The Rainmaking Podcast

Most law firms spend enormous resources attracting the right attorneys — but the executives running the business behind them are just as hard to find, and just as easy to lose.

Ted French is the co-founder and president of ASG Legal Search and a 35-year veteran of the executive recruiting and staffing industry. Having previously built and sold Acclivity Healthcare — a firm that placed over 18,000 professionals with 300+ organizations — Ted now focuses exclusively on recruiting C-suite and director-level non-attorney talent for law firms across the United States. In this episode, Ted joins Scott Love to break down exactly what's driving demand for executive legal talent right now, why firms keep losing the best candidates, and what it takes to win in a hypercompetitive market.

You'll learn:

If you lead a law firm or serve on its executive committee, this episode will sharpen how you think about the business leaders who make your firm run.

Visit: https://therainmakingpodcast.com/

YouTube: https://youtu.be/sC7cbTuQanc

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About Ted French:

Ted French is a nationally recognized executive recruiter, entrepreneur, and staffing industry leader with more than 25 years of experience building and scaling high-performing recruitment and staffing organizations across healthcare, professional, and legal services. He currently serves as General Manager and Co-Founder of ASG Legal Search, where he leads strategic growth initiatives and delivers professional talent solutions to legal organizations throughout the United States. Under his leadership, ASG Legal Search delivers highly targeted legal talent solutions to law firms and corporate legal departments with a focus on quality, speed, and client partnership.  Key focus areas include recruiting C-level and director-level talent, exclusively in law firms.

Previously, Ted founded and led Acclivity Healthcare, one of the most successful specialized healthcare recruiting and staffing firms in the region. Over a distinguished 23-year tenure, he served as Principal Recruiter and General Manager, leading all operational, sales, and leadership functions. During that time, Acclivity Healthcare placed more than 18,000 healthcare professionals with over 300 organizations nationwide, generating annual revenues exceeding $10 million.

Throughout his career, Ted has built a reputation for operational discipline, sales leadership, and results-driven recruiting execution. His expertise spans executive search, workforce planning, applicant tracking systems, business development, and large-scale recruiting and staffing operations. He is widely respected for his ability to build elite recruiting teams, optimize processes, and deliver consistent hiring success for clients across diverse industries.

Links:

https://attorneysearchgroup.com/legal-staffing

https://www.linkedin.com/in/tedfrench/

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What would your day look like if every part of it, from the moment you woke up to the moment you went to sleep, was actually working for you?

Sarah Tetlow is a productivity consultant, trainer, speaker, and author of The Perfectly Productive Day. A repeat guest on the Rainmaking Podcast, Sarah is one of the leading voices in productivity for attorneys and professional services providers, helping law firms reduce stress, increase focus, and grow their business without burning out.

In this episode, Sarah and Scott Love walk through the six components of a perfectly productive day: morning routine, commute, workday, evening routine, bedtime, and sleep, and unpack the science-backed habits that make each one work.

You'll learn:

Sarah also shares her free book club, free productivity resources, and a new book in the works: The Perfectly Productive Workday, diving deep into distractions, procrastination, and email management.

Visit: https://therainmakingpodcast.com/

YouTube: https://youtu.be/j_XEknTjLlE

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About Sarah Tetlow:

Sarah Tetlow is an experienced productivity consultant, trainer, and speaker for attorneys and other busy professionals. She uses her past experiences, organizational and strategic thought process, education, and training to help law firms improve their bottom line and operate more efficiently. More importantly, Sarah's clients see a reduction in stress and anxiety and an increase in focus and new business. Through one-on-one consulting, strategic planning, workshops, and group trainings, Sarah works with attorneys, law firms, and busy professionals to find personalized ways to manage their day with a proactive and focused approach.

Links:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarah-tetlow/

https://www.firm-focus.com/team

Order Sarah’s book:

https://perfectlyproductiveday.com/

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You don't need a massive audience to build authority in your niche. You just need the right 10 people listening — and a system to get in front of them consistently.

Ben Mena is the founder of Select Source Solutions and host of The Elite Recruiter Podcast — the largest recruiting industry podcast with over 300 episodes and 700,000+ downloads. What started as a boredom project during COVID became a full brand, a thriving community of 13,000+, and a steady stream of new business. In this episode, Ben joins Scott Love to share exactly how professional services providers can use podcasting — whether hosting or guesting — to build authority, earn trust, and fill their pipeline in an era increasingly saturated with AI noise.

You'll learn:

Whether you're a law firm partner, consultant, or executive recruiter — if you want to be the first name people think of in your niche, this episode is your blueprint.

