How to Make Business Development Research More Useful for Lawyers
I’ve worked with lawyers who ask for a company research report before a meeting, receive a beautifully prepared document and then admit they only had time to skim the first page. I’ve also seen business development teams spend hours gathering information about a prospect without knowing exactly what the lawyer plans to do with it. Both situations illustrate a common challenge in law firm business development: we have access to an enormous amount of information, but we don’t always spend enough time considering how that information will be used.
Research can be one of the most valuable services a business development team provides. It can help lawyers prepare for meetings, understand a prospective client’s business, identify existing relationships and recognize opportunities that might otherwise go unnoticed. But the quality of the research depends on more than how much information we collect. We need to understand what the lawyer is trying to accomplish, identify the details that matter and present them in a way that helps the lawyer take action.
Understand the Purpose Before Starting the Research
Before you begin researching a company or individual, find out why the lawyer needs the information. Are they preparing for an introductory meeting with a prospective client? Reconnecting with someone they haven’t spoken to in several years? Getting ready for a pitch? Attending a conference where they hope to meet several executives? Each situation calls for a different level of research, and understanding the purpose of the assignment can save hours of work.
If a partner is meeting a private equity investment professional for coffee, they may want to know about the person’s background, investment focus, recent transactions and existing connections with the firm. They probably won’t need a lengthy report covering every investment the sponsor has made over the past decade. A competitive pitch, however, may require a much more detailed analysis of the prospective client’s business, recent activity, potential legal needs and existing relationships with other law firms. The research needs to reflect the opportunity and the amount of preparation it warrants.
I encourage business development professionals to ask a few questions before starting an assignment. Who’s attending the meeting? How does the lawyer know the person? What does the lawyer already know about the company? Is there a particular opportunity the firm is pursuing, and what would make the meeting successful? These conversations help establish the scope of the research and give the business development professional an opportunity to contribute ideas about how to approach the meeting.
Find Information That Can Lead to a Better Conversation
A company overview provides useful background, but I find that the most valuable research often involves identifying developments that can help a lawyer have a more informed conversation. Recent acquisitions, financings, executive appointments, geographic expansion and changes in business strategy can all provide useful context, particularly when they relate to areas where the firm has relevant experience.
Consider a partner preparing to meet an executive at a healthcare services company. The company recently acquired two businesses, entered a new geographic market and appointed a new chief financial officer. Those developments could be relevant to the firm’s corporate, healthcare regulatory, employment and financing capabilities. They also give the lawyer an opportunity to ask informed questions about the company’s growth plans, integration efforts and priorities for the coming year.
The business development team can help connect these developments to the firm’s experience without assuming that every announcement represents an immediate legal opportunity. For example, if a company announces an international expansion, the research might identify the markets involved, the company’s existing operations and lawyers at the firm who have experience advising similar businesses. The partner can then use that information to ask thoughtful questions and determine whether there’s an opportunity to continue the conversation.
This is also where ongoing monitoring can be particularly useful. A company that wasn’t an immediate prospect six months ago may become more relevant following an acquisition, leadership change or significant investment. Tools such as Gatsby can help business development teams maintain a more current understanding of the organizations they’re following. Gatsby Aware supports ongoing monitoring of company developments, while Gatsby Intel can be used for more focused company and contact research when a meeting or specific opportunity requires additional preparation. The information can then be combined with the firm’s internal knowledge to create a briefing tailored to the lawyer’s needs.
Look Beyond the Company Profile to Understand Existing Relationships
One of the first things I look for when researching a prospect is whether anyone at the firm already knows the company or the people involved. A partner may have worked with the general counsel at a previous organization, another lawyer may know a member of the board or the firm may have advised one of the company’s subsidiaries or portfolio companies. These connections can influence how the firm approaches the opportunity and who is best positioned to initiate contact.
Imagine that a corporate partner wants to develop a relationship with a private equity sponsor. Research reveals that an employment partner has worked with one of the sponsor’s investment professionals for years and that the firm already advises a portfolio company on regulatory matters. Those relationships may create opportunities for introductions, but they also provide important context about the firm’s existing involvement with the organization. The business development team can bring the relevant lawyers together, discuss the relationships and help develop a coordinated approach.
