Eleven Core Elements to Great Client Service - the Law Firm Perspective

It is easy for a law firm to claim they offer great service. It is much, much more difficult to prove it. The difference between client perspective and law firm perspective as to what constitutes great client service is legendary. Study after study indicates two things:

1) That external lawyers believe their service merits an “A” rating and clients typically rate their external lawyers a “B” with respect to their client service.

2)?Clients routinely switch law firms in search of better service.

It is as simple as the difference between meeting expectations and exceeding expectations. When you ask yourself, “Do I offer my clients great service?” the answer should be a resounding “YES!” particularly if your clients feel they are paying you for superb client service.

Clients expect great service. When clients receive great service, they proactively send or refer more opportunities to you. When they receive average or desultory service…they will reach out to you only when they need to. Maybe.

But what constitutes great client service? Let’s examine the eleven core elements of great client service. These elements depend upon over 125 separate sub-elements, as listed below:

Core Reflections on Great Client Service

Good service is easy. Great client service requires going beyond the call of duty. Does your firm offer great service to your clients? Based upon client responses, you can intuit whether your firm’s service is desultory, good, excellent or best-in-class.

Here are key factors to consider:

·??????? Thematically speaking, treat each client as if they were your only client.

·??????? To that end, clients tend to mentally assign their professional service firms as either vendors or as trusted business advisors. Are you a vendor…or an advisor?

·??????? And to that end…have a plan for every client. Make sure they buy into the plan. Staffing, budgeting, strategic approach, fee structure.

·??????? Have an agreed-upon approach for deviations from the plan.

·??????? Be in their corner. Be their professional advocate. Guide clients when they want to be guided.

·??????? Take initiative. Leverage your experience and consistently help your clients prepare for risks. In short, keeping clients out of trouble rather than getting them out of trouble will engender loyalty. There will be sufficient opportunities to get clients out of legal difficulty.

·??????? Look for ways to say “yes, but” or “yes, and” rather than saying “no” too easily or too often, especially when your client is facing a clear challenge.

·??????? Keep proving yourself. Be opportunistic on behalf of your client.

·??????? Add value beyond your normal legal services. Your client should trust your business advice, or at a minimum your ability to understand the business side of their legal issues.

·??????? Your assistant reflects you and must offer equally great service. Same with your associates. Pay close attention to how they treat your clients.

·??????? When you receive a competitive request such as an RFP, solve every part of the client’s problem. Your RFP response must be full and complete, even for work you do not normally perform. If you want to control the relationship, you should control every aspect that you can, even if it means partnering with other firms or with alternative legal service providers (ALSPs).

·??????? Learn to use all the firm resources at your disposal on behalf of your clients. Do you refer business outside the firm even though your firm has that capacity?

Relationship Building

You should intimately know the legal and business concerns of your clients, both internally and externally. Your client relationship will determine your success, their success, and the success of your practice over the long term. Here are a few suggestions:

·??????? Seek out ways to partner with your clients.

·??????? Use your client’s personnel effectively.

·??????? Be interested in the client and their business beyond the legal issues.

·??????? Be in their corner. Be committed to their success.

·??????? Be focused, not distracted.

·??????? Be their friend. Friends forgive, friends are loyal.

·??????? Be empathetic. Put yourself in your client’s shoes.

·??????? Treat every client interaction as an opportunity, either for yourself or others. Be opportunistic on their behalf.

·??????? Educate your clients. Make them smarter. Partner with them to create content or thought leadership.

·??????? Be likeable. According to one of the best rainmakers I know, this is the single most important trait to building a relationship.

·??????? Similarly, be easy to work with.

·??????? Calmly, coolly, confidently deal with unexpected changes. This installs confidence in your client.

·??????? Make your client look good.

·??????? Get to know their successors. Personnel changes at clients demand a new selling job. Get to know the younger attorneys at a client.

·??????? Belong to the same organizations that your clients belong to. Get well versed in their industry.

·??????? Go on secondments (work inhouse) when you can.

·??????? Don’t cause negative or harmful surprises.

