#145: The BigLaw Career Shift From Matter Lawyer to Trusted Advisor

One of the most revealing business development metrics in BigLaw is when something happens with a client, who do they call? Revenue, origination, pitches, and repeat matters all matter, but they do not always tell you how deep a client relationship really is. A senior associate may be trusted to run an important matter, a newer partner may be the person a client calls when a problem arises, and an established partner may become one of the first people the client calls before they even know what the legal issue is. Those are very different levels of relationship responsibility, and they tell you a great deal about whether you are simply handling matters or actually building a practice.

In this episode, I explain how to think about the progression from matter responsibility to problem responsibility to relationship responsibility, and why that progression matters to both your career and your economic value to the firm. I also discuss why getting a second matter is not necessarily the same as deepening a client relationship, how to tell whether clients are beginning to rely on your judgment rather than just your execution, and why being the person who connects clients to the right lawyers across the firm is often more valuable than personally handling every piece of work. Finally, I explain how to use a simple set of questions to evaluate your own client relationships: who calls you, what do they call about, how early do they involve you, who else do they call, and what happens after that conversation.

At a Glance

01:20 Why "who calls you?" may reveal more than traditional business development metrics

03:05 How to think about matter-to-client conversion

04:16 Why a second matter does not necessarily mean you own the client relationship

05:12 How client calls change as lawyers become more senior

06:43 The shift from matter responsibility to problem responsibility

08:21 What relationship responsibility looks like for an established partner

09:32 Why origination credit alone may not reflect the strength of a client relationship

11:15 How to evaluate whether a matter is turning into a broader client relationship

12:45 The signals senior associates should watch as client trust develops