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How to Win Legal Clients in a More Competitive Market
What does it take to win and retain legal clients in a market where expertise alone is no longer enough?
In this webinar, leading in-house legal professionals share what they value most from external counsel, from understanding the business and delivering advice with speed to using technology effectively and building relationships that last. The panel explores how legal professionals can differentiate themselves, strengthen client relationships, and approach business development in ways that resonate with today’s legal buyers.
Key Takeaways
- Know the client’s business, not just the law: Legal clients expect outside counsel to understand how their organization operates, what matters to the business, and the risks and opportunities it faces. Expertise remains essential, but the strongest providers turn that expertise into practical, relevant advice.
- Use technology to create more space for what clients value: Proficiency with AI and legal technology is quickly becoming an expected capability. The opportunity is to automate lower-value work and redirect that capacity toward understanding the client, exercising judgment, and building stronger relationships.
- Adapt to the client, not the other way around: Strong legal relationships are built when firms understand and adapt to a client’s teams, processes, and ways of working. That depth of knowledge creates value that is difficult for another provider to replicate.
- Relevance beats generic outreach: In-house leaders are inundated with emails, updates, and pitches. Business development is more effective when outreach starts with genuine curiosity about the client and delivers something specifically relevant to their business.
- Build trust by giving value before asking for business: Client relationships develop over time, not through one-off business development efforts. Useful insights, meaningful introductions, and consistent value help build the credibility and trust that create opportunities and deepen relationships.
How are client expectations of external counsel changing?
Core expectations such as expertise, responsiveness, affordability, and reliability remain important, but clients increasingly expect external counsel to understand their business, move at the pace of their organization, and use technology effectively. Advice needs to be practical, relevant, and tailored to how the client actually operates.
How can law firms differentiate themselves when AI and legal technology are becoming standard?
Proficiency with technology is increasingly becoming table stakes. Firms can differentiate by using it to reduce administrative work and create more capacity for higher-value activities: understanding the client’s business, applying judgment, anticipating needs, and strengthening relationships.
What business development approaches are most effective with in-house legal leaders?
Generic outreach is increasingly difficult to break through. The panel emphasized relevance, trusted introductions, genuine curiosity, and providing value before asking for business. Firms that understand what matters to a client and tailor their outreach accordingly are better positioned to build lasting relationships.
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