The typical large corporation is working with 47 different law firms at any given point in time. The average middle market company works with 8. Meaning, law firms compete with somewhere between 7 and 46 firms every day at a single client. Your competitors want to grow by at least 5% with client budgets growing at 1.9%—the battle for the primary spots are somewhere between intense and brutal.
Only 2 law firms earn primary status with clients. For law firms looking to grow, being a primary provider has broad implications:
- These 2 primary firms capture between 40%-50% of the client’s legal budget—leaving the others to slug it out for the rest
- Becoming a primary provider gives you access to 3 to 5 times the fees you currently bill
9 firms are in a secondary position with clients. These firms perform substantive work for and have the ear of top decision makers. Secondary firms are serious competitors—vying to be primary and looking to oust you from your primary position with clients.
The only vehicle to discover your status—and who you are competing against—is to ask.
Well-designed client feedback will tell you exactly where you stand and what you have to do to either gain or keep primary status. Corporate counsel’s broad use of law firms suggests the firms with the most robust client plans and teams will win the primary spot and keep it (as long these firms invest in understanding exactly what clients want).
We discussed tactics to help your firm develop and take advantage of world-class client feedback to gain and keep primary status during our latest webinar. View a recording of the webinar here.