Let’s face it: the legal industry is not getting any less competitive. Even the most prestigious law firms can no longer rely solely on reputation, referrals, or legacy clients to sustain long-term growth. Legal business development is now imperative. It has become necessary to adopt a strategic, data-driven approach to identify opportunities, deepen relationships, and ultimately drive revenue for your firm. However, many firms still struggle to define what law firm business development is. Knowing how to execute it effectively is an even bigger challenge.
Read on to better understand legal business development and discover actionable strategies that your marketing and business development team members can leverage to get ahead. We’ll also help you understand how to leverage tools spanning executive data to relationship intelligence to effectively implement and maximize ROI driven by these strategies. Transform your business development team into a results-driven powerhouse with this actionable guide.
What is law firm business development?
At its core, law firm business development encompasses the activities and strategies that support the growth and sustainability of a firm’s client base and revenue. While there could be some overlap with marketing, legal business development is more relationship-focused and revenue-driven.
Key aspects of law firm business development:
- Identifying new client opportunities
- Expanding existing client relationships
- Building strategic partnerships
- Enhancing brand visibility within targeted sectors or industries
Usually, the firm’s dedicated business development team, in close collaboration with practice leads, partners, and marketers, owns this part of the business.
Challenges in the legal sector and why business development matters
In addition to market pressures, law firms need to get through complex operational challenges that impact how they attract and retain clients. Attracting and retaining top legal talent has become fiercely competitive, especially as younger attorneys prioritize flexibility, development opportunities, and purpose-driven work. On top of everything, skyrocketing client expectations around responsiveness, transparency, and specialized advice mean that even elite firms must work harder to demonstrate value.
Global competition and disruption from alternative legal service providers and digital platforms have further blurred traditional market boundaries. Competition has intensified. Boutique firms, Alternative Legal Service Providers (ALSPs), and international players are creating pricing and delivery pressures. Data and tech are transforming outreach. Precision targeting and personalization are now expected in client communication and engagement.
Investment in legal technology
Gartner predicts that spending on legal technology will grow 3x by this year, increasing from 3.9% of in-house budgets in 2020 to approximately 12%. This surge is driven by the need to modernize, digitize, and automate legal work.
Furthermore, Gartner recently published that by 2027, the global legal technology market will reach $50 billion through the effects of GenAI. For law firms, this means that a formalized business development strategy is no longer a nice-to-have. It’s now a differentiator, as competitors step up their game — and their budgets.
Technology and cybersecurity risks continue to escalate, increasing the need to invest in secure, compliant infrastructure while staying agile in their use of AI and automation. Across jurisdictions, regulatory and compliance pressures are becoming stricter and harder to navigate. This requires not only legal expertise but also operational adaptability. Together, these realities underscore the need for a proactive, intelligence-driven approach to business development.
Five actionable business development strategies for law firms
1. Develop strategic account plans for top clients
Rather than treating all clients equally, develop tiered account plans that prioritize high-revenue and high-potential clients. Include:
- Key contacts and decision-makers
- Recent matters and case outcomes
- Cross-selling opportunities
- Relationship owners and communication cadence
Real-time intelligence and relationship insights can enrich these plans.
2. Empower attorneys as business developers
Not all attorneys are natural rainmakers, but most can contribute to client growth with the right support. Offer:
- Business development training workshops
- CRM or law firm client relationship management software to track interactions
- Personalized research to inform client conversations and prep materials
Career insights and detailed dossiers on key stakeholders can enable a resource-constrained team to personalize their outreach to prospective clients.
3. Activate your alumni network
Former attorneys, staff, and clients often move into influential roles. Understanding their network can help you uncover connections. Stay in touch through:
- Dedicated alumni portals or newsletters
- Exclusive networking events
- Alumni spotlights in firm publications
You can use people data and relationship intelligence to help you track where alumni are now and how they might open doors to new business.
4. Leverage speaking engagements and publications
Visibility builds credibility. With this in mind, you should encourage attorneys to:
- Speak at industry conferences
- Publish in legal journals or relevant business media
- Comment on legal trends in client alerts or LinkedIn posts
Align these efforts with strategic business development goals, such as target sectors, geographies, or client types.
5. Monitor and respond to market triggers
Timely outreach can make or break a new business opportunity. Monitor for triggers such as:
- Executive appointments or board changes
- M&A activity
- Regulatory shifts
Look for a data provider that can provide you with real-time intelligence and alerts on key personnel moves and board reshuffles. Then, use the insights and alerts as valuable prompts for personalized outreach.
