Summary
- Know our business and use our product.
- Think about our legal issues even if we haven’t retained you.
- Develop relationships with our internal clients.
When I was a new law-firm associate, I had little insight as to why some law-firm associates became service partners and others, rainmakers. While it remains true that a few select partners achieve rainmaking status by inheriting client relationships, it is also true that those client relationships are never guaranteed. Competition is fierce, and in-house lawyers are always looking for the best and most efficient outside counsel. As an in-house lawyer, I’ve learned that the most successful rainmakers are those lawyers who become indispensable not only to a company’s legal team, but to the company as a whole. The following are my tips for any associate who would like to become an indispensable outside counsel.
There are many different paths to rainmaking. But developing a true partnership with a company will make any outside counsel truly indispensable.