Director of Business Development

The Director of Business Development is a senior leadership role responsible for setting, executing, and governing the firm’s business development strategy in support of revenue growth, client expansion, and industry positioning. This role ensures that the firm’s business development investments are disciplined, strategically aligned, and tied to a credible path to business across priority practices and industries.

Serving as a trusted advisor to firm leadership and key partner-originators, the Director provides strategic guidance on client development, industry engagement, and business development investments. This role also brings a commercial and consultative “salesmindset” to the firm’s go-to-market efforts by helping attorneys proactively pursue and win new client opportunities, expand existing relationships, and convert strategic conversations into retained work.

The role is central to shifting business development from activity-based spending to outcome- driven investment, consistent with best practices in Am Law–level firms.

The Director works closely with senior leadership, practice leaders, attorney originators, and the Director of Communications & PR to align business development strategy, marketing execution, and budget allocation with firmwide objectives. The Director will also partner with attorneys to strengthen the firm’s ability to pitch, position, and differentiate its services in competitive situations, including new business pursuits and cross-selling efforts.

Direct Reports:
Events and Social Manager;
Marketing Coordinator

Core Business Development Framework

The Director of Business Development is responsible for enforcing the firm’s BD framework, which prioritizes strategic investment over passive activity. The firm invests in business development when it creates measurable competitive advantage and supports revenue generation, relationship expansion, and market leadership.

Business development is defined as the deliberate process of earning the right to win work, and not generalized networking, visibility, or attendance. It includes the ability to create, shape, and advance opportunities through disciplined outreach, relationship development, and value-driven persuasion— ultimately helping the firm win business. As such, the firm’s BD investments must support one or more of the following outcomes, which the Director will navigate:

• Near-term revenue or a defined, credible pipeline
• Expansion of existing client relationships and cross-practice engagement
• Enhanced positioning within priority industries and markets
• Authority-building initiatives tied directly to practice growth
• Increased share of wallet within key client relationships
• Improved conversion of high-value prospects and opportunities into active matters

• Develop, implement, and continuously refine the firm’s business development strategy in alignment with firmwide priorities.
• Serve as a senior advisor to partner-originators on business development planning and client expansion.
• Lead individualized BD plans for key partners with defined revenue and pipeline objectives.
• Drive disciplined opportunity development by helping partners identify targets, prioritize prospects, and build actionable pursuit strategies.

• Own and administer the firm’s BD investment and approval framework.
• Evaluate BD spend requests based on strategic alignment, access to decision-makers, engagement strategy, follow-up plans, and revenue opportunity.
• Educate attorneys on best-in-class BD investment principles.
• Coach attorneys on the commercial rationale behind BD investments, including how to convert engagement into business and sustain momentum through follow-up and relationship advancement.

• Advance industry-focused initiatives that place attorneys in front of senior decision-makers.
• Prioritize conferences and sponsor ships that provide leadership roles and controlled engagement.
• Support authority-building initiatives tied directly to practice growth.
• Support attorneys in translating market positioning into business conversations, including outreach scripts, prospect…