The Lawyer's Edge

Candisse Williamson is a highly accomplished General Counsel known for her creative deal-making and extensive legal expertise across the entertainment and corporate sectors. After graduating from Northwestern Law, she refined her corporate law skills, with a focus on M&A and private equity, at prestigious firms including Paul Weiss and King & Spalding. Her career then transitioned to entertainment, where she served as VP of Business and Legal Affairs at The Madison Square Garden Company, notably as lead attorney for the renowned Christmas Spectacular Starring the Radio City Rockettes.

Later, as General Counsel at Skybound Entertainment, Candisse built the company's legal department from the ground up, overseeing all transactions in film, TV, and gaming. She is now the GC of Hartbeat, actor and comedian Kevin Hart's media company. In this role, she established the legal department and now drives strategic deal-making across film, TV, audio, live events, and branded content, all while serving as a key member of the executive team.

WHAT'S COVERED IN THIS EPISODE ABOUT BUILDING LEGAL TEAMS AND MANAGING OUTSIDE COUNSEL

Most lawyers follow predictable career paths, but some find themselves in industries where the landscape shifts constantly. Candisse Williamson made the transition from corporate M&A at top firms to building legal departments in entertainment companies, where deal structures evolve rapidly and traditional contracts often don't fit.

As General Counsel at Hartbeat, Kevin Hart's media company, Candisse has learned that success requires more than legal expertise. She's built two legal departments from the ground up, developed strategies for working effectively with outside counsel, and discovered that understanding the business is often more important than perfecting the legal details.

In this episode of The Lawyer's Edge podcast, Elise Holtzman speaks with Candisse about her journey from Big Law to entertainment, how she approaches building and managing legal teams, and practical advice for lawyers looking to work with entertainment companies.

2:34 - Why Candisse wanted a legal career and her transition into entertainment law

5:30 - The biggest challenge for Candisse as VP/General Counsel

8:06 - How Candisse built Hartbeat's legal department from the ground up

11:09 - Two main purposes of outside counsel and how Candisse maintains relationships

13:56 - Candisse's philosophy about handling difficult conversations with outside counsel

16:52 - How you can rise above the crowded field and grow a book of business as a private practice lawyer

23:18 - Why Candisse emphasizes diversity in her staffing decisions

25:43 - Challenges in the constantly evolving world of entertainment and media

30:03 - Candisse's personality and adaptability as an attorney

33:53 - Highly critical advice for in-house counsel

MENTIONED IN STRATEGY AND TALENT: HOW ONE GENERAL COUNSEL BUILDS LEGAL TEAMS AND CHOOSES OUTSIDE COUNSEL

Hartbeat | LinkedIn | Instagram

Laugh Out Loud Network: YouTube | TikTok | Instagram | Facebook | Snapchat | Twitter/X

Anthony Desimone | Making AI Work For Your Law Firm Without Compromising Security or Excellence

Get connected with the coaching team: [email protected]

The Lawyer's Edge

SPONSOR FOR THIS EPISODE...

Today's episode is brought to you by the coaching team at The Lawyer's Edge, a training and coaching firm which has been focused exclusively on lawyers and law firms since 2008.

Each member of The Lawyer's Edge coaching team is a trained, certified, and experienced professional coach AND either a former practicing attorney or a former law firm marketing and business development professional. Whatever your professional objectives, our coaches can help you achieve your goals more quickly, more easily, and with significantly less stress.

To get connected with YOUR coach, just email the team at [email protected].

Megan Morgan is a principal in the Baltimore office of Beveridge & Diamond, a national environmental law firm, where she is an environmental litigator and business counselor with a practice focused on the waste and recycling industry. She leads litigation teams on some of the firm's largest and most critical environmental cases, representing clients in court and before regulatory agencies across the country on permitting challenges, enforcement actions, class actions, and citizen suits. Megan has developed particular expertise in odor and nuisance litigation involving landfills and other waste facilities. She also co-chairs the firm's ESG & Sustainability practice. In 2025, Megan received Waste360's 40 Under 40 Award, and in 2024, Law360 named her a Rising Star in environmental law. She earned her law degree magna cum laude from the University of Maryland School of Law and an MBA from Georgetown University.

