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It has been almost five years since I left my law firm in Salt Lake City, Utah and went in-house with a large manufacturing client in southern Indiana. During this period of
time, I have learned to recognize beauty in cornfields as opposed to mountain vistas and have also learned what it is like to be on the client-side of legal matters. The purpose of this
article is to share some of the insights that I have gained from the manufacturing sector and provide a view from the client's side of the fence of what strengthens and weakens the
attorney/client relationship.
Quality Management
In the manufacturing industry, quality management and quality standards are at the forefront of customer service.
Employees are consistently drilled with the idea that everyone, from the CEO to the janitor on the manufacturing floor, is responsible for quality. Metrics are established and measured on
a regular basis. Important factors such as scrap rate, defective parts per million, on time delivery, safety, and equipment uptime are areas of keen focus. Continuous improvement projects
are regularly undertaken to improve the manufacturing process and reduce costs. A law firm could benefit by adopting some of these concepts in providing quality legal services. For
example, a program could be established to help the administrative staff realize that they are part of a team and that they can significantly add value in delivering a quality product.
Other programs could be used to increase skill sets of staff members. Establishing an effective mentoring program for young attorneys is an excellent way to help new associates improve
their quality. This type of program, if done right, should not only help the new attorney understand the mechanics of a major business deal or litigation matter, but also should teach
that there is a difference between adding value and just billing hours. Other quality programs I have seen include standardizing forms and the creation of document resource banks. It may
also be helpful to establish procedures requiring a quick on top review of important documents, memos or letters in order to catch any "defects" before sending them to a client.
A very strange phenomenon exists in the legal world: the more inefficient the process (in other words, time wasted, ineffective research, preparation of wandering memos, etc.),
the higher the legal revenues. The problem is that if this happens more than once or twice, the client will flee to more competent counsel. The cost of poor quality is client
dissatisfaction and loss of credibility and can even lead to malpractice exposure. The establishment of a quality management program will go a long way to improve service to clients. The
best firms that I work with not only have a quality management program, but they consistently focus on it and excel at it.
No Surprises
One of my most embarrassing
moments was when my sister threw a surprise party for me on my 17th birthday. The party did not go well and, frankly, I hate surprises. The trauma has stayed with me all these years. Many
clients have similar feelings. It is very important that attorneys appropriately manage expectations with their clients so that surprises are avoided. No one likes bad news, however, most
clients understand that the seas will not always be smooth. The disaster is when the bad news comes as a total surprise. Early legal analysis of a dispute is essential and will assist a
client in controlling and minimizing litigation costs later on. I always appreciate frank discussions with outside counsel about anticipated exposure in litigation matters. This
information is given to our Board of Directors for review and is also shared with the accounting department so that appropriate accruals can be established. If outside counsel
"sugar-coats" our exposure assessment it causes significant problems in a number of areas, including credibility of both the attorney and the general counsel. Expectation
management is essential for a strong attorney/client relationship.
Communication
Communication is essential in building a strong relationship with a client. A client
needs to be kept up to date on all matters at all times. I remember a few years ago I was in a meeting with our CEO discussing current legal issues. We reviewed one particular product
liability matter that was not active and I had assumed was currently dormant. The attorney handling the matter had significant expertise and had worked with us on similar issues many
times in the past. A few days later I received a surprise bill (I hate surprises) for about $38,000 from the law firm handling this matter. Unbeknownst to me, the matter had heated up and
was in full discovery. In addition, the attorney who I thought was handling the case had transferred it to another partner in a different geographic office whom I had never met. To make
matters worse, the new partner's billing rate was over $100 an hour higher than the partner who was familiar with our business. Needless to say I was not pleased. Not only was I not
informed of the status of the case, but I had been kept in the dark on a unilateral re-assignment of our matter to a new and more expensive lead partner who knew almost nothing about our
business. As it turned out, the time lag in my involvement caused significant internal problems as the case developed. The problems could have been easily avoided by improved
communication.
On another occasion I received a bill from outside counsel handling a significant piece of litigation. As I read through the bill I was able to discern that we had
won the case on summary judgment. This was the first communication I had received on the summary judgment verdict. Although I was very pleased that we were successful on the case, I was
quite disturbed that I had not received a phone call or email on the outcome. One would think that communicating a victory to a client would be common horse sense, however, in this case
the horse must have been left in the barn. Communication is essential in building a strong client relationship.
Return Phone Calls
Attorney accessibility is one of the
most important factors in building a strong client relationship. Returning phone calls sounds very basic, however, this important piece of client relations should never be overlooked. I
don't know of an easier way to destroy client relationships than through the neglect of phone calls. A client wants to think that he is the attorney's most important client. Whether or
not this is true, it is important to let the client believe that fantasy. I work with certain attorneys that I am sure have many more important clients than my company, however, they
effectively make me believe that my company is the most important by the way they respond to my calls and requests.
