Is this you? As a journalist, you can create a free Muck Rack account to customize your profile, list your contact preferences, and upload a portfolio of your best work.
Claim your profile
Articles by David Ackert
Big Law's Partner Autonomy Conundrum
Network. Credit: Andrii Yalanskyi/ Adobe Stock For decades, one of the legal profession's greatest strengths has been the autonomy it affords its partners. It has also been one of its strongest recruiting messages: Join our firm and you'll have the freedom to build your practice your way. There will be little bureaucracy, few mandates, and plenty of latitude to make decisions in the best interests of your clients. As an owner of the firm, you'll be trusted to exercise your judgment.
Manage Your Network as an Investment Portfolio
Headlines about market volatility, automation and shrinking budgets are everywhere. Clients aren’t abandoning professional services but scrutinizing every engagement for value. For example, corporate legal departments are tightening outside counsel budgets. Consulting and accounting buyers are doing the same, often asking firms to “do more with less” and testing whether technology can offset human hours. In this climate, advisors can’t afford a scattershot approach to business development.
David Ackert
A guide to the companies, individuals and organizations who are bringing new innovations to market that make a real difference to the daily activities of financial advisors.
Ready to Fast-Track Your Career? Create a Short List of People to Get You There - CEOWORLD magazine
I came from a modest working-class background. My circle of influence was like a flat line that stretched horizontally across my cohort. This made it difficult to advance vertically. Over time, I observed that whenever a meaningful business opportunity or job offer came my way, it originated from a client, mentor, or connector from the upper echelon in my network. Simply put, they were the ones in their organizations with influence.
teststst
Skip to main content March 05, 2025 Volume XV, Number 64 Legal Analysis. Expertly Written. Quickly Found.
The 33rd Annual Chief Marketing & Business Development Officer Forum
Skip to content Jan 21 - 23, 2026 Thomson Reuters Institute proudly presents The 33rd Annual Chief Marketing & Business Development Officer Forum (formerly Marketing Partner Forum) at The Ritz-Carlton, Amelia Island. Join us for three days of rigorous education and professional networking at one of the nation’s most luxurious properties.
Market Leaders Podcast Episode 71: “Differentiating the Firm in a Crowded Market” with Sadie Baron | JD Supra
The traditional approach to law firm marketing lacks malleability and imagination. In other words, it leaves no room for teams to react to a fast paced and ever-changing market. Being slow to market and slow to pivot are not an option in today's competitive economy. Sadie Baron, CMO at Reed Smith has recognized this, and true to her innovative spirit, helped her firm adapt.
Market Leaders Podcast: "How to Effectively Establish and Nurture Referral Partnerships with your Personal Network" | JD Supra
Imagine being friends with someone for years, and referring millions of dollars back and forth between each other’s businesses. In this episode Steve Martini (MST, CPA | Partner at Withum) and Larry Braun (Partner at Sheppard Mullin) talk with David Ackert about their referral partner relationship and share how they’ve done just that.
Market Leader's Podcast: "A Process for Optimizing Profitability" with Kip Guthrie | JD Supra
In this episode, Kip Guthrie (Senior Advisor, Ackert) talks with David Ackert (Founder & CEO, Ackert) about how the current talent war, and how to optimize firm profitability.
"Listening, learning, and applying lessons to affect continuous change" with Kathryn Whitaker – Market Leaders Podcast | JD Supra
Many of us wish to see changes in the management and improvement of our community, but only a courageous few decide to take matters into their own hands by running for office. In this episode, Kathryn Whitaker, Chief Marketing Officer at Burr & Forman, talks with David Ackert about the interesting and inspiring career journey she has embarked on over the past few years.
The 28th Annual Marketing Partner Forum
12:00 PM PT Registration & Welcome Luncheon Please join us for lunch in the Monarch Bay Courtyard as we kick off our 2021 program. 1:00 PM PT Workshop #1: O Pioneers!: New Frontiers in Law Firm Pricing Strategy (Breakout) As global business continues to awaken from involuntary hibernation, law firms are reinventing their value proposition through new, highly creative, client-centric pricing plans emblematic of a market transformed.
The Keys to a Successful Lateral Integration, with Anand David - Market Leaders Podcast | JD Supra
Join David Ackert as he interviews Anand David, Global Head of Lateral Partner Recruitment & Integration at Hogan Lovells, in this episode of the Market Leaders Podcast. Tune in to learn: • The relationship between talent acquisition and your strategic plan • How clients can improve diversity at law firms • How to define (and contextualize) the metrics of lateral integration • How culture drives integration success
Market Leaders Podcast: Innovations in Legal Technology with Joe Patrice
Join Join David Ackert as he interviews Joe Patrice, Senior Editor at Above the Law., in this episode of the Market Leaders Podcast. Tune in to hear them discuss: Why lawyers have been slow to adopt technology The technologies that are gaining traction at law firms The latest legal innovations, as well as new additions to classic products Don't miss our past episodes of the Market Leaders Podcast. This podcast has won the JD-Supra Reader's Choice Award for leading legal marketing content.
Your Client Already Left You. You Just Don’t Know It Yet.
Published on August 30, 2018August 30, 2018 • 12 Likes • 0 Comments David AckertFollow Business Development Mentor | Public Speaker | Techpreneur The client/advisor relationship is often a precarious one. Our best clients, those who send us work repeatedly, communicate their satisfaction by re-engaging us on a regular basis. But our position is more murky with our second tier of clients, and sometimes we learn that they’ve moved on to someone else... without the courtesy of a formal break-up.
