Business Development

Open-source intelligence and why it has become vital to modern legal operations

Ari Kaplan recently spoke with Rick Campbell, the executive chairman and CEO of @Group, and Matt Winlaw, the CEO and managing director of @ID, which is one of three divisions within @Group that also includes @Docs and @Soft.

May 29, 2025 9:07 AM CDT

What today’s rainmakers do differently

The Rainmaker Genome Project surveyed 3,000 partner-level professionals in 41 firms. And it turns out that what makes a lawyer an effective rainmaker is not necessarily what makes a salesperson an effective seller.

May 21, 2025 3:22 PM CDT

Billable hours at larger law firms ‘did not quite live up to expectations’ in first quarter

Revenue at larger law firms increased by 11.3% in the first quarter of 2025, compared to the same period last year, according to a survey by Wells Fargo’s Legal Specialty Group.

May 1, 2025 9:25 AM CDT

Hit your stride and strive without strife

Embrace sustainable goals. The start of a new year often inspires lofty resolutions, if not illusions of grandeur, about the habits we’ll develop and professional goals we’ll conquer: more billable hours, bigger matters, rapid career advancement and the like. Yet with the first quarter already behind us, the initial momentum has all but faded, and many attorneys find themselves buried under the weight of their ambitious goals and the pressure to consistently deliver at a high level.

Apr 22, 2025 2:34 PM CDT

Contingency cases fueled ‘extraordinary year’ for Boies Schiller, with gross revenue jumping nearly 60%

Gross revenue at Boies Schiller Flexner increased 57.5% last year, thanks in part to contingency fees.

Apr 22, 2025 2:02 PM CDT

For cybersecurity, vulnerability management, ‘think of it as brushing your teeth,’ IT managing director says

Ari Kaplan recently spoke with Ciprian Şaramet, managing director at Modular Services, a Romanian company focused on providing global law firms with technical support and business services.

Apr 22, 2025 1:30 PM CDT

Business trial lawyers today through my daughter’s big green eyes

Fourteen years ago, I wrote an article for a business journal that summarized a dinner conversation I had with my 4-year-old daughter. She asked me to explain “What is a re-sezz-ee-un?” By the end of our conversation, her greatest concern shining through her little green eyes was whether Santa Claus himself would be experiencing any effects of that “re-sez-ee-un.”

Apr 16, 2025 2:23 PM CDT

Future Forward: How lawyers can embrace sustainability

Sustainable development means more than “being green,” says John Dernbach, an emeritus professor at Widener University Commonwealth Law School and the founding director of its Environmental Law and Sustainability Center. Rather, he says, sustainable development balances environmental protection, economic development and social justice.

Apr 1, 2025 3:00 AM CDT

How to master client development

Client development is the key to your success as a lawyer in a law firm, especially if you include career autonomy in your definition of success. The trouble is, most lawyers have a very narrow idea of client development. So let’s (re)define the concept of client development, identify the key questions you should be asking yourself, and provide actionable strategies to help you get started and ultimately excel so you can reap the benefits of client development now and throughout your career.

Apr 1, 2025 2:00 AM CDT

Generative artificial intelligence is supercharging legal analytics

Generative artificial intelligence is revolutionizing the field of analytics by assisting lawyers with tasks ranging from fee setting to research.

Mar 19, 2025 3:09 PM CDT

Law and the ‘Trust Tax’

In his book, The Speed of Trust: The One Thing That Changes Everything, Stephen M. R. Covey writes of a theoretical tax that is imposed in low trust environments—what he calls the “trust tax.”

Mar 12, 2025 11:11 AM CDT

The End of Reality? How to combat deepfakes in our legal system

There’s nothing fake about it. The legal industry is facing a big problem with deepfakes. Courtrooms are not yet flooded with a tsunami of deepfake evidence, but with this artificial intelligence-generated technology playing with great success on social media and in fraud schemes, it’s only a matter of time before deepfakes regularly drop into the exhibit list.

Mar 10, 2025 9:10 AM CDT

AI adoption is growing, but some are hesitant, new ABA tech survey finds

Artificial intelligence isn’t replacing lawyers, but it is transforming how they work. From contract review to litigation strategy, firms are figuring out where AI adds value and where it falls short, according to the 2024 Legal Technology Survey Report just released by the ABA.

Mar 7, 2025 1:20 PM CST

3 days per week in office won’t be enough at these 2 BigLaw firms

Two BigLaw firms that required lawyers to spend three days per week in the office have changed the goal posts.

Mar 4, 2025 12:11 PM CST

BigLaw business development manager worked 90-hour weeks without overtime pay, suit alleges

Updated: A business development manager alleges that Reed Smith misclassified her employment status, enabling the law firm to avoid paying overtime for work weeks that often stretched to 90 hours in length.

Feb 19, 2025 1:57 PM CST