Deborah B Farone^[1]
IBA Law Firm Management Committee, London
deborah@faroneadvisors.com

On 8 January, the International Bar Association Law Firm Management Committee hosted a global programme examining how successful women rainmakers build and sustain thriving legal practices across jurisdictions. The programme was supported by the IBA Young Lawyers’ Committee, the IBA Women Lawyers’ Committee, the IBA Corporate and M&A Law Committee and the IBA Diversity and Equality Law Committee, reflecting the broad relevance of business development skills across generations, practice areas and regions. More than 600 people registered and 320 attended the live webinar.

Moderated by Deborah Farone, Founder of Farone Advisors in New York City and author of Breaking Ground: How Successful Women Lawyers Build Thriving Practices,^[2] the session brought together senior women lawyers from different legal systems and markets to explore what actually drives long-term business development. While the panelists practice in very different environments, the conversation revealed a shared view of rainmaking as a disciplined, relationship-driven effort rooted in trust, preparation and authenticity.

The panel featured Jennifer Bishop, partner at Aird & Berlis in Toronto, Nadege Nguyen of Gide Loyrette Nouel in Paris, Zeina Obeid, founding partner of Obeid & Partners in Dubai and Kosturi Ghosh, partner at Trilegal in Bangalore. Together, they offered practical insights into how relationships, judgment and intentional networking shape sustainable practices around the world.

Farone opened the discussion by sharing an insight from her research for Breaking Ground, recalling a comment from a senior partner she interviewed during the writing of the book. As Farone explained, the lawyer described a turning point that reshaped her approach to business development: ‘My practice didn’t take off when I learned how to pitch. It took off when I stopped trying to sound like what I thought a rainmaker should sound like and started sounding like myself.’

That observation set the tone for the conversation that followed.

Preparation as the foundation of credibility

For Jennifer Bishop, preparation is the quiet but decisive factor that separates casual networking from meaningful relationship-building. Bishop described how an early mentor instilled in her the discipline of treating business development as a core professional responsibility rather than an optional activity to be addressed later in one’s career.

Over time, Bishop learned that informal meetings only become productive when lawyers arrive informed and intentional. ‘Preparation is absolutely the key’, she explained, noting that researching a client’s business, understanding their role and thinking in advance about how to be helpful fundamentally changes the dynamic of any conversation.

Bishop also emphasised the importance of personal agency, particularly for younger women lawyers. Rather than waiting to be invited into existing networks or client opportunities, she encouraged them to create their own. When lawyers take the initiative to design events, make introductions or propose ideas aligned with their interests, they begin to build visibility and credibility on their own terms. In Bishop’s experience, initiative is often what transforms mentors into sponsors and accelerates professional advancement.

Human connection over transactional selling

Speaking from Bangalore, Kosturi Ghosh, reflected on building a practice in environments where women may still be underrepresented in deal rooms and leadership conversations. For Ghosh, rainmaking is not about mastering sales techniques but about cultivating genuine human connection.

Clients, she explained, respond to lawyers who take the time to understand them as people, not merely as sources of work. ‘The most important connection is a human connection’, Ghosh said, emphasising that relationships become durable when they extend beyond transactions.

Ghosh encouraged lawyers to ask open-ended questions and listen carefully, particularly in early interactions with clients. She also cautioned against relying on generic pitch materials. In her view, the strongest business development efforts are tailored to the client’s specific needs and challenges, shaped by curiosity and attentiveness rather than standardised presentations.

Networking as a career engine, not a social extra

From Paris, Nadege Nguyen addressed a reality many lawyers recognise only later in their careers. While the profession excels at developing technical expertise, it does not always equip lawyers to build visibility, networks and opportunity. Yet those skills increasingly determine who gains access to leadership roles, complex mandates and professional advancement.

Nguyen urged lawyers to reframe networking as an exercise in curiosity and generosity rather than self-promotion. Trust, she explained, is built by giving first, whether through time, attention, insight into a client’s business or thoughtful follow-up. ‘I think they should be interested by the others,’ Nguyen observed, reframing networking as listening rather than performing.

She also described how her firm leverages Paris’s cultural landscape to create natural opportunities for connection, including art exhibitions and museum events that bring together clients, partners and associates. By involving younger lawyers in these initiatives, firms allow them to learn business development by example while building confidence early in their careers.

Visibility, feedback and patience in global practice

In Dubai, Zeina Obeid spoke candidly about the additional challenges women may face when building credibility, particularly in jurisdictions where assumptions about age or gender persist. Trust, she noted, may take longer to establish and often requires consistent demonstration of capability and judgement.

Obeid offered direct advice to junior lawyers navigating these dynamics. She emphasised patience, humility and the ability to absorb feedback constructively. ‘Feedback is a gift even when it’s uncomfortable,’ Obeid said, explaining that growth often depends on how lawyers respond to critique rather than how they avoid it.

She also addressed the evolving role of junior lawyers in a profession increasingly shaped by artificial intelligence (AI). While AI can support efficiency, Obeid stressed the importance of continuing to build independent judgment, ethical reasoning and analytical skills, which remain central to client trust and professional credibility.

Structure, culture and the firm’s role

Throughout the discussion, Farone returned to a theme she encounters frequently in her advisory work with law firms. Business development habits form early, and firms that wait until partnership to emphasise these skills miss critical years of relationship-building.

Farone advocated for simple structure, particularly for younger lawyers. A one-page business development plan that clarifies goals, identifies a potential niche and outlines concrete actions can help lawyers remain focused and intentional amid heavy workloads.

At the institutional level, the panelists agreed that firm culture plays a decisive role. When leadership reinforces that business development is part of a lawyer’s role from the outset, and when partners actively involve associates in client initiatives, rainmaking becomes a learned behaviour rather than a mysterious talent reserved for a few.

Authenticity as a strategic advantage

Across New York, Toronto, Paris, Dubai and Bangalore, the panelists described different markets and challenges, yet their guidance converged. Sustainable practices are built over time through preparation, listening and consistent follow-through. Most importantly, they are built by lawyers who show up as themselves.

As the session concluded, Farone encouraged participants to remain connected with the speakers and with one another. Relationships formed through programmes like this, she noted, should be viewed not as one-time interactions but as the foundation of long-term professional networks.

Authenticity, the panel made clear, is not a soft concept. It is a strategic advantage.