·??????? Touch all pieces of the client.

·??????? Seek out emotional situations.

·??????? Do the dirty work when asked. Be a good soldier.

·??????? Network within your client. Get to know the lawyers, get to know the administrative chiefs. Be interested so you can be interested.

·??????? Bring them clients, partners, combination candidates, relationships, other professionals.

·??????? Partner with your client in as many ways as possible. Write with your client. Speak with your client. Involve your firm in their corporate social responsibility (civic involvement, diversity, pro bono, charitable investments, and sustainability)

·??????? Treat their assistants, paralegals, inhouse counsel and legal operations professionals as well as you would treat your clients…and make sure that your team reciprocates.

·??????? Trust clients.

·??????? Offend or contradict selectively. Learn their language in order to deliver bad news.

·??????? Be a paragon of discretion.

·??????? Insist on feedback.

Solve Problems

Nominally speaking, you hire a law firm to address a variety of legal issues. But every legal issue has a business foundation. There are a range and host of business issues and problems that have legal angles. Bottom line: How strong is your firm at helping your clients solve their problems?

·??????? Don’t be an ivory tower lawyer. Learn to solve the business side of your client’s legal issues.

·??????? Weigh risks by weighing the downside of legal issues.

·??????? Internalize your clients’ legal problems. Worry on their behalf.

·??????? Demonstrate a commitment to your client’s legal and business objectives.

·??????? Couch business advice within your legal counsel.

·??????? Turn problems into opportunities, or at least attempt to do so.

·??????? Be practical. Be pragmatic.

·??????? Clients want business solutions. Offer creative solutions to solve their business and legal problems.

·??????? Anticipate and highlight potentially relevant issues beyond specific tasks and matters.

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Seek Understanding

“In order to be understood, first seek to understand,” which is the fifth habit cited by Dr. Steven Covey in his book “The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People.” At its essence, you should understand the core elements of your client’s business and their industries. To that end:

·??????? Proactively address their problems at the earliest possible moment.

·??????? Take moments to talk with your clients when and wherever possible.

·??????? Understand that a client’s business needs will often trump their immediate legal concerns.

·??????? At the outset of your relationship and at regular points, conduct an “expectations” discussion with your clients. Document the results.

·??????? Demonstrate that you understand their goals and objectives.

·??????? Take the time to learn about your client’s business, including their strategic plans over the next two to five years. Where does your client intend to take their business?

·??????? Learn their products, their competitors, the relevant market forces, and near-term forecasts.

·??????? Ask them to educate you on their industry, including key periodicals. You should read what your client reads if you wish to expand in that industry. Learn the industry jargon and the key business issues as well as the legal issues common to the industry.

·??????? Join their industry’s organizations. Make connections, target appropriate clients, build relationships, participate regularly, and run committees within those organizations…preferably either the new client committees or the events committees. Don’t get bogged down in heavily administrative committees like Rules or Treasury.

·??????? Embrace your client when they are unhappy. Those are times of great promise. Understand their position, learn more about them and broaden your understanding.

·??????? Be an effective listener. Pay close attention to what is said, and what is unsaid. Demonstrate that you understand.

·??????? Conduct independent client feedback interviews upon close of matters, and post-mortem interviews when you lose a client or a prospective client. They will give you extraordinary insights.

Timeliness

Timely delivery of service is much misunderstood. It does not just mean rapid responses to e-mails, phone calls and instant messages. It is not solely related to delivery of services prior to stated deadlines, although those are certainly critical components of timely service.

Timely service consists of those elements, but also includes:

• Thematically, respect a client’s time above all else.
• At the outset of the relationship or matter, host a discussion centered on mutual expectations.
• Document this mutual understanding, either by memo or e-mail, and circulate those expectations to all team members.
• Circulation of the mutual service expectations to all attorneys outside of the practice groups, industries and offices that regularly serve the clients.
• Through that discussion, understanding the nature of the client’s internal workflow and how your service delivery should integrate with the speed and rhythms of the client’s legal team and overall management.

·??????? Acknowledge all client demands, whether explicit or implied.