At larger firms, this work is particularly valuable because individual partners may have limited visibility into relationships maintained by colleagues in other offices or practices. Business development professionals often have a broader understanding of the firm’s clients, matters and growth priorities, which puts them in a position to identify connections that might otherwise be missed. External research becomes much more useful when it’s combined with that internal knowledge.
It’s also important to distinguish between knowing someone and having a relationship that can support an introduction. A contact listed in a database may be outdated, and a lawyer who worked with an executive several years ago may no longer be in touch. Before incorporating a connection into an outreach plan, speak with the relevant lawyer to understand the relationship and determine whether an introduction makes sense.
Give Lawyers Information They Can Actually Use
I’ve seen research reports that contain everything anyone could possibly want to know about a company. They’re comprehensive and meticulously organized, but they can also be difficult for a busy lawyer to review shortly before a meeting. A partner who has 10 minutes to prepare needs to be able to identify the most important information quickly, understand why it’s relevant and know which details may be useful during the conversation.
For most introductory meetings, I recommend beginning with a concise overview of the company and the people the lawyer will be meeting. Follow that with recent developments, existing firm relationships and information that relates directly to the purpose of the meeting. For a private equity prospect, that might include the sponsor’s investment focus, recent transactions and portfolio companies. For a healthcare business, it could include acquisition activity, expansion plans and developments affecting its operations.
I also like including a few potential discussion topics or questions. If the research reveals that a company recently announced plans to expand internationally, the briefing could identify that development and suggest asking about the company’s anticipated timeline and priorities. If the firm has relevant experience, the business development team can identify the appropriate lawyers or representative matters so the partner has that information available if the conversation moves in that direction.
The briefing doesn’t need to include every piece of information gathered during the research process. Some details may be useful background for the business development team but unnecessary for the lawyer’s preparation. Editing the research is an important part of the assignment because it requires us to consider what the lawyer needs to know and how the information connects to the opportunity.
Continue the Process After the Meeting
Research often ends when the briefing is delivered, but I encourage business development professionals to follow up with the lawyer after the meeting. Find out what happened, what the lawyer learned and whether there are any next steps that require additional support. The conversation may have revealed a potential opportunity, an introduction that needs to be made or a topic the prospective client would like to discuss in greater detail.
For example, a partner may learn that a prospective client is considering several acquisitions over the next year. The business development team could identify relevant experience, help coordinate a follow-up meeting with additional lawyers or prepare more detailed research on the company’s acquisition activity. If there isn’t an immediate opportunity, the team can continue monitoring the organization and provide updates when developments occur that may be relevant to the relationship.
It’s also useful to ask lawyers which parts of the briefing helped them most. Perhaps they found the relationship information particularly valuable, or maybe a recent company announcement led to an important discussion. That feedback can help the business development team refine its research process and develop briefing formats that reflect how lawyers actually use the information.
Over time, this approach can create a more consistent process for developing priority prospects. The firm can maintain a current understanding of important companies, prepare targeted research when meetings arise and use what it learns from those conversations to inform future outreach. Research becomes part of an ongoing business development effort instead of an isolated assignment completed before each meeting.
Putting This Into Practice
The next time a lawyer asks you to research a company, begin with a short conversation about the purpose of the assignment. Establish what the lawyer hopes to accomplish, review what the firm already knows about the organization and identify the information that will be most useful. Prepare a briefing that prioritizes recent developments, relevant relationships and potential discussion topics, then follow up after the meeting to understand what happened and what additional support may be needed.
If you manage a business development team, consider developing standard briefing formats for different types of assignments. An introductory meeting, a client visit and a competitive pitch will require different levels of research, but having a consistent starting point can help your team work more efficiently while allowing each briefing to be tailored to the opportunity. You can also establish a process for monitoring priority companies so the team has access to current information when lawyers need it.
The real value of research comes from what happens after the information is gathered. When a briefing helps a lawyer ask a more informed question, recognize a relevant connection or identify an opportunity for a follow-up conversation, the business development team has contributed something much more meaningful than a company profile. It has helped move a relationship forward.
If you’re looking to make this process more efficient, Gatsby is worth exploring. Its Intel product helps with focused company and contact research when you’re preparing for a meeting or pursuing a specific opportunity, while Gatsby Aware helps teams stay informed about developments involving clients and prospects. Both can support the work that goes into preparing lawyers for better conversations and identifying opportunities to strengthen relationships. You can learn more about Gatsby and its products at Gatsby .