19: Intellectually Flexible with Steven Horowitz of Cleary Gottlieb
Find Clients That Would Benefit From Your Strengths:
Nicole chats with (name, title, company): Steven Horowitz, a partner at Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton.
Strengths/habits that have led to success: Listen and be aware that clients with similar business issues may have different interpretations of a successful outcome.
Growth strategy: There is a great deal of randomness in acquiring clients including being in the right place at the right time.
Tactical best practices: Build on the strengths of your firm and use them as an entree for cross selling.
Success Factor: Law firms are organized by specialty while clients are unlikely to make intellectual boundaries. Lawyers and law firms that are intellectually flexible can most effectively respond to the client business problem or goal.
What Steven enjoys about his work: Helping young lawyers learn what the client cares about and where they can compromise.
Last word: To build a relationship opt-in to verbal communication – it’s difficult to develop a relationship by email.