Law Firm Marketing: The
Client's Point of View
SUMMARY
OF THIS ARTICLE:
Clients trust and respect a lawyer who is a
confidant and trusted ally.
- Most clients assume their lawyers possess the
requisite experience and technical skills to competently represent them.
- From a client’s perspective, service is what
distinguishes one lawyer from another.
- Laywers must change service into a pervasive reality within
the firm.
- This change involves: transforming the firm’s culture
and values, setting higher performance standards, and learning to think in new ways.
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Clients want their lawyers to earn their
business, which often translates into first earning their trust and respect. Clients will
trust and respect a lawyer who not only protects them and stands up for their rights but
also is a confidant and trusted ally.
In law school, we were taught that
ultimately lawyers were paid to think. The left-brain analytical skills we would
employ when arguing a case or writing a brief were the most important service we could
offer our clients. This is true in part. But in today’s market, clients want and
expect much more.
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In a recent interview, Gregory Haas, the
CEO of a large telecommunications company in the Midwest, expressed the same sentiment:
"I want a lawyer to help me think through the problems," he said. "But he
must also take the time and effort to learn about my business and to understand the
challenges we face in the marketplace. I want a lawyer who will have the courage to talk
straight to me. And when things get tough, I need to know this person is both prepared and
committed to help us through the storm."
It’s not uncommon for lawyers to argue
that what distinguishes one firm from another should be its legal
expertise—the quality of its work. The reality, however, is that most clients assume
their lawyers possess the requisite experience and technical skills to effectively and
competently represent them. They assume the legal work will be performed in a
timely, professional manner.
Clients not only assume that these
professional services will be provided, but they also want certain other things from their
lawyers. Clients want their phone calls to be returned promptly. They want promises kept.
They want to be kept informed. They want their lawyer to help them understand the issues.
And perhaps most importantly, clients want to be respected.
So what distinguishes one lawyer from
another? It comes down to service. Defining service, however, is not easy, because so much
depends on the needs and wants of particular clients. Defining service from the
client’s viewpoint rather than the lawyer’s is just the starting point. Turning
the notion of service into a pervasive reality within your firm is an entirely different
matter.
Turning quality service into a reality in a
firm means transforming the firm’s culture and values at every level. It means
setting greater standards of performance for everyone in the firm—not just the
lawyers. It also means learning to think in new ways.
This article is an excerpt from Marketing the
Legal Mind (LMG Press) by Henry Dahut. Henry Dahut is the founder of www.GotTrouble.com,
a law and financial trouble portal. He can be reached at henry@henrydahut.com and www.henrydahut.com.
This article is reproduced here by Divorce
Marketing Group with their full permission. Copyright - 2007 All Rights Reserved www.HenryDahut.com.This
material is copyrighted and is NOT in the public domain. You may not reproduce or
otherwise publish this material or any part thereof, in any form or manner without prior
written consent of the author.
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