Services Details

Following are further details about some of the services we provide. For a complete list of services, click here.

Client Service Protocols and Satisfaction Interviews
Coaching
Diversity–Focused Marketing
Individual Business Development Plans and Coaching
Lateral Partner Integration
Practice and Industry Group Planning and Strategy
Retreats
Training
Women’s Business Development and Leadership Programs

Client Service Protocols and Satisfaction Interviews
Gauging and enhancing client satisfaction is critical to retaining, strengthening and perpetuating the most loyal client relationships possible. Many clients continue to be less than satisfied with their law firms and client defections hurt firms’ reputations and finances. Through in–person or telephone interviews, we help firms gather input from their clients to assess the firm’s current service and relationship strengths and weaknesses and identify areas for improvement and expansion. Using this information, we create follow–up plans for individual clients or key client teams, and help develop continuous improvement practices and service standards for the law firm.

| BACK TO TOP |

Coaching
Beyond training and knowledge, lawyers need opportunities to convert concepts into practice and have an opportunity to develop sustainable skills in areas typically not taught in law schools or firms. In order to help individuals achieve positive and measurable changes in behavior, we provide one–on–one personalized and strategic coaching to senior lawyers including:

      • Partners, counsel or senior associates in our business development or
         rising leaders programs

      • Women and other minority lawyers

      • Lateral partners

      • Partners with management responsibility for the firm, practice groups,
         offices or client teams

Our coaching engagements typically last for six or twelve months and are based on concrete goals we establish with the firm and individual lawyers and convert into actionable steps. Often, coaching is used as a follow–up to or in conjunction with our training programs and workshops. Coaching sessions are scheduled on a regular basis and are supplemented with interim counseling as needed on new business/sales opportunities or impediments.

| BACK TO TOP |

Diversity–Focused Marketing
Many law firms’ clients are demanding that law firms focus on improving their hiring, retention and promotion of a diverse lawyer workforce. This provides firms with both a challenge and an opportunity. We work with minority groups or individual minority attorneys to help identify opportunities for client and business development and to develop strategies to promote advancement and overcome internal and external impediments to success. Our help in this area is offered through workshops or retreats, one–on–one coaching of minority lawyers and consulting to management team members responsible for overseeing aspects of the firm’s diversity initiative.

| BACK TO TOP |

Individual Business Development Plans and Coaching
Even as firms gravitate toward more effective practice and management structures, including the design and execution of focused practice group, industry and key client team plans, senior lawyers are still expected to play a role in marketing, business and client development. We use a structured process to help individuals assess their unique strengths and opportunities, establish realistic goals and devise a market–focused, individually customized six or twelve month plan that is consistent with the individual’s practice group priorities.

Action plan development is often combined with a six or twelve month program of individualized coaching in–person or by telephone. Our process becomes more effective through our use of RainMinder® , an automated tool that helps capture data, build goals and a plan and send coachees weekly e–mail reminders about their upcoming tasks. This also provides a more formal and fluid way of reviewing and monitoring individual partner progress, contacts and initiatives.

| BACK TO TOP |

Lateral Partner Integration
Firms continue to invest heavily in hiring individual laterals and small groups in an effort to bring in new areas of expertise and/or large books of business. Many efforts result in unsuccessful marriages because firms may not have a coherent business strategy, conducted sufficient due diligence or implemented an organized program that provides structured strategies to integrate, monitor and promote laterals internally and externally.

RainMaking Oasis helps its clients ensure that its lateral partner recruitment process is deliberate and strategic. We help firms review their business strategy, define their goals, develop ideal candidate profiles and devise an effective process for the search, selection and retention of lateral partners. Once a new lateral partner has decided to join a firm, we help develop a twelve–month marketing and sales plan that helps each individual capitalize quickly on internal cross–selling and marketing opportunities and outreach and promotion to clients and other contacts. We provide ongoing coaching every two to four weeks for the first year to ensure that the plan is being followed, hurdles overcome and opportunities exploited.

| BACK TO TOP |

Practice and Industry Group Planning and Strategy
As firms grow larger and focus on managing the effective delivery of service to clients, they are designing and realigning new practice group structures. The shift from departmental organization to more client–focused and manageable practice units has spawned the development of horizontal service groups, vertical industry groups and niche products. We provide the following services to our clients:

