The COVID-19 pandemic has made this an extremely uneasy time for many lawyers and law firms. Rainmakers are not only losing significant legal work; they’re also losing the methods they’ve traditionally employed to replace it. Most lawyers get nearly all of their business in person (e.g., lunches, networking events, pitch meetings). With those avenues suddenly gone, many rainmakers are perplexed about how they’ll maintain their books of business during this crisis. With South Florida comprising nearly 60% of the COVID-19 cases in the state, the governor has said that South Florida will reopen more slowly than will the rest of the state and that social distancing rules may stay in effect for another year or longer. South Florida law firms can’t afford for their competitors to gain a head start on state, national and international legal work.

Recently, however, a new group of highly efficient rainmakers has emerged. They’ve adopted the professional client development tactics of top management consulting firms and now accomplish 99% of their offline networking and selling virtually, not in person. They exponentially grow incredibly targeted networks of prospects and referral sources and get hired by relatively new contacts within those networks—all without leaving their chairs. With only a small percentage of lawyers using these tactics, however, most firms will need their lawyers to embrace these virtual approaches to keep pace with, and eventually surpass, the competition.