” he says.

Read the full article (reg. req.).

Related coverage:

ABAJournal.com: "How Associates Can Make It Rain"

ABA Journal: "The Rainmaker Within"

ABAJournal.com: "Like to Golf? San Diego Law Firm Seeks Associate Rainmakers"