David Adams

Senior Advisor, Coach & Trainer
David Adams is a seasoned coach, author, and speaker. He brings over 20 years of experience to his role of helping lawyers and practice group leaders improve their business development, leadership, and communication skills. He is committed to helping lawyers achieve that ideal combination of professional success and personal fulfillment.

David is an expert in helping lawyers — working individually and in practice groups — in developing the necessary attitudes, behaviors, and capabilities to build successful practices.

Law Firm Experience
As the founder of Revenue Wise, a business development & leadership firm for lawyers, David has worked with hundreds of lawyers at firms such as Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe; Fenwick & West; Latham & Watkins; Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton; Littler Mendelson; Holland & Hart; Lindquist & Vennum; Howard Rice; Keker & Van Nest; Farella Braun & Martel; and Varnum.

In his roles as a coach, consultant, and trainer, David is sharply focused on producing measureable results and helping lawyers overcome the internal and external obstacles to achieving success.

Using the Revenue Wise program, David coaches lawyers at all levels of seniority throughout the country. A testament to the program’s effectiveness is the number of David’s clients who standardize on the Revenue Wise approach and roll out the program firm-wide.

David also works with practice groups to refocus their efforts, reposition them in the marketplace, formulate effective plans, overcome personality conflicts among leaders and members, and create methods of accountability that help them achieve their objectives.

Career Background

David honed his sales and marketing skills working in the competitive world of high technology, where he held numerous sales and marketing roles at such companies as Plantronics, IUS and MicroPro. As an individual performer and executive, David and his teams were consistently ranked in the top three each year. He went on to become president of Micro National, one of the nation’s first value-added resellers.

After leaving Micro National, David founded a management and technology consulting firm whose charter was to help law firms improve their operational performance. In addition to his work with law firms, he has also had the privilege of working with large multinationals, such as Bank of America, DDB Needham, Adobe, Wells Fargo, Stanford Hospital, and Vision Services Plan, where he learned to lead large-scale change projects in highly political and dynamic environments.

This combination of experience and expertise became the foundation of the Revenue Wise Business Development Program, acknowledged by many as the most comprehensive and effective business development program for lawyers in the country.

Speaking & Training Experience

David has been speaking in front of audiences throughout his career. His speaking engagements fall into three categories: talking at law firm retreats, leading in-depth, experiential training programs and speaking at industry conferences and associations. His talks and trainings are highly practical, engaging, insightful and immediately useful.

Representative Speaking and Training Engagements

Law Firm Retreats/Group Facilitation:

  • At Annual Retreat (200 lawyers), led program entitled “Overcoming the Common Business Development Obstacles at Each Stage of Your Career.”
  • At Litigation Retreat (100 lawyers), designed and facilitated entire two-day retreat; debriefed results of interviews; facilitated group in articulating annual objectives; delivered talk entitled “What Makes a Functional Team.”
  • At Annual Retreat (150 lawyers), led program entitled “Developing the Necessary Motivation to make Business Development a Priority.”
  • At Associate Retreat (100 lawyers), led program entitled “The Mid-Level Associate’s Role in Building Client Relationships.”
  • At Partner Retreat (45 lawyers), led program entitled “Developing Your Personal Business Development and Client Relationship Plan.”

Group and other Training:

  • Business Development Training. Almost every coaching assignment includes a training component where participants develop a personal brand and Verbal Business Card and learn to conduct a face-to-face business development meeting.
  • Pitch Training. David teaches lawyers to conduct complex, multiparty pitches. The training format includes dividing into teams, picking an actual prospect to pursue and completing a mock pitch in front of judges.
  • Other Training Programs. David has conducted numerous other training programs, including “Best Practices of Successful Practice Group Leaders,” “The Six Archetypal Business Developers in Law Firms” and “How to Jump Start your Business Development Efforts,” among many others.

Industry Conferences and Associations:

  • At Legal Marketing Association Annual Conference, delivered speech entitled “Stop Selling. Start Serving. The Most Effective Approach to Business Development.”
  • At Defense Trial Lawyers Association Annual Conference, delivered speech entitled “Improving the Productivity of Busy Lawyers.”
  • At San Francisco Bar Association Regional Conference, delivered speech entitled “How to Drive Real Revenue Growth.”
  • At San Rafael Bar Association Regional Conference, delivered speech entitled “How to Drive Real Revenue Growth.”
  • At Santa Clara Bar Association Regional Conference, delivered speech entitled “Keys to Successful Business Development.”
  • At San Mateo Bar Association Regional Conference, delivered speech entitled “Keys to Successful Business Development.”
  • At Petaluma Bar Association Regional Conference, delivered speech entitled “How to Improve Client Service.”

Education
David holds a Master’s in Neuro-Linguistics and is a Certified Professional Behavioral Analyst. He obtained his Certified Professional Co-Active Coach (CPCC) credential from the highly regarded Coaches Training Institute and is a graduate of the institute’s Co-Active Leadership Program, a leader in executive development. He is also certified in the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, as well as Daniel Goleman’s emotional intelligence model and the corresponding 360-degree assessment.

Memberships & Publications
David is an active member of the Legal Marketing Association, the International Coaches Federation and the Professional Coaches and Mentors Association. He is the author of numerous articles and of the book Q&A in Business, Macmillan Publishing.

CONTACT INFORMATION

David Adams 4​15-302-3900 / david@revenuewise.com