Marketing Partner Forum: What does it mean to be a client-centric law firm?

Amelia Island, Fla. — As the in-house role of the general counsel (GC) expands beyond mere legal and regulatory oversight, with more in-house lawyers participating in strategic discussions that touch on all aspects of a company’s operations. , corporate legal departments are also being asked to do more with less.

Additionally, given the close relationship between in-house legal departments and outside counsel, it is important for law firms to understand and anticipate the changing responsibilities facing GCs. Indeed, companies need to better understand the changing needs of their internal clients and ask themselves how they can best provide the types of legal services they need most.

This was a central issue discussed on several panels during the Thomson Reuters Institute’s recent conference. 31st Annual Law Firm Marketing Partner Forumparticularly on keynote panels attended by law firm managing partners (MPs), corporate GCs, and other corporate executives.

Indeed, this panel discussion highlighted what panellists described as the “difficult relationship between GCs and MPs, particularly around pricing and staffing,” and that much has changed since pre-pandemic, with companies now He said that customers may have an advantage. relationship. “Most law firms are facing pressure, but firm leaders feel different from GCs in that outside counsel is still in charge of the relationship,” said one panelist. said. “But the pressure from clients on pricing, efficiency and service delivery is slowly increasing, and you can see that in how RFPs work. [request for proposals] Although written today, it is clear that this is no longer true. ”

Looking for collaboration with external companies

Many client-side panelists said their organizations are always looking for opportunities to collaborate with outside law firms, and that firms that develop more collaborative relationships can differentiate themselves from their competitors. Ta. “Unfortunately, there are still many institutional arrogance That’s from the side of a lot of outside counsel, especially senior partners,” said another panelist. “Law firm partners would do well to remember that many in-house lawyers, especially many of today’s tech-savvy employees, may be smarter than they realize.”

To learn more about the 31st Annual Law Firm Marketing Partner Forum held recently by the Thomson Reuters Institute, watch the live video of the event.

Indeed, as technology shrinks the legal slice of the corporate spending pie, law firms can emphasize the other work they can do for clients, such as outside counsel’s expertise in so-called soft skills such as emotional issues. I need to find a job like this. Intelligence and communication, said one panelist.

In fact, many of the corporate panelists said they don’t actually know how their clients are using the legal advice provided by many law firms until their lawyers sit down with them in-house. said. “It’s like being in a hotel,” another panelist explained. “You have to give the customer what they want. If they want a feather pillow, give them a feather pillow. Don’t give them a cement block to rest their head on.”

Unfortunately, many lawyers don’t have that training, so law firms need to help lawyers, especially new employees, understand what legal services mean. to the client.Companies need to focus on training their employees real life and how to get better service partner —Panelists say today’s new hires are not receiving training in law school.

Client-focused law firm

what are the conditions service partner, collaborationor — another hot button term — be client centric What really makes sense for a law firm, and how do those ideas impact the day-to-day operations of a law firm?

Another panel addressed this directly, exploring what it means for law firms to move to a client-centric model. The first step in this type of change is determining which firms are receiving what level of service and, more importantly, which clients the firm may be underserving. The committee explained that it is important to focus on customer evaluation to ensure that

Companies must then move from evaluation to a more holistic approach to how they serve their customers. A key account program should be established and managed by the company’s business development department, and the key elements are to determine what each customer does and what their day-to-day legal needs are. We need to plan, panelists said. This allows us, for example, to build software for our IP clients primarily on collaborative platforms, including features such as data sharing, continuing legal education (CLE), training, and billing platform compatibility. It will be possible.

“Remember that this kind of client-centric approach only works if the client knows about it. It’s important to communicate to the client the extra work and effort you put in, and if you don’t It will be wasted.”

And, as part of the proposal proposal framework, this work should be provided as a value-add, including secondary placement, establishing CLE opportunities, and connecting clients with communications and finance professionals. It is included.

“But remember, this kind of customer-centric approach only works if your customers know about it,” said one panelist. “It’s important to communicate the extra work and effort you put in to your clients, otherwise it will be wasted.”

But for companies to become truly customer-centric, today’s customers want to expand their needs and are looking to legal partners to do so, meaning more external touchpoints and connections. you need to understand what it means. Firms and their attorneys need to understand that clients don’t want to hear from a firm over and over again just for the sake of it. check-inInstead, clients want an outside law firm that can understand their needs, anticipate them, and communicate what value they are bringing to the relationship.

“To be seen as a client-centric firm, we need to ensure that we provide legal services and, more importantly, communicate those ideals to our clients, ensuring that the firm fully represents the value of the firm to our clients. It’s important to create an internal culture that is centered around demonstrating excellence,” the panelists added.

This is the third and final installment in a series of blog posts highlighting key takeaways from the recent Thomson Reuters Research Institute’s 31st Annual Report. Law Firm Marketing Partner Forum.