In a market where legal work is more specialized than ever and clients expect seamless, high-level expertise across disciplines, law firms are facing a critical challenge: how to better connect the dots internally to meet evolving client needs. At this year's LMA National Conference, my colleague, James Barclay, CEO of Passle, presented on harnessing AI for cross-selling. 

Despite cross-selling being widely acknowledged as the most cost-effective, fastest, and easiest path to revenue growth, most firms still struggle to execute it effectively. According to new research from Passle, 84% of firms admit they are leaving revenue on the table due to missed cross-selling opportunities. It's not a lack of opportunity—it’s a lack of visibility.

Why Cross-Selling is So Hard—and So Essential

The data is clear: 75% of legal professionals believe cross-selling is the most significant growth opportunity available to them. But only 20% of managing partners think their firm’s full capabilities are understood in the market.

This internal disconnect has real consequences. If lawyers don’t know what their colleagues can deliver, how can clients?

The traditional law firm structure—shaped by the legacy Cravath model—was built for specialization. That model works well for deep subject matter expertise, but it unintentionally creates silos that prevent cross-functional collaboration.

What General Counsel Want

Firms don’t just need to connect internally—they also need to engage externally in a way that matches how clients buy.

General Counsel now spend over 8 hours per week consuming thought leadership, often outside working hours and across multiple formats. Nearly half of them won’t work with a firm unless it’s actively demonstrating subject matter expertise.

The implication is clear: to win more work, firms need to consistently demonstrate expertise in a way that is timely, relevant, and easy for clients to consume.

AI and Thought Leadership: A New Era for Cross-Selling

The solution isn’t more meetings or another internal directory. It’s about leveraging AI and high-quality thought leadership to create intelligent, scalable visibility across your firm.

With the right systems in place, marketing and BD teams can:

• Identify real-time intersections between client needs and firm capabilities
• Automatically surface relevant insights and expertise to the right internal stakeholders
• Equip client-facing professionals with tailored, timely content to drive conversations

This is where AI becomes transformational, especially when trained on the unique language, expertise, and priorities of the legal industry.

What Great Content Looks Like

To truly support cross-selling, content must be:

• Relevant: Sent only to the right audience, with context on why it matters
• Digestible: 100–300 words, ideally across formats (text, video, audio)
• Actionable: Offering practical next steps or recommendations

Firms that rely on a single content format risk excluding 80% of their audience. A modern strategy means meeting clients where they are, in the formats they prefer.

Introducing Passle CrossPitch: Your Cross-Selling Engine

To help firms turn insight into action, we've launched CrossPitch—a powerful new tool that connects thought leadership, AI, and cross-selling in one seamless workflow.

CrossPitch uses AI to match your firm’s latest content to current client priorities, helping BD teams quickly identify cross-selling opportunities and equip attorneys with customized thought leadership. By empowering your teams to proactively share the right expertise at the right time, CrossPitch transforms missed opportunities into measurable growth.

Final Thought

“If our attorneys knew what their colleagues were able to deliver, our clients would buy it.”

The opportunity is there. The tools now exist. Cross-selling doesn’t have to be the missed opportunity it’s always been. With AI, thought leadership, and solutions like CrossPitch, law firms can finally close the gap between expertise and opportunity—and grow faster, together.