"The single most important thing that outside counsel can do to assist in C-Suite communications is to understand our business and the company's goals." — José Ramon Gonzalez, Chief Legal Officer, Equitable Holdings Inc.

The most challenging and yet the most critical aspect of understanding the client's company and its business is understanding its business model. Law firms often approach this as if it is fine to learn this incrementally as you get to know the client over time. However, this is not acceptable to clients. They need you to understand, internalize, and translate into creative solutions for legal issues as early as possible, so you can help them address business challenges. And then, to continue to refine your understanding so you can continuously offer proactive solutions as well as solve immediate problems. This, in a nutshell, is why clients want you to specialize in them.

Lawyers don't learn about business models in law school. But the business model underlies how your client's company makes money. "A business model describes the rationale of how an organization creates, delivers and captures value." (Business Model Generation, 2010, Alexander Osterwalder & Yves Pigneur)