WHAT'S COVERED IN THIS EPISODE ABOUT BUILDING A LEGAL PRACTICE THROUGH INDUSTRY SPECIALIZATION

When it comes to attracting clients, lawyers often worry that narrowing their focus will mean leaving opportunities on the table. For litigators especially, becoming known for one type of work can feel risky when they're capable of handling a much broader range of matters. Yet focusing on a particular industry doesn't necessarily mean narrowing the work itself. The depth of knowledge that comes from understanding an industry's legal issues and the challenges its businesses face can create opportunities to serve clients across a wide range of matters.

That industry knowledge becomes even more valuable when lawyers invest in the relationships and visibility that make them a familiar presence within the industry. Understanding what matters to clients beyond the immediate legal issue helps build the trust that leads to additional work, while staying involved in industry conversations helps ensure prospective clients know whom to call when a need arises. The more familiar lawyers become with their clients' businesses, the better equipped they are to recognize their needs and connect them with the right expertise.

In this episode of The Lawyer's Edge podcast, Elise Holtzman talks with Megan Morgan of Beveridge & Diamond about building a legal practice through industry specialization and developing trusted client relationships that lead to more work. They also discuss how industry involvement creates new business development opportunities and how Megan balances growing her practice with the demands of client work.

3:12 - Why Megan chose to specialize in the waste and recycling industry

4:25 - Finding variety within a narrow industry niche

6:21 - Bringing in colleagues to serve clients beyond your own expertise

8:38 - Building client trust that leads to additional work

10:12 - Developing business from existing firm relationships as an associate

13:02 - Becoming the lawyer prospective clients know to call

16:22 - Balancing existing client relationships with new business development

17:47 - Turning conference connections into new work

19:14 - Making conferences more productive through preparation and follow-up

22:30 - Using marketing teams, associates, and partners to support business development

25:06 - Balancing a second practice area with industry specialization

27:28 - How an MBA shaped Megan's understanding of the business of law

29:57 - Understanding clients' financial priorities and business concerns

33:00 - Building stronger client relationships outside the office

35:23 - Why developing a niche practice requires being in the room

MENTIONED IN BUILDING A LEGAL PRACTICE THROUGH INDUSTRY SPECIALIZATION

Beveridge & Diamond PC | LinkedIn

Megan Morgan on LinkedIn

Get connected with the coaching team: [email protected]

The Lawyer's Edge

SPONSOR FOR THIS EPISODE

This episode is brought to you by the coaching team at The Lawyer's Edge, a training and coaching firm that has been focused exclusively on lawyers and law firms since 2008. Each member of the team is a trained, certified, and experienced professional coach—and either a former practicing attorney or a former law firm marketing and business development professional.

Whatever your professional objectives, our coaches can help you achieve your goals more quickly, more easily, and with significantly less stress. To get connected with your coach, fill out our contact form.

Charlie Jimerson is the founder and CEO of Jimerson Birr, a Florida-based business law firm with a national reputation for litigation, regulatory, and transactional work. He's also a U.S. Air Force veteran, a board-certified construction law attorney, and a widely recognized leader in the legal and business communities. Under his leadership, the firm has been repeatedly honored for its workplace culture, growth, and client service while representing various businesses of all sizes and scales as their go-to counsel for legal matters and comprehensive legal expertise, both inside and outside the courtroom.

From drafting and enforcing contracts, providing grounded executive-level advice, and collecting money owed, Charlie's extensive experience spans all phases of litigation, including alternative dispute resolution, settlement negotiations, and complex commercial cases. His career is distinguished by a rich tapestry of accomplishments that mirror his unwavering commitment to securing favorable outcomes for his clients and reflect a focus on service, quality, and results.

Prior to founding Jimerson Birr, Charlie honed his skills and expertise at prominent Jacksonville-based commercial litigation and construction law boutique law firms. He currently resides in Ortega with his wife, Ashley, their two children, and their Italian Greyhound dog, Olive.

WHAT'S COVERED IN THIS EPISODE ABOUT LAW FIRM GROWTH

As a young lawyer, Charlie Jimerson had his pick of opportunities and began his career at a traditional Biglaw firm. But it didn't take long for him to feel disenchanted with what he saw—an industry clinging to outdated models that didn't truly serve clients. Not even four years into practice, Charlie founded Jimerson Birr as a values-driven law firm committed to doing things differently.

He believed law firms could grow by focusing on service, quality, and results instead of billable hours and burnout. That conviction shaped his approach to building a practice centered on client needs, predictable pricing, and strong culture. By replacing outdated habits with clear processes and accountability, Charlie set out to prove that sustainable growth is possible without sacrificing relationships or outcomes.

