Law Practice Management Asked and Answered Blog

Category: Satisfaction

Jan 23, 2018

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Client Satisfaction Surveys in Law Firms

Question: 

Our firm is a seventeen attorney firm is San Diego. We are a boutique business litigation firm and we represent companies of all sizes. We represent several Fortune 500 companies. I am a member of our three member marketing committee and during our last meeting one of our members suggested that we consider a formal survey of our clients. What are your thoughts regarding client satisfaction surveys? Is this something we should consider?

Response: 

Personally, I believe that if you represent institutional clients such as yours, that soliciting feedback from clients and acting on that feedback is one of the best marketing/client development investments that a firm can make. During a recent client satisfaction telephone interview with a corporate client of a law firm a client told me, “If our lawyers would pay just a little more attention to us, take us to lunch once in a while – without billing for the time . . .if they would treat us like they care … I’d give them all of our business in the entire state of California.” Statements of this sort are not at all uncommon in client satisfaction interviews. Of all investments of a  firm’s marketing budget, none is as cost effective as a client satisfaction survey.

A law firm’s existing clients are important source of continuing and new business for the firm. The most efficient way to bring in business is to sell additional work to existing clients.

Surveying the firm’s clients is an effective method of monitoring satisfaction. It is the first step towards improving client relations and increasing revenue from the current client base. A well-designed client satisfaction survey can help a firm do the following:

• Prevent the loss of important clients
• Identify specific cross-selling opportunities
• Improve its service mix
• Improve the positioning of its services
• Identify weaknesses in competitors
• Understand client needs
• Anticipate changing client needs
• Identify client relationship issues

For firms that represent institutional clients I believe that structured telephone interviews are the best survey method.

I have had situations where law firm clients have advised me that they had stopped sending files to the firm due to a relationship issue with a particular partner and the law firms, after being appraised of the issues, were able to resolve the problem and repair the relationship.

There are several articles on our website – see links below – that discuss client satisfaction survey programs and how to get started.

Click here for our blog on client service

Click here for our article on client satisfaction

Click here for our article on client surveys 

Click here for our article on analyzing survey results

Click here for our article on developing your client service improvement plan

Click here for our article on tips for rewarding and recognizing employees

John W. Olmstead, MBA, Ph.D, CMC

 

Jun 22, 2016

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Law Firm Associate Satisfaction and Retention

Question:

I am the owner of a twenty attorney litigation firm in Seattle. The nineteen associates are all in the same tier or category and are paid a salary plus bonus. Their time with the firm ranges from one to fifteen years. I enjoy sole ownership but I realize that to continue to grow and prosper I must make some changes. I have recently lost several associates that I would have liked to have stayed with the firm. I am also getting stressed having all of the management responsibility since I currently make all of the decisions. Several associates have told me that the morale is low. I welcome your thoughts.

Response:

Compensation and benefits is one determinant as to whether associates are satisfied with employment at a firm. However, compensation and benefits is not enough to motivate and retain top performers. Law firms must help their associates invest in their careers and motivate and help them develop competencies and skills to enhance their productivity. With the downsizing, push for 2000+ annual billable hour push, etc., associates are skeptical about their futures and feel they have no power or ability to influence their careers. Associates want:

• To learn
• To feel they are part of the firm and larger picture
• To know where the firm is headed
• To participate in management
• To know what is expected of them
• To know whether advancement is possible
• To know what they have to do to advance their careers
• To have control over their advancement

Here are a few thoughts:

1. Share more information about the firm where you can – its plans for the future, where it is heading, it's strategic plan, etc.
2. Improve and open up communications with associates.
3. If there are other tiers such as senior associate, non-equity partner, equity partner – prepare and share with your associates documents that outline what it means to be a member in each tier and what performance and other factors are required to advance to each tier.
4. Improve your review process and incorporate goal setting with each associate.
5. Consider a management advisory committee or other committees where associates can participate in firm management.

Apr 12, 2016

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Law Firm Client Satisfaction – Exceeding Client Expectations

Question:

I am owner of a four attorney firm in Amarillo, Texas. We represent both individual and institutional clients. Recently, we have had numerous complaints from clients advising us that our services took longer than expected and fees were also higher than expected. I would appreciate your thoughts?

Response:

Based upon client satisfaction surveys (telephone interviews) that we do for law firms we find that one of the biggest problems is that the attorneys are doing a poor job of managing client expectations. Your clients get frustrated when you promise one thing (timeline or fees) and the result is very different – especially when the work takes longer than promised or the fees are higher. Even though you don't structure it as a promise your clients take it that way. The key is to under promise and over deliver. I suspect that upon the initial client meeting you are under estimating the timeline and low balling the fee range. Reduce the promise – increase the - timeline and fee range and then shoot to deliver under that range. This will do wonders for improving the client relationship.

Click here for our blog on client service

Click here for our article on the topic

Aug 04, 2014

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Law Firm Client Telephone Satisfaction Interviews in Insurance Defense Law Firms

Question:

I am the chair of our firm's marketing committee. We are a 24 attorney insurance defense firm in Houston. While we solicit feedback from some of our larger insurance company clients at lunch and face to face meetings – the sessions are not structured, data is not really tabulated, and only a handful of clients are usually involved. We have been thinking of embarking on a more structured process. I would appreciate your thoughts:

Response:

Our firm recently completed client satisfaction interviews for several of our insurance defense law firm clients. Here are a few quotes and a summary of what these insurance company law firm clients told us:

• We want to work with proactive attorneys that aren’t afraid to try cases. 
• Limit the number of people working on a file. I like consistent assignments. 
• I expect attorneys to get back to me by the next business day. 
• I like one partner and one associate per file. 
• Most of our billing issues with law firms is due to excessive use of associates time.  
• I get upset with attorneys that want to settle right before trial. 
• The primary reason that we terminate our relationship with our outside attorneys is not reporting to us in a timely fashion and poor communications. 
• I find that many lawyers are poor at managing their files and have poor basic communication skills. I work with lawyers that can do both of these things well. 
• I think that it is important that law firms provide value added services such as newsletters, legislative updates, e-alerts, seminars, etc on a “no charge” basis. These services are provided by most law firms these days. Such services help us do our jobs better, improves communications and the overall relationship between our organization and the law firm, keeps us up to date on changes in the law, and helps the law firm stay abreast of emerging needs in our business. 
• I will pay higher fees to lawyers that aren’t afraid to try cases.

Much can be learned by talking to your clients. Structured telephone interviews conducted by a neutral in-house law firm marketing employee or outside third party can provide many surprises as well as answers. Client satisfaction interviews can be the best marketing investment that you can make.

Click here for our blog on marketing 

Click here for articles on other topics

John W. Olmstead, MBA, Ph.D, CMC

 

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