Big firm or small, litigation department or corporate, law firm associates are assessed not only on their work product, but their business development skills, too. The good news is that there are steps that associates at any level can take to quash any questions about his or her practice-building abilities. Attorney at Work’s great new guide, “Build It! The New Associates’ Guide to Business Development,” is loaded with insights and information to help associate lawyers showcase their value to their firms.

The guide features two articles I wrote, including “17 Things I Wish I Knew as a First-Year Associate” on page 9 and “Relationship-Improving Steps for Better Business Development” on page 26. Click here to download the free guide and share with associates and law students. It’s never too early to starting thinking about business development.

Business development is one of the greatest challenges for a new attorney. It’s not taught in law school, nor should it be. It’s something to be learned in the real world. But before chasing down clients, there’s a few things that junior law firm associates should focus on first. Learn more in my latest article published today by Attorney at Work. The full text of the article can be read below:

It’s widely accepted that law schools don’t do a very good job — or in many cases don’t do anything at all — to teach law students how to develop business. Many commentators lament this failure, criticizing schools for not focusing on business development basics.

I think this is wrong. There’s no reason to think that law schools can or should take on this challenge, principally because business development is not something that is learned in the classroom.

The skills attorneys must learn to develop a book of business must be acquired in the real world, through observation, trial and error. Especially error. Yes, business development is mostly about failure, which is one of the main reasons most lawyers don’t like the business development process.

Every successful law firm strives for growth. But growth – unbridled – can be dangerous. Our article “Bad Growth: Destructive to Your Law Practice,” published today by Attorney at Work, covers a different kind of growth: bad growth. Read our article to learn how to distinguish good growth from bad growth, and ensure your firm is on the path to productivity and profitability. You can also read the full text here:

The focus of “One of a Kind” has been on growth. Growth that’s good. The steps and strategies identified in prior posts — establishing a niche expertise, a compelling personal brand and a robust content marketing strategy — will lead to more clients, more revenue, more staff and more opportunities. Exciting stuff.

But growth — unbridled — can be dangerous. Things can get out of control. If you’re not careful, your practice can get on a “bad growth” path that is, at best, counterproductive and, at worst, personally and professionally destructive.

The second article in the “One of a Kind” series Jay Harrington is writing for Attorney At Work was published today. It focuses on the importance of building, maintaining, and promoting one’s expertise in a narrow, discreet practice or industry in order to establish an interesting and profitable legal practice. Check it out if you get a chance or read the full article below:

There are countless ways lawyers can and do compete with one another for work. We have price — what work costs; process — how work is performed; personality — the lawyer’s and her firm’s; place — one’s geographic location; principles — “honesty,” “integrity,” “work ethic.” Those and countless others that don’t start with “p” are all characteristics that lawyers emphasize in an effort to differentiate themselves.

But these are not the fields on which you want to play. Expertise, narrowly defined, is what good clients crave and are willing to pay a premium for. Unlevel the playing field. Become an expert.

A family friend will be graduating from law school this spring and starting his career at a large law firm next fall. Asked to provide some advice, I started compiling tips and recommendations — things to do and not to do. As I considered my own experiences as both a new and senior lawyer, I quickly formulated a list that required a scroll rather than a Post-it and subsequently decided to write an article on the things I wish I knew as a first year associate.

Attorney at Work, a website that focuses on legal marketing, business development and practice management tips for lawyers and legal marketing professionals, recently published the article. The full text can be read below:

A family friend will be graduating from law school this spring and starting his career at a large law firm next fall. Asked to provide some advice, I started compiling tips and recommendations — things to do and not to do. As I considered my own experiences as a first-year associate at a big firm, and subsequent experiences as a more senior attorney, I quickly formulated a list that required a scroll rather than a Post-it.

There are so many things not taught in law school that are only learned by young lawyers through the hard-knocks school. These tips are intended to help young lawyers develop the attribute that is the single-most important building block for future marketing and business development efforts — namely, becoming an excellent attorney.