Elise Holtzman, founder and CEO of The Lawyer’s Edge, has challenged one of the most enduring myths in the legal profession about rainmaking.
The widely held belief that business development is an innate talent rather than a learnable skill has long discouraged many lawyers from even trying to build a client base.
Holtzman joined Steve Fretzin for a conversation in which she made the case that this assumption is not only wrong but actively harmful to lawyers who could otherwise thrive.
Her argument is built on a clear framework: successful business development rests on three core pillars that any motivated lawyer can develop with the right guidance.
The first pillar is mindset, which Holtzman identifies as the foundation without which no technique or strategy will take lasting hold for a legal professional.
Many lawyers approach business development with anxiety or resistance, often because they have never been taught that it is simply another professional competency to be mastered over time.
The second pillar is process, and Holtzman emphasises that a repeatable, structured approach is what separates lawyers who consistently win clients from those who rely on luck or circumstance.
Without a defined process, even the most enthusiastic attempts at networking or outreach tend to fizzle out quickly under the pressures of a demanding legal workload.
The third pillar involves building a team, recognising that no lawyer can scale their business development efforts indefinitely through individual effort alone.
Bringing in the right support, whether internal colleagues or external coaches and advisers, allows lawyers to extend their reach and sustain momentum far beyond what solo effort could achieve.
Holtzman’s broader message is a practical and optimistic one: the skills required to grow a legal practice are no different in nature from the analytical and advocacy skills lawyers already spend years perfecting.
Fretzin, who has worked extensively in legal business development coaching, echoed the view that the profession benefits enormously when lawyers stop treating rainmaking as a mysterious gift reserved for a select few.