      • Assessment of existing practice groups

      • Realignment or reconfiguration of practice groups

      • Identification and development of new service and industry groups

      • Group member composition and leadership considerations

      • Market and competitive research for service or industry groups

      • Development of service, industry group and niche plans

      • Intra–group cross–selling initiatives

      • Practice group retreats

      • Practice group protocols and leadership training

| BACK TO TOP |

Retreats
Our firm has facilitated retreats for entire firms, partners, associates, practice or industry groups, marketing departments and firm management. On occasion, we are invited to present a portion of a retreat, but more often, we work with firms to solidify retreat goals and format, develop agendas and content, facilitate the retreat and provide follow–up feedback or reports. Our active involvement from the outset enables us to customize each retreat and to involve important stakeholders in the process from the start so that the retreat achieves specific objectives that are identified and supported by all those who need to execute follow–up strategies and initiatives.

Some examples of retreats we have helped develop and facilitate include:

      • Associate marketing and career strategies

      • Branch office integration

      • Business development and sales

      • Client service including client feedback results and recommendations

      • Cross–selling

      • Minority lawyer marketing

      • Partnership challenges

      • Personal marketing planning

      • Practice group, industry group and niche planning, development and marketing

      • Strategic audits and planning

      • Succession planning

      • Trends in the profession and the marketplace

      • Visions and values

| BACK TO TOP |

Training and Seminars
Effective training programs instill knowledge and develop new and sustainable skills over time. Our training programs provide many tangible benefits including:

      • Building in the learning experience over the course of the program (usually four to
         twelve months in duration), allowing participants to test new strategies and increasing
         the likelihood that concepts will be implemented.

      • Providing the foundation and practical tools that will help participants develop
         personally appropriate goals and strategies. 

      • Generating momentum for personal commitment and implementation of new skills
         and approaches. 

      • Facilitating a forum that encourages interaction and experiential learning through
         discussion and exercises.

      • Nurturing an internal peer group that can continue to share ideas, support and
         motivation after the training program is complete.

      • Providing materials that include tips, templates and articles for use and reference
         by participants.

Our training programs usually are customized to the needs of each client in terms of content, timing and format. We have developed curricula in a number of areas including:

      • Business development for mid–level/senior associates, counsel and partners

      • Client and customer service for attorneys and support staff

      • Practice Group leadership

      • Train–the–trainer for marketing personnel

      • Success strategies for new lawyers

We also offer single topic, one–time seminars for lawyers and staff in a number of areas. Examples of our training and seminar workshop topics include:

      • Building Your Reputation & Credibility in the Marketplace

      • Career Success for Associates

      • Client Service for Lawyers

      • Cross–selling

      • Customer Service for Staff

      • Effective Meeting Facilitation

      • Internal Marketing

      • Marketing Trends & Best Practices

      • Minorities: Marketing & Career Development

      • Networking

      • Personal Business Development & Marketing Planning

      • Personal Niche, Brand & Value Proposition

      • Relationship Marketing with a Client Focus

      • Selling, Prospects & Referral Services

      • Women: Marketing, Leadership & Career Strategies

| BACK TO TOP |

Women’s Programs in Business Development and Leadership
While the number of women lawyers in private practice has been increasing, women are still underrepresented as leaders, managers and rainmakers in their firms. We provide support to women and firms in several areas in an effort to help women succeed and excel, including:

      • Leadership Training – A year–long program geared toward women partners,
         it combines business development, leadership and communications skills as core
         competencies. It includes four workshops and individual coaching.

      • Workshops and Seminars for Associates, Partners or Both – These are related to
         business development and career success topics. Offered as stand–alone programs or
         in a series.

      • One–on–One Coaching – This is usually offered to senior associates, counsel and
         partners. It combines personal goal–setting, planning and strategy development and
         ongoing coaching for six months to one year.

      • Internal Assessment – In most cases, individuals or groups of women will only
         succeed in law firms that recognize and take proactive measures to address traditional
         barriers to success. We help firm management evaluate and develop policies and practices
         that provide and reinforce opportunities for advancement and leadership.

| BACK TO TOP |