Husch Blackwell has hired veteran Texas legal marketing and business development professional Erin Banks to bolster the firm’s growth, innovation, and enhance brand visibility by “allowing lawyers to focus on lawyering.”
Banks became the firm’s first-ever Chief Business Development Officer and has over 20 years of experience in similar management roles at several Am Law 50 firms, including those in Dallas and Austin.
Banks said she plans to collaborate with senior leaders across departments to identify ways to reduce the administrative burden on lawyers, explore new business opportunities, and develop data-driven strategies to ensure high-quality client service, boost the firm’s revenue, and sustain national growth.
“We’re going to let the right people do the right work,” she said. “And in that scenario, everyone has an opportunity to thrive.”
In running the firm like a business, she said Husch Blackwell hopes to “free up lawyers even more so they can continue to do what they do best.”
Based in Dallas, Banks said she will use research and analytics to help Husch Blackwell — which has more than 1,100 attorneys in 36 states and Washington, D.C. — develop insights on “the type of work we do and knowing the needs of our clients.”
Banks said that her team will help attorneys win new clients through highly targeted and efficient marketing and business development insights. She said the attorneys’ time is “rather precious. So, any time we can enhance the speed of the delivery of that information will be amazing.”
“I hope to demonstrate to our lawyers all the things our team can deliver,” Banks added.
Having recently been hired, Banks said she has started a “listening tour” across the firm to understand the overall needs.
“I want to hear from our lawyers and clients directly; what they think we are known for,” she said. “…And I want to look at what we do for all our clients and see what more we can be doing.”
The review will also encompass everything from our digital presence on social media to one-on-one client interactions.
In speaking to the lawyers, she said she and her development team hoped to learn if the firm is “delivering the type of support that they really need.”
Questions would be asked: “How have the needs shifted over time? Does our team even have the right head count?”
Specific goals and input from her business development team, she believed, would be integral to success.
“I find it infinitely rewarding to lead a team and show them that they, too, can achieve more than they thought possible. It requires infrastructure. It requires some planning.”
Her business development and market team plan to analyze “a lot of touch points in that marketing funnel,” including firm websites, blogs, podcasts, LinkedIn impressions, engagement rates, and social channel optimization.
“It is a lot of analytics,” she said. “I spend a lot of time in front of Excel pivot tables and dashboards.”
Such comprehensive research and analysis, she said, will be essential for ongoing efforts to strengthen the firm’s national brand.
Banks said she has always been goal-oriented, with diverse interests — a bachelor’s degree in English and a Certificate in Strategic Marketing Essentials from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.
“I’m a lifelong learner, looking for ways to improve,” she said. “I’m attracted to complex and challenging work.”
She said she hoped the business development team would strengthen internal collaboration with the legal department that would directly lead to “an increase in revenue based upon the efforts that our team has delivered.”
Initially, her business development plan includes a one-year goal: to ensure “our lawyers view the department as a strategic partner in their success.”
Data would be used to evaluate her team’s success. “I would like to be able to connect the dots: we hosted this event that led to this introduction, which led to this follow-up, which led to this pitch, which led to this particular new client engagement.”
Banks called Husch Blackwell a “high-octane environment.”
“I am thrilled to be here. There is a lot of energy and momentum at this firm,” she said “…People want to grow. They want to challenge themselves. And they want our input in doing so. And that partnership mindset is uncommon.”
“When you have individuals who want to take it to the next level, the sky is the limit,” she said.
In a statement, Husch Blackwell CEO Jamie Lawless said Banks is part of a dynamic leadership team to drive the firm’s next phase of growth.
“From her extensive experience guiding large firm growth to her leadership style and cultural fit, Erin is a transformative addition to our leadership team,” Lawless said. “She has built high-performing teams, delivered measurable growth, and led law firms through competitive market shifts.”
Revenue has increased by 102 percent since Husch Blackwell’s 2016 merger with Whyte Hirschboeck Dudek. The firm’s headcount has grown by 56 percent since then.
Banks most recently served as Director of Business Development, Practices at Reed Smith, where she led revenue initiatives and implemented advanced business intelligence tools to monitor opportunities.
She also held senior leadership roles at Norton Rose Fulbright and Perkins Coie, where she developed and managed global business development teams, launched client account programs, and created firmwide proposal systems.