In her new book, “Breaking Ground: How Successful Women Lawyers Build Thriving Practices,” Deborah Farone delivers a line that reads like both a challenge and an invitation: “It’s never too late to become a rainmaker.” Few are better qualified to make that claim. It’s a philosophy she’s espoused throughout her career. As the former Chief Marketing Officer of gold-tier law firms Cravath, Swaine & Moore and Debevoise & Plimpton, and a consultant to leading law firms, Farone turned business development into a defining craft.
Today, through her advisory practice, Farone works with law firm leaders around the world, producing training programs, firm retreats and design-thinking workshops that help lawyers approach business development with confidence and authenticity. She recently led an all-lawyer law firm retreat at Soldier Field in Chicago, part of her ongoing work to make professional growth more practical, authentic and accessible.
“Business development is both an art and a science,” says Farone, a member of the Lawdragon 100 Global Leaders in Legal Strategy & Consulting. “All of us, men and women, can become rainmakers. People have different styles and strengths, but every lawyer has the capability. It just needs to be developed and practiced.”
Drawing on years of research and more than sixty interviews, “Breaking Ground” examines why traditional models of business development often fail women – and how by leveraging their unique gifts of authenticity, empathy and relationship building they can transform the way they approach relationships and win work.
Released in January, the book is already making waves in the industry. Former SEC Chair and former U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Mary Jo White calls it a “must read for anyone serious about building a successful legal career.”
Lawdragon: Congratulations on the new book!
Deborah Farone: Thank you. It’s been an exciting journey.
LD: Let’s dive right in – why is self-promotion, marketing and building business often more challenging for women?
DF: There are a few reasons.
As women, many of us were not socialized to be our own champions. It's going to take us a while to get there. But once you realize you already have the tools, you can create your own roadmap.
As women, we're still not socialized to be our own champions. It's going to take us a while to get there. But once you realize you already have the tools, you can create your own roadmap.
Another serious challenge is a lack of role models. Women lead fewer than 25 percent of the Am Law 200. That's certainly part of it. So if you're not invited to the meetings where you're seeing people network, you're not learning how to do those things. And if you are invited to the meeting, and there is no one who looks like you, it’s still a jump to imagine yourself in that role.
The fact is that lawyers tend to model behavior, probably more than any other profession. They're very precedent-oriented and risk-averse. They don't want to be the long blade of grass in the field, and they don't want to make mistakes. And for good reason: We know that lawyers are less resilient when they perceive failure than are those in other professions.
Having said that, once you get started, once you get used to talking about yourself and your practice and what you do for a living, it becomes much easier. You need to begin somewhere. In the book, Jenni Dickson, Co-Chief Operating Officer of Patterson Belknap, says that skill in business development is much like the discipline of yoga. You need to practice. The same is true with asking for business. Once you approach people for business a few times, it becomes easier. You also realize in your gut that nothing bad is going to happen if you don't win the new client or sign on a new matter. In addition, by practicing the muscle, you find your own language, your own words and your own way of asking.
LD: In the book, you talk a lot about authenticity and being able to share who you genuinely are with the world, even in a pitch. I loved the quote you shared from Vinson & Elkin’s Roberta Downey to “think like a woman.” Can you tell us a little bit about that? What does it mean to be authentic in the legal profession?
DF: It's such a great question. It's important to let people see who you really are. If I have an exchange with someone who seems completely transactional and doesn't know anything about me, I am going to be left viewing it as just a one-off purchase. But if they care to share with me that they have a dog, or share that besides their work, they are interested in gardening – it makes them more of a whole person. And especially with law, people want to work with people who are human beings. For the most part, they're not looking for a simple transaction, and they don't want to be viewed as a cash register. Roberta Downey has a magnetic personality and is an incredibly deft representative for her clients, and she does all of it while wearing bright pink or bright yellow dresses. She is someone who people simply gravitate towards.
Being authentic is also one of the three main elements of trust. Law hasn't been great as a profession as far as studying the issue of what builds trust between lawyers and their clients. But if you look at the banking industry, most studies report that trust is comprised of three elements: expertise, authenticity and empathy. And if we're not being authentic and we're acting like automatrons, we're not giving people a chance to like us, let alone trust us.
LD: You talk about developing and leveraging thought leadership in the book. Can you walk us through your philosophy there?
