Job Details

Business Development Manager

The Estate Lawyers, APC | Trust, Probate & Estate Litigation | California

We Protect People. You'll Build the Relationships That Bring Them to Us.

At The Estate Lawyers, we litigate on behalf of trustees facing lawsuits and beneficiaries who've been taken advantage of. Our work is meaningful — and the relationships that sustain it matter just as much.

We're growing, and our attorneys are active in the world — networking, speaking, building visibility. What we need now is someone who takes those moments and turns them into lasting referral relationships. Someone who values the follow-through as much as the first conversation. Someone who finds real satisfaction in building a system that works consistently, quietly, and well.

If you naturally keep a running list, follow up without being reminded, and genuinely enjoy nurturing professional relationships over the long haul — this might be the right fit.

What You'll Own

You'll be the keeper of our referral relationship engine:

• Building and managing structured touch plans for our top referral partners
• Ensuring every lunch, event, and meeting has a documented next step
• Driving consistent, professional follow-up — typically within 24–48 hours
• Turning one-off interactions into multi-touch, long-term relationships
• Coordinating attorney prep packets, gifting programs, and relationship calendars
• Supporting speaking, podcast, and event opportunities from intake through follow-through
• Maintaining referral-source database hygiene in partnership with our marketing team
• Freeing up attorney time so their BD efforts go further

This role sits at the center of our revenue growth — and you'll have real ownership of it.

HubSpot & Marketing Initiatives

We work with a third-party vendor who handles the technical buildout of HubSpot — so you won't be building pipelines from scratch. What we do need is someone who knows their way around the platform: running marketing initiatives, sending newsletters, tracking engagement metrics, and knowing what "working" looks like when a campaign is gaining traction.

If you've used HubSpot to manage relationships, measure outreach activity, or support a marketing calendar — that's the experience we're looking for.

What This Is (And What It Isn't)

This is a relationship-operations role — equal parts strategy, execution, and follow-through.

You won't be responsible for:

• HubSpot architecture or technical configuration
• Writing or designing newsletter content from scratch
• Paid media, SEO, or website management

You will be responsible for making sure nothing falls through the cracks.

What Success Looks Like

• Referral partners hear from us consistently and professionally
• Every meaningful interaction has a next step — documented and followed through
• Dormant referral sources are reactivated
• Attorneys spend less time coordinating and more time building
• Referral relationships evolve into predictable pipelines

Key Metrics: Monthly touchpoints completed, active account plans, post-event follow-up rate, reactivated dormant sources, referral-originated clients, attorney BD time saved.

You Might Be a Strong Fit If…

• You have BD experience in professional services — law, wealth management, accounting, or consulting
• You're organized by nature — systems aren't a burden, they're how you think
• Follow-up comes naturally to you; it's not a habit you've had to build
• You understand that relationships are built through consistency, not one-off lunches
• You have a professional presence and can hold your own with attorneys and senior professionals
• You're comfortable using HubSpot (or a similar CRM) to manage activity, track outreach, and support marketing initiatives
• You take quiet pride in the details others overlook

This Probably Isn't the Right Fit If…

• You prefer creative or content-focused work over relationship execution
• You need frequent direction to stay organized and on task
• You view tracking activity as overhead rather than insight
• You think BD is mostly about the lunch

Our Culture

• Stay Hungry — proactive, builder mentality, always looking for the next opportunity
• Radical Candor — clear, direct, kind communication
• Radical Respect — professional, trustworthy, high standards
• Team Win / Client Win — collaboration over ego
• No Jerks Allowed — we take the work seriously, not ourselves

Qualifications

• 5+ years in business development within professional services
• Proven success building B2B referral relationships
• Experience managing long-cycle, relationship-driven pipelines
• Comfort working with senior professionals (attorneys, partners, executives)
• Strong communication, organization, and reporting discipline
• Bachelor's degree required; advanced degree a plus

Compensation & Benefits

• $130,000–$160,000 base plus performance bonuses
• Full-time | Exempt | Hybrid
• Location: Irvine, CA
• 401(k) with match, health/dental/vision, PTO, parental leave
• Professional development and real growth opportunity

This role is for someone who finds meaning in the follow-through — who builds trust one consistent touchpoint at a time, and who takes pride in a system that never lets a relationship go cold.

Ready to Apply?

If this role resonates with you, we'd love to hear from you. Send us your resume and a brief note — not a cover letter, just a few sentences — telling us about a referral relationship you built or maintained that you're genuinely proud of. What made it work? What kept it alive?

We review every application personally. Please send your materials to amy@theestatelawyers.com