Clients always expect more. And much more in the last 12 months.
Top legal decision makers redefine client service based on their needs and circumstances. No matter how quickly things change — clients redefine.
Law firms were forced to navigate and respond on the fly as new client situations popped up daily and weekly. Client service savvy demanded a combination of keen listening skills and attorney action. Some firms saw this as a call to action — and improved more than others. Clients say these 70 law firms improved the most:
Arent Fox
Baker Botts
Barnes & Thornburg
Bird & Bird
Bond, Schoeneck & King
Boutin Jones
Bowman and Brooke
BoyarMiller
Breazeale, Sachse & Wilson
Butler Snow
Calfee
Carlton Fields
Carpenter Lipps & Leland
Cox, Castle & Nicholson
Davis Polk
Day Pitney
Dechert
Dentons
DLA Piper
Duane Morris
Ellis & Winters
Eversheds Sutherland
Faegre Drinker
Finnegan
Foley & Lardner
Foley Hoag
Gibson Dunn
Gordon Arata Montgomery Barnett
Hall, Render, Killian, Heath & Lyman
Hinckley Allen
Holland & Knight
Honigman
Ice Miller
Jackson Lewis
Jones Day
K&L Gates
Kean Miller
Kilpatrick Townsend
King & Spalding
Kirkland & Ellis
Lash & Goldberg
Latham & Watkins
Lewis Brisbois
Littler
Mayer Brown
Maynard Cooper & Gale
McCarter & English
McGuireWoods
Norton Rose Fulbright
Parker Hudson
Patterson Belknap
Paul, Plevin, Sullivan & Connaughton
Payne & Fears
Pillsbury
Porter Wright
Riley Safer Holmes & Cancila
Riley Warnock & Jacobson
Ropes & Gray
Rosenberg & Estis
Sheppard Mullin
Shook, Hardy & Bacon
Swanson, Martin & Bell
Trenam
Troutman Pepper
Tucker Ellis
Venable
Wheeler Trigg O’Donnell
White and Williams
Wilson Elser
Zelle
These firms largely invested in client service while others pulled back or made no changes at all. The most improved firms make other law firms look less skilled. This creates client service performance volatility — creating new rules for client service. These rules include:
- Stepping in and knowing how to help
- Acting expediently —but making the right moves
- Mobilizing quickly — clients need answers and resources
- Offering specific recommendations and action steps
- Sharing news about where things were (and are) headed as it relates to their business — generic info is not enough
The new client service expectations place a premium on listening, practicality, and timeliness. Listening demands voice-to-voice communication and timeliness means being first.
One trick the rainmakers learn quickly is to focus on a smaller group of your top and high potential clients. It makes the challenge less daunting and increases the likelihood of success. No one has time to call all their clients — but everyone has time to call one.
And one is a great start — and could be the biggest win of the year.
Learn how clients rank the 70 most improved law firms here and how to engage in voice-to-voice communication here.
Be safe. Be well. Call a client.
MBR
The Mad Clientist