For many clients, the real first impression of outside counsel comes during the firm onboarding process. And unfortunately, many firms squander this incredible opportunity. Beyond checking for conflicts and signing an engagement letter, client onboarding is a chance to set the right tone as the work begins. A formalized onboarding process goes a long way […]
After 30 years of interviewing in-house counsel and other clients about their law firm relationships, two words define the best client relationships: manage expectations. Managing expectations flows through every aspect of what clients want, need and expect from outside counsel. It’s also the key to high-functioning teams of lawyers working collaboratively to achieve a goal […]
Clients will always tell their outside counsel what they want. All you have to do is ask. That’s the thesis we have been operating under at Wicker Park Group for the last 15 years. So, as we approach the end of the year, and in the spirit of this giving season, here are six tips […]
Wicker Park Group periodically revisits some of its most popular blog posts. This post was first published in August 2021. There is never a bad time to talk about rates, but early Fall is the best time to discuss it with clients. In recent weeks, we have had many conversations with general counsel about their perspective on […]
A recent WSJ article lamented customer service is getting worse. While the article cited Forrester Research Inc.’s latest study noting a slight decrease in consumer customer experience scores, it is easy to see the same declining trend in positive sentiment towards customer experience in the client/law firm world as well. In our research we shared […]
Wicker Park Group periodically revisits some of its most popular blog posts. This post, first published a year ago, still offers worthwhile reminders for pitching clients in today’s environment. We have worked closely with some of our law firm clients on how to pitch for new business in a video conference and remote environment, but firms […]
Spring is here, and while you take care of household chores, don’t forget to “spring clean” your client relationships. In the spirit of taking a step back and setting yourself up for a successful year, here are a few recommendations: Revisit your yearend plans. Every year in Q4, law firms develop their strategy plans, both […]
In 2020, Wicker Park Group launched ClienTELL. Law firms on the platform are creating robust customization to analyze their own client feedback and using sentiment analysis to identify what drives firm, industry and practice loyalty. They are also tracking key components of client service from their own client perspective. As we look at the broader […]
We have often written in this space strategies and best practices for launching a client feedback program, including how to select clients, when to interview your clients, how to follow up and act on feedback, how to start a client feedback program and why clients value these interactions. And whenever we work with lawyers and […]
As we continue to map client feedback to strategic client teams on behalf of our law firm clients, we have increasingly zeroed in on the themes and characteristics that drive client loyalty and lead to client retention and growth. Whether through one-on-one client interviews, electronic surveys or supporting existing firm client teams, we hear four […]
Wicker Park Group periodically revisits some of its most popular blog posts. This post, first published in October 2020, still offers worthwhile insights into innovation. Last week, I cohosted a workshop with Elevate founder, chairman and CEO Liam Brown at the 2020 College of Law Practice Management annual Futures Conference on “Breaking Away from Tradition to Become […]
There is never a bad time to talk about rates, but early Fall is the best time to discuss it with clients. In recent weeks, we have had many conversations with general counsel about their perspective on the how, when and why law firms talk to them about rates. In our client feedback interviews, we […]
While we slowly emerge from the chrysalis of COVID quarantine, clients and law firms are both grappling with the challenges of return-to-work policies and how to stay engaged with colleagues and advisors. While the logistics are uncertain, we may never meet with colleagues, clients and our trusted advisors in person and on a regular basis […]
Every year I play the same game with my cable company. On my renewal anniversary, they take away the discounts and give me the double whammy of a service rate increase. I then spend the next 30 minutes to an hour on the phone finding the right person in “customer retention,” which is really just […]
Wicker Park Group periodically revisits some of its most popular blog posts. This post, first published at the start of the pandemic in March 2020, still offers worthwhile reminders for reaching out to your clients. “One size fits one” has been our mantra at Wicker Park Group since we formed our firm in 2007. And while […]
While firms are still grappling with how to get keep teams of lawyers and professional staff engaged and connected in the ongoing virtual and remote working world, little has been written about how firms are adapting to help high-functioning client teams succeed in a virtual environment. These are some of the best practices we are […]
