The associates in your law firm can provide an excellent source of support for your business development activities. Just as using associates for client work leverages your time and increases the firm's profitability, employing associates in your business development efforts can likewise reap rewards. Yet, when I mention this to partners in firms, they often resist the idea by saying that associates insist on focusing on billable work and are unwilling to take on these tasks.

When it comes to encouraging associates to take on business development activities, however, it's crucial that Baby Boomer partners consider how younger generations may be different. Instead of believing that associates are unwilling to handle nonbillable work, consider pairing associates with the right types of business development assignments and providing detailed guidance.

Many senior associates are Generation Xers. Based on their life experiences, they believe that job security is nonexistent and that self-reliance is essential. At work, Xers ask themselves: Are my talents being used? Am I learning new skills? Am I rewarded for my contributions now, not five years from now? Am I given increasing responsibility?

Most junior associates are part of the Millennial Generation. They are optimistic and community-service oriented, and they seek meaningful work that impacts their world. They tend to be team players who want to work with committed coworkers. They want bosses who get to know them, mentor them, provide constructive feedback and give respect.

Given that Xers are often motivated by the opportunity to learn new skills and expand their scopes of responsibility and that Millennials typically desire to be treated as part of the team with a boss who looks out for them, partners seeking to leverage business development activities by delegating them would do well to focus on these goals. As part of the delegation process, partners should discuss the importance of learning business development skills and explain specifically how each activity will benefit the associate.

Some examples:

* Writing an article.
Recruiting the Gen Xer: When an associate helps prepare an article, give credit in the byline. After the article has been written, encourage the associate to update her resume to reflect her developing niche. Then work together to identify places to republish the article, letting the associate pursue opportunities. Also, create a list of clients and contacts to which you and the associate will send the article along with a short personal note.

Recruiting the Millennial: If the article will result in a speech at a conference, invite the associate to attend and team up to network at the event. After watching the speech, the associate can be given an opportunity to present the same speech at another conference or to a practice group meeting.

* Client entertainment (lunches, sporting events, parties, etc.) teaches associates how to develop business relationships.
Entertaining with Gen Xers: With their bottom-line mentality, Xers may need to be reminded to keep their focus on learning about the client's business or establishing a personal connection as opposed to trying to sell services. Make sure that the goals you set for associate/client interactions aren't bottom-line driven, but rather relationship driven. This will keep Xers engaged in relationship cultivation.

Entertaining with Millennials: Identify opportunities for client entertainment, for example, in connection with deal closings, deposition preparation or business travel. Before any client entertainment, clearly outline expectations, from what to include on an expense report to what to wear, when to arrive and what to talk about. Encourage the associate to see herself as a team member and to look for ways to ensure that the client is being well-served by the firm.

Help associates at all levels see the value in cultivating relationships. The associate may "inherit" the client when the partner retires, or the relationship may become the basis for a future referral source. Pointing out these opportunities will encourage associates to take a more proactive role.

By working with associates to leverage business development activities, partners can multiply the impact of their own efforts, generate loyalty from associates and deepen the firm's relationships with clients. Associates will learn valuable skills that will strengthen their business development acumen.

By keeping in mind the generational differences among associates, the rewards of business development will be even greater--for you, the associate involved and your firm. It's easier than you might have thought to get associates to think beyond the billable hour.