Suppose you had only one client – what would you do?

Many years ago, one of our senior lawyers complained that clients were too demanding. He said: "because they only have one lawyer, they think we have only one client". As time passed, I realised that this would make a great mantra for a law firm: treat every client as if he were your only one. Can you imagine the service that the client would receive? If lawyers believed that one failure to return a phone call or one missed deadline would cost them their only source of income, they would never let it happen. As firms grow and clients proliferate, that level of service becomes difficult to maintain, but it should be every firm's goal.

Law firms spend huge sums of money trying to attract new clients. Their marketing departments respond to RFPs, hold seminars and undertake many projects in the hope of attracting new business. Firms use their compensation systems to motivate lawyers to attract new clients. Unfortunately, firms spend little time training lawyers on how to expand their business from existing clients. Generally,
in their quest to add new clients, firms ignore two facts:

1. if they lose one client, they have to get two to get ahead; and

2. their client will be a new client for another firm.

So, what can a managing partner do to shift the emphasis or, at least, equalise
the emphasis from attracting new clients
to maintaining existing clients?

A five-step plan

First and foremost, talk about it. Sometimes it is hard to believe, but lawyers pay attention to what the managing partner emphasises. Talking about the importance of keeping and expanding business goes a long way to changing the firm's attitude towards existing clients. Constant emphasis on the importance of quality service ingrains that practice in the
firm's culture.

Most clients do not seek new law firms due to the quality of the lawyer but, rather, due to the quality of the service. Usually, the relationship breaks down over an unreturned phone call or a failure to keep the client advised on the particulars of
their case. While clients may complain
about many things, they generally leave
for better service.

Second, managing partners should emphasise the importance of returning telephone calls. Firms that pride themselves on returning calls by sundown don't understand the one lawyer, one client rule. Someone calling in the early morning gets little comfort about a call returned at close of business. Although there are many demands on the average lawyer's time, returning telephone calls either personally, by their assistant or by another lawyer should be at the top of their list. Every client needs to feel that they are important to the firm. Lawyers that are attentive and responsive help to create that feeling.

Third, encourage lawyers to spend time with their clients. A visit to the client's place of business tops all other marketing efforts. Such a visit usually generates new work for the firm. Taking the time to go to lunch and then spend time with the client is invaluable, but it's better to visit the client's offices first, show interest, and then go to lunch. Talk to them about what their team are doing and what worries them. That old question 'what keeps you up at night?' is a great one to ask a client, even a long-term one.

Fourth, train assistants on telephone etiquette. Granted, in the era of texts and emails, phone calls carry less importance than they once did, but lawyers and their staff still need to be trained on the courtesies of client communication. In fact, client retention often turns on how well the firm communicates with the client. Firms that keep in touch, respond quickly and show interest in the client and its success rarely lose clients.

Fifth, use formal client reviews by the executive committee or managing partner to measure client satisfaction. The meetings should be short and meaningful and focus on client service, lawyer performance and additional services the firm can provide. The managing partner should communicate the results to the billing partner and help produce an action plan to address any shortcomings. The firm should schedule a follow-up meeting with the client to ensure the billing attorney addressed any serious issues raised in the initial meeting.

Long-term view

In summary, managing partners need to embrace the concept of treating every client as if they were the firm's only one. Firms should emphasise the importance of client retention and expansion. Good firms understand the importance of getting new clients, but not at the expense of existing ones. Good marketing departments understand that it is a lot easier to get new business from an existing client than it is to get a new client.

Julious P. Smith Jr is chair emeritus
at US law firm Williams Mullen
(www.williamsmullen.com)