·??????? Make certain that your requests of your clients are made on a timely basis.

·??????? Lightning-quick turnaround to client requests, even if you don’t have a substantive legal answer. Acknowledge the request and provide a timeline for the answer. It lets them know you are all about satisfying their needs.

·??????? Measure expected versus actual turnaround time. Based upon the mutually agreed-upon expectations of you and your client, did you meet expectations? Were they exceeded? If expectations fall short, the client will require an aggressive remedy to ensure that it doesn’t reoccur.

·??????? Provide the most efficient service within a minimal time limit, ensuring that the client understands the efficiency of your response.

Accessibility

Clients ask a core question: Is my law firm there when I need them? Yes, external lawyers host or attend meetings, respond to client concerns, deliver upon their promises and clients receive value. But are you truly accessible to clients in the way that they need you to be? Can your clients reach you? Here are a few recommendations:

·??????? First, take moments to talk with clients when and where you can. This will help alleviate their anxiety and stress while positioning you as their forward-thinking advisor. Clients appreciate it when you get out in front of their core concerns.

·??????? At a minimum, schedule ongoing regular dialogue with clients at their request. Quarterly updates? Monthly check-ins? Whatever the client wants. You may find that many clients prefer minimal communications outside of emergencies and ongoing issues.

·??????? Do you give the impression that you are ignoring your client? It may be that you are deferring a response until you have more information, but this is a reputation that can spread rapidly.

·??????? Be responsive. Return every call, e-mail, and instant message. Even if your response isn’t substantive, the client will appreciate the care.

·??????? To that end, you can continually reassure your client through regular, constant communication.

·??????? Answer your own phone when the client calls. Give limited access to your mobile phone, and let your client know when you are most able to take the calls.

·??????? Be reliable. To the extent possible, schedule meetings around your client’s calendar. They will appreciate it.

·??????? Responding to urgency engenders client loyalty. Are you reachable 24/7 for emergencies? If your time is extremely limited due to business demands, do you have a degree of availability at all hours? I knew a key rainmaker who once slept with his phone set to “vibrate” to satisfy the demands of a major overseas client who tended to call between 2:00 and 5:00 a.m.

·??????? Don’t coast. It is important to over-serve a client at the outset of a relationship, but it is similarly critical to give strong service throughout the life of the relationship.

Quality

Quality is the cornerstone of any relationship, the very minimum that your client should expect. Results matter, but quality covers a wide range of concepts, including:

·??????? Meet the core scope of your client’s legal issues on every matter. Sounds obvious, but clients don’t always think it happens.

·??????? Make sure your work is both accurate and reviewed for minor errors.

·??????? Have exceptional legal skills. Continually sharpen your sword.

·??????? Be prepared. Always.

·??????? Participate as early as possible in legal strategy discussions with your clients and provide them with the broadest possible scope of options along the way.

·??????? Field the best legal team possible. Give the client a degree of control over their legal team and continually solicit the client’s opinions over the lawyers who serve them.

·??????? Switch out lawyers when they ask you to do so. Be receptive to those requests.

·??????? Include your client when designing your artificial intelligence strategies.

·??????? If you have “productized” your service, make certain that the legal quality is still superb and customized to the needs of the client.

·??????? Prove that you’re thinking of your client by sharing relevant content and thought leadership with them on a regular basis.

·??????? Anticipate client business and legal issues. Get there before they get there.

·??????? Regularly conduct planning sessions with your clients in order to avoid legal pitfalls.

·??????? Provide training in various areas of the law, particularly in those areas that are likely to affect your clients’ business.

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Help Clients Build Their External Brand

When it comes to clients, it’s a good idea to pay attention to everyone’s favorite FM radio station, WII-FM, otherwise known as “What’s In It For Me.” An often-overlooked element of the law firm / client relationship is the ability and proclivity of your firm to help you improve the individual professional life of your client. If there’s a tie between two law firms, it will break in your favor if you can build or promote your client’s personal brand. Here’s a few suggestions:

·??????? Help your clients make connections, with other clients, potential customers, professionals in tangent industries. Anticipate their needs and try to fill it. And if they are already working with someone in your network, reconnect with that individual and close that loop.

