Attorney Biz Dev

Acquiring a new client can cost upwards of $25,000 and take one to two years of work, with conversion rates as low as 2–10%. Meanwhile, increasing client retention by just 5% can boost profits by more than 25%.   So why do most law firms still treat existing clients with nothing more than a holiday card and an annual barbecue? In this episode, Tobi and Bill dig into the traps firms fall into once...

You've done the work. The matter is closed. Now what? Many attorneys move straight on to the next brief. In doing so, they walk away from some of the most valuable business development opportunities they'll ever have. In this third and final episode on Bill's seven-step BD framework, Bill and Tobi complete the circle: from client debriefing and experience enhancement all the way back to step one....

Your client is convinced they know exactly what they need. But what if they're wrong? In this episode, Bill Burns and Tobi Steinemann tackle the second part of Bill's framework of the seven essential steps in attorney business development. It takes them to what may be the most important and most overlooked question: not just what clients want, but whether that assessment holds up under scrutiny. T...

Most attorneys rush to the pitch. They spot a company, picture themselves doing the work, schedule a lunch, and walk in ready to sell. Then they wonder why nothing comes of it. In this episode, Bill and Tobi kick off a three-part series on Bill's framework for business development: the seven essential questions every attorney should be able to answer before chasing a client and when maintaining an...

You've been told to build your personal brand. Your firm has its own brand. So which one actually wins clients? And what happens when the two don't line up? In this episode, Bill and Tobi unpack how firm branding actually functions in legal practice: what it does for the individual attorney day to day, why visual identity is only the surface layer, and how to think about a rebrand without panickin...

Most attorneys know they should be on LinkedIn. Far fewer know how to actually use it for business development. In this episode, Bill and Tobi break down LinkedIn not as a broadcasting tool, but as what it really is: a real-time networking environment where the same principles that work in a room full of prospects apply just as well on screen. They cover what the platform actually rewards today, w...

You know you should be doing more business development. The problem is finding the time between client work, billable hour targets, and, well, the rest of your life. In this episode, Bill and Tobi tackle the number one excuse attorneys give for not doing business development and break down exactly how to work around it. Note, not all activities take the same amount of time, and knowing the differe...

What do people actually think of you as a lawyer? And are you shaping that perception on purpose? In this episode, Bill Tobi break down what personal branding really means for attorneys and why it’s far more than just LinkedIn posts. It’s about the sum of every interaction, every email, every appearance, and every piece of content that shapes how clients and peers perceive you. You’ll hear: A clea...

Referrals are all around you. The question is: are you actually seeing them? In this episode of the 20 Minute Attorney Business Development Podcast, Tobias Steinemann and Bill Burns unpack what really drives referral marketing for lawyers and why “just do good work” is only the beginning. From plumbers to global legal networks, this episode explores how referrals happen in real life, why so many a...

Business doesn’t fall out of the sky. And yet many young attorneys start their careers as if it might. In this episode of the 20 Minute Attorney Business Development Podcast, Bill Burns and Tobi Steinemann take a candid look at what really happens when legal talent meets the reality of revenue. Drawing on Tobi’s early experience in a small Basel law firm and Bill’s decades of coaching associates i...

Great conversations don’t automatically turn into business. So what actually closes the deal? In this episode of the 20 Minute Attorney Business Development Podcast, Tobias Steinemann and Bill Burns tackle the final – and often most uncomfortable – stage of business development: asking for the work. They dig into what strong closers actually have in common (hint: it’s not extroversion), why curios...

How do you figure out what clients really want? Especially when they’re not saying it out loud... In this episode Tobias Steinemann and Bill Burns unpack one of the hardest questions in professional services: understanding client needs. They explore why genuine curiosity beats transactional thinking, how preparation and research can transform first conversations with prospects, and why trust is th...

Attorney business development is heavily based on relationships. Many lawyers focus on showcasing their legal expertise instead of properly looking after their relationships. In this episode, Bill and Tobi discuss why relationships are the differentiating factor and what lawyers can actively do to successfully build relationships that will help develop their business.