{"id":162832,"date":"2026-09-14T06:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-09-14T14:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/2026\/09\/14\/this-is-how-you-build-a-book-of-business\/"},"modified":"2026-09-14T06:00:00","modified_gmt":"2026-09-14T14:00:00","slug":"this-is-how-you-build-a-book-of-business","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/2026\/09\/14\/this-is-how-you-build-a-book-of-business\/","title":{"rendered":"This Is How You Build a Book of Business"},"content":{"rendered":"

Jay Harrington | Building a practice is a serious job. Start early, get narrow, experiment, refine, repeat.
\nThe post This Is How You Build a Book of Business appeared first on Articles, Tips and Tech for Law Firms and Lawyers.<\/p>\n

Newly minted lawyers are starting their careers at law firms across the country. Granted, they need to figure out where Conference Room F is before much else. But it\u2019s never too early (or too late) to start thinking about how to build a book of business as an associate.<\/p>\n

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How to Build a Book of Business as An Associate<\/h2>\n

Laying the Foundation for Success<\/h3>\n

Starting early is critical because\u00a0business development\u00a0takes a long time, both to hone the skills needed and to actually close new clients. As with any complicated discipline, such as athletics, chess or artistic endeavors, you need to build multiple foundational layers of knowledge and skills before you can become accomplished at it.<\/p>\n

While I believe everyone is capable of building a profitable roster of clients, many lawyers who are beginning their careers at law firms will, down the road, decide on a different path. Even for those lawyers, it\u2019s good to begin laying the foundation for business development. The skills required to position oneself for business development success are valuable and transferable to almost any domain in life.<\/p>\n

Business development brings many benefits. If you have your own clients, you\u2019ll make more money and advance more quickly. Most importantly, you\u2019ll gain a sense of autonomy. Research shows that autonomy \u2014 the feeling of control and independence \u2014 is the biggest predictor of workplace happiness.<\/a><\/p>\n

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Practicing in a law firm environment is tough. It\u2019s difficult enough when you feel beholden to clients, but it\u2019s doubly so if you\u2019re dependent on colleagues in your firm for work to fulfill billable hour requirements.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

If you\u2019re an associate, even a relatively junior one, you can take steps to improve your circumstances.<\/p>\n

A while back, I participated in an Expert Webcast panel with Scott Becker, a successful healthcare lawyer at McGuireWoods and the founder of the media company Becker\u2019s Healthcare. During a discussion about thought leadership marketing, he recounted that as a midlevel associate, he determined he wanted more autonomy and that the way to greater independence was in building a book of business. In my book \u201cThe Essential Associate,\u201d<\/a> Becker shared his insights with me on what it takes to create autonomy:<\/p>\n

\u201cIf I was going to be in it for the long haul, I knew I needed to create a marketing and business development platform that was going to be sustainable and reach more broadly than my inner circle,\u201d Becker said. \u201cBuilding a practice is a serious job, a full-time job, and you need to treat it as such.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ready to Get Serious About Business Development?<\/h2>\n

There\u2019s no time like the present. According to an old Chinese proverb, \u201cThe best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now.\u201d Here are four principles to keep in mind as you get started.<\/p>\n

1. Get narrow.<\/h3>\n

You\u2019re not for everyone. You don\u2019t know everything. Accordingly, you shouldn\u2019t try to market yourself broadly. Instead, define a narrow niche market and focus your efforts on gaining traction within it. Why not try to reach everyone you can? Because if you try that, you\u2019ll reach no one. Your message will be watered down and, consequently, easy to ignore.<\/p>\n

When you narrow your focus, you can wrap your mind around the market you hope to serve. You can identify with specificity the businesses you hope to serve and the decision-makers within those businesses. You can then pinpoint the organizations those individuals belong to, the events they attend, the publications they read, and, most importantly, the issues they care about. As a result, you can inject yourself into the conversation happening within your niche and position yourself as a thought leader capable of solving the problems your prospects face.<\/p>\n

Focus on reaching a minimum viable market, not a big, broad one.<\/p>\n

Dial in on a small group of people. Serve them. Delight them. Then they\u2019ll tell a friend.<\/p>\n

Yes, think big. But act small. And remember, having a niche doesn\u2019t mean you can\u2019t ever do work outside of it. It\u2019s simply a means to make marketing more simple and effective.<\/p>\n

2. Experiment.<\/h3>\n

Are you afraid of failure? If so, you\u2019ll have a hard time building a book of business. When you engage with prospective clients, especially if you\u2019re just getting started, failure will be a common occurrence. Don\u2019t let that stop you. The path to success lies in creativity and consistency.<\/p>\n

To become successful, it\u2019s necessary to experiment with different approaches to marketing and business development. Engage in a high level of activity, even if imperfect. Try your hand at different means of marketing, such as writing, public speaking and active networking. You won\u2019t know what works unless and until you try it.<\/p>\n

3. Refine.<\/h3>\n

The reason experimentation is important is that it gives you something to measure, and you can\u2019t improve what you don\u2019t measure. Once you define a niche and start experimenting with different methods to reach members of your target market, you\u2019ll get a sense of what\u2019s resonating with them and you can do more of it. The odds are that what\u2019s working \u2014 for example, creating thought leadership content \u2014 is an activity that you have aptitude for and interest in. Are you getting more inbound inquiries? More connection requests on LinkedIn? More requests for proposals? These are all signs you\u2019re on the right track.<\/p>\n

4. Repeat.<\/h3>\n

There\u2019s a ton of noise online about all the things lawyers can and should be doing to market themselves and develop business. Social media. Networking. SEO and GEO. Content marketing. The list goes on. Who has time for all of that?<\/p>\n

Ignore the conventional wisdom and go all-in on what works for you, even if that\u2019s a single, discrete activity. You\u2019re far more likely to engage in a higher volume of marketing and business development if your activities align with your aptitude and interests. You\u2019ll do more of something that is generating positive results.<\/p>\n

Think Big, But Act Small to Build a Book of Business <\/h2>\n

Developing a profitable book of business is not easy, but it\u2019s not as complex as it may seem. After all, how many clients do you really need anyway? Many lawyers who take a big, broad approach to marketing behave as if they\u2019re trying to secure hundreds of new clients. As a result, they don\u2019t appeal to any particular market segment. Take the opposite approach. Think big but act small. You won\u2019t \u2014 indeed, can\u2019t \u2014 appeal to everyone. But if you define a narrow market and immerse yourself in it, you can build a big book of business.<\/p>\n

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Business Development Tips for New Lawyers<\/h2>\n