Client service drives the coveted law firm recommendations. Top legal decision makers tell us the 140 most recommended law firms we discussed last week all stand out for delivering some key aspect of client service. Here are 11 acts of client service with the most impact:

1. Offer recommendations to help solve a problem, instead of asking how they can help

2. Share ideas in voice-to-voice communications

3. Offer industry-specific insight on key matters

4. Care more than others

5. Serve as a brainstorming partner without billing time

6. Drive ongoing communication

7. Provide insight into what other companies are facing

8. Personalize and highlight relevant portions of client alerts

9. Help recruit talent

10. Know how to help

11. Connect clients to other like-minded (non-competitive) clients

These acts of client service are all about behavior. Partners taking it upon themselves to act and offer help. Each partner who delivered excellent client service made a decision, however natural or not, to take action. The decision to act can be more important than the act itself (re-read item number 4 above) — clients want to know you care more than others. And, when clients believe you care more — everything you do somehow adds just a little more value than everyone else.

We recommend adopting one act of client service behavior to start. Add another if you already have one under your belt. Having 2 or 3 acts of client service in your client management toolkit is enough to separate you from the others. Adopt these across your firm and you will stand out from all the others.

These actions are powerful and learnable. There is no better day than today to put these to use.

Good luck.

MBR

The Mad Clientist

It just doesn’t matter.

Next normal. Old normal. Client recommendations sit at the epicenter of law firm hiring and recurring business.

Virtually every top legal decision maker looks to peer recommendations when first thinking of hiring a new law firm. Up to 64% of these decision makers hires the first firm recommended — even if this firm is recommended just once — hence the power of the unprompted recommendation.

The peer-to-peer recommendation is serious business. Every recommendation is a personal statement about the type of provider — the commitment, service, quality, and demeanor — you are willing to endorse to a peer, from whom they would expect the same.

Superior client service is consistently the leading driver of law firm recommendations by General Counsel. Superior service accounts for nearly 4 times more recommendations (75%) than any other single factor.

Overall, top legal decision makers recommend 140 law firms out of the 650 or so competing for business at larger companies. Here are the details:

The 11 Law Firms Most Recommended by Top Legal Decision Makers

We congratulate this exclusive group of 11 law firms. These firms stand out above all others — gaining more unprompted recommendations from legal decision makers than other law firms. These firms exceed client expectations consistently and demonstrate deep business understanding.

The 21 Law Firms Highly Recommended by Top Legal Decision Makers

You can see all the remaining 108 law firms clients recommend and why here. You can also download a copy of the report
The BTI Most Recommended Law Firms 2021: The Firms Top Legal Decision Makers Recommend Above All Others.

Congratulations to these firms on earning the hardest of recommendations in the hardest of times.

Be well –

MBR

The Mad Clientist

(Based on more than 350 interviews with top legal decision makers conducted between April 3, 2020 and June 17, 2021.)

Client service soared. Client satisfaction is up. Everyone is busy. And clients are turning to Google to search for attorneys. It doesn’t add up — or does it?

Top legal decision makers say it makes perfect sense — to them. Here’s why and what they have been searching for:

Clients are searching for employment lawyers three times as often as all others. It was true in March 2020 when the pandemic was hitting and it is still true today. The searches peaked last August, slowly trended downward, and started heading up again last month (June 2021).

Clients hadn’t been looking for litigators since last February — but the searches surged in May. This is the second most popular search.

Clients looking for white-collar attorneys saw a peak last November. Searches dropped in February and then saw a slow but steady increase through last month (June 2021).

Searches were up and down throughout the pandemic but show a clear upward trend starting in June 2021.

Despite record M&A activity, few clients searched for M&A attorneys until May 2021 when the searches started popping up.

Looking for Knowledge and Insight

Clients tell us the Google searches are a tool they use to scan the attorney thought leadership horizon. They see who pops up and what they have to say. Attorneys with more than a standard bio tend to land at the top of these searches. Instead of searching by topic or issue — clients also search attorneys to see what they can learn. This is where clients find:

• Thought leadership
• Blogs
• Tweets
• Ranked and awarded attorneys

Clients like to see their own attorneys show up — especially with compelling insight — so they can confirm they are working with the right attorneys.

