Deborah Farone

"What holds lawyers back from creating plans for themselves or their own practices?" Often it's the fear of not getting it right, or not knowing the steps that are involved. Most of the lawyers I know are perfectionists, but sometimes they don’t know where to start. Other times, they just don’t want to fail.  I get it. Some mysteries we…

As featured on LinkedIn, April 24, 2024. Is there an idyllic law firm, one with the perfect culture? It’s the firm that has an effortless time attracting and retaining the finest lawyers and other professionals. It’s also the firm that turns out the very best work due to the lack of silos between practice areas and rainmakers. While I don’t…

I always wanted to write a book to help people build their practices, and five years ago “Best Practices in Law  Firm Business Development and Marketing” was published by Practising Law Institute (PLI) Law Institute. Thanks to the many law firms, companies and law schools that asked me to present my findings on how successful lawyers develop practices (and how law…

Yesterday, I joined in a great conversation that illustrated the importance of leadership, consistency, and intentionality in shaping a positive culture at organizations. What a treat to join with Allan Schoenberg of Vinson & Elkins, Natalie Loeb of Loeb Leadership and Michael Ellenhorn of Decipher Investigative Intelligence to discuss organizational culture in Practising Law Institute (PLI)’s briefing "Law Firm Culture: How…

This is an emotion I hear expressed on a daily basis.  While I don’t have the answer to all of it, here are some things I’ve learned along the way.  I’ve written about some of these in the past, but I think they’re useful to have in one place. Don't look at the long to-do list every single day. Rather each day,…

Do professional service firms need both push and pull marketing? The answer is yes. There is a concept of pushing and pulling in marketing strategy, which most good marketers have in their DNA. These two doorways into a business are equally important. At times of stress in the economy I see firms putting more emphasis and budget towards one or…

"We need to raise salaries, so we'll need to increase rates again." "It's that time of year, get the rate increase letter out to clients." In the world of legal services, the decades-old strategy of continuous rate hikes is proving to be a dangerous path to profitability. Clients are more discerning, seeking value beyond billable hours. And if a firm…

"I’m a litigator. I only get hired when there’s a problem. How do I market?" "I’m an M&A lawyer. What do I do when the market is down?" The interesting thing about client service and marketing is that to be truly impactful, they need to take place constantly.  These elements are integral in how leading professionals run their practice. Taking care…

News reports have been multiplying, naming new managing partners and practice leaders, newly crowned at law and consulting firms nationwide. But will these new leaders succeed? To make leadership succession work, here are a few patterns I've seen lead to success. 1. Communication is critical. Surveys show people don't leave firms simply for the money but in large part, because…

Law firm leaders often ask, how early is too early to have "the talk" and speak with associates about business development? It's never too early. Why?  1. Associates want to know how the firm operates, and they want to know their work has meaning. Sharing how the firm gets and grows clients makes leadership more transparent, which is essential to…