·??????? Help your client augment their corporate social responsibility profile. Many buyers are drawn to very specific CSR activities, whether it is pro bono work, community service, diversity efforts or other areas. Find out your client’s CSR passion and find a way to contribute. This builds their brand and your relationship with them.

·??????? Your client is likely to have thoughts on legal issues of the day, particularly as they relate to their industries or businesses. If you can assist your client in developing and distributing some form of thought leadership – articles, bulletins, white papers, surveys, etc. – and you can either co-author or help them get it placed, they will be in your debt.

·??????? Look for opportunities for your client to participate in social media, including blog posts, webinars, roundtables, digital organizations and so forth.

·??????? Look for opportunities for your client to participate in recognition programs, including awards, lists, rankings, directories and the like.

Pricing

·??????? Help your clients effectively manage their legal costs.

·??????? Clients are focused on cost control. Give them a reason to believe that you are similarly focused.

·??????? Create a pricing knowledge repository/experience database. Make sure all attorneys are aware of the pricing structure for each practice group and the kinds of work.

·??????? Understand fair value and adapt to market trends. Collect as much competitor pricing as you can over time. Watch their pricing and their annual rate raises and manage your rate tiers accordingly. Don’t fall behind. It’s very difficult to catch up once you go through rate stagnation.

·??????? From the beginning of the year or the beginning of a new client relationship, be prepared to articulate a cohesive pricing strategy.

·??????? Link pricing to strategic goals of clients. Your pricing strategy should reflect their strategic goals.

·??????? Give your client financial options. Standard time & expense, sure, but can you give them a fixed fee? How about incentive fees? Success fees?

·??????? Implement clear discounting guidelines. Too many lawyers cut costs too easily. Avoid unnecessary discounts by strategic selection. There should be a strategy and desired goal around every discount, e.g., to build business in a specific industry group, practice area, or office.

·??????? Leverage budget data for pricing innovation. There’s almost no such thing as too much information surrounding fees, particularly with respect to budget goals and actuals. This will help you to solidify pricing workflows and unify your rate structures. Establish pricing governance groups as you build out your knowledge/experience base.

·??????? Monitor your progress between budget goals and actuals.

·??????? Foster a transparent pricing ecosystem.

·??????? Plan early for next year. I highly recommend scheduling planning sessions in early Q4 of the prior year to get the jump on next year’s legal challenges.

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Communications

·??????? At the outset, understand your client’s preferred style of communication.

·??????? Be proactive with all communications. Unprompted communications conveys that you are continually thinking about your client.

·??????? Enhance client communications around fees, whether they are fee increases or unexpected bills on specific matters. Clients understand that these things happen, but they tend to focus on clumsy or nonexistent communications around fees.

·??????? Perform very early strategic assessments of legal issues affecting your clients, particularly when other law firms are likely to do the same.

·??????? Start with realistic budgets agreed to at the inception of new matters.

·??????? Make a full introduction of both teams at the start of new matters.

·??????? Secure client feedback on your proposed budget for both dollars and timing.

·??????? Advise clients of budget changes as close to real-time as possible.

·??????? Give relationship partners full authority to commit the firm to rates and fees.

·??????? Maintain effective communications with third parties.

·??????? Explain any unusual invoices to clients before sending them out.

·??????? Obtaining meaningful post-matter feedback.

·??????? Be succinct in all communications.

·??????? Focus on internal communications regarding the client account. Learn how to team with each other.

Last bit of advice

·??????? Last bit of advice, from a very senior chief legal officer, and it is this:

“Know that the competition is calling your clients every day. Therefore, you should make every client feel as if they were your only client.”

Adapted and reproduced from "125 Client Service Tips: Lessons from 1,000 Client Feedback Interviews." Mr. Stapleton has held Chief Business Development and Marketing Officer roles at multiple AmLaw 100 law firms as well as international marketing and business development roles at Big Five accounting firms including PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) and Arthur Andersen.