Visit: https://therainmakingpodcast.com/

YouTube: https://youtu.be/1BU71EllCAY

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Benjamin Mena is the founder of Select Source Solutions, a boutique executive search firm specializing in GovCon leadership roles. He's also the host of The Elite Recruiter Podcast, the largest recruiting industry podcast with over 300 episodes and 600,000+ downloads, featuring conversations with the top recruiters and firm owners in the world. Benjamin brings 20 years of recruiting experience supporting large US defense contracts, and runs the Elite Recruiter Community, a private membership of agency recruiters and solo firm owners focused on billing more and building better businesses. He also hosts The Pinnacle Take, the official podcast of the Pinnacle Society.

Link:

www.selectsourcesolutions.com

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Most professionals know they need more high-value clients. What they don't have is a system to bring them in predictably — without cold pitching, diluting their brand, or spending all their time on marketing instead of client work.

Esther Stewart is a Business Growth Strategist and founder of Cottn Owl. A former Fortune 500 finance associate, she spent eight years inside billion-dollar institutions training 7 and 8-figure executives in white-glove sales, client retention, and institutional-grade growth strategy. After leaving a multiple six-figure corporate career in 2023, Esther built two multi-five-figure per month businesses using one offer, one sales system, and disciplined infrastructure. Her philosophy: premium clients don't buy hype — they buy certainty.

In this episode, Esther joins Scott Love to break down exactly how professional services providers can build a client acquisition funnel that works — simply, intentionally, and at a premium level.

You'll learn:

If you're a lawyer, consultant, doctor, or high-level service provider sitting on a strong offer but struggling to fill your pipeline — this episode is your roadmap.

Visit: https://therainmakingpodcast.com/

YouTube: https://youtu.be/PO0Dl5yR5Pc

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Esther Stewart is a Business Growth Strategist and founder of Cottn Owl, where she architects high-converting paid acquisition systems for founders selling premium offers. A former Fortune 500 finance associate, Esther spent eight years inside billion-dollar institutions training 7 and 8 figure executives in white-glove sales, client retention, and institutional-grade growth strategy. Today, she works with coaches, doctors, consultants, therapists, and high-level service providers who already have

Links:

https://cottnowlofficial.com/

[email protected]

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You know you're great at what you do. But can you actually say it — clearly, confidently, and without sounding like you're reading a resume? That's the gap Donna Griffit has spent 16+ years helping professionals close.

Donna Griffit is a corporate storyteller, communication coach at Stanford Graduate School of Business, and author of Sticking to My Story: The Alchemy of Storytelling for Startups. In this episode, she returns to the Rainmaking Podcast to share her X Factor framework — a method for uncovering your unique blend of talents, skills, and proof points and turning them into a compelling story that wins trust, rooms, and clients.

This one includes a live, unrehearsed coaching session where Donna builds Scott's X Factor statement on the spot — and the result is something every professional in the room can learn from.

In this episode you'll learn:

Whether you're networking, pitching a new client, or interviewing for your next opportunity — this episode will help you stop being forgettable.

Visit: https://therainmakingpodcast.com/

YouTube: https://youtu.be/qXpxDSMFp2o

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Corporate Storyteller and Pitch Alchemist for Startups and High-Stakes Moments, DonnaGPT, Best Selling Author, Communication Coach @Stanford GSB

Links:

https://donnagriffit.com/

Order Donna’s book here: Sticking to My Story: The Alchemy of Storytelling for Startups: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1991197314/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1676930482&sr=8-1

Donna's first appearance on TRP: https://youtu.be/FyJyl0E6o9A

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AI isn't coming for lawyers — but it is coming for the lawyers who don't adapt. Dr. Catherine McGregor joins Scott Love to break down exactly what technology transformation means for the legal profession and what lawyers can do right now to get ahead of it.

Catherine is an executive coach, author, and management consultant who works with law firms and in-house legal teams on leadership and talent development in the age of AI. She and Lloyd Johnson co-authored Preparing Lawyers for Technology Transformation — a book Scott calls essential reading for every law firm leader, C-suite executive, and practicing attorney.

In this episode you'll learn:

If you're a law firm partner, in-house counsel, or legal professional navigating rapid change, this episode will give you a framework to not just survive the AI era — but lead through it.

Visit: https://therainmakingpodcast.com/

YouTube: https://youtu.be/8WGkU9g6Ev0

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Dr Catherine McGregor PCC CPCC is an executive coach, author, and leadership development specialist who works with senior leaders including General Counsel, law firm partners and high-potential executives navigating complexity, visibility, and change. Her work focuses on helping accomplished professionals strengthen judgment, influence, and enterprise-wide impact in fast-moving, high-stakes environments.

