A lawyer I coached recently went in-house with a well known corporation. I asked him what he knows now that he wished he had known when he was in private practice. Here are his tips:
Tip #1: Spell my name correctly. That goes for both me and my business. I will likely be forwarding your e-mail or letter to someone else. I will not do that if you cannot get my name or my business’s name correct.
Tip #2: I am looking for expertise when I hire outside counsel. I have l been practicing law for many years and probably have some basic knowledge on most subjects. When I see your bio and you have seven things (unless they are related) as your area of practice, I will move on and assume you don’t specialize in my area of need.
Tip #3: Get to know my business beyond a superficial level. Pay attention to my industry. That sounds egotistical from a client standpoint, but it will do you well in the long run. The better you know my business, the better advice you will give.
Tip #4: Don’t take me for granted. Don’t assume that because I have hired you, I will always hire you for other work or the same work. You may never know how many other firms would like me to hire them for your work. You ought to be routinely reaching out to me to see how things are going.
Bonus: If you are hosting me, don’t prominently display competing products. I get that not everyone buys my company’s products, but it is annoying.