In this episode of The Lawyer's Edge podcast, Elise talks with Charlie about how rethinking the billable hour can fuel law firm growth. He shares how subscription pricing and disciplined processes create more value for clients, how AI can enhance efficiency without replacing human judgment, and why culture and leadership are essential to long-term success. Charlie also explains why he sees pressure as a privilege and why "the way it's always been done" is the most dangerous mindset holding firms back.

2:06 - The inspiration for Jimerson Birr's founding and identity

5:21 - Problems with the billable hours model of many legal organizations

9:12 - What's necessary for the legal industry to start retreating from the billable hour crutch

14:37 – Value-based and subscription pricing around four core areas and three package tiers

21:15 – Why there should still be room made for the billable hour when necessary

24:56 - Three biggest things learned from client surveys that impacted changes within the firm

27:43 - How Charlie uses AI to enhance his organization's practice

32:20 - Hiring principles and cultural philosophy of Jimerson Birr

34:45 – Why Charlie views pressure as a privilege and its impact on his choices

37:28 - Essentials to focus on and the mentality law firm leaders need to reject so the industry can evolve

MENTIONED IN RETHINKING THE BILLABLE HOUR FOR SUSTAINABLE LAW FIRM GROWTH

Jimerson Birr | LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram | Youtube

Follow Charlie B. Jimerson on LinkedIn

Process! How Discipline and Consistency Will Set You and Your Business Free by Mike Paton and Lisa González

Books by Gino Wickman

Get connected with the coaching team: [email protected]

The Lawyer's Edge

SPONSOR FOR THIS EPISODE

This episode is brought to you by the coaching team at The Lawyer's Edge, a training and coaching firm that has been focused exclusively on lawyers and law firms since 2008. Each member of the team is a trained, certified, and experienced professional coach—and either a former practicing attorney or a former law firm marketing and business development professional.

Whatever your professional objectives, our coaches can help you achieve your goals more quickly, more easily, and with significantly less stress. To get connected with your coach, fill out our contact form.

Damien Weinstein is the Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Weinstein + Klein, a Morristown, New Jersey law firm representing small and mid-sized businesses in corporate transactions and employment matters. He leads the firm's business and transaction group, where his work focuses on M&A, partnerships, and complex commercial agreements. Since founding Weinstein + Klein with Brian Klein in 2019, Damien has helped grow the firm from two people to approximately 25. The firm has appeared twice on the Inc. 5000 list of fastest-growing private companies, most recently ranking No. 622, and was named to the 2026 Inc. Best Workplaces list. As both a lawyer and business owner, Damien takes an "advisor first, lawyer second" approach to client work, bringing a practical business perspective to the legal issues his clients face. He has also been recognized as a Super Lawyers Rising Star every year since 2018 and has been featured in The Wall Street Journal and the New York Law Journal.

WHAT'S COVERED IN THIS EPISODE ABOUT RUNNING A LAW FIRM LIKE A BUSINESS

Lawyers spend a lot of time helping clients grow, hire well, and build businesses that can last. Turning that same attention toward their own firms can be much harder. Once a practice starts growing, the work is no longer just about serving clients and practicing law well. Firm leaders also have to make decisions about people, capacity, profitability, culture, and business development, often without having been taught how to do any of it.

Damien Weinstein learned that firsthand as the firm he started with his partner grew from two people to about 25. What began as two lawyers working side by side had to become a true business, which meant hiring sooner, building operational support, creating systems, and becoming much more intentional about culture and client relationships. That experience has also changed the way Damien advises clients by pushing him to look beyond the immediate legal issues and understand what the client is trying to accomplish with the business.

In this episode of The Lawyer's Edge podcast, Elise Holtzman talks with Damien Weinstein of Weinstein + Klein about what changes when lawyers start thinking like business owners. They discuss the decisions that supported his firm's growth, the role of hiring and operational support, how to protect culture as a team expands, and why a stronger understanding of business can make lawyers better advisors to their clients.

