Cross-Selling Without the Turf Wars: Coaching Lawyers to Build Internal Alliances That Actually Work

Legal marketers know the math all too well: acquiring a new client can take months (if not years) and consume business development resources, yet firms are leaving staggering amounts of money on the table by neglecting cross-selling.

According to Passle’s 2025 Cross-Selling & AI in Legal Marketing Survey, law firms miss out on an average of 12.5% of annual revenue due to underdeveloped cross-selling practices. A point that was further refined by James Barclay, Passle's CEO, at LMA's 2025 annual conference when he stated, “If you're an Am Law 100 firm, even a 10% increase in cross-selling could mean $135 million in new revenue.”  

If the numbers are so striking, why do firms still struggle with turf wars?

Here are the five most common barriers to cross-selling — beyond razor-sharp elbows — and what you can do to enable growth and capture that staggering 12.5% of annual revenue left on the table.

1. Sales Aversion: Reframe the Conversation

Lawyers have an aversion to selling or being seen as too pushy. Despite its name, cross-selling isn’t about sales. It’s about adding value and providing great client service. Marketers and business developers should reframe the conversation as solving, not selling. When done right, it solves a problem and meets an unmet need. Emphasize that, by making an introduction, they are serving as a trusted advisor who is providing value to their client. Offer to draft the email or talking points:

“Hi [Client], I know we’ve been working with you on [X matter]. You mentioned [related issue] last month. I’d like to introduce my colleague [Lawyer Y], who has deep experience in this area. I think you’ll find a conversation valuable.”

2. Siloed Practices: Create Opportunities and Fill the Knowledge Gap 

Your lawyers are busy working on their own clients and practices. They are not naturally curious about the work of their fellow partners. We often joke that if lawyers spoke to each other, we’d be out of business. While that may be a bit hyperbolic, it’s not entirely untrue. It’s up to you to connect the dots and provide opportunities for lawyers to learn about each other’s practices and clients. This can be done in a myriad of ways: firmwide capability spotlights, virtual or in-person introductions, encouraging partners to participate in other practice meetings and establishing micro-groups around shared clients or synergistic practices.

3. Cultural Resistance: Establish Trust

You can’t blame someone for not recommending or referring work to someone they don’t know, like or trust. Would you put your professional reputation on the line for an unknown legal marketer or business developer? Probably not — and you shouldn’t. Create opportunities for lawyers to build rapport, like connecting over shared interests, providing a value-add to clients or helping colleagues shine. Be the connector. Pair lawyers up for low-risk collaborations like client alerts, continuing legal education (CLE) presentations, webinars or podcasts. A request might look like this:

“I’d love to feature your experience in our upcoming client [webinar/update/podcast/presentation]. Could you draft a quick bullet or two? We’ll position it alongside [Lawyer X]’s perspective so clients see both angles.”

4. Lack of Process: Develop a System of Accountability

Even the most willing to cross-sell can get stymied if there’s no structure or accountability to help them stay on track. You can develop a system of accountability that maintains momentum by helping lawyers set cross-selling goals, tracking progress and celebrating the wins. Work with your lawyers to identify two to three colleagues with complementary practices and help set up quarterly cross-selling calls. Add this to their business development plans and schedule routine check-ins to follow up on their progress. Frame your check-ins as a way to keep up momentum, rather than policing their activity (or inactivity).

5. Compensation: Establish Success Beyond Revenue

This is likely the largest roadblock to cross-selling as it brings up the most obvious question: “What’s in it for me?” This is a fair question and the area where we have the least sway. Instead of lamenting compensation, redefine cross-selling successes beyond revenue. Coach lawyers to see success in the incremental wins and never underestimate the power of FOMO (fear of missing out). Celebrate when lawyers successfully introduce a colleague to a client, praise the lawyers who host joint webinars and CLEs, and broadcast to everyone when these actions result in a new matter. Help them articulate their efforts and contributions in their end-of-year Partner Compensation Memo, which may ultimately impact their bottom line.

Cross-selling doesn’t happen by accident, and sharp elbows don’t soften on their own. It happens because legal marketers and business development teams are on the front lines, proactively connecting and coaching lawyers into a mindset where collaboration feels natural and beneficial. If firms are leaving 12.5% on the table, it’s up to us to help pick it up.

Learn More About Business Development with the Third Edition of the LMA Body of Knowledge The content in this feature correlates with the Business Development domain in the LMA Body of Knowledge (BoK). Dive deeper and access the latest edition of the BoK online. The Third Edition of the LMA BoK showcases enhanced expertise across every domain, introduces new competencies in Client Services, Communications and Technology Management, features more advanced skills across all domains and broadens coverage of competitive and business intelligence skills. Plus, it emphasizes a stronger commitment to nurturing diversity, equity, and inclusion across the entirety of the BoK. Learn more.