Concerned About Capacity

Clients are concerned about individual attorney capacity, so they are doing some diligence. Before they talk to their peers about referrals these top legal decision makers want to see who stands out from the crowd.

High GC Turnover

The high turnover in the GC’s office (31% at last count) drives newly appointed GCs to do some searching as they get to know their law firms and attorneys.

Planning Ahead

Clients are working on 2022 budgets now. Their first drafts are already in. Searching for attorneys helps them get their heads around the upcoming landscape.

More Reasons to Love Thought Leadership and SEO

Top legal decision makers are including attorney google searches as part of their vetting process. This is one more signal in how clients look at their law firms and attorneys. It also reveals clients’ hunger for new insights and ideas. You can outflank the system by making sure you share your insights and observations in a personalized manner — and you can have your clients compare everyone to you as the gold standard.

Be well –

MBR

The Mad Clientist

(Based on BTI analysis of Google Trends data measuring March 2020 through June 30, 2021 to cover the period of the ongoing pandemic and reopening.)

At some point in the summer, it’s time to sit down with a good book. You may have started last July 4^th weekend or this week. Maybe you are planning ahead. I share the following 8 recommendations for the summer and beyond:

Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art by James Nestor

An interesting and helpful discussion of the impact of breathing on how we feel and what we do as people. This is true whether you focus on your breath or just breathe throughout the day.

Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones by James Clear

Greatly influenced The Mad Clientist and the family.

Discipline Equals Freedom by Jocko Willink

Filled with short motivational paragraphs and snippets. The kind of book you can open to any page and find a stand-alone message.

The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck: A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life by Mark Manson

Not at all what I expected not a lot of other people expected. This is a counterintuitive approach to getting things done – personal and professional.

Me, the Mob, and the Music: One Helluva Ride with Tommy James & The Shondells by Tommy James

The story behind one of the iconic rock stars of the 1960s and beyond. Offers a look into everything from the rise to stardom, music production, and the business side of things and industry luminaries. Tommy James and the Shondells is known for No. 1 singles for “Hanky Panky” and “Crimson and Clover” along with a dozen other Top 40 hits, including “I Think We’re Alone Now”, “Mirage”, “Money Money”, “Sweet Cherry Wine”, and “Crystal Blue Persuasion.” Soon to be a major motion picture.

Never a Dull Moment: 1971 The Year That Rock Exploded by David Hepworth

You may or may not agree this 1971 is the year everything changed in rock– but it does not matter. It’s a piece of music history defining an era. This is the basis for Apple TV’s hot docu-series “1971”.

And, getting down to clients. Relationships and client service are more important than ever – as are the principles, strategies, and tactics in these 2 books:

Clientelligence: How Superior Client Relationships Fuel Growth and Profits by Michael Rynowecer

Learn how to drive growth and develop the best relationships with clients—based on in-depth research with 14,000 top decision-makers who hire professional services firms. The decision-makers point to 17 activities described within Clientelligence as driving superior client relationships, service, and new business.

The Mad Clientist’s ABCs of Client Service by Michael Rynowecer

This fully illustrated book is a light-hearted look at a deadly serious skill: learning how to improve client service. The Mad Clientist distilled 14,000 in-depth interviews with top executives into 26 pithy, pointed actions for you to start using today. Spend just 26 minutes with The Mad Clientist and his ABCs of Client Service and improve your client service immediately.

Learn and enjoy.

MBR

The Mad Clientist

Law firms are throwing money at associates in the hopes it eases the pain and makes them happy. More importantly, it will make them want to stay and deal with the soaring workload.

But, compensation is only number 3 on the list of things associates really want in their law firm jobs. So will the money do the trick or do law firms need to do more? You decide. Here’s what they are looking for:

Skill Building and Learning

34% of associates say skill-building is an essential factor. Money can beat a lot — but not skills. These aspiring attorneys want to learn the skills they will need to get to where they are going. This trumps compensation — money talks but developing skills helps associates walk the walk — and build future wealth.

Serious and Substantive Work  

At 18%, these associates want meaningful work. They are looking to avoid the repetitive and expected work — they want the intellectually challenging plums. Interestingly, these individuals think the money will be the same at all the firms they would consider — so their work makes more of a difference to them.

