Fractional Business Development Professionals.

CHALLENGE
A national firm’s senior directory submissions professional resigned at the height of submission season. Seventy-six submissions remained, requiring stronger narratives, referee coordination and partner approvals. The CMO needed someone to take ownership immediately.

ENGAGEMENT
Gladstone completed the submissions, quickly learning practices and building partner relationships. When the IP BD manager departed, Gladstone took over practice support. After a permanent hire arrived, the assignment shifted to capturing matter experience. When that hire left shortly afterward, Gladstone returned to IP.

OUTCOME
All 76 submissions were completed. Across two CMOs and successive staffing changes, the firm retained an embedded professional who knew its lawyers, understood its processes, and could shift responsibilities without starting over.

CHALLENGE
A national firm’s CMO was overwhelmed by vendor solicitations but did not want valuable technologies and services overlooked.

ENGAGEMENT
Gladstone evaluated offerings and made recommendations. The role expanded to cover Labor & Employment BD during parental leave, deliver AI training and search-visibility guidance, and coach a Healthcare BD manager after a practice reorganization. Gladstone also helped a rainmaker use AI to build visibility, identify markets, and find key contacts.

OUTCOME
A focused assignment became a strategic advisory relationship. The CMO gained a trusted resource for immediate coverage, technology decisions, and professional development, with assignments overlapping as needs evolved.

CHALLENGE
A firm engaged Gladstone as interim CMO after losing its senior marketer. During onboarding, its senior BD professional also departed. The assignment became urgent: rebuild the team while running the function.

ENGAGEMENT
Gladstone prioritized two coordinator hires to keep work moving, then defined and helped fill senior marketing and BD roles. Alongside recruitment, the interim CMO directed operations, supported staff, managed PR issues, and advised the Managing Partner and executive committee on priorities, communications, and future strategy. committee on priorities, strategy and communications to build attorney confidence in firm leadership.

OUTCOME
Four positions were filled while essential work continued. The team gained stability and clearer responsibilities, and leadership gained an accountable executive to manage operations through the handoff to permanent staff.

CHALLENGE
Two BD departures left a national firm’s IP department needing immediate support. Partners had high expectations, and the remaining coordinator was moving internally. The CMO needed time to reconsider the senior role and find the right person.

ENGAGEMENT
Gladstone managed IP marketing and BD, then onboarded the senior hire and supported her two new team members, preserving practice knowledge and processes. Concurrently, Gladstone helped address a backlog of 70 partner biographies using AI and developed a workflow with the internal team. The role then shifted to BD leadership for Leveraged Finance and Restructuring, including coaching the coordinator, including coaching a capable coordinator on prioritization, communication, and securing partner action.

OUTCOME
The CMO made a considered hire, supported by a smooth transition to the new IP team. The firm adopted the biography workflow and retained experienced BD support as other practices reorganized.

CHALLENGE
A major procurement RFP arrived with a two-week deadline while the marketing team was out of the country.

ENGAGEMENT
Partnered with attorneys, finance, and pricing to shape the strategy, write the response, and coordinate the submission within two weeks.

After signing an NDA, began immediately with no setup period and completed the two-week engagement.

OUTCOME
Freed the attorneys from managing the RFP process, maintained full support during the marketing team’s absence, and helped the firm win the engagement.

CHALLENGE
The client team manager began an unexpected leave of absence, creating an immediate need for interim coverage.

ENGAGEMENT
Partnered with client team leaders to maintain seamless coverage and execute existing business plans.

Completed one day of IT and HR training before beginning the three-month engagement.

OUTCOME
Maintained momentum on client team initiatives without shifting additional work to other team members.

CHALLENGE
The Business Development Director gave notice with two open junior roles, leaving no one to manage the day-to-day business development work.

ENGAGEMENT
Stepped in as interim Business Development Director, managed more than 30 RFPs, RFIs, pitches, events, and attorney onboarding matters, hired and trained two coordinators new to law firms, and onboarded the incoming director.

Completed one day of IT and HR training before beginning the six-month engagement.

OUTCOME
Maintained firmwide business development support for more than 300 attorneys during a critical leadership transition.

CHALLENGE
The Firm Events Manager began parental leave during the eight months leading up to the partner retreat.

ENGAGEMENT
Partnered with the Chief Business Development and Marketing Officer and the Director of Marketing to maintain uninterrupted planning, execute the retreat vision, finalize contracts and the agenda, and coordinate supporting activities.

Completed four days of onboarding and a seven-day handoff with the Firm Events Manager before beginning the five-month engagement.

OUTCOME
Kept planning for a multimillion-dollar partner retreat on schedule throughout the Events Manager’s leave.

CHALLENGE
A small marketing team at a firm of more than 75 attorneys lacked the capacity to manage multiple Chambers submissions during a compressed deadline period.

ENGAGEMENT
Partnered directly with attorneys to shape submission strategy, select representative matters and references, prepare drafts for the Director of Marketing, and follow up with lead attorneys when the research cycle opens.

Begin after one onboarding call and access to the experience database and prior submissions. Provided support through an annual seven-month engagement.

OUTCOME
Freed the marketing team to focus on higher-value priorities while ensuring Chambers submissions moved forward on schedule.

CHALLENGE
A Senior Business Development Manager began a nine-month parental leave while supporting a high-volume practice of more than 50 attorneys with multiple nuanced sponsorships.

ENGAGEMENT
Partnered with attorneys on day-to-day business development needs, including sponsorships, events, ranking submissions, and strategic initiatives.

Completed five days of onboarding and a two-week handoff with the Senior Business Development
Manager before beginning the nine-month engagement.

OUTCOME
Added senior-level capacity alongside the existing coordinator, preventing an unsustainable workload from falling to the rest of the team.