With a background in management consulting, education, and the performing arts, Catherine brings a distinctive blend of intellectual rigor, strategic insight, and human-centered coaching to her work. She is the author of two books Business Thinking in Practice for In-House Counsel

Her coaching helps leaders move beyond functional excellence to think and operate at enterprise level—developing executive presence, strategic judgment, and the ability to translate complexity into clear, credible narratives for boards, executives, and stakeholders. A core focus of her work is supporting leaders in the Age of AI, strengthening discernment, ethical decision-making, and systems thinking alongside innovation. This is by developing the skills that professionals will need to master opportunities in the Age of AI in blending human work with AI and other technologies. Together with her colleague, Lloyd M Johnson Jr, she has developed the nine Exponential Age mindset attributes which help leaders maximize their human advantage in the age of AI and uses these as the basis for her coaching and leadership development programs.

Links:

http://www.catherinemcgregorcoach.com/

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Most professionals fear niching down. Sharon Toerek did the opposite — and built a nationally recognized law firm by going all in on one market.

In this episode, Scott Love talks with Sharon Toerek, marketing and intellectual property attorney and founder of Toerek Law (Legal + Creative), about exactly how she doubled down on a niche — and how you can too. Whether you're a lawyer, consultant, or agency owner, this conversation is packed with practical steps to move from generalist to go-to expert.

You'll learn:

Visit: https://therainmakingpodcast.com/

YouTube: https://youtu.be/DUQQEpJwBCs

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About Sharon Toerek:

Sharon Toerek is a marketing and intellectual property attorney who helps independent marketing, digital, PR, and creative agencies protect their assets and turn their ideas into revenue. She is the founder of Toerek Law, a law firm dedicated to marketing agencies, where she focuses on intellectual property, smart contracts, and marketing regulation compliance. Sharon also hosts The Innovative Agency podcast and serves as a trusted legal partner to agencies and communities across the United States.

Sharon shows agency owners how to turn legal from a cost line into a strategic profit engine. She helps teams lock down IP rights, manage AI and data privacy risk, and negotiate agency-friendly contracts that protect margin and client relationships. Sharon also supports agencies preparing for or going through M&A so they can defend enterprise value when it matters most. In a fast-changing market, she gives leaders clear, practical steps to stay creative, stay compliant, and grow.

Links:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/sharontoerek/

www.legalandcreative.com

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In Episode 323 of The Rainmaking Podcast, Scott Love interviews Alison Reynolds, Director of Digital Marketing at Vinson & Elkins, about the firm's major website redesign and what professional services firms must do to remain visible in the age of artificial intelligence. Alison shares lessons learned from an 18-month redesign project, including how AI-powered search is changing website strategy, why traditional SEO is evolving, and how firms must rethink content structure, user experience, site speed, and digital engagement. As generative AI increasingly becomes the first stop for research, law firms and professional services organizations must ensure their websites are optimized not just for Google, but for AI-driven discovery.

YouTube: https://youtu.be/3ic1UMS4elw

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After interviewing more than 300 of the world's leading experts on business development, rainmaking, leadership, and professional services growth, Scott Love distills the most important lessons into his Top 10 Business Development Tips. In this solo episode, Scott shares practical strategies that law firm partners, attorneys, recruiters, consultants, accountants, and other professionals can use to build stronger client relationships, increase visibility, generate referrals, and grow their book of business.

Topics include creating a written business development plan, identifying what makes you unique, building referral networks, developing strategic alliances, publishing thought leadership content, leveraging trade associations, creating consistent outreach habits, and becoming more intentional about rainmaking. Whether you're an experienced partner or an emerging professional looking to accelerate growth, this episode provides a practical framework for long-term business development success.

Visit: https://therainmakingpodcast.com/

YouTube: https://youtu.be/vJzuWscckyY

Scott Love is a well-connected legal recruiter in the deal ecosystem, where he brings law firm partners intelligence, introductions, and strategic moves.  He is the producer of The Rainmaking Podcast, the Editor in Chief of The Rainmaking Magazine, and co-author of Rainmaker Confidential.  Scott has also delivered over 1,000 live and virtual presentations to corporate, association, and legal groups on topics including business development and recruiting. 

Links:

https://attorneysearchgroup.com/scott-love

https://www.linkedin.com/in/scotttlove/

www.therainmakingpodcast.com

www.therainmakingmagazine.com

Scott Love’s art can be found on Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/scottlovefineart/

His art website is www.scottlovefineart.com

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In Episode 321 of The Rainmaking Podcast (Legal Series), Scott Love interviews Bernie Clark, founder of Majux, about one of the biggest hidden growth opportunities in law firms: intake efficiency. Bernie explains why many law firms spend heavily on marketing and lead generation but fail to maximize results because they lack a structured intake process. From phone calls and website forms to text messages, chat widgets, and after-hours inquiries, every lead represents potential revenue—but only if firms have systems in place to qualify, track, and convert those opportunities into clients.

YouTube: https://youtu.be/lWfRlhzEhO8

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