I have one particular attorney that will either promptly return
a call or if she is not available, will have her secretary promptly return the call and let me know when I might be able to reach her. She also gives me a home and cell number and tells
me to call anytime I need help. Although I try to respect her time away from the office, the offer goes a long way in building a solid attorney/client relationship.
I have also
had experience in being neglected by an attorney. I had a new project that needed local counsel assistance and tried to contact an attorney that we had previously used in the area. After
numerous calls with no response I was forced to take my business to another firm. I finally received a return call a day or so later, however, by that time I had already transitioned the
project to a new law firm. Unfortunately, the first attorney lost a nice piece of business due solely to his inability to return a call.
Responsiveness
Along with
returning phone calls it is also important to be responsive to client needs and requests. I have quite a bit of "spill over work." "Spill over work" consists of
projects that would normally be handled in house, but due to current time restraints require outsourcing. I also have a bad habit of waiting until the matter becomes urgent before I
realize that I am buried with other issues and need to call for outside help. An attorney who is familiar with a client's business and is available for time sensitive drop in projects is
an incredible asset and a key part of a successful legal team. When an attorney gets me out of a jam by being quick and responsive to an emergency, he or she cements our relationship and
I make a mental note to send more business their direction.
Know Your Client's Business
An attorney who wants to solidify his or her relationship with a client should
become as familiar as possible with the various aspects of a client's business and particular industry. This requires an investment of non-billable time in client visits and outside
reading but will pay significant dividends. The more you know about your client's business the more valuable you will be. The attorneys that know my business the best have transformed
themselves from being "outside attorneys" to being "strategic business advisors." This assures them of being involved in all material legal issues that deal with their
expertise.
Add Value
No client is overly happy about paying legal bills. However, most clients realize that legal fees are a necessary cost of doing business. The
important thing to keep in mind is whether the amount charged was indicative of the value given.
Ask yourself - what service are you providing? Legal analysis, documentation of a
transaction, research, legal memos? Those are all good answers but in reality, from the client's point of view, are you providing something of value? If you send a bill for services that
does not meet the value criteria you will have an upset client. Upset clients will look elsewhere for legal needs.
I am involved in a national association of in-house attorneys.
In our meetings, a common topic of conversation is the performance of outside counsel. In my view, most corporate clients do not have a problem with high hourly rates as long as they
receive a prompt and succinct answer to their questions. They do have a problem, however, in paying for a 15-page law review style memo from a younger associate, complete with footnotes,
that wanders around the point, raises a number of interesting issues but never really answers the questions that they raised. I certainly share this concern. One general counsel that I
know recently complained of this type of situation. The responding attorney tried to justify the bill by explaining that the associate's additional time was accounted for by the lower
hourly rate. The general counsel replied with an analogy of a painter who agreed to paint a client's house for $500. The painter then proceeded to paint a neighbor's house and sent the
client a bill for $1,000 for the work performed. The message was that if the associate had done what was requested, the bill may have been justified. Since, however, the associate had not
even come close to accomplishing the task, the bill was rejected and the project was eventually sent to another firm. The new firm had much higher hourly billing rates, but the overall
cost wound up being less than the amount charged by the original firm for the "non-answer." This general counsel commented that a "client should not be charged for
valueless babble, even if it is accompanied with Blue Book conforming citations and footnotes." The point is, before you send out a bill, do your own evaluation and ask yourself
whether appropriate value was added by the work that was done.
Customer Focus
Borrowing again from concepts used in the manufacturing industry, it is essential that your
business have a significant customer focus. Customer focus recognizes dependency on customers (i.e., clients) and the importance of meeting their current and future needs. Key benefits
include increased revenue and market share, and improved client loyalty leading to repeat business. Do you have a means of monitoring and measuring client satisfaction? If not, it would
be wise to implement such a program. I know that if I take my Suburban to the local dealer I will receive a follow-up survey within 10 days or so to see if I was satisfied with the work
done. This sends me a message that the dealer wants and values my business. Attorneys could adopt this type of customer service orientation through the use of annual client satisfaction
surveys, client visits, or other tools. It may be helpful to occasionally send out client opinion questionnaires. These questionnaires could cover numerous issues including responsiveness
to issues, timeliness of response, assessment of value provided, timeliness of returning phone calls, friendliness of staff, general satisfaction, and also contain a section where any
additional concerns could be raised. This type of questionnaire can help law firms focus on areas that need improving and help attorneys understand how their clients view their work.
Hopefully these thoughts will assist you in improving the service you are providing to your clients and will help pave the way for stronger attorney/client relationships and
additional business.
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