Compensation

Coming in 3^rd at 17%, these associates are all about the money. They may want the skills and substantive work — but they want to be paid at the highest rates while they are at it. They believe the more they make now the more they will make later.

Money helps with short-term pain. Ultimately, more than ½ of these associates are willing to give up some money to build their resumes. And they are betting this will bring substantially higher returns over their careers.

As we discussed in our annual webinar — The BTI Market Outlook and Client Service review 2021 — 40% of clients want to see more associates on their work. You can figure out which clients want more associates and match the associates to the work. This gives you the opportunity to leverage the salary increases to building career skills — and boost client service.

Good luck.

MBR

The Mad Clientist

(Based on 310 telephone and online surveys conducted with associates just after new salaries were announced.)

Trying to stand out in a crowd, or at least vying to get your client’s attention? Here are some stats about the activities in your client’s daily life against which you compete:

The typical corporate counsel:

• • Talks to 26 different partners a month — almost one a day.
  • Sees only 4 of these partner calls adding new value — the rest are functional; exchanging information which may be in the critical path but does not change the process.
  • Works with between 9 and 35 law firms — all these law firms vying for attention or needing care and feeding in some way.
  • Receives 140 email alerts a week — as one top legal decision maker put it “They look interesting, but I don’t read them. I read whatever (relationship partner at a key law firm) sends me.”
  • Manages 10 to 12 potential acquisitions — there are always deals in the works. Some are more active than others but most need attention. Clients will ultimately close 4.
  • Has over 300 substantive matters in litigation. Many are on hold or about to get more active — and more than half of clients are looking to settle before things really ramp up.
  • Submits the first draft of their legal budget for 2022 in June or July of this year (2021). Your clients are assessing where and how much money they will spend on legal affairs.

They are busy. And here is how you can use this to your advantage — immediately:

• • Clients appreciate help with planning their budgets — especially in litigation and labor & employment. And they are preparing these budgets right now.
  • Send your top clients only the portion of the client alert impacting them. Leave out the intro and graphics: just include the facts and insights — short and sweet.
  • Add some little nugget of value to every phone call. Say something about what you are seeing about vaccine policy, settlement trends, large and small transaction trends, and a piece of news about a competitor. These little nuggets add amazing value and make your calls interesting.
  • Ask about where they are in the M&A process — even if they are not your deals. Being in the conversation can make you part of the next deal.
  • Share successful settlement strategies and how your clients are dealing with litigation matters from a volume standpoint.

Every client-facing attorney can help lighten the clients’ load. And helping with one task adds enough value to make you stand out. Use the move to the next normal to your current advantage. Pick one action, pick one client, and make a big difference.

Good luck.

MBR

The Mad Clientist

Clients still measure their law firms’ performance. Workloads are surging and workforces are heading back. And corporate counsel are looking at how their law firms are delivering for them more closely than ever. The newest phase of the next normal only heightened your client’s need to measure performance.

Corporate counsel have to figure out how to make their budgets stretch further than ever before. And clients know metrics work a lot better than cutting rates. Top legal decision makers rely on 5 key indicators:

24% of clients want the fastest path to the best answer above all else. This answer can differ by matter and client — meaning the attorneys who have insight into client preferences will deliver more value in the eyes of the client. Note, these same clients rely on client service as well — although it’s hard to deliver value without excellent client service.

21% of clients look at the total of the invoices. If it’s over the budget, you have some explaining to do. Their budgets are more important than ever before — but if the facts change — tell your clients, in real-time. They understand things change. They do not understand why you didn’t tell them.

Mostly litigators, this 19% of clients measure success by the end result. Oftentimes, these clients believe their law firms have somehow promised the outcome they were expecting. The antidote for unexpected results is frequent updates and assessments. Like budgets, clients understand things can change — but they expect their counsel to spot the unexpected.

4% of clients rely on a formal performance scorecard. These include quantitative and qualitative metrics, and formal measurement across all aspects of performance. These are large clients with big budgets and in-house staff. The clients share the results of the rankings with their law firms annually.