2:49 - Starting a law firm without knowing how to run one

5:18 - The mindset shift from practicing lawyer to business owner

8:45 - Learning from clients and other business owners

10:24 - Risk tolerance, hiring, and creating more capacity

11:53 - Hiring sooner and building the systems to support growth

13:26 - The role of non-lawyer professionals in running the firm

15:24 - Protecting culture as the team grows

19:42 - Screening for cultural fit during the hiring process

22:34 - Giving junior lawyers autonomy, feedback, and clear expectations

24:47 - Becoming an advisor first and a lawyer second

28:38 - Preparing business owners earlier for a successful sale

30:50 - Understanding the seller before negotiating the deal

34:04 - Surrounding yourself with the right people and advisors

35:18 - The difference between calling yourself a trusted advisor and actually being one

MENTIONED IN WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU RUN YOUR LAW FIRM LIKE YOUR CLIENTS RUN THEIR BUSINESSES

Weinstein + Klein | LinkedIn

Damien Weinstein on LinkedIn

Unreasonable Hospitality by Will Guidara

Radical Candor by Kim Scott

Get connected with the coaching team: [email protected]

The Lawyer's Edge

SPONSOR FOR THIS EPISODE

This episode is brought to you by the coaching team at The Lawyer's Edge, a training and coaching firm that has been focused exclusively on lawyers and law firms since 2008. Each member of the team is a trained, certified, and experienced professional coach—and either a former practicing attorney or a former law firm marketing and business development professional.

Whatever your professional objectives, our coaches can help you achieve your goals more quickly, more easily, and with significantly less stress. To get connected with your coach, fill out our contact form.

Business development can often feel daunting. Even lawyers who recognize its importance frequently grapple with where to begin and how to execute effectively. Without a well-defined strategy, it's easy to become overwhelmed, discouraged, and ultimately disengage from the process.

In this episode of The Lawyer's Edge podcast, Elise Holtzman breaks down the process with her 3 Pillars of Business Development—a proven, straightforward framework that gives attorneys the clarity, tools, and focus necessary to build a thriving book of business. By applying these pillars, you'll be able to channel your time and energy into high-impact activities, making business development less intimidating and far more rewarding.

Tune in to discover how you can make BD a manageable and achievable part of your practice—and start seeing the results you've been aiming for.

This is an episode you won't want to miss!

WHAT'S COVERED IN THIS EPISODE ABOUT BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT FOR LAWYERS

1:48 - Four reasons why I developed the three pillars of business development success and a quick rundown of what they are

10:30 - How to actively nurture and grow relationships with clients and prospects

13:12 - How to establish credibility and position yourself as an authority in your field

16:58 - The three Ts of leadership advancement and how they contribute to effective business development in legal

23:29 - How to use the pillars to grow and advance into a consistent business developer or rainmaker for your law firm

28:30 - The curse of knowledge about business development I have that I want to share with you

MENTIONED IN 3 ESSENTIAL PILLARS OF BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT FOR LAWYERS

Myers-Brigg | TypeCoach Verifier

"How to Cultivate a Business Development Mindset"

Get Connected with The Coaching Team at [email protected]

The Lawyer's Edge

SPONSOR FOR THIS EPISODE…

Today's episode is brought to you by the coaching team at The Lawyer's Edge, a training and coaching firm which has been focused exclusively on lawyers and law firms since 2008.

Each member of The Lawyer's Edge coaching team is a trained, certified, and experienced professional coach AND either a former practicing attorney or a former law firm marketing and business development professional. Whatever your professional objectives, our coaches can help you achieve your goals more quickly, more easily, and with significantly less stress.

To get connected with YOUR coach, just email the team at [email protected].

Dr. Larry Richard is recognized as a leading expert on the psychology of lawyer behavior and the use of behavioral science to improve performance in law firms and legal departments. A graduate of the University of Pennsylvania Law School, he practiced as a litigator for 10 years before earning his PhD in psychology from Temple University. Since then, he has gathered and analyzed personality data on thousands of lawyers and consulted with hundreds of law firms and corporate legal departments on resilience, leadership development, change management, and lawyer well-being. He is the founder of LawyerBrain and co-author, with Dr. D'Arcy Lyness, of Thin Skinned: Why Lawyers Are So Low in Resilience and the New Science That Can Help.

WHAT'S COVERED IN THIS EPISODE ABOUT BUILDING RESILIENCE IN THE LEGAL PROFESSION

Lawyers are trained to think critically about what could go wrong, and that mindset serves them well in practice. The challenge is that it does not always switch off when the immediate problem is solved or the workday ends. When pressure becomes constant, that way of thinking can make it harder to recover from setbacks and get back to a steadier place.