For our final blog post of 2020, I thought I would share what we have observed and learned in this year filled with unexpected challenges. While we face a cloudy future for at least the beginning of 2021 and we anticipate continued challenges for many in the industry, we are hopeful about the creativity, passion […]
During a virtual conversation with firm leaders in marketing and business development last week, the discussion turned to diversity. The group agreed that everyone is hearing from clients about diversity—and the requests from clients are getting more specific and pointed. One CBDO noted that a very large client has now reserved the right to pull […]
Last week, I cohosted a workshop with Elevate founder, chairman and CEO Liam Brown at the 2020 College of Law Practice Management annual Futures Conference on “Breaking Away from Tradition to Become a Forward-Thinking, Client/Customer-Oriented Organization.” The setup for our session was a deep dive on innovation in the legal ecosystem, and we wanted to focus […]
As summer comes to a close, many of us are still navigating these uncertain times. Amid the difficulties, law firm clients need their outside counsel to continue adapting in how they deliver service, value, and the best possible client experience. What remains true is that engaging with clients in a meaningful way is as important—if […]
Wicker Park Group periodically revisits some of its most popular blog posts. This article was first posted in early 2020 and is one of our most read of the year. When interviewing law firm clients, one of the most frequent comments we hear centers around the imperative that firm lawyers share their knowledge of the […]
Wicker Park Group (WPG) and ALM Intelligence have released results of a survey evaluating the impact of COVID-19 on in-house counsel and legal departments. Responses from more than 130 in-house counsel from a wide array of industries, departments, and company sizes provided insights on the outlook of their businesses, departments, budgets, and outsourcing needs. The […]
Last week we launched a survey in partnership with ALM Intelligence to uncover how U.S. legal departments and, more importantly, individual in-house lawyers are being impacted by COVID-19. For those of you who are reading this blog as it comes out and are in house, the survey is still open and can be taken by […]
“One size fits one” has been our mantra at Wicker Park Group since we formed our firm in 2007. And while we have never wavered in sharing that philosophy with our law firm clients, now it’s truer than ever. As we reach out to our clients, check in and offer to help in any small […]
When interviewing law firm clients, one of the most frequent comments we hear centers around the imperative that firm lawyers share their knowledge of the clients’ needs with others in the firm. It’s a simple concept but one that is often forgotten or not even considered. In a very recent interview, the executive said essentially: […]
Wicker Park Group periodically revisits some of our more popular blog posts. This one, from January 2019, was one of the most-read posts last year. This is not intended to be a post about traditional New Year’s resolutions but is a post on some things every lawyer interested in client service should think about and […]
First and foremost, thank you. During the last dozen years, the partners of Wicker Park Group have had the great privilege of working with some of the finest, and kindest, people imaginable from law firm chairs to young professionals brand new to the industry. We have interviewed in person and by phone thousands of clients […]
This week I am being featured on a podcast called The Thought Leadership Project, hosted by Jay Harrington and Tom Nixon. As a point of reference, Harrington shared some interesting findings from a recent LinkedIn/Edelman study on thought leadership. The questions centered around what law firms must do to be thought leaders and how the […]
It’s that time of year when firms finalize (or start) their holiday gift-giving plans. As a brief Public Service Announcement, we thought we should share some ideas and best practices for folks in the legal industry to consider when sending out holiday gifts. Know your client’s gift policies. Many companies have very specific gift policies […]
Wicker Park Group periodically revisits some of our most popular blog posts. This article, one of our most read last year, was originally posted in February 2018. When I ask a group of lawyers why they get hired, I usually get one of these default answers: “We’ve worked with them before.” “They trust us.” “We […]
In last week’s blog post, Tara wrote about the outcomes of client feedback interviews and even shared recent recommendations we have made to our law firm clients after talking to their clients. We make those recommendations based on our experiences interviewing thousands of clients on behalf of firms. The themes in those actions map directly […]
In a client feedback interview last week, I asked a senior in-house counsel what drives the most successful relationships with outside counsel. Without batting an eye, the counsel responded, “Understand what we are trying to accomplish as a business. Start there.” The conversation continued with similar comments: “It’s all there. It’s what we talk about […]