How a data provider can help
To maximize the effectiveness of business development initiatives, law firms need tools that can support outreach and ensure data quality. Our suite of data solutions helps firms drive precision and personalization at scale.
Our solutions made to power legal business development include:
Executive data
Altrata provides accurate, up-to-date profiles on key decision-makers, enabling firms to quickly identify role changes and update their CRMs accordingly. This ensures business development teams are working with the most relevant contacts, minimizing missed opportunities due to outdated information.
APIs and data feeds
With seamless integration capabilities, our APIs enrich existing contact and account records with a wealth of additional insights: career history, education, board affiliations, achievements, relationship pathways, and relevant news mentions. This can enable your firm to better understand their prospects and clients, build more strategic engagement plans, and personalize outreach with confidence.
Relationship mapping and warm introductions
Cold outreach rarely moves the needle in the legal sector. Rather, a warm path is vital to securing your next client. For this purpose, relationship intelligence can help BD teams uncover warm introductions through existing client, alumni, or partner networks. By identifying shared connections, firms can facilitate authentic entry points that build trust quickly.
Targeted industry specialization
Rather than chasing every opportunity, high-performing BD teams focus on sectors where the firm has deep expertise and visibility. You can conduct market segmentation analyses, track industry trends and pain points, and align thought leadership and outreach with sector priorities.
Cross-selling across practice areas
Many firms leave money on the table by failing to cross-sell services to existing clients. You can use data to uncover unmet legal needs, discover complementary practice areas, and facilitate internal collaboration between siloed teams. For example, a relationship map from Altrata could reveal that a firm representing a client’s board in governance matters could also assist their company with employment law, IP, or ESG-related counsel.
Client feedback and continuous improvement
Winning the client is only the beginning. Law firm business development is also about retention and growth. Moreover, it is critical that you conduct post-matter reviews, gather qualitative and quantitative feedback, and act on that feedback to improve service delivery. Firms that listen and respond proactively are far more likely to retain high-value clients and earn referrals.
Real-world examples: how relationship intelligence and target prospecting drive success
The case studies below demonstrate the power of data in enhancing business development efforts through improved relationship intelligence and targeted prospecting. Law firms can similarly leverage these tools to identify key decision-makers, uncover warm connections, and personalize outreach strategies in order to drive growth and strengthen client relationships.
Enhancing deal flow with relationship intelligence
Client: A big four accountancy firm’s private equity value creation team
“Altrata’s BoardEx is our first go-to. It provides us a window to get insight into deals and is a great conversation starter. Time and time again it has been worth it.” — Business Development Manager
Challenge: The team sought to deepen their understanding of private equity firms and their portfolio companies, aiming to uncover relationship paths from their colleagues to key individuals.
Solution: Utilizing Altrata’s BoardEx platform, the team accessed detailed profiles of C-suite and board members, along with insights into top connections, auditors, and disclosed advisors. Industry news articles and alerts on role changes and M&A activities kept the team informed about organizational movements.
Impact: The team successfully leveraged BoardEx to identify warm connections and gather organizational insights, facilitating more informed and strategic outreach. Read more about their success.
Driving fundraising success through targeted prospecting
Client: Leading university in the United States
“Over the life of our Marketing History campaign, we have added more than 14,000 prospects. Of these, 9,000 have been donors to the campaign. In aggregate, this new pool of prospects have made campaign commitments for $600 million.” — University Representative
Challenge: The university aimed to expand its donor base and increase campaign commitments through more targeted prospecting.
Solution: By integrating Altrata’s data into their existing workflows, the university enriched their prospect and customer data, enabling more precise targeting and personalized engagement strategies.
Impact: Over the course of their marketing campaign, the university added more than 14,000 prospects, with 9,000 becoming donors. This new pool of prospects contributed $600 million in campaign commitments. Learn more about their success.
Building your future-ready legal business development strategy
In an environment where relationships matter as much as expertise, law firms must move beyond transactional thinking. Business development is no longer about chasing the next case. It’s about cultivating long-term partnerships, anticipating client needs, and delivering value consistently.
Successful legal business development is a blend of strategic insight, consistent execution, and a deep understanding of client needs. As law firms face greater pressure to differentiate and deliver value, the ability to translate data into action becomes a defining advantage.
Rather than relying on outdated habits or ad hoc outreach, firms should adopt a more intentional approach to growth, built on informed decision-making, stronger relationships, and measurable results.
Whether you’re looking to activate alumni networks, improve cross-selling, or deepen your industry focus, data intelligence tools advantage you need to go from reactive to proactive. By doing so, firms can elevate their client engagement, enhance retention, and compete with greater precision in today’s dynamic legal marketplace.