Dr. Larry Richard has spent decades studying why resilience can be such a challenge for lawyers. His research shows that resilience is largely learned, which also means it can be strengthened. Understanding that opens the door to looking more closely at the habits and responses that wear resilience down and what lawyers can do differently over time.

In this episode of The Lawyer's Edge podcast, Elise Holtzman talks with Dr. Larry Richard of LawyerBrain about why lawyers tend to score low in resilience, how personality traits affect the way they respond to stress and change, what helps build resilience over time, and how lawyers can better manage the traits that make them effective at their work.

2:52 - What constant change does to the brain's threat response

6:09 - Why lawyer personality can make adapting to change harder

11:39 - Which lawyer traits are learned and which are largely genetic

14:35 - How legal training reinforces skepticism

16:49 - The difference between fixed traits and improvable resilience

18:58 - What resilience actually looks like in practice

21:02 - How low resilience changes the way criticism is experienced

24:06 - The connection between isolation and resilience

28:11 - When the traits that help lawyers succeed start working against them

30:46 - Four areas lawyers can focus on to strengthen resilience

31:26 - Replacing catastrophizing with realistic optimism

35:33 - Why positive emotions matter more than lawyers may think

41:03 - Building resilience through stronger relationships and presence

43:43 - How self-care supports the other resilience strategies

46:17 - Learning to use lawyer traits without letting them take over

Mentioned In How Lawyers Can Build Greater Resilience

LawyerBrain LLC

Dr. Larry Richard on LinkedIn

Dr. Larry Richard | The "Lawyer Personality" and Becoming a Happier Lawyer

Thin-Skinned: Why Lawyers Are So Low in Resilience and the New Science That Can Help

Get connected with the coaching team: [email protected]

The Lawyer's Edge

SPONSOR FOR THIS EPISODE

This episode is brought to you by the coaching team at The Lawyer's Edge, a training and coaching firm that has been focused exclusively on lawyers and law firms since 2008. Each member of the team is a trained, certified, and experienced professional coach—and either a former practicing attorney or a former law firm marketing and business development professional.

Whatever your professional objectives, our coaches can help you achieve your goals more quickly, more easily, and with significantly less stress. To get connected with your coach, fill out our contact form.

Many lawyers dismiss conferences as a drain on time and money. And frankly, they're right—unless you know how to make the most of them. With the right approach, conferences can transform from missed opportunities into a cornerstone of your business development strategy.

In this episode of The Lawyer's Edge podcast, Elise Holtzman shares actionable insights on how to unlock the full potential of industry conferences. She provides a clear, step-by-step roadmap for maximizing every phase of the event, ensuring your efforts yield measurable results. Discover how to turn conference attendance into a powerful tool for rainmaking and client attraction.

WHAT'S COVERED IN THIS EPISODE ABOUT GETTING THE MOST ROI FROM CONFERENCES

2:29 - Two primary reasons why conferences are worth attending from a business development perspective

5:46 - Some of the potential downsides to attending industry conferences and why it's worth looking at this issue

7:53 - Intentional questions to ask yourself before going to your next conference so you can wring every bit of value possible out of attending

13:32 - How to create a timeline and take action before the conference (and how most approach this incorrectly)

18:28 - The importance of setting aside time to recharge (especially if you're an introvert)

20:38 - Timeline creation and actions to consider taking during your next conference (including how to exit uncomfortable conversations gracefully)

23:03 - How to handle the aftermath of a conference and why people lose a tremendous amount of opportunity at this stage

26:14 - A consideration once you determine a conference is a good fit for you and a brief word about raising your profile at conferences

MENTIONED IN HOW TO GET THE MOST ROI FROM YOUR NEXT CONFERENCE

3 Essential Pillars of Business Development for Lawyers

Managing Partner Forum

John Remsen | Essential Characteristics of Effective Law Firm Leaders

Legal Marketing Association

Get connected with the coaching team: [email protected]

The Lawyer's Edge

SPONSOR FOR THIS EPISODE

This episode is brought to you by the coaching team at The Lawyer's Edge, a training and coaching firm that has been focused exclusively on lawyers and law firms since 2008. Each member of the team is a trained, certified, and experienced professional coach—and either a former practicing attorney or a former law firm marketing and business development professional.

Whatever your professional objectives, our coaches can help you achieve your goals more quickly, more easily, and with significantly less stress. To get connected with your coach, fill out our contact form.

