Still, Day, a corporate lawyer, has made an effort to bring in business to the firm, mostly through existing client relationships. I m working on a merger now for a company I took public as a first year. Now, I m not the first year, I m the guy, Day says. As an associate here, you develop a number of relationships like that. And feedback from clients definitely travels to the top level of the firm, he adds.
Firms recognize that building a client base from scratch is no easy task for associates.
So many are providing business development assistance to associates. Some, like Latham, have a marketing budget specifically to assist associates with client development, an expenditure traditionally reserved for partners. Latham also requires business development plans, jointly created and updated by associates and the client development department, at the end of every associate s fifth year. The previous year s business development results are also evaluated. Far from an administrative burden, these forms help associates like Schecter focus on goals and plan his BD schedule, he says.