Many companies still treat legal as a late-stage checkpoint, which leads to stalled deals, frustrated clients, and lost revenue. In practical terms, this can mean a sale delayed for months or a customer walking away entirely, outcomes that weaken trust and slow growth.
This disconnect sits at the heart of how many organizations think about selling. The legal department is expected to manage risk, the sales team is pushed to move fast, and the strategy function struggles to reconcile the two. The risk is misalignment at the moment a deal matters most. “Growth is not just about selling more, it’s about selling smarter, together,” says Chuki Obiyo, Chief Business Development Officer at Vedder, a business-focused law firm. Sustainable growth, he says, emerges when legal, sales and strategy are aligned around a shared commercial outcome rather than competing incentives.
When that alignment exists, enterprise growth accelerates. Lawyers act as business growth enablers rather than last-minute gatekeepers, incentives reward collaboration over speed alone, and organizations close deals faster with less friction.
Reframing the Growth Conversation
At Vedder, Obiyo leads initiatives that bring business development strategies and stakeholders into closer alignment, a practical expression of his belief in systems thinking. He credits that perspective in part to growing up in a village in Nigeria where resources were scarce and outcomes depended on discipline, coordination and shared purpose. That mindset carried through to his legal training and later work advising senior executives. He saw first-hand that the greatest threat to professional services firms was not technical competence, but the inability to connect expertise to commercial reality.
“Sales wants speed, Legal wants risk mitigation,” he notes. “The bridge between the two is alignment.” Lawyers are trained to identify and mitigate risk, while sales teams are rewarded for speed and deal closure. Rather than treating business development as a peripheral skill, Obiyo positions it as a leadership capability that sits at the intersection of personal development, strategy and execution.
Coaching Lawyers and Leaders to Think Differently
The first lever Obiyo focuses on is coaching. In many organizations, lawyers are rewarded for precision but rarely helped to understand their role in value creation. “We need to coach lawyers to see themselves not just as protectors of the business, but as enablers of business value,” he says. That shift requires more than training in sales techniques. It demands confidence, commercial literacy and an understanding of how legal decisions shape customer relationships and long-term growth.
The same principle applies to sales leaders. Obiyo is clear that alignment is not achieved by forcing one function to bend to the other. Instead, leaders must be recognized for behaviors that prioritize sustainable outcomes. “We also need to commend sales leaders who prioritize long-term relationships over short-term wins,” he adds.
Making Legal a Strategic Partner
A second source of friction is timing. “Too often, legal is brought in too late,” he says. “After deals are nearly closed, that creates tension and delays.” The alternative is to embed legal earlier in strategic conversations, where priorities are shaped rather than merely approved.
When legal teams understand the commercial objectives from the outset, they can design frameworks that scale. Contracts become tools for growth rather than obstacles, and risk management becomes proactive rather than reactive. Obiyo describes legal as a strategic co-pilot, helping the organization navigate complexity while maintaining momentum.
This approach is particularly critical for early-stage startups, middle market companies, and fast-growing enterprises, where repeatable processes and trust with customers determine whether growth compounds or stalls.
Aligning Incentives to Drive Collaboration
Even with the right mindset and structure, misaligned incentives can derail collaboration. “If sales is rewarded purely on speed and legal is rewarded for caution, friction is inevitable.” Alignment requires organizations to rethink how success is measured. Instead of siloed metrics, Obiyo advocates for shared outcomes such as faster deal velocity, fewer contract revisions, and stronger customer retention. These indicators reward collaboration rather than conflict.
When incentives reflect collective performance, behaviors change. Legal teams become more commercially engaged, sales teams become more disciplined and leadership gains clearer visibility into what drives sustainable growth.
Why Alignment Matters
The implications of Obiyo’s framework extend beyond legal and sales functions. At its core, alignment is a leadership challenge. Organizations that fail to integrate expertise across disciplines struggle to execute strategy, no matter how ambitious their goals.
Obiyo’s work demonstrates that business development is not about persuasion alone but also includes creating environments where expertise is applied in service of a shared objective. “When teams are aligned on what success looks like, they can work together to achieve it,” he says.
As professional services firms and complex organizations navigate increasing client expectations and competitive pressures, the ability to align legal, sales and strategy will become a defining advantage. Obiyo’s perspective offers a practical blueprint for leaders who want growth that endures.
Follow Chuki Obiyo on LinkedIn to learn more.