During the last 12 years, we have conducted thousands of client feedback interviews. In preparing for those interviews, we talk to the relationship attorneys about, well, the relationship with the client. We ask about goals, successes, the people they work with and the teams that supports them. Inevitably, the conversation shifts to how we can […]
As has become somewhat of a tradition here at Wicker Park Group, we use August as an opportunity to visit some essential themes in building client loyalty. So, it’s time to start planning for the end of summer and take stock of what law firms and more specifically individual lawyers can do to deliver extraordinary […]
Wicker Park Group periodically revisits some of our most popular blog posts. This post, one of the most read in the first half of this year, was originally posted in February. In recent months, we have been asked more than ever to help law firms improve their client service standards and initiatives. In essence, what we are […]
I’ve worked with about 100 firms in the last 12 years, primarily around client feedback, and there is one most important element to the entire feedback process: what the firm does to act on the feedback. In order to effectively act on the feedback, firms must: Engage the client Involve other parties as needed Clearly […]
Wicker Park Group periodically revisits some of our most popular blog posts. This post, one of the most read last year, was originally posted in June 2018. In the last two weeks, I have conducted 18 client feedback interviews for a variety of firms across industries ranging from high tech to old-line manufacturing. Interviewees have […]
In recent months, we have been asked more than ever to help law firms improve their client service standards and initiatives. In essence, what we are really being asked is to help law firms create accountability around client service. The reality is that most firms have client service standards, both formalized and implied. Most lawyers define client […]
This is not intended to be a post about traditional New Year’s resolutions but is a post on some things every lawyer interested in client service should think about and act on now. One of the most frequent topics to come out of both client feedback interviews and our work with individual lawyers and client […]
Wicker Park Group periodically revisits some of our most popular blog posts. This post, one of the most read in 2018, was originally posted in May. Too often, outside counsel misconstrue what it means to understand a client’s business. They confuse the simple concept of what a company does with a deeper understanding of why […]
We are entering the final months of the year, which is often a time of reflection (and collection). At WPG, we’ve been reminded of the valuable year-end actions that will show your clients you are listening and are focused on providing the best client service possible. No matter the stage of your career or your […]
Wicker Park Group periodically revisits some of our most popular blog posts. This post originally appeared in April 2017. When clients take the time to offer feedback, they give their lawyers and firms a gift. It is the gift of their time—a gift demonstrating they care about the relationship. But with that gift comes great […]
My wife and I were on vacation last week. She and I have many things in common, including the fact that we both work for law firms and both own our businesses. She has a great team that supports her, and I have the world’s most amazing partners. We also both love our all-too-infrequent vacations […]
Last week, I had the pleasure of conducting a workshop at a law firm on how to moderate a panel. It’s an unusual topic but one that comes up over and over again at firms. Too often, partners and associates are tasked with speaking at industry conferences—as stand-alone presenters, on panels and leading panels. In […]
Wicker Park Group periodically revisits some of our most popular blog posts. This post, one of our most read in the first half of this year, originally appeared in February. When I ask a group of lawyers why they get hired, I usually get one of these default answers: “We’ve worked with them before.” “They trust us.” […]
During the proverbial dog days of summer, outside counsel often assume clients are disinterested in interacting with them and are taking some kind of “break.” But like many assumptions made by law firm lawyers, this one is worth rethinking. We find in our conversations and interviews with in-house counsel that August is often a time […]
In the last two weeks, I have conducted 18 client feedback interviews for a variety of firms across industries ranging from high tech to old-line manufacturing. Interviewees have ranged from general counsel to entrepreneurs to F500 CFOs to intellectual property managers. Many of the GCs and other clients share similar top-of-mind concerns and needs. And […]
Too often, outside counsel misconstrue what it means to understand a client’s business. They confuse the simple concept of what a company does with a deeper understanding of why the company does it and how it is impacted by broader industry trends. In many client relationships, outside counsel wait for the phone to ring, listen […]
The weather should be better, and the days are getting longer. Spring is upon us, which means it’s time to contemplate some professional spring cleaning. The legal-industry version of spring cleaning is not much different from what you do around your house and in your personal life to get organized and leave behind winter hibernation. […]
