The Growth Lever Firms Often Overlook: Engaging Clients With Activator Behaviors
How one AmLaw 100 firm increased revenue, strengthened BD execution, and improved adoption of existing CRM and pipeline tools by changing how partners build relationships, engage clients, and create opportunities.
IMPACT OVERVIEW
A group of 115 professionals, including partners, counsel, and business development team members, all went through the Activator Development System, and together drove measurable gains across performance, collaboration, and growth:
+10% year-over-year revenue growth
+100% increase in business development activity (12 months post workshop)
+100% increase in opportunities generated (12 months post workshop)
+89% increase in time spent on business development (6 months post workshop)
60% partner adoption of the firm’s existing CRM and opportunity-tracking software (the highest technology-adoption rate in firm history)
“Our firm landed a new engagement with a major oil and gas client because I was able to use my Activator skills to develop a new connection with an in-house attorney.” - Partner
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THE CHALLENGE
Across the legal industry, many leading law firms have invested heavily in technology, training, and business development infrastructure to accelerate growth. Yet despite these investments, many firms continue to struggle with limited adoption, inconsistent business development execution, and minimal return on investment.
That was the challenge facing one global AmLaw 100 firm. While the firm had invested significantly in CRM and opportunity-management technology, partners were not consistently using those tools to support proactive relationship development or cross-practice collaboration. While they successfully connected with clients during active engagements, partners frequently failed to nurture those connections after a matter closed, neglecting to capitalize on the trust and rapport established during the project.
Over time, the firm recognized that the challenge was not the technology itself, nor how it had been implemented. The real issue was adoption. Partners were not consistently engaging in the client development behaviors needed to generate meaningful return from the firm’s investments.
As one partner plainly put it:
“We’re good at initiating and executing work, but we go far too long in between touches.”
Like many law firms, they found that busy partners often lack the time, structure, and practical skill development needed to adopt new business development processes, tools, and habits. Client demands consistently took priority over business development, limiting relationship building, cross-practice collaboration, and broader alignment with the firm’s sector strategy.
To drive results, the firm recognized that partners needed both the commitment and practical support to approach business development differently. That meant simplifying and reinforcing the behaviors that create stronger client relationships, more intentional engagement, and greater opportunity generation.
THE APPROACH
The firm initially implemented Activator with a cross-functional group of 115+ professionals, including 73 partners, 22 counsel, and 20 business development team members.
Rather than introducing another initiative or investing in new technology, the firm focused on defining and strengthening the relationship-building and business development behaviors that drive client engagement, collaboration, and opportunity creation.
Activator was implemented, not as training, but as a system designed to reinforce practical, repeatable client-development habits and embed them into partners’ day-to-day work.
The focus was simple: make partners better at doing the right things, consistently.
That meant shifting mindsets as much as actions:
“Instead of selling, I’m focused on how I can help clients… I no longer dread BD—I feel energized by it.”
Rather than approaching business development as transactional selling, or as a chore that needed to be completed, partners began focusing more intentionally on understanding client priorities, identifying where they could create value, and building stronger long-term relationships through more meaningful engagement, often in between active matters.
It also meant developing more intentional relationship and collaboration habits across the firm:
“I’ve been more intentional, connecting internally, understanding capabilities, and being consistent in my outreach.”
Partners worked on building their networks before going through the Activator program, but it often wasn’t done strategically or methodically; it was more opportunistic and often based on chance. If partners met people who could become good professional contacts at an event or in various business settings, they might work to actively maintain that connection and in doing so add those people to their network, but all too often the active engagement lagged and fresh contacts became stale over time. What was missing was intentional, strategic network building and maintenance - thoughtfully identifying the kinds of people they wanted to meet and engage with and then maintaining those connections once they were made was often an afterthought.
The firm got immediate traction once partners became more proactive and disciplined in how they engaged both their clients and colleagues. Based on the early results, the firm made the decision to scale the approach more broadly across partners, counsel, associates, and business professionals, embedding these client engagement and business development practices more broadly into the firm’s day-to-day operations.
THE RESULTS
As partner behavior shifted, results followed.
Within the first year, the firm achieved:
+10% year-over-year revenue growth
+100% increase in business development activity (12 months post workshop)
+100% increase in opportunities generated (12 months post workshop)
+89% increase in time spent on business development (6 months post workshop)
60% partner adoption of the firm’s existing CRM and opportunity-tracking software (the highest technology-adoption rate in firm history)
Meaningful gains in cross-practice collaboration, accelerating the firm’s sector strategy
Partners also reported greater confidence in client engagement, more consistent outreach and follow-through, and a clearer focus on delivering value in every interaction.
The impact showed up in real client outcomes.
Partners adopted a more proactive approach to relationship development, often finding creative ways to generate opportunities long before a formal business development conversation began.
“I developed a new financial services client by reaching out to investment bankers I worked with from past deals.” - Partner
“We landed a new oil and gas engagement with a General Counsel because of a relationship I built with an in-house attorney on their team.” - Partner
Partners also became more effective at identifying broader needs and connecting clients to additional firm capabilities, leading to stronger cross-selling and client expansion opportunities.
“We expanded an existing client into our privacy group by focusing on the unique value we could provide.” - Partner
“What started as one litigation matter evolved into broader IP and privacy work after we shifted the conversation towards the client’s broader business priorities.” - Partner
Rather than treating matters as isolated engagements, lawyers became more collaborative and proactive in identifying adjacent opportunities across the firm.
Small but consistent relationship-building activities began to generate new work:
“A newsletter I started led directly to a new risk analysis engagement.” - Partner
“We closed multiple M&A deals with a new client and introduced them across the firm. We’re now discussing multiple matters outside of M&A.” - Partner
The results reinforced a core principle behind Activator: sustained business development growth is often driven less by major initiatives and more by consistent, high-value relationship and engagement behaviors practiced over time.
As partners strengthened these practices, the firm’s existing technology investments became significantly more effective. Lawyers increasingly turned to CRM and opportunity-tracking systems to support relationship development, identify opportunities, coordinate outreach, and collaborate more effectively across the firm.
Rather than viewing the technology as an administrative requirement, partners began to understand how the data and tools could directly support stronger client engagement and business development execution.
As a result, partner adoption of the firm’s CRM and opportunity-tracking tools rose to 60% — the highest adoption rate of any technology rollout in the firm’s history.
The firm’s results reinforced a broader insight: technology alone does not drive growth. Growth happens when partners rethink how they approach business development, shifting from transactional selling to creating value through stronger relationships, more intentional engagement, and consistent collaboration.
Once that mindshift shifted, stronger habits followed, along with greater adoption, increased collaboration, and measurable business outcomes.
Or, in the words of one partner: “The biggest impact wasn’t the tools—it was the mindset shift.”
