1. Understand your clients' businesses and goals to provide proactive solutions. Work to learn your clients' priorities, constraints, initiatives and culture. 2. Embrace your new role as a firm leader by helping accomplish the firm's objectives through improved marketing, practice management, collaboration and training. 3. Identify a niche practice area based on your expertise and industry trends, and market yourself as the go-to expert to build a recognizable brand and make billing rates less vulnerable.