If feedback was easy, then it would happen every day, in real time, and there would never be a single doubt about any of the themes most critical to every client-law firm relationship: Do you understand your clients’ needs? Do you know how to make their lives easier? Do you know what is important to […]
When I ask a group of lawyers why they get hired, I usually get one of these default answers: “We’ve worked with them before.” “They trust us.” “We have the resources they expect.” “We are great lawyers at a great firm.” Yes, and no. Clients hire lawyers that can say all of the above. But […]
Adaptability. In every conversation I have with in-house counsel and the lawyers who support and serve them, the single most important trait clients value and lawyers pride themselves on is adaptability. Often other words are used to describe this highly valued trait, but it really comes down to adaptability as the key to successful relationships. […]
As firms plan for 2018, we spend a lot of time talking with existing law firm clients as well as those that are (finally) prepared to launch a formal client feedback program. As part of that conversation (and even in formal RFPs), we are asked to share our philosophy on client feedback. Our philosophy can […]
The two most frequently asked questions we answer when working with our clients at the beginning of any engagement are: How do we handle difficult feedback? What happens if we don’t have a formalized system to act and follow up on the feedback we get from our clients? Those two questions are more connected than […]
Wicker Park Group will periodically revisit some of our most popular blog posts. This post, one of the most read in the first half of 2017, was originally posted in January. Howard Schultz recently announced he is stepping down from his role as CEO and Chair of Starbucks to focus on the company’s plans to build high-end […]
We always tell our law firm clients that communication is the key to the best client relationships. And communication takes many forms: the written word, the business-practical and commercial advice, the tone you set when talking to in-house counsel, the way in-house counsel want and expect to communicate for any and every matter and, of […]
Interview With Rich Cohen, President and General Counsel Corporate Creations Corporate Creations is the third largest provider of registered agent and compliance services nationwide for Fortune 1000 companies, Global 2000 companies and private companies. It also provides registered agent services for many law firms and their clients. Corporate Creations is a privately held company. It […]
The following article, written by Susan Kostal, was posted June 1 as part of JD Supra’s Perspectives series. I’ve attended many panels where in-house counsel share their likes and dislikes, but in the last year the tone has changed. In-house attorneys are increasingly dissatisfied, they tell us, because they can’t have the kind of conversations they […]
For the last decade, we have worked with firms to launch, lead, develop and support client feedback interviews. And in almost every firm, the managing partner or chair is either already conducting relationship visits or planning to do them as soon as possible. They often come to us to discuss how to both train the […]
When clients take the time to offer feedback, they give their lawyers and firms a gift. It is the gift of their time—a gift demonstrating they care about the relationship. But with that gift comes great responsibility. And unlike a traditional gift, you have to do much more than just send a thank you note […]
It happens. General counsel get fired—and sometimes fired very publicly. And law firms are rarely prepared for the unexpected people changes at their clients, let alone have a clear plan as to how they might impact the work and the larger client relationship. Ironically, law firms spend significant time thinking about what may happen if […]
At the end of a client feedback interview last week, the senior in-house counsel I was speaking with summed up the relationship by saying, “At the end of the day, they get all my work because they make me look good.” It is that simple. In an era where competition is greater than ever and […]
Howard Schultz recently announced he is stepping down from his role as CEO and Chair of Starbucks to focus on the company’s plans to build high-end coffee shops that charge as much as $12 per cup of coffee. That makes me think of the top end of the lawyer’s hourly billable rate. The $2,000 hour […]
Many law firms understand how to meet their client’s biggest and most obvious client service preferences. We’ve all laughed about (and learned from) the story of the firm that FedExed its RFP response to UPS and was summarily dismissed from the process as well as the firm that forgot to remove competitor products from the […]
In the past month, I have moderated multiple in-house counsel panels (both in public forums and at private law firm retreats), interviewed more than a dozen in-house counsel and led client service workshops at law firms. In every instance, I was struck by the widening gap between what clients want from their outside counsel and […]
I was recently challenged to explore what client service will look like in 2026. The good news is the conversation has already started, but the bad news is law firms have a long way to go. It is great that the idea of “client service” is authentically being explored within law firms, but what many […]
