Category Archive for: Client Teams

The Evolution of Value in Legal Services: A framework for defining value and improving the way lawyers deliver legal services

In 1964, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart said he couldn’t define pornography but “knew what it was when he saw it.” Something similar can be said today about the concept of value in legal services. Ask lawyers how they define the value of what they do and most will struggle with a tangible definition.…

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The LVS Law Firm Performance Index

As a follow up to my Moneyball and the Law series addressing whether statistical data is a better measure of law firm performance than subjective insight, I’m introducing a new framework that tests this hypothesis. The Law Firm Performance Index™ To achieve the highest level of performance, law firms need to understand the outward-facing factors…

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Does Your Geek Talk to Your Client’s Geek?

I was disappointed to miss this year’s ILTA conference but was lucky enough to attend a post mortem at yesterday’s San Diego Women in eDiscovery meeting. There, Saeid Ahmadian of Luce Forward provided a summary of the programs he attended. One session focused on issues facing corporate IT. Their message: They have no one to talk to…

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Changing for the sake of change: A proponent’s viewpoint

If, as Cicero said, man is his own worst enemy, then partners are posing the biggest risk to the sustainability of large law firms. From my vantage point, individual attorney, practice group and other internal silos are preventing most firms from making needed change in the way they do business. With the latest Hildebrant Baker…

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Client Service Lesson #5: Communication, Communication, Communication

This is the final post of a five-part series on lessons learned from working with law firm client service teams. To learn more, check out my article, “Lessons from the Trenches: Law Firm Client Service Teams.“ Have you ever been stuck on the tarmac during an airline flight delay? To me, there is nothing more frustrating, especially…

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Client Service Lesson #4: Appearances Count

Relationship management touches every aspect of the business—from how you answer the phone to how you bill your clients. Create a client service policy for your firm and make sure every person on staff understands their role in relationship management. Effective client service teams analyze their existing client relationships across every functional unit of the…

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Client Service Lesson #3: Business Process Matters

It is a buyer’s market out there. Over the last two years, more than 5,700 lawyers have lost their jobs. The demand for many types of legal services is down. Competition for high-demand legal services has never been greater. Being a good lawyer is no longer good enough. How you demonstrate value is equally important.…

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Client Service Teams Lesson #2: Understand Your Clients

Oscar Wilde once said, “You know more than you think you know, just as you know less than you want to know.” When it comes to law firm marketing, the same can be said about your clients. In some ways you do know more than you think you know, although you may not have harnessed…

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Client Service Team Lesson #1: Listen to your clients

My first job was at TJ’s Big Boy Restaurant in Rochester, New York. It was here, at the age of 16, that I received my first formal training in client feedback. As a hostess, when customers came up to pay their bill, it was my responsibility to collect and track feedback by asking, “How was…

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The Case for Law Firm Client Teams

If it is true, as I believe, that value-driven legal services and profitability are not mutually exclusive, then law firm client teams offer a first step toward achieving both. Client teams come in many shapes and sizes. When I use the term Client Team, I am referring to an organized, disciplined approach to strengthen and…

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