Today, I’m bringing you a post from an ILN marketer, Amanda Schneider. Amanda is with ILN member firm Epstein Becker Green, where she is the Chief Marketing Officer. Amanda provides tips on how firms can leverage the multigenerational attorney workforce through involvement in business development initiatives.

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It is critical for firms to understand that attorney engagement in business and client development must begin in the early stages of an attorney’s career to ensure that he or she is prepared for the prospect of partnership. However, in order to do this, the firm’s culture must be accepting of providing true business development opportunities to non-partner attorneys.

Below are actionable ways to involve all generations in marketing and business development:

• Support business plan development from day one. Empower members of the marketing and business development team to provide coaching to attorneys in a systematic manner that involves building a business development plan, starting from when an attorney joins the firm. Even first-year attorneys can consider their network of contacts and ways to continue building relationships that may eventually lead to business. The ability for junior attorneys to build their skill set in writing, speaking, and networking is critical for future success, and these skills must be engrained through training and coaching. Firm leadership must support this type of process to ensure its success.
• Train for the effective development of an attorney’s online profile.Attorney biographies, blog posts, and social media profiles provide an opportunity to develop each attorney’s personal brand. With proper training, an attorney can effectively share the firm’s thought leadership through his or her social media network by using platforms such as LinkedIn and Twitter. An emphasis should be placed on adhering to ethical guidelines and conducting conflicts checks before writing on topics to confirm that the firm is protecting its client relationships. Blogs are a terrific place for attorneys to begin writing, as the more condensed format is less intimidating.
• Use video to showcase talent at all levels. Video content is a fantastic way to include attorneys of all generations on the firm’s website and social media channels. For junior attorneys, video interviews provide a great opportunity to practice speaking publicly on niche topics.
• Provide media training and access to interviews. The idea that only partners should byline articles and be included in media interviews is not conducive to training multiple generations on media relations. Firms should encourage partners to mentor non-partner attorneys on co-writing articles and give them access to media interviews, with proper media training.

With three generations of attorneys currently in the legal workforce, enormous opportunities exist for firms that can leverage their talents.