When discussing client relationships and client service with law firm leaders, we are often asked a question I find surprising: When is the best time to go visit a client? Before delving into the answers to that question, we often set the stage with the lawyers (and the marketing and business development professionals) we are […]
Unsurprisingly, no law firm has had the courage in recent weeks to say, “In light of the unjustified first-year associate salary increases, we are reducing first-year base compensation by $10,000 to better align our business with our clients’ ongoing economic reality and invest in our client relationships.” There is no value to your clients in […]
The massive uptick in how corporate legal departments and law firms are collecting data to make smarter decisions in any number of areas may very well disrupt the legal industry. But Big Data is not a replacement for Little Data: the voice of the individual client. From IBM’s ROSS and Watson to Mitratech’s March acquisition […]
The single greatest truth in any client feedback effort is simple: If you are not prepared to act on the feedback, don’t ask for it. In every client feedback program—whether we are conducting the interviews ourselves or training the firm on how to conduct them—managing the clients’ expectations is critical to the program’s success. We […]
In a recent client feedback interview, a deputy general counsel told a common story. He had all but forgotten the Thursday deadline for a filing in a litigation matter of medium importance. His regular outside litigation counsel had a conflict, and he was trying a new firm on the recommendation of a colleague. The firm […]
Not too long ago I interviewed the CFO of a Fortune 1000 company who told me, “You picked a bad day to come visit me.” My response: “Great, I am glad we have something to talk about!” He then explained the background. Outside counsel had been confident in how a judge was going to rule—so […]
Clients come in every shape and size, and every client has a different set of expectations from outside counsel. And “every client” means each individual at the same company has a different style and set of needs that needs to be known, hence our mantra: One Size Fits One. While each client will have individual […]
The year is still new, but the refrain remains the same. Lawyers in firms are finally back at work, catching up from the protracted holiday break and now excited about the promise the new year brings. Yet I’ve already had the conversation with a client about the “attitude” busy lawyers have when they are, well, […]
In early December, I was talking to a law firm senior associate about his successes for the year and goal setting for next year and made the obvious comment about the rush to get in hours for the year. He responded, “Oh, I hit my hours last month so now I can coast.” I don’t […]
The bad news is that it may be too late to come up with a gift for your clients that will stand out from the crowd. But that is not the real goal of a gift; the goal of a gift is to create a memory. At the end of the year when you think […]
It is a rare gift for a lawyer who has spent an entire career solving clients’ problems to be able to sit down with a client, truly listen to the client’s assessment of the relationship, get feedback and—most importantly—act on the feedback. As a consequence, law firms often confuse client feedback interviews with “thank you” […]
Corporate legal departments have no resources. Seriously. A global head of litigation recently told me: “I would pay my firms faster, but we don’t have the process in place to smartly review the bills. We don’t have the time to figure out how to do it, and we work with so many firms we wouldn’t know where to […]
The following scenario will never, ever happen in a law firm: A client walks into the reception of a major global law firm with a bill in hand and says to whomever happens to be at the reception desk, aggressively, “This bill arrived 90 days after the matter was closed and is 20 percent more […]
When lawyers are unhappy at their firm, they have a nasty habit of telling their clients. And the clients take notice. In a recent column for The American Lawyer, The Careerist columnist Vivia Chen cites a Harvard Business Review article as context and support for her position that the benefit of the quest for workplace happiness is overstated. The […]
Last month, I spent two days with my dear friend Sanju Kripalani at Wicker Park Group’s annual client event. Sanju has one of those careers that very well may be unique to him: pedigreed education, New York law firm, Portland partner, DJ, marketing partner, patron of the arts, club owner, general counsel, yachtsman and now, […]
Interview with Joni Lee Gaudes, Vice President, General Counsel & Co-Head of Internal Control FCTI, Inc. FCTI, Inc. is a leading nationwide ATM network and service provider. Since 1993, it has deployed customized ATM solutions to America’s largest financial institutions, travel centers and retailers. The Los Angeles-based company is owned by Seven Bank, LTD and operates in […]
In a recent conversation with a Fortune 500 in-house counsel, I asked how she defines value. She replied, “Value is the most ill-defined concept in the legal industry. What I value is a firm that understands how its work fits into my work life. But when you ask my boss or the CFO, they are […]
