Deborah Farone

Pitching for new business is a nuanced craft, and it is something most lawyers want to do well. Yet there are a few recurring mistakes that even the most sophisticated firms continue to make. After speaking with dozens of general counsel, it’s clear that many of these missteps are easily fixable. 1. Walking into the meeting unprepared It sounds obvious,…

It’s been a year since my mother passed away. I’ve smiled through my work, even when I often felt like curling into a ball with a blanket and crying. But somehow, like most who lose their parents, I got through it. The pain is lifting, though the loss remains. I’ve been thinking about one of the many lessons my mom…

Last year, I was asked by a firm to speak on the topic of storytelling: how we use story to tell compelling narratives in new business, internal communications, and client work. We live in an era overflowing with information. AI can generate paragraphs in seconds. We’ve become fluent in metrics, analytics, and big data. But amid all of this processing…

If your marketing feels stuck, you’re not alone. After years of working with lawyers and professionals, I’ve seen a few common reasons why marketing efforts fall flat: 1. You haven’t defined your niche. If your audience is “everyone,” your message resonates with no one. 2. You’re overlooking your best source of business — your current clients. Growth often comes from…

Nearly 48% of lateral partners leave their new firms within five years. That statistic from Decipher Investigative Intelligence came as a wake-up call during a session I recently co-led with legal recruiter Scott Love at the LMA Northeast Regional Conference — and it’s one that continues to surprise people every time I share it. Every firm celebrates when a lateral…

I’ve been asked a lot about the law firm business development and marketing department of the future. With a steady stream of laterals (growth and movement), the rapid evolution of AI, and the increasing importance of marketing technology, defining what the modern marketing and business development department should look like is not an easy task. After helping mid-size and large…

If you know me well, you know that I know nothing about most sports. But I did know that being asked to fly to Chicago to speak at Soldier Field was major. After learning that the Bears were a football team and not a baseball team, I got to work on my talk for an incredible law firm. It’s always…

If only cross-selling or cross-serving was as easy as saying, “Would you like fries with your burger?” Cross-selling how-tos are some of the most common questions I hear from law firm leaders and practice heads. One of the most powerful ways to grow a law firm isn’t chasing new clients — it’s serving existing clients more deeply. By doing so,…

In our first phone call, law firm leaders often tell me: “We invest so much in marketing — but we’re not sure it’s moving the needle.” Here are five signs your marketing department might not be operating well (and some initial thoughts about how to recalibrate). 1. Lots of activity, little strategy. Your marketing team receives numerous requests, both from…