Anticipating Client Needs in This Time of Uncertainty

Most of your clients, regardless of their industry or size, are facing some type of uncertainty right now—economic, regulatory or otherwise. Decisions carry more weight and risk, and conditions are changing quickly.

At Wicker Park Group’s recent Law Firm Leaders Roundtable, one participant in our client panel put it simply: “In our business, uncertainty is a big giant off button.” Another added, “When we talk about what we are facing now, we are navigating a storm and trying to figure out what it looks like to chart a path in this new place. … If uncertainty is a constant, how do we lean into that? How do we make it work?”

During such times, clients ideally turn to their outside counsel to feel seen, understood and supported. As you’ve heard us at Wicker Park Group say time and again, proactively asking your clients what they need and listening to the answer is a crucial step in being a trusted advisor. But in addition to that, we are hearing clients use one word more frequently: empathy.

In addition to hearing it discussed more in client feedback interviews, the need for empathy also tracks well with our client feedback trends. In almost 2,000 in-person interviews we’ve conducted over the years, just 28% of clients rank the firm as exceeded expectations when it comes to understanding the client’s business and challenges.

Clients are looking for firms that demonstrate that understanding before coming to them with solutions or even hard truths, so keep empathy in mind as you engage your clients in the coming months. The head of a law firm feedback program recently shared a comment from a client that stuck with him—and us: “My approach to partners is I don’t care what you know until I know that you care.”