Rutgers University anthropologist Helen Fisher believes men are naturally more competitive than women. She says natural selection favors "men with a taste for risking everything to get to the top of the hierarchy, because those males get more reproductive opportunities, not only among primates but also among human beings. Women don't get as big a reproductive payoff by reaching the top." Hence the dominance of men in extremely risky endeavors like auto racing, leveraged buyouts, and war.

I expected Silvia Coulter to bring out the differences in men's and women's styles of practicing law, relating to clients, and selling their services; and then explain how women could exploit those differences to their advantage.

I was disappointed, and you will be as well. Coulter presents no authoritative studies or research like the two examples I gave above. Ninety-five percent of what Coulter writes in this book is just as true for men as for women. If you remove the word "Woman" from the title, it would be a more accurate representation of the book's contents: The Lawyer's Rainmaking Game. In that respect, inserting "Woman" in the title is a marketing gimmick, a contrivance to slot the product into a burgeoning market niche.

Coulter does explore anecdotally, without offering scientific or clinical support, some differences between female and male styles, such as this quote from Maura Ann McBreen, chair of Baker & McKenzie's Client Development Committee:

We have more practice and comfort with social skills than men do, which makes us better listeners and better counselors. We are warmer and more personal in the way we communicate and do business. We are less likely to let our egos get in the way of resolving issues or disputes for our clients. A "woman's touch" packaged with a lawyer's mind makes for an unbeatable combination.

If that is true, well, so what? How can a woman capitalize on her superior social skills and warmth, in a profession – in fact, a business world – where men tend to dominate? In other words, how can women exploit that advantage? Coulter doesn't answer that question.

The rainmaking game
From a unisex point of view, this book is about building a successful law practice, with a focus on selling. Here are the chapter titles:

1. So, How EXACTLY Do You Sell Legal Services?

2. The Sales Process: Pre-approach

3. The Sales Process: Approach

4. The Sales Process: Qualify and Assess Needs

5. The Sales Process: Strategize

6. The Sales Process: Address Needs and Present

7. The Sales Process: Asking for the Business and Closing

8. Maintaining Client and Contact Relationships

9. Key Client Strategies for Retention and Growth

10. Sales Confidence – Build It and They Will Come

11. Connecting with Clients

About the author
Silvia L. Coulter served as director of marketing and business development for Hale and Dorr (now Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr), and as chief marketing officer for Dorsey & Whitney. In 1986 she co-founded Coulter King & O'Neill, Inc., a national legal management-consulting firm in Boston. She is a co-founder of the Legal Sales and Service Organization (www.legalsales.org) and is a past national president of the Legal Marketing Association.

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