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Podcast Episode — Season 6, Episode 5

No Clubs Required: EJ Stern on How the Best Rainmakers Break the Mold

Your mid sized firm is fighting for the same work as firms ten times your size. EJ Stern says that is exactly where you have the advantage, if you know how to use it.

In this episode of The Mostly Legal Podcast, Amanda Koplos and Rob Joyner sit down with EJ Stern, co founder of Fractional Law Firm CMO, who spent more than 20 years inside AmLaw 100 firms before going out on her own. EJ never wanted to be a lawyer, pulled her law school applications senior year of college, and built a career in legal marketing back when the job barely had a name. Now she helps small and mid sized firms punch far above their weight.

EJ explains why business development takes patience that most firms do not have, how women build business differently without the golf and the boys clubs, and why succession planning for business services roles is the most overlooked risk in legal today. She also makes the case that you do not need to be a loud extrovert to bring in clients, and that LinkedIn has quietly become the place where reputations are made.

Topics Covered:

  • Why mid sized firms can compete with big law, and where they win.
  • How women develop business differently, and the book No Clubs Required.
  • The fractional CMO model and the 30 to 75 attorney sweet spot.
  • The many kinds of rainmakers beyond the classic personality.
  • Succession planning for the business services side of the house.
  • Why "non lawyer" needs to go, and what to call these professionals instead.
  • Building a personal brand on LinkedIn, lurkers and all, without the AI slop.
  • Finding real presence as a working parent.

You'll come away with a sharper sense of how to compete, who really keeps your firm running, and why showing up online matters more than you think.

  • EJ Stern

    About the Speaker

    EJ Stern

    EJ Stern is the co founder of Fractional Law Firm CMO, where she and her business partner plug into small and mid sized law firms as an on demand marketing and business development team. She spent more than 20 years running business development and strategy inside AmLaw 100 firms, including Steptoe, Proskauer, and a decade at Troutman, and served as chief marketing officer of North America at Clyde & Co. Along the way she launched one of the first in house business development coaching programs at an AmLaw firm. She is the co author of the forthcoming book No Clubs Required, on how women build business differently, and is a frequent speaker on legal marketing, personal branding, and succession planning.