Early in my first year at Lowenstein Sandler, a restructuring partner described a recurring challenge:
Colleagues often waited until a client was in a serious bind to introduce him.
I heard a related concern from litigators, who found that lawyers sometimes hesitated to introduce them
because, as one explanation went, “My clients don’t want to think about litigation.” By the time a need
arose, the client might turn to a firm whose litigators they already knew.
Those conversations revealed more than a cross-selling opportunity. To anticipate what clients may
need, lawyers must understand their clients’ businesses and build relationships with colleagues across
their own firms. A list of practice capabilities can tell them who is available, but it cannot tell them which
colleague would connect well with a particular client or when an introduction would be helpful.
I heard that restructuring partner’s story while working toward a goal I had set for my first year: meeting
individually and in person with every partner at the firm. I came close, holding more than 125
conversations in just over a year.
