Beyond Billable Hours: Bennion Kearny Limited

Most lawyers build their careers the way they hope cases will resolve: by being good at the work and trusting that recognition will follow. It rarely does. Beyond Billable Hours: The Growth Accelerator for Lawyers is the structured alternative to that gamble.

Drawing on her career as a Chief Marketing Officer in law firms and founder of a law firm growth consultancy, Barbara Koenen-Geerdink delivers a practical, step-by-step framework for lawyers who want to grow their practices with intention rather than luck.

At the centre of the book is the North Star Framework, a planning system that moves lawyers from vague ambitions to defined purpose, clear value propositions, and Ideal Client Profiles built around the specific problems they solve, not the credentials they hold. The book covers pricing strategy, relationship management, emotional intelligence, go-to-market execution and the growing role of AI in business development, enriched by the perspectives and practical insights of 24 industry experts from around the world.

Whether you are a junior associate building your first network or a partner rethinking your practice model, this book gives you the blueprint to treat your career as the business it already is.

Forget vague networking advice. Beyond Billable Hours delivers concrete tools: North Star frameworks, Ideal Client Profiles, value-based pricing models, and GTM strategies built specifically for legal practices. Practical, direct, and grounded in decades of real-world legal business development. This is the career strategy guide the profession has been missing.

Who is the book for?

Junior associates and early-career lawyers. Still waiting for success to find you? Beyond Billable Hours shows you how to build a personal growth plan from day one, define your value proposition, and develop client relationships before the pressure is on. Practical, structured, and grounded in real experience.

Law firm partners and senior lawyers. Good legal work alone does not build a practice. Beyond Billable Hours gives partners a strategic framework covering pricing, client development, peer referral networks, and emotional intelligence to grow revenue with intention rather than habit.

Legal business development and marketing professionals. Beyond Billable Hours speaks your language. From Ideal Client Profiles and persona mapping to GTM strategy and AI-powered CRM, this book gives BD professionals the vocabulary and frameworks to get lawyers genuinely engaged in growth.

About the Author.

Barbara Koenen-Geerdink is a law firm growth strategist, author and entrepreneur. She has built her career in business development, marketing and strategy within leading international law firms, including as Chief Marketing Officer of one of the largest law firms in the Middle East. She is the founder of Beyond Billable Hours, co-founder of the global BOOST community for legal business development and marketing professionals, and creator of The Law Firm Growth Game. Her work focuses on helping law firms and lawyers strengthen their commercial capabilities and navigate the changing business of law.