Managing partners and other firm leaders might turn their attention to an operating arena on which most have not yet focused — AI in the sales process. Leaders already are aware of the many use cases of generative AI, but the focus here is on a deeper, senior-level consideration of the technology as it relates to revenue generation.
A moment of context: Throughout most of the legal profession’s history, law firm sales was passive – doing good work, nurturing referral networks, building a strong civic profile, and entertaining prospective clients. The 1977 U.S. Supreme Court decision Bates v. State Bar of Arizona, which enabled lawyers to advertise, launched a new era of assertive outreach. To support this shift, firms began hiring (and consulting firms began providing) sales training to help lawyers maximize outward-facing business development. By the early 2000s, firms were borrowing from the accounting and consulting professions by hiring non-lawyers to lead sales and build non-lawyer sales teams. The emergence of AI probably is the next significant chapter in the law firm sales discipline.
Given the way the legal profession has evolved, along with the related ethical obligations and the general discomfort most attorneys have with any aspect of direct “selling,” it is understandable that law firms trail other industry verticals where “sales is king.” To remain competitive, however, firms should understand how rapidly AI is transforming sales in the broader commercial world and, more importantly, within our industry for legal services.
A recent Gartner post illustrates how deeply AI is already embedded in sales processes at sales-centric businesses. Notably, it predicts that “by 2027, 95% of seller research workflows will begin with AI, up from less than 20% in 2024.” This matters for law firms because buyers of legal services are extraordinarily informed and sophisticated. Sales success today hinges on advanced business and competitive research. Law firm leaders should be asking: How are we using AI to address the oft-stated demand of today’s buyers that outside lawyers must “understand our business?”
Another critical observation from Gartner is that the emerging field of agentic AI goes well beyond generating artifacts (text, images, documents). It is now capable of “creating (sales) plans, integrating with external applications, processing incoming information, and executing sales tasks.” In other words: doing sales work with limited human intervention. Firm leaders might be asking: “How can we use this capability to better leverage our existing client development resources and increase the number and effectiveness of pursuits?”
The implications of the developments reported by Gartner apply to firms of all sizes:
Large firms with substantial client-development teams should consider how AI can help redeploy individuals from largely internal tasks to more client-facing ones and/or reduce the resources needed for success.
Mid-sized firms, which often rely on small, overextended BD staffs (whose mandate spans an enormous range of responsibilities, from visibility to lead generation, communications, events, partner meetings, and more) may find that AI can shoulder much of the sales-execution burden. This reduces the strain on small teams while broadening their impact.
Smaller firms that lack the resources to build marketing and business development functions at all can, for the first time, compete for new work on a reasonably even playing field with larger, deeper-pocketed firms.
These concepts are not theoretical. Beginning in 2023, LawVision began undertaking AI-enabled sales projects for firms with sizable BD teams that, despite strong capabilities, remained too lean to implement certain high-priority sales programs. We are also now exploring full outsourcing of small-firm sales programs. The precedent exists. For instance, several advisory firms already offer fractional Chief Marketing Officer services. Why not fractional sales management services? This offering already sits within LawVision’s repertoire.
Effective deployment of AI in law firm sales is possible even within the sometimes-chaotic environment of professional services organizations. However the returns stand to be far greater when built upon a coherent, intentional firmwide sales process – one that AI can support systematically, logically, and chronologically. It will also require elevated roles for professionals who have mastered direct sales and sales management, and who also have a working knowledge of both the power of AI and its shortcomings.
It’s not an accident that the first six words of this post are “Managing partners and other firm leaders…” The adoption of AI in law firm sales is fundamentally a strategic, policy, and investment issue. Few, if any, client-development professionals can implement this alone. When done properly, AI can be a fast lane to increased revenue and a genuine competitive advantage. It deserves serious attention and guidance from top firm leadership.
LawVision’s Business Development, Sales & Growth team advises law firms on the creation and implementation of sales processes, the use of AI within those processes, and the AI-enabled outsourcing of the law firm sales function. For more information, contact Steve Bell at 202.421.5988 or sbell@lawvision.com
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