The most dominant measurement. 82% of clients rely on the sum of all the things your firm did (or did not) do. This includes everything from the smartest solutions to the ease of working with your firm. Clients distinguish between firms who they say provide more answers than questions. They pinpoint the firms who helped, are easier to work with, and even those who seem to care a little bit more. And staying in touch is an essential part of the client experience.

Client service is highly subjective, and it outweighs all other factors. The pandemic has only made it more vital to success.

Ask clients how they measure law firm performance. And right after you do — this would be a natural place to ask how you are doing and what you can do better. Or we can ask on your behalf.

Look for the definitions of client service to change as clients move back to the office and the next normal world continues to unfold. And always remember client service beats cost by more than a 2:1 margin. Excellent client service keeps you out of the cost game. This doesn’t mean clients won’t want your best rate because they will — but they picked you before picking the final rate.

MBR

The Mad Clientist

(Totals equal more than 100% due to clients using multiple metrics. Based on more than 240 interviews with top legal decision makers.)

Client attitudes towards using the Big 4 for legal services are undergoing a sea change. Our latest research reveals 29.6% of top legal decision makers are open to hiring Big 4 lawyers and law firms. This is up from less than 5% just 5 years ago. You can’t develop a market if clients don’t want to hire you — and this big barrier to entry is coming down.

We found 4 drivers behind this trend — and the first one will be pervasive while accelerating client openness to Big 4 law. These are:

The number of companies with new top legal decision makers is at a record high. They are most open to hiring new law firms in the first 2 years of tenure. These career moves are unleashing more unconventional options to solving legal problems. Fully 82% of top legal decision makers in their role 2 years or less are open to Big 4 law.

US-based counsel are coming face-to-face with Big 4 attorneys as they enter into agreements to do business all over the world. More of these US-based counsels are impressed than not. Each positive experience opens one more door for future legal business with the Big 4.

The Big 4 are the clear leaders in supply chain consulting. They are meeting US-based legal departments as they work through client agreements and deal with international trade regulations. Even with some supply chains moving back to the US — the Big 4 made their mark.

More GCs than ever have seen or dealt with the Big 4 in other parts of the world — and decided they are up to the task.

The pandemic convinced clients’ legal departments of the need to streamline and formalize work processes — and the Big 4 are aggressively stepping up to provide the consulting services to help while selling their attorneys.

In addition, top legal decision makers talk about a few other benefits Big 4 legal services might bring. These include:

• More agile in cross-border work
• Integrated law, accounting, and finance issues
• Increased institutional knowledge
• Larger teams
• Perceived deeper industry insight

No client is ready for the Big 4 to take on big litigation or a transaction. Clients see the Big 4 best suited for logistically complex work, work requiring deep regulatory knowledge, and the legal issues embedded in running operations.

The important insight is the fundamental change in attitude towards using the Big 4 at all. This is the most difficult market barrier to overcome. A substantial part of the market is now open to using the Big 4. And, the newest GCs are more open than all others. It can’t hurt to step up the effort — client teams, client service, and institutional client knowledge to help stave off the Big 4 before they get more traction.

The best law firm performances prove this makes for good business with or without the Big 4.

MBR

The Mad Clientist

The demand for legal work is surging. It’s running ahead of supply. Up until last year, law firms had to steal business from a competitor to grow. Now new incremental dollars are flowing into the legal market — and clients are looking for a place to put it.

Clients with new money, new needs, and new expectations offer an unmatched opportunity. Here’s how to make sure they spend their dollars with you.

The juicy work is going to those individuals who first listen to clients, then find the answers if they don’t already have them. So many attorneys want to be prepared and have the answers before talking to a client. Putting clients on a path to a solution is as valuable as the answer itself.

The window of acceptable response time is more compressed than ever. Be the first to make client contact when someone reaches out. Even better — reach out before they do and share ideas and ask compelling questions. You can stop your (potential) client from calling another firm by starting the conversation. Your dialogue creates confidence and trust with clients — demonstrating you will come up with the answer they need — when they need it.

Cultivate a live voice-to-voice dialogue. Some conversations will be by email or text — but voice contact is the differentiating factor — and provides you with the understanding you can’t get anywhere else.