The 28th Annual Marketing Partner Forum
12:00 PM PT Registration & Welcome Luncheon Please join us for lunch in the Monarch Bay Courtyard as we kick off our 2021 program. 1:00 PM PT Workshop #1: O Pioneers!: New Frontiers in Law Firm Pricing Strategy (Breakout) As global business continues to awaken from involuntary hibernation, law firms are reinventing their value proposition through new, highly creative, client-centric pricing plans emblematic of a market transformed.
Building a Practice by Referral - Market Leaders Podcast with Attorney David Fullmer | JD Supra
Updated: May 25, 2018: JD Supra is a legal publishing service that connects experts and their content with broader audiences of professionals, journalists and associations.
How to Stimulate New Business During Lulls
Friday, July 12, 2019 The law firm business model is inherently reactive. You wait for a client to call with a problem. You respond with a solution that could take a few minutes (but hopefully takes years), and when it’s over, you wait for another client to call. Your growth is completely dependent on other people’s issues, and when business is slow you probably just hold out until it picks up again. This is why the revenue generated by the typical practice can feel like a roller coaster.
How to Increase Your Billable Rate
Money How to Increase Your Billable Rate Advice on setting your annual rate increase — and how to tell your clients. By David Ackert Right around this time of the year, law firms send out a customary announcement informing their clients that their rates are about to increase. The process is stressful for those who fear that clients will react negatively and switch providers.
Overcome Fear and Loathing of New Tech at TECHSHOW 2018 - Attorney at Work
ABA TECHSHOW 2018 is bringing lawyers and technology together starting today, March 7-10, at the Hyatt Regency Chicago (a new location for the 32-year-old event). The conference is showcasing advances in law practice management and offering educational sessions and continuing legal education programming on practical technologies to help provide legal services to clients. The exposition hall, which opens Wednesday evening and closes Friday at 3 p.m., includes more than 100 vendors.
4 Steps to a Lead-Generating Law Firm Website - Attorney at Work
“Ideation,” “drill down,” “ping back,” “think outside the box.” These are words and phrases that end-of-year surveys included among the most annoying and meaningless business jargon. There’s another term that should be on these lists but isn’t. Let’s change that. Can we band together to banish the use of “online brochure” as a term to describe law firm websites?
Make the Most of Business Development Meetings - Attorney at Work
Over the years, I’ve conducted thousands of client interviews to gather feedback on outside counsel. The discussion frequently turns to how a firm first started representing the client, leading to stories about what lawyers do well — or not so well — when trying to pitch for business. Mistakes range from not doing enough to doing too much in business development meetings. Let’s assume you have an opportunity to meet with a prospective client to discuss helping with a company’s legal work.
For Business Development, Do What Comes Naturally - Attorney at Work
It is no secret that business development is a necessary component of the business of law. Whether a solo practitioner or a member of a large firm, you have a level of responsibility for maintaining a pipeline of new business. Unfortunately, there is no template or set of instructions that works for every lawyer. I have seen a lot of tactics executed with varying degrees of success. What seems to work best is engaging in an activity that is natural to you.
Taking Control: Time Management Tips for Busy Lawyers
You have at least three phone numbers (home, office, and cell), at least two email addresses (work and personal), and at least two social media accounts (Facebook and LinkedIn). You can be texted, tweeted, emailed, snail-mailed and even faxed. If people want to reach you, they expect to do so almost immediately. It’s no wonder you feel pulled in too many directions and think your scarce time is being wasted.
When to Raise Your Hourly Rates - Attorney at Work
Nothing But the Ruth! How do you make more money? The two obvious ways are work more hours or charge more money. Toward the end of last year, I was debating whether I should raise my rates and, if so, by how much. I had not raised my rates for client work in three years. My goals were to stay relatively affordable and to select a rate that reflected the value I brought to my clients. I started by attempting to take a look at my competition’s rates. Lawyers’ rates generally are not public knowledge.
Video: Assigning Shortcut Keys to Symbols in MS Word - Attorney at Work
Inserting symbols like paragraph (?), section (ß) or degree (?) doesn’t have to involve digging through the Insert Symbols dialog box every time. Instead, make a shortcut key so you can insert the symbol without ever taking your hands off the keyboard.
Three Quick Ways to Make Networking Part of Your Routine - Attorney at Work
You’ve heard it hundreds of times: You need to network! If you want to build your client base, get referrals, establish your brand and be a better lawyer, networking is required. But when you’re already busting your tail to bill 1,800 (or more) hours per year, and striving to be involved in your community, stay somewhat healthy, and maintain your personal relationships, networking often falls to the bottom of the list.
Lawyers and LinkedIn Skills and Endorsements - Attorney at Work
With more than 500 million members in 200 countries, LinkedIn continues to be the dominant social networking site for lawyers. Research from Greentarget confirms its use by 73 percent of in-house counsel for professional reasons. The same study also cites LinkedIn as the “only social media platform considered particularly credible” by in-house counsel. According to Attorney at Work’s reader survey, LinkedIn is in the top spot among social media sites used by lawyers, too.
Lawyers Won’t Sell Until They’re Sold: How Marketers Can Address Business Development Reluctance
Because firms want their lawyers to develop business, they often look to their marketing, business development, and professional development departments to provide relevant training and coaching. In fact, a recent market-wide survey indicates that 84% of North American law firms require their marketing/BD professionals to provide business development coaching to their lawyers. Unfortunately, these efforts are usually deemed to be ineffective.
Show More
loading
Actions
Is this you?
As a journalist, you can create a free Muck Rack account to customize your profile, list your contact preferences, and upload a portfolio of your best work.Get in touch with David
Contact David, search articles and posts on X, monitor coverage, and track replies from one place.
Learn more about Muck Rack