Brenda A. Barnes, CPA, MBA, is the founder of Brenda Barnes Consulting, where she works with law firm leaders on compensation design, succession planning, and financial strategy. She brings more than 35 years of experience in law firm financial management to her role, including serving as a law firm administrator in Austin, Texas. Brenda previously founded B2 Legal Management, an outsourced accounting and billing firm serving solo to midsize law firms across the U.S., which she built and sold in 2021. She is a former president of the Austin Chapter of the Association of Legal Administrators and co-author of RESPECT – An Insight to Attorney Compensation Plans, now in its second edition.

WHAT'S COVERED IN THIS EPISODE ABOUT LAW FIRM COMPENSATION AND RETENTION

Compensation touches almost every challenge law firms are facing right now, from recruiting and retention to leadership development and succession planning. Yet many firms are still relying on systems that evolved internally over time, with younger lawyers expected to understand how they advance, what the firm values, and what opportunities are available to them without anyone clearly defining it.

The firms being more intentional about compensation are putting structure around those decisions. They are writing down the criteria, defining what advancement looks like, creating more flexible career paths, and looking beyond billable hours when deciding what contributions should be rewarded. They are also treating compensation plans as systems that need to change as the firm's priorities change, rather than something to put in place once and leave alone.

In this episode of The Lawyer's Edge podcast, Elise Holtzman talks with Brenda Barnes of Brenda Barnes Consulting about why compensation has become such a critical issue for law firms, what younger lawyers are looking for when they ask for transparency, how associate and partner compensation systems are changing, and how compensation decisions shape retention and succession planning.

3:10 - Compensation as a strategic issue for law firms

5:30 - What transparency actually means to younger lawyers

7:40 - Clarity as a retention strategy

12:57 - The connection between compensation and respect

14:27 - Different approaches to associate and partner compensation

16:03 - Current compensation trends in small and midsize firms

17:23 - Flexible career paths for lawyers who do not want equity

20:06 - The compensation problems that bring law firms looking for help

24:16 - How level-based associate compensation systems work

29:06 - Customizing compensation to reward the behaviors a firm values

30:17 - Looking beyond billable hours to law firm economics and collections

32:58 - How origination credit affects succession planning

38:09 - Why firms eventually become what their compensation systems reward

Mentioned In How Law Firm Compensation Shapes Retention and Succession

Brenda Barnes Consulting

Brenda Barnes on LinkedIn

RESPECT – An Insight to Attorney Compensation Plans

Get connected with the coaching team: [email protected]

The Lawyer's Edge

SPONSOR FOR THIS EPISODE

This episode is brought to you by the coaching team at The Lawyer's Edge, a training and coaching firm that has been focused exclusively on lawyers and law firms since 2008. Each member of the team is a trained, certified, and experienced professional coach—and either a former practicing attorney or a former law firm marketing and business development professional.

Whatever your professional objectives, our coaches can help you achieve your goals more quickly, more easily, and with significantly less stress. To get connected with your coach, fill out our contact form.

Shannon Lombardo is the Director of Business Development at Saul Ewing LLP, a national law firm with more than 400 attorneys. She leads strategic growth initiatives focused on attorney business development coaching, client relationship development, and revenue generation. With extensive experience in legal marketing and business development, Shannon partners with attorneys and law firms to build stronger relationships, identify growth opportunities, and achieve their business objectives.

WHAT'S COVERED IN THIS EPISODE ABOUT BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT FOLLOW-THROUGH

Lawyers may understand that business development matters and genuinely intend to make it a priority, but that intention often gets pushed aside by client work, billable-hour demands, and the discomfort of doing something that does not feel as familiar as practicing law. Even lawyers who want to build business can struggle with where to start, how to stay consistent, and how to keep going when the results take time.

That means firms have to look beyond simply teaching lawyers what to do. More training will not solve a problem rooted in discomfort, lack of confidence, competing priorities, or a lawyer who is not ready to engage. The real opportunity is understanding what is actually getting in the way, then creating the right level of support and accountability to help lawyers take action in a way that fits them.

In this episode of The Lawyer's Edge podcast, Elise Holtzman talks with Shannon Lombardo of Saul Ewing LLP about why lawyers struggle to follow through on business development, what makes business development training more effective, how accountability supports consistency, and where responsibility lies between the firm and the individual lawyer.

