Deborah Farone

As appeared in PM Magazine, May 2026.       When I set out to write Breaking Ground: How Successful Women Lawyers Build Thriving Practices (PLI 2026), my goal was straightforward: to understand how some of the most successful women in the legal profession actually develop business. Not in theory, but in practice, across firms, geographies and personalities. Through interviews…

One of the questions I get asked most often is this: when it comes to business development for lateral hires, should you coach them individually or train them as a group? The answer is both, and knowing when to use each makes all the difference. -- Individual coaching is the right choice when someone needs personalized support. Not every lateral…

Most lawyers are thinking about LinkedIn as a final destination, not a starting point. I think of LinkedIn as an on-ramp. It is often where a new connection is started or a dormant one is revived. A comment on someone’s post can turn into an invitation for a conversation on Zoom and maybe a real-life conversation. (Human to human, involving…

Some of the best business development advice may feel like the hardest to follow. It's not. I had a wonderful conversation with Sally King of The Alexander Group on the Impact & Insight podcast recently—and we kept coming back to a theme that shows up again and again in my research:  The most successful people build practices that are authentic…

General Counsel: What if the skills that rainmakers use to build a $50M book of business are the same ones that elevate your influence inside your company? Over the past few years, I’ve interviewed dozens of in-house counsel and the world’s top rainmakers, lawyers who have built extraordinary practices across industries and geographies. At first glance, the inhouse world seems…

Are law firms using AI for business development? Last week alone, I counted four separate times that someone asked me some version of that same question, and I am sure other marketers are hearing it as well. It’s clearly top of mind. And the answer is yes—but the real opportunity goes a step  further. The firms that are seeing the…

Yesterday, NALP released its latest diversity report, and while there are some gains worth noting, the broader picture is more complex. Yes, women now make-up more than 50% of those graduating law school. Yet according to NALP only 30% of partners at the firms that provided them with information are women. The proportion of Asian and Black associates has also…

I always want to know what enables law firms to operate and grow when it comes to marketing and business development. Last week, I had a chance to participate a terrific webinar moderated by  Paula Viera of Mattos Filho, featuring Daphne O'Connor of Arnold & Porter, Sarah Heaton Concannon of Quinn Emanuel and Jean Marie Campbell of Jenner & Block.…

If there is one misconception I wish more lawyers and other professionals would let go of, it is this: Business development requires you to be someone you are not. I was recently interviewed by David Lat about my book, "Breaking Ground" 🪴  and what I learned from speaking with more than 60 rainmakers across four continents. One of the themes that…