Legal Business Development: Qualify Prospects Like Dates

A recent Above the Law column suggests that lawyers looking for better clients and referral partners should borrow a tactic from the dating world: qualify people before investing time in them. The author argues that many professionals go into networking and business development without a clear sense of who is worth pursuing, leading to meetings that go nowhere.

The piece frames business development as a matching exercise rather than a numbers game. Just as a dater might screen for compatibility, values, and mutual interest, a lawyer should assess whether a prospective client or referral source is a good fit. That means being more deliberate about who gets a lunch slot or a follow-up call.

According to the column, the payoff is not just more business but better business—clients and partners who are aligned with the lawyer's practice. The advice is practical, if unconventional: treat professional relationships with the same care and selectivity as personal ones. The source is a single opinion piece, so the argument reflects the author's view rather than a broader industry consensus.