2:12 - Why lawyers struggle to prioritize business development

5:34 - How unrealistic rainmaker examples can discourage lawyers

8:35 - How to assess whether a lawyer is ready for business development support

11:01 - Building a business development plan around the individual lawyer

14:58 - Why Saul Ewing moved away from one-off training programs

18:14 - Why one-time business development training rarely changes behavior

22:21 - Matching business development support to the individual lawyer

24:51 - The psychology behind business development resistance

27:28 - What internal business development teams can and cannot own

29:32 - Using accountability to help lawyers stay consistent

31:48 - Why small, consistent business development actions matter

32:56 - What disengagement from coaching may actually signal

Mentioned In The Gap Between Wanting to Do Business Development and Actually Doing It

Saul Ewing LLP | LinkedIn

Shannon Lombardo on LinkedIn

Get connected with the coaching team: [email protected]

The Lawyer's Edge

SPONSOR FOR THIS EPISODE

This episode is brought to you by the coaching team at The Lawyer's Edge, a training and coaching firm that has been focused exclusively on lawyers and law firms since 2008. Each member of the team is a trained, certified, and experienced professional coach—and either a former practicing attorney or a former law firm marketing and business development professional.

Whatever your professional objectives, our coaches can help you achieve your goals more quickly, more easily, and with significantly less stress. To get connected with your coach, fill out our contact form.

Michael Mellor is the President and Founder of 742 Advisors, a boutique consultancy focused on law firm revenue generation, pitch operations, and go-to-market strategy. He designs revenue operating models that help firms win more work with less friction, covering pitch infrastructure, business development operations, experience management systems, and governance frameworks. Before founding 742 Advisors, Mike served as Chief Marketing and Business Development Officer at Pryor Cashman, where he rebuilt the firm's marketing department and transformed the function from a cost center into a revenue-generating operation. He previously held senior roles at Paul Weiss and Katten and served on KPMG's "Big Deal" team, leading pursuit strategy for some of the firm's largest opportunities. Mike has been recognized by Lawdragon as a Top 100 Global Leader in Legal Strategy & Consulting and received the Legal Marketing Association New York Chapter's Member of the Year Award.

WHAT'S COVERED IN THIS EPISODE ABOUT USING BETTER DATA FOR LAW FIRM BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

Law firms can have exactly the sort of experience a prospective client is looking for and still have trouble finding it or remembering it when they need it. The information may be sitting in an old pitch, missing from an attorney bio, coded incorrectly in a firm system, or known only to the lawyer who handled the work. That creates a very practical business development problem when it is time to show a prospect what the firm has actually done.

Michael Mellor has spent his career inside law firms looking at why those gaps exist and how firms can close them. His approach starts with getting a clearer picture of the work lawyers have already done, then organizing that information in a way people can actually use. That can make business development easier without requiring another major technology investment and give firm leaders a more accurate view of where the firm has depth and where there may be room to grow.

In this episode of The Lawyer's Edge Podcast, Elise Holtzman talks with Michael Mellor of 742 Advisors about the information gaps that make business development harder, how law firm culture and incentives affect whether systems actually get used, why better data matters beyond individual pitches, and practical ways firms can start organizing what they already know without making another major technology investment.

3:27 - What the scramble for law firm experience looks like during a pitch

5:28 - Why centralized information matters beyond individual pitches

6:44 - How poor data hygiene affects law firm strategy

8:44 - Auditing lawyers' work to uncover business development opportunities

12:09 - Why business development plans often become a box-checking exercise

14:46 - Why law firm CRMs fail to solve the information problem

18:51 - How origination credit and compensation affect information sharing

22:39 - Starting small with attorney bios and existing matter information

24:27 - Building a useful database before investing in more technology

26:46 - Why lawyers need to document the work they have already done

MENTIONED IN HOW BETTER DATA CAN HELP LAW FIRMS WIN MORE WORK

742 Advisors | LinkedIn

Michael Mellor on LinkedIn

Get connected with the coaching team: [email protected]

The Lawyer's Edge

SPONSOR FOR THIS EPISODE

This episode is brought to you by the coaching team at The Lawyer's Edge, a training and coaching firm that has been focused exclusively on lawyers and law firms since 2008. Each member of the team is a trained, certified, and experienced professional coach—and either a former practicing attorney or a former law firm marketing and business development professional.

Whatever your professional objectives, our coaches can help you achieve your goals more quickly, more easily, and with significantly less stress. To get connected with your coach, fill out our contact form.