The rainmakers who spoke to The Legal for this article couldn't be more different from one another. They include women and men, litigators and corporate attorneys, large-firm lawyers and small.

But they all have the same general ideas when it comes to building a book of business, and they all have little tolerance for excuses. It takes time, effort and interest to become a rainmaker, and all of these rainmakers have paid their dues. . . .

Both Kathleen M. Shay, a corporate partner at Duane Morris, and Nina M. Gussack, head of Pepper Hamilton and its health effects litigation practice, said they were fortunate to have excellent mentors who brought them along to meetings and pitched their skills to clients. That led to stronger resumes, which led to more work, which led to rainmaking.

"The more clients you have, the more you get," Shay said. In the late 1980s, Shay said she started noticing other people who she didn't feel were as good attorneys as she was but were more aggressive and generated business. So she picked up her game. She joined industry groups, became active in the bar and taught a number of courses.

One thing that her mentors taught her, Shay said, was that being an attorney isn't enough. Attorneys have to be true business advisers. Much of Shay's practice is representing venture finance and emerging businesses that don't have their own legal departments. She acts as their general counsel, goes to their investors meetings and gets to know their entire business. It can be intimidating to a client if a lawyer from a large firm goes in like gangbusters pitching the firm's services, she said. Lawyers have to let the client know they are part of the team and understand their business model.

Shay said she grew into her practice and it was really over the past three to four years that she started generating millions in business. She now works with a small team and tries to help them in the same way her mentors helped her. . . .

At a recent roundtable on issues facing women in the profession held by The Legal, some of the women talked about the importance of business development and the difficulty they sometimes find in generating or asking for work. . . .

Shay said it really depends on the situation and the woman. She said she "grew up dealing with boys and men" and developed her own level of self-confidence. Often in the legal profession, attorneys have to think like business people and not involve emotions, she said. Women are a little emotional, she said, when they should be objective. Male or female, every attorney has phases of self-doubt, Shay said. . . .

General Advice

• Be a business adviser, not just an attorney.
• Build relationships, build relationships, build relationships.
• Specialize in a certain practice.
• Get yourself out there through writing and speaking engagements.
• Be quick to learn new developments in your practice.
• Create a yearly business plan.

Reprinted with permission from The Legal Intelligencer, © ALM Media Properties LLC. All rights reserved.