Business development (BD) focuses on identifying and supporting opportunities that align with growth targets and strategic objectives, while communications tailor internal and external messaging to advance these business goals. In return, communications identify trends and market opportunities, repackaging a firm’s experience to speak to them, while BD can bring those new opportunities to light with lawyers.
An integrated approach to law firm marketing enhances communication with targeted business development strategies to drive revenue growth. Business development (BD) focuses on identifying and supporting opportunities that align with growth targets and strategic objectives, while communications tailor internal and external messaging to advance these business goals. In return, communications identify trends and market opportunities, repackaging a firm’s experience to speak to them, while BD can bring those new opportunities to light with lawyers.
Historically, BD and communications teams operated in silos—BD concentrated on client pitches and events, while communications managed media relations and brand building. However, the modern approach is evolving toward a more cohesive, well-researched, market opportunity and campaign-based strategy aimed directly at specific lists of current clients and new prospects.
Here are five examples of how BD and communications teams can combine their unique strengths to create successful campaigns and results.
Data, Statistics, CRM and AI
All integrated marketing efforts should begin and end with research and data.
The focus should first be on current clients and serving their needs, including from a marketing perspective. After compiling client-service results, profitability and GAP-analysis research, the next step is to respond by developing value-added content, such knowledge-based marketing, directly tied to the insights uncovered in the research.
Technology, such as customer relationship management (CRM) systems, marketing automation and artificial intelligence (AI) tools, plays an ever-growing role in optimizing these efforts thereby streamlining the implementation of BD and communications. These tools allow both teams to better understand client behaviors, segment audiences and deliver tailored messages and content across multiple channels. By embracing technology, firms can manage client engagement in a more efficient and personalized way.
Analytics can help communications teams track topical campaign success in real time, allowing them to adjust strategies quickly to enhance engagement. Key metrics such as likes, shares, comments, click-through rates and follower growth provide insights into how well content resonates with the target audience. By tracking these metrics, one can identify which types of posts generate the most interaction and what topics spark the most interest. Additionally, monitoring sentiment through comments and direct messages can help gauge audience perception. Based on this data, you can pivot messaging and content strategies immediately—whether by adjusting the tone, shifting focus to trending topics or experimenting with different formats like videos or infographics—to better align with client needs and preferences, ensuring continuous optimization and improved results.
Thereafter, BD can examine new matter intake to see if the content effort translated into new revenue.
Thought Leadership and Campaigns
What makes thought leadership content and product launches successful? Both hinge on strong collaboration between BD and communications teams.
In thought leadership initiatives, such as research and market reports or white papers, client updates, newsletters and bylined articles, BD professionals collaborate closely with lawyers to identify target audiences and determine what content would resonate with them. Gathering feedback from select clients can further refine the content to enhance its impact and reach.
Once the content topics are defined, communications professionals select the most effective research and production methods, as well as distribution channels. For example, a bylined article in a leading industry publication may have a broader reach than a client update sent via email. Post-publication, both BD and communications teams play a key role in amplifying the content through LinkedIn, practice group mailing lists and personalized outreach, including face-to-face meetings.
For larger initiatives like market reports or product launches, collaboration extends to timing, format and length. Data from web traffic, social media engagement and client interactions inform these decisions, helping optimize the content’s reach. BD offers valuable insights into client needs and market positioning, while communications crafts the messaging that speaks to those needs by highlighting the product’s or campaign’s value. Both teams work together to ensure messaging aligns with business goals, creates anticipation and drives adoption.
Launch of a New Practice Area or Specialty
The launch of a new practice within a law firm presents an exciting opportunity to generate visibility and attract new business. Whether communications or BD first identified the market opportunity, both can
contribute to researching the list of potential buyers of the services and/or referral sources to reach them. Aside from warming up a market through branding communications, the best efforts always, always, always boil down to “the five healthcare providers in our city,” “the 10energy co-ops in our state,” “the 25 AI technology providers nationwide” or some similarly specific list.
Communications teams today are rightfully requesting these target lists that include specific names of new individuals to whom they can deliver content directly. A well-coordinated campaign driven by communications can effectively highlight and repackage the firm’s expertise and unique offerings into the new practice, building awareness among target audiences identified by BD. Meanwhile, BD efforts can focus on leveraging existing client relationships and networking to drive business development utilizing the added content and services.
By aligning these efforts, the firm can position the new practice as a valuable service while simultaneously fostering trust and credibility with both current and potential clients. Through a mix of media outreach, targeted messaging and strategic partnerships, the firm can ensure a successful launch that positions the new practice for long-term success.
Media Relations
Many attorneys think of solitary interviews they individually might have with a newspaper when they think of media relations. The goal of that interview is to spread one’s name around, again warming up the market, with the hope that someone in need of their services might connect the dots when reading the article in which they are quoted. There is high credibility from this tactical type of media relations. But to maximize one’s long-term media relations effort from a business development perspective and move away from the single article approach, there are many things that can be done.
Integrating and embedding business development components within abroad media relations effort or campaign can be achieved through a variety of tactics and will advance larger goals. For example, in every interview an interviewee can suggest other sources to journalists, including clients or referral sources. Byline articles written by attorneys can also contain quotes from these sources or even co-authored. Likewise, firms can produce data through surveys and reports through events and whitepapers, in partnership with a myriad of organizations.
Relationships with media outlets can also be cultivated. Firms can create unique content products and partnerships with material produced by either side or jointly, as well as presented together. Editors can serve on panels at law firm events, especially those about trends and implications about legal cases or changes. Introductions to individuals that journalists have had difficulty accessing can be provided.
Lateral Onboarding and Integration
Lateral onboarding and integration in BD and communications requires alignment on goals, strategies, messaging—but most often initial timing.BD leaders can provide valuable insights that help the communication steam operate more efficiently, such as: Why this lateral hire? How does the lateral align with firm strategy (e.g., additional practice depth, new or complementary skill set and different geographic market)? Who are the lateral’s key client targets from a sector and function perspective? Where are the best cross-selling synergies with the rest of the firm?
By understanding these business drivers from the outset, communications leaders can craft impactful messaging for client, internal and external audiences that maximize viewership of a lateral’s arrival announcement. Communications and BD professionals can work with lawyers to draft personalized outreach to specific clients and prospects that would benefit from hearing about the new lateral.
Communications can adapt this messaging for different external marketing channels, such as PR (targeting the right reporters at the most relevant legal and business publications), social media and digital marketing.
Going forward, BD and communications professionals can work with the lateral to identify new topics to continue the conversation for at least one year through internal GAP-and-cross-selling presentations, client introductions for the lateral and firm, a series of content that explains how those who receive one legal service might benefit from the new additional service, and positioning those business advantages stories to the media—many of which can also serve as door openers with clients and prospects.
A Unified, Research and Technology-Enabled Approach
The unified, technology-enabled approach between business development and communications is more exciting and critical than ever. Law firms that recognize the strategic value of this collaboration and who invest in aligning their efforts will be better positioned to drive growth, enhance their market presence and build lasting client relationships. Whether regarding data, thought leadership, a new practice area, media relations or lateral onboarding, the time to integrate is now.
Reprinted with permission from the April 23, 2025 edition of The Legal Intelligencer © 2025 ALM Media Properties, LLC. All rights reserved. Further duplication without permission is prohibited, contact 877-257-3382 or reprints@alm.com.