During the 2015 Legal Marketing Association Annual Conference, keynote speaker Daniel Pink discussed many themes related to the role sales plays in the lawyer-client relationship. For decades, lawyers have pushed back aggressively that they aren’t in the business of sales. Of course, they are wrong. Sales is not something out of Glengarry Glen Ross (Pink redefines the […]
In the last 100 or so interviews I’ve conducted with general counsel, business executives, staff attorneys and other corporate buyers of legal services, I have heard 100 different answers to the question: How does your organization hire outside counsel? Every organization is different, and every law firm relationship is different. The idea that there is […]
Great lawyers—the ones who have the highest client loyalty, extraordinary business acumen and an innate understanding of what it truly means to be successful—all share one common trait: They listen. They listen to their clients, they listen to their teams, they listen to ideas and they act on what they hear. But even the best […]
Part 1: Intro to the Grid In this multi-part series, we explore the basics of creating an integrated business development training curriculum. We know lawyers are incredibly busy people. And we also know lawyers, like everyone else, each learn differently. These two facts—lack of time and individual learning styles—reinforce the need for firms to create […]
“You are not talking to my client.” “My clients will tell me if they have a concern or problem.” “Clients are too busy.” “We don’t know how to respond to negative news.” “I have already talked to them about how we can grow the relationship.” “Where do we start?” The list of reasons to […]
Having worked with countless law firms, one thing stands out more profoundly than almost anything else: Law firms hate change. They dread economic change, structural change, organizational change and—perhaps above all others—changes with clients. One of the most difficult client changes is a client’s retirement or, even worse, a client being fired. When I ask […]
For those firms that have not yet notified their clients of their intentions to increase rates after the first of the year, it’s already too late. Not every company budgets on a calendar year annual basis, but for those that do, that process is nearly complete by mid-October. In-house counsel typically draft budgets in September, […]
In our conversations with in-house counsel about what law firms can do to strengthen and deepen their relationships, we often seek a short and sweet answer to the question. The answer is easy, but following through is very, very hard. The answer: Understand what it means to differentiate from the competition in the eyes of […]
We often preach the importance of managing clients’ expectations—it’s a common theme explored in our client feedback interview work. Managing expectations takes many forms and often relates to deadlines, budgets, project plans, news and updates. But managing expectations starts long before that and is often about clear communication more than anything else. Set an agenda […]
Wicker Park Group Partner Nat Slavin shared several important tips on how to avoid losing clients in a recent Law360 article titled “5 Tips to Keep Your Client From Breaking Up with You.” Understand your client’s challenges. “Lawyers should ask what is going on in the client’s business in the next 12 months that they […]
Knowing that word of mouth referrals dominate attorney and law firm hiring decisions, Stinson Leonard Street decided to accelerate their understanding of the firm’s referability. Adding to their already robust client feedback efforts which include regular leadership visits, internal and third party conducted in-person and telephone client interviews, and a client advisory panel; the firm […]
Lindsay Griffiths, the Director of Global Relationship Management with the International Lawyers Network, has a great write-up of a panel discussion on project management, fee arrangements and what law firms need to do to serve their clients’ needs in a relatively fast-moving landscape. The panel was held in April at the Legal Marketing Association annual […]
While there continues to be much debate about the impact of the ACC’s Value Challenge in the U.S. market, there is no doubt that demonstrating value in key client relationships with law firms (and all clients for that matter) is critical. The Association of Corporate Counsel has announced that they are expanding the Value Challenge to Europe and created […]
This new video from RethinkLaw perfectly captures the state of the Legal industry and the ongoing and evolving shift in the client/law firm relationship.
Article By: Janet Ellen Raasch – Strategic Writing And Ghostwriting Lawyers are always interested in getting more work and better work from their existing clients. If you ask a lawyer what his or her client really wants, the lawyer is likely to say “good legal work.” If you ask the client, you’ll get a far different answer. […]
The most important part of the client feedback process is being prepared to act on the feedback you receive. When we advise our law firm and professional service firms on best practices in client feedback there are several “rules” to follow, but the number one rule is: You are making a promise. You are making a […]