Clients have a lot to say these days. They welcome the opportunity to share these ideas and build on them, test them, and work them through. It’s one of the favorite parts of their jobs. And you can get credit for helping.

But it goes well beyond this. Listen to what clients have to say in a series of conversations and you will know enough about their priorities, concerns, new issues, and problems solved to develop business for years.

A large number of attorneys and firms believe 2020’s financial performance was a blip — as in it cannot happen again. They are holding back investments. Other firms are cranking it up and swarming top clients with real-time changes in WFH, vaccine policy, data privacy, M&A, and a host of other issues — all of which serve as a direct pipeline to the new work.

Clients are starting to worry about law firm capacity. So many partners tell them they are “crazy busy”. One GC told me 3 “very busy” responses from the same attorney means they are at capacity — and it’s “time to look for another firm.”

Some of the more effective answers to use when your clients ask how things are going include: excellent, good, enjoying myself, and we are doing some really interesting things.

You just can’t talk to your client (in a meaningful way) too much. Always have something new to share and clients will always want to talk to you. My clients are surprised at how much they get out of just the first call they make to check in.

Firm chatter is a strategic asset. Attorneys share the big and little things they see and hear. They triangulate data sets and see new trends and opportunities. These same firms share the insights coming out of the chatter in the same conversation. This takes place in practice meetings, client meetings, informal conversations, and at the end of other meetings.

The point is — it happens. The attorneys want to share and get insight from their peers. These same attorneys tend to be the first to share it with their clients — driving another round of new insights and new business.

This market is not for the meek. Clients want answers, to learn, and to feel your sense of urgency. The reward is more business — good business at great rates. Remember, only about half of all clients issue RFPs — the rest goes to those who develop it.

Be cautious. Be safe. Go talk to a client.

MBR

The Mad Clientist

Clients are surprisingly understanding of kids, dogs, cats, stray family members making unexpected cameos, and a whole range of other intrusions. They understand it’s part life — inevitable. It’s the personal behaviors and actions making things awkward.

We all have our own Zoom habits but 3 stand out to clients as the most awkward and often what they say are truly revealing moments. These habits in order of awkwardness are:

Lasting a mere 4 to 20 seconds or so — this is the time between the official meeting end and your log off. Clients report they observe attendees:

• • Triggering their Oculocardiac Reflex — when you rub your face and press your eyes, this action lowers the heart rate and helps induce calm
    • Few people know the medical name — but almost everyone knows this is not the reaction you want to see after any of your meetings
  • Looking a bit flustered as they search for the leave meeting button
  • Rushing to leave the meeting — it seems they can’t get off fast enough

These are the moments prior to the official start of the meeting. Some people will get on and scan or adjust their screens and then say hello or ask who is on the call. Clients note who arrives super early, early, on time, and late.

Which individuals join and when offers clients a glimpse into your coordination and timing. They wonder if the team plans for every eventuality — including how and when you will join a pitch meeting.

Silly right? Not with multimillion-dollar litigation on the line.

The camera highlights every move and action. It’s so easy to look away from the camera, and even easier to glance at your screen and lose focus for a moment. We have to resist the urge to check texts and the email notifications — which your clients likely hear too.

All the rules of listening apply here. Take notes, ask questions, discuss, and always remember the camera is on.

Zoom fatigue is an epidemic. Pitching is not. Get yourself ready for the pitch. We recommend:

1. 1.  Turn off all devices and email while on your Zoom meeting
   2.  Smile when joining the meeting and start with hello
   3.  Ensure everyone joins at roughly the same time — no early birds or stragglers
   4.  Avoid side activities like eating, checking texts and email, or glances at your 2^nd screen
   5.  Smile and look at the camera when signing off
   6.  Practice your pitch and entrance on Zoom
   7.  Practice logging off while still looking at the camera
   8.  Save your oculocardiac reflex for when the camera is off

Zoom is here to stay. Success demands Zoom-specific skills. After more than a year of Zoom experience — clients are becoming connoisseurs. This is another opportunity to stand out in a sea of Zoom pitches and showcase one more way you are prepared on all fronts.

Be safe. Be cautious. Be Zoom savvy.

MBR

The Mad Clientist