Practice Management

CBA's Practice Link: Always Making Cents.

By Dan Hull

Clients don't care that you're smart--or that you're nice. So if you're stymied about what Client Service really is, see the Canadian Bar Association's Practice Link--generally light-years-ahead-of-us-Yanks--and particularly "Client Relations: Creating Loyalty in Your Best Clients", by Susan Van Dyke. The piece cites a Quebec-based study which found

personality (29%), proactivity (18%), and work management skills (16%) were the top three attributes respondents valued. It also found an ?irreversible shift of legal services toward an advisory approach,? supported with the following respondent comment:

?Clients are better informed and more demanding. When faced with equal ability, they will opt for a better understanding of their business situation and thoughtful proactivity based on innovative ideas. They are looking for a partner who is ready to get involved in their success, with whom they can develop business solutions. They do not want to deal with the moods of their outside counsel."

One senior corporate counsel interviewed in the study said:

We want to feel they [outside firms] are interested in our business. We are not an interesting legal case. We want a partner to find business solutions along with us.

Full post as published by What About Clients? on November 08, 2010 (boomark / email).