I was pleased to have been invited recently to contribute my thoughts to an article by Jody Glidden, cofounder and CEO of Introhive. Introhive provides relationship intelligence automation (RIA) support to law firms and other professionals who are using customer relationships management (CRM) platforms.

Jody asked me to talk about “the most critical business-development mistakes law firms are making today, the most important trends that are shaping the legal marketplace, and how the smartest law firms are responding.”

First I explained why it is that today, more than ever before, law firms must attend to business-development and client-retention issues: “The equation has shifted. Until recently, law firms had more power than clients. Now clients hold the power. Simply put, law firms are competing in a tougher climate.”

I then went on to talk about how this challenge can be addressed. I explained, for example, that many law firms waste time and energy by confusing “business development” with “marketing.” I also told him why business-development training in law firms should include mentoring by lawyers who have proven track records at attracting new business.

I hope you will find Jody’s article of value. As always, I welcome your thoughts on this and other issues relating to the law. You can contact me either through the comments below or directly via email.