Law firms are investing in AI, data, client listening, pricing, and other capabilities that shape how they compete. The growth challenge is connecting those capabilities across the firm so they lead to value clients recognize and partners experience.
Harbor’s Enterprise Growth Operating Model gives firm leaders a structure for making those connections. It expands growth beyond a functional responsibility into an enterprise capability that informs strategy, investment, and client outcomes.
For years, Marketing elevated the firm’s reputation and Business Development pursued opportunities. Today growth leaders are expected to spot opportunity before competitors, connect firm and market intelligence, shape where the firm invests, support lateral and merger strategy, and turn enterprise capability into value clients experience. Some firms are expanding the CMBDO role to carry that mandate. Others are creating a Chief Revenue Officer seat. Both point the same way: from communicating capabilities to activating them.
What the research says about law firm growth
The mandate is expanding faster than the resources behind it. Firms are asking growth leaders for enterprise impact while budgets, systems and data are still set up for a support function.
The report points to a gap between the capabilities firms are building and the results they can show:
- All 13 respondents to Harbor’s October 2025 COO Sounding Board poll named Marketing and Business Development as a function to transform in 2026.
- Just one in 10 Marketing and BD leaders expected a 2026 budget increase above 10%, compared with 53% of Knowledge and Innovation leaders and 42% of Technology leaders.
- 21% of respondents to Harbor’s 2025 Marketing Technology Survey said most of their marketing systems are integrated, while 91% ranked better integration and data sharing as a top technology investment priority.
- In the SKILLS 2026 Annual Report, a survey of 124 law firm knowledge and innovation leaders, 4% said AI had a high impact on their firm’s win rates, while 48% reported no impact.
A four-pillar model for law firm growth
The Enterprise Growth Operating Model helps firms connect capabilities and decisions across the business, then activate them as differentiated value in the market.
- Sense opportunity: Where should we compete?
- Build trusted growth intelligence: What do we know?
- Govern growth: Where should we invest?
- Activate differentiated value: Why should clients and partners choose us?
Together, the pillars help leaders evaluate growth investments against client value, long-term strategy, reusable capabilities, and the firm’s position in its chosen markets.
Turn enterprise capability into client value
Clients choose outside counsel for the outcomes a firm delivers, whether or not it has implemented AI. Exceptional laterals join for the platform and growth in front of them, whether or not a firm has migrated to the cloud.
The opportunity for firm leaders is to connect their investments in technology, data, knowledge, pricing, and talent to the outcomes clients and partners experience and to sustainable growth.
The strongest growth strategies start with client value. When we connect market intelligence, technology and our own data alongside the judgment of our lawyers, we can anticipate what clients need next. That repeatable approach delivers demonstrable value for clients and sustainable growth for the firm.
Erin Banks, Chief Business Development Officer at Husch Blackwell
Harbor’s first report in this series, Operationalizing AI: The leadership imperative for transforming AI investment into business & client value, examines the leadership, governance, data, and operating disciplines that help firms turn technology investment into business and client value.
Build your firm’s growth operating model
Harbor works with firm leadership teams across all four pillars: strategic and competitive intelligence to sense opportunity; CRM, data quality and marketing technology to build trusted growth intelligence; operating model and governance design to govern growth; and value proposition and client experience work to activate differentiated value.
Where does your firm stand? Contact us to identify gaps in your firm’s growth operating model and explore how to close them.
FAQs
A structure that connects the capabilities that drive growth (market intelligence, client data, pricing, knowledge, technology and talent) so investment decisions are made as one portfolio and show up as value clients and partners experience.
It is moving from communicating the firm’s capabilities to activating them: informing where the firm competes and invests, connecting intelligence across the firm, and supporting lateral, merger and client growth strategy.
In the SKILLS 2026 Annual Report, 4% of knowledge and innovation leaders said AI had a high impact on win rates and 48% reported no impact. Harbor’s research points to the foundation underneath it: only 21% of firms say most of their marketing systems are integrated.
- Business development
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