From Idea to Investment: How BD and Marketing Can Build a Value Case Lawyers Will Back

Law firms are not short on ideas. New campaigns, client programmes, CRM tools, events, sponsorships, thought leadership projects, you name it.

What firms often lack is not ideas, but convincing business cases that busy partners will actually back.

In our recent Nexl webinar, Building the Business Case: Turning BD and Marketing Ideas into Firm Backed Initiatives, our panel dug into that exact problem. Together with partner and employment lawyer Kato Aerts, Chief Commercial Officer Leor Franks, and consultant and marketing specialist Tedo Lemstra, we explored how BD and marketing teams can turn a good idea into something that feels worth investing in.

Business case, value case, or investment case?

We started with the language. Is it even a “business case” anymore?

Kato spoke from the classic partner perspective. When partners hear “business case”, many immediately think about revenue. New clients, more work, more fees. If something does not obviously drive revenue, it can be quietly filed under “nice to have”.

The reality is more nuanced. Many initiatives are about engagement, culture, efficiency, brand, or enabling technology. They may not create immediate, traceable fees, but they still clearly contribute to firm performance. That is where the idea of a “value case” came in during the discussion. The point is not only to ask for budget, but to show the value created for the firm, its people and its clients, even where that value is not purely financial.

Leor then added a third term that reframed the whole conversation. Rather than arguing about business case versus value case, he prefers to think in terms of an investment case.  

Every initiative requires an investment of time from partners, associates and business services teams, and often an investment of cash for tools, events or tech. In return, the firm expects some kind of outcome. Talking about an investment case quietly reminds everyone that we are trading time and money for something of value, rather than simply spending a budget.

The CARD test: a simple structure for your case

To make this practical, Leor shared a framework he uses internally to test ideas. He calls it the CARD test, which stands for creativity, alignment, return and diligence.

Creativity is about whether the idea is interesting, useful or differentiating. It does not have to be original in a radical way. Sometimes copying something that clearly works in the market is exactly the right move. The key question is whether this will make the firm better, stronger or more compelling than it is today.

Alignment looks at the connection to firm strategy and priorities. Does the initiative support the firm’s stated direction, its chosen sectors, client segments or practices. Is it joined up with other work the business is already doing, or does it cut across and compete for attention. Alignment is where BD and marketing teams can add real value, by linking ideas back to strategy rather than treating them as standalone campaigns.

Return is the one everyone expects. What outcomes do you anticipate, over what timeframe, and how might you measure them. Sometimes this will be clear, for example targeting new mandates from specific clients. In other cases, such as brand, you may only be able to set directional expectations. The point is not to produce a flawless financial model, but to show that you have thought seriously about what “good” would look like.

Diligence is about showing that you have done the work. Have you spoken with IT, risk, finance, people and comms where relevant. Have you considered security, reputational issues, adoption risks and change impact. The fewer obvious gaps in your thinking, the fewer basic questions partners need to come back with, and the faster they can make a decision.

When an idea scores well across creativity, alignment, return and diligence, it immediately feels more substantial than a one line “can we sponsor this” request.

The four Rs: how marketing and BD can show value

Data and measurement came up throughout the conversation. Partners and boards respond to evidence, especially in areas like marketing where impact can be hard to see day to day.

To support this, Leor shared another simple lens he uses to frame value in marketing and BD: recognition, reputation, relationships and revenue.

Recognition is about visibility. Does this initiative help the firm be seen more often, or more clearly, by the right audience. That might show up through brand awareness surveys, improved search presence, better directory placements or more media mentions.

Reputation speaks to what the firm is known for. Are you building credibility in targeted areas, through thought leadership, rankings, conference appearances or specialist content. Recognition is people knowing your name. Reputation is people knowing what they can trust you for.

Relationships focus on the depth and breadth of your contact base. Here metrics might include growth in quality contacts in the CRM, meetings and interactions with key clients, engagement with campaigns, and attendance at events. For BD and marketing teams, this is often where the most direct evidence of impact sits.

Revenue is the one everyone is familiar with, but even here the nuance matters. It is not just about “more work”. It is about the right matters at the right price, healthy profitability and better share of wallet with clients you want to grow.

Not every initiative will move all four Rs equally, and that is fine. What matters is that you are clear about which Rs your project is targeting, how you plan to track them, and over what time horizon.

Bring people in early, including the sceptics

Tedo and Leor both stressed that the way you involve stakeholders can make or break your value case.

The first step is to do some quiet homework. Before taking anything to a partner, sketch out the basics of your CARD analysis, gather a few data points and talk to colleagues in other disciplines such as comms, IT or finance. If you cannot answer simple questions about what it is, who it is for and what it touches, you are not ready for a partner meeting.

From there, it is tempting to only speak with supporters. The panel argued for something slightly braver. Yes, start with your natural allies, but deliberately seek out the sceptics too. If you can move someone from negative to neutral, or even from negative to supportive, you reduce the noise in partner meetings later. You also surface misunderstandings early, while you still have time to adjust.

For larger initiatives, the group agreed that having a sponsor makes an enormous difference. When a respected partner or practice leader stands beside BD or marketing, or even fronts the proposal, it feels like a peer driven idea rather than something “pushed” by business services. That changes the tone of the conversation completely.

Ownership matters as well. Kato emphasised that ideas often stall because nobody knows who is actually responsible for delivery. A strong value case does not just ask for approval. It names who will lead, who will support and what will happen by when.

Success is part of the plan, not an afterthought

Tedo encouraged firms to treat large internal projects with the same discipline they bring to client work. That starts with clear goals and simple KPIs, often written up on a single page that connects the initiative back to firm strategy. It then flows into concrete actions with named owners, and a regular review rhythm, for example a quarterly check in where progress and roadblocks are discussed.

The message here was simple. Measurement is not only about reporting at the end. It is about keeping the project alive and visible, building a bit of healthy peer pressure, and making it clear that everyone involved has a role in making it succeed.

Kato’s final point brought the conversation full circle. Timing and communication are just as important as the content of the case itself. Bringing a complex proposal to partners in the middle of a billing crunch is almost guaranteed to end in “not now”. Framing the initiative in language partners relate to, linking it to the current budget cycle and explaining clearly what is required from whom, all help build trust and reduce friction.

Where to from here?

If you are working on your first value or investment case, the collective advice from the panel is to keep it specific and make it yours. Avoid generic promises about profile and revenue. Explain why this idea matters for your firm, at this moment, with these clients, and why your team is the right one to lead it.

Combine that narrative with the CARD framework and the four Rs, involve people early, and be clear about ownership and timing. You will already be ahead of most internal pitches.

Following the webinar we have also prepared a practical value case checklist that walks through these concepts step by step, so you can sense check your next idea before you send it to a partner or leadership team.

If you want a simple tool to apply these ideas in practice, you can download the Value Case Builder Checklist, which combines the CARD method and the four Rs into a single page you can use for any internal proposal.