About this episode

Craig Budner discusses the role of a Global Strategic Growth Partner and strategies for law firm growth.

Growth means different things depending on where you sit in a law firm. For lawyers, it's often about winning new work and deepening client relationships. For marketing and BD teams, it's about building the infrastructure, content and hiring strategy that makes that growth possible at scale. Bridging those two perspectives is increasingly becoming a role in its own right. As we continue to revisit standout episodes from the main podcast, today on CMO Series: Laterals & Mergers, we're looking back at a conversation Charles Cousins had with Craig Budner, former Global Strategic Growth Partner at K&L Gates, now CEO of Budner Performance Group. Craig explored what that bridging role looks like in practice, and how it drove growth across an international firm. Charles and Craig dive into: What a Global Strategic Growth Partner actually does The thinking behind launching the K&L Gates Client Conversations podcast Where the biggest growth opportunities lie for an international law firm How marketing and BD teams can support lawyers to build client relationships at scale What makes a strong lateral hire Key advice for firm leaders looking to grow their firms

People in this episode

Host: Charles Cousins

Guest: Craig Budner

Topics covered

• law firm growth
• marketing strategy
• business development
• client relationships
• lateral hires
• leadership advice

Keywords

• law firm growth
• marketing
• business development
• client relationships
• lateral hires
• K&L Gates
• Budner Performance Group

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Budner Performance Group, K&L Gates

More episodes of Passle CMO Series Podcast

• Episode 7 - CMO Series Laterals & Mergers: Heidi Gardner and Ivan Matviak on How Law Firms Can Turn Relationships into Revenue · September 3, 2026 · 36 min
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• Episode 5 - CMO Series Laterals & Mergers: Kathryn Whitaker of Burr & Forman on Turning Lateral Moments Into Momentum · August 20, 2026 · 20 min
• Episode 3 - CMO Series Laterals & Mergers: Adam Severson of Baker Donelson on The Marketing Playbook for Laterals And Mergers · August 12, 2026 · 25 min
• Episode 2 - CMO Series Laterals & Mergers: Dave Southern of Mayer Brown on Making Lateral Acquisitions Pay Off Through Client Collaboration · August 6, 2026 · 16 min
• Episode 1 - CMO Series Laterals & Mergers: Will Brewster on The Communications Lens on A Law Firm Merger · August 5, 2026 · 17 min

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