DF: So much has been said about the advantages of thought leadership and producing content is a great place to start, but once you write an article, think about – how do I amplify this and get this message out? Is it through a podcast? Should it be put into a fact page so I can put it on my website or distribute it through my newsletter? Should it be reduced down to five key points?
Find the work you care about, pursue it with authenticity, nurture your relationships over time and build trust.
There's so much opportunity with content these days because there are so many different kinds of media we can use. In many ways, you are your own broadcaster. We all have our own networks, and there are myriad ways to get the message out.
It's important to be aware that there are all those tools, but behind that, there should be a strategy. What's the message? You need to think about that before you've done the piece. And of course, does the type of work you hope to attract make commercial sense and fit with your firm’s strategy?Once a lawyer takes the time to really think about what's important to them and their clients, what's on the horizon, and comes up with something that they want to write, there's so much that can be done with it.
Ask yourself, where are your existing and potential clients getting their content? Focus on that. And once you have a great piece of thought leadership, don’t just post it once and be done. You can get the message out several times in several different formats.
LD: Why is LinkedIn such a powerful tool for lawyers?
DF: I love LinkedIn. I see it as a pre-connector. I don't think someone will spot you on LinkedIn and call you right away. But if they comment on your post, you can comment back. You can send them an individual note – you can start up a conversation with someone that way. And that's how you get to know people. Then you can meet them IRL, in real life. In the U.S. alone, 80 percent of all lawyers are on LinkedIn. That's a great place to be.
I also believe LinkedIn helps you position yourself in the marketplace, build a reputation and solidify a niche. You might not know who your content is impacting today and who's reading it, but it's evident when you go to a conference and someone says, "Oh, I read your posts all the time." You may even hear, "I know who you are because of what you've done for the profession or XYZ industry." That happens to my clients all the time.
Yet frankly, many of the rainmakers I spoke with for the book were not heavy users of LinkedIn. They have other methods of maintaining and developing relationships. For example, Annalisa Reale, a world renowned labor lawyer at the law firm Chiomenti in Milan, is known for her love of music. She trained as a classical musician years before becoming a lawyer. As she describes in the book, she often takes clients and other business friends to La Scala for a night at the opera, paired with a fun dinner.
LD: Many lawyers, especially litigators, consider themselves generalists. How do you counsel them to find some sort of entry point when it comes to marketing themselves?
DF: The reality is that most people can narrow their focus if they ask themselves the right questions, and I have a chapter about this in the book. Maybe they don’t land on just one thing, but perhaps there are three: an industry, a geography and an area they feel strongly about. Or maybe it’s three industries in which they already do meaningful work. By taking a close look at their past matters or cases – what they enjoyed, where their revenue actually came from and what the future might hold in that area with a bit of forecasting – they can start to see patterns. That’s where a coach or consultant can help guide the process. There are impactful ways of narrowing down your focus rather than saying, "I'm a generalist."
Training sends a message. It develops skills, yes, but it also tells lawyers – associates and partners – that the firm is investing in them.
I often work with lawyers who say, “I’m interested in these three areas – can I market all of them?” And the answer is yes, but it requires strategy and prioritization: thinking clearly about each audience, each message, your qualifications to help, and how you position yourself in a way that makes sense.
Marketing always ties back to strategy and authenticity. Once you understand your niche and what work you want to attract, you are in better shape. I often encourage people to experiment a bit: Write an article, try speaking, try LinkedIn. You won’t love everything – and that’s fine. The point is to figure out what fits you as an individual.
LD: It really helps when the lawyer genuinely loves what they do.
DF: You can always tell when someone truly loves what they do. It’s like listening to someone talk about their grandchildren – there’s warmth, there are stories, there’s genuine enthusiasm. Lawyers who have the right fit with their areas of practice and the way in which they market it, will be enthusiastic. They’ll talk about the kinds of cases they enjoy and why, while still being careful about confidentiality, of course. I loved speaking with Dale Cendali at Kirkland & Ellis. She is a brilliant trial lawyer and one of the world's most influential intellectual property litigators. Dale serves on the boards of several organizations including the American Theatre Wing, where she is a Tony voter! Dale is continuously mentoring others and is an exciting person to speak with. It’s clear, she adores her area of practice. She encourages young lawyers, especially women, to think about their personal brand and business development from the very start – not as something to take up “eventually when you make partner,” but from day one.
