During a recent trip to Milan, I met with an accomplished Italian lawyer who emphasized that for him, in Italy, business development is all about relationships.
It’s knowing that the lawyer you hire is someone you can trust and genuinely like. Once that is proven, the relationship should be a long-lasting one.
Just as the way we drink coffee varies between cultures—whether it’s sipping an espresso from a petite porcelain cup while standing at a bar in Italy or grabbing an iced latte in a large plastic cup on the go in the U.S.—so too do the nuances of business development. Each culture brings its own unique approach to building and maintaining client relationships.
While client-law firm relationships in the U.S. often feel more institutional—’We use XYZ firm because they’re a safe choice for M&A’ or ‘because we’ve always used them’—these institutional ties are becoming less significant than they once were.
The human element, the connection, the chemistry, and, above all, trust are global values that clients seek, whether they’re in Milan, Paris, or New York City.
Trivia for all my shopping friends: Did you know that Milan’s Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II is believed to be the oldest shopping mall in the world (and a major landmark of Milan.)