What you love to do is also usually what you’re good at. Ideally, your work is something that excites you, that you want to get up and do in the morning – that feels natural to talk about.
In my research, I focused on women because I was hearing how many were struggling to develop business without the training, support or role models they needed. But I also met women who were excellent at it. They seemed “natural,” but in truth, they had worked at it, truly had an expertise in an area, and found their own path to marketing and business development. What they demonstrated applies to anyone learning to develop business: Find the work you care about, pursue it with authenticity, nurture your relationships over time and build trust. Most successful lawyers have clients they’ve known for years. Those long-term, trust-based relationships matter – and they matter for everyone, not just women.
LD: What is your best advice for women dealing with imposter syndrome?
DF: First of all, we must recognize that everyone has it. Even the most successful CEO, man or woman, will have it at some point. That realization alone is really important.
I think knowing ways to manage it is also very important. Before an important meeting, remind yourself why you’re there. List the accomplishments that brought you to this point. I often have people write down their major achievements and review them before they walk into the room.
Business development is both an art and a commitment. It takes knowing yourself, being strategic and executing.
In the book, I also spoke with psychologist Jennifer Kupferman about grounding exercises, which can be incredibly helpful. Deep breathing isn’t “woo-woo” – it’s proven to calm the nervous system. There are also visual techniques, like looking around and noting everything you see in a certain color, which can pull you out of anxiety and back into the present. And then it’s about practice. Start small. Talk about your work with a family member, then with an associate, then maybe with a client. Little by little, it gets easier. Again, marketing is a muscle – the more you use it, the stronger and more natural it becomes.
LD: What can you tell us about the training you do for partners and firms?
DF: Much of what I do in training is about helping lawyers find their niche and build meaningful, lasting relationships. I work with partners, practice groups and associates on developing business strategically – not just in the moment, but over time. We know that relationships can take years to cultivate, so our focus is on creating intentional habits that strengthen those connections rather than letting them fade.
A key part of that is what some of us call the “zippering effect” – learning to build ties at multiple levels within a client organization so the relationship between the client and the firm is deep and resilient. We work on building trust and understanding how critical it is to have a personal business development plan. It doesn’t need to be long or complicated – a single, thoughtful page is often enough. The point is to be deliberate. Especially in firms without a formal training structure, having that individual plan can make all the difference.
I also take on eight highly-motivated individual coaching clients each year.
LD: How can law firms support women who are trying to develop business?
DF: There are several ways law firms can teach business development, but it needs to be consistent, and the support needs to take place over time. The first is role modeling. People need to see both men and women who are strong rainmakers and excellent at client service. So much of what I learned came from simply sitting in partners’ offices and listening to how they worked with clients. That exposure is invaluable. We need to be sure that law firms continue to do that.
The second is training. Law school doesn’t teach business development or client service, so firms must take responsibility for that – and start early. What training looks like should change by level: A first-year isn’t expected to ask for business, but they can build strong relationships with client contacts, learn how to have a commercial understanding of a client’s business. A mid-level associate might be encouraged to take prospects to lunch and understand what issues the client is facing.
At the partner level, the training may focus on how to actually ask for business or how to build a strategic practice plan. There should be a clear understanding of core competencies at each stage of a lawyer’s development. It will be different for each firm. Some firms want associates to start developing business; others absolutely do not. I also teach entire sessions on practice planning for practice heads because the needs at that stage are different.
Training sends a message. It develops skills, yes, but it also tells lawyers – associates and partners – that the firm is investing in them. And with lateral movement being so high, that matters. Learning shouldn’t stop after the first few years. It should continue throughout a career.
LD: How important is it for lawyers to learn how to effectively ask for business?
DF: You can have the best network in the world, but it won’t matter if you don’t know how to close the sale, so to speak. Finding your own approach goes back to authenticity – it’s trial and error.
I once worked with a savvy lawyer who had endless connections but dreaded asking for business. He had the chance to pursue a major client, so we practiced together. We role-played, visualized the moment and discussed in great depth what made him uncomfortable. Eventually, he found the words that felt right. Those words were “I want to help you.” That simple phrase gave him confidence, and he went on to win a multimillion-dollar engagement.
Business development is both an art and a commitment. It takes knowing yourself, being strategic and executing.
