Clients demand, receive top quality service from firms

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It's a new day in the clientfirm relationship. Clients can demand, and get, top legal services at reasonable rates. Clients can demand, and get, prepared legal teams, proactive plans and cost-management strategies. |ret||ret||tab|

Clients can demand and get these things and more from those law firms that deliver more in terms of service, counsel and results, and do so efficiently. It's a new day, and clients need to look for law firms whose performance changes their expectations.|ret||ret||tab|

The 1970s and 1980s were go-go years for law firms demand for legal services skyrocketed and a firm's success was measured largely in terms of attorneys' profitability. Those days are over. Successful law firms of the 2000s meet new and greater client expectations for service and responsiveness. Here's how clients get value from the best law firms:|ret||ret||tab|

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Solutions|ret||ret||tab|

Clients want results, and the leading law firms know how to work with the client to define objectives, agree to a strategic plan and lay the groundwork for successful outcomes.|ret||ret||tab|

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Well structured teams|ret||ret||tab|

The best firms present legal teams whose members have the experience and skills necessary to get the job done. Team members are well-informed of the client's business and are organized to work at top efficiency. There also is easy access to and coordination with other practice areas, making the best and highest use of additional expertise when needed. |ret||ret||tab|

The team serving the client thinks with the client, acting as advocate and consultant. The team pulls in all the necessary resources, legal and otherwise, to achieve the desired outcome.|ret||ret||tab|

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Efficiencies|ret||ret||tab|

Clients should look for law firms that aggressively invest in technology, the single biggest factor in maintaining and accelerating efficiency. Clients are big winners when technology is used effectively. Clients also win with firms that have strong practice management strategies training and, unglamorous but critical, administrative tools that eliminate redundancies and wasted effort.|ret||ret||tab|

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Partnering|ret||ret||tab|

New "partnering" relationships with clients have replaced the long-held "vendor" mentality. Shared staffing, technology integration, reverse seminars and joint training are now the norm rather than the exception in delivering top quality legal service. |ret||ret||tab|

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Geographic reach|ret||ret||tab|

Clients now enjoy service that crosses county, state and international borders. Law firms that can deliver high quality lawyers with ethics and behaviors the client has come to expect inspire confidence in clients who have business in multiple jurisdictions.|ret||ret||tab|

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Cost management|ret||ret||tab|

Requests for proposals are common now. Law firms that want to do good work with growing companies must be ready to participate in RFPs and other nontraditional approaches to firm selection and budgeting. Creative, aggressive, alternative fee structures and billing practices will become common as clients learn to request creative cost-management practices.|ret||ret||tab|

Law firms come in all shapes and sizes. Clients can expect to see most firms falling into one of the following five types:|ret||ret||tab|

Top 20 mega firms. These firms will become branded, much like the former Big 6 accounting firms (now the Big 3). They will locate their offices in the largest cities. They will pursue "premium" work and bill aggressively to pay for the high overhead that comes with this territory.|ret||ret||tab|

Large boutique firms. These are specialty shops, such as those that focus only on intellectual property or personal injury. They will charge the highest rates for expertise and bench depth they deem exceptional.|ret||ret||tab|

Regional firms. The fastest growing type of firm today, these firms, with 100 to 400 lawyers, will dominate a region and replace the "typical" midor large firm in the next five to 10 years. Their clients will include large corporations, with premium and regional work, as well as cuttingprojects. Smallmidclients that lack inlegal capability will work with these law firms on a broad variety of work. A regional firm may be as large as a Top 20 firm with multiple offices throughout an area but will generally charge lower rates than the Top 20 firms.|ret||ret||tab|

Specialized lowfirms. Such firms will specialize in an industry, or an entire practice might do routine work at low or fixed rates. They will serve clients and even other law firms on a regional and national basis.|ret||ret||tab|

General firms. The jackfirms, these will have 50 to 75 lawyers, tend toward one specialization, have balance in terms of revenue generators and will undergo constant pressure from regional, boutique and Top 20 firms raiding its large clients.|ret||ret||tab|

|bold_on|(Frank Evans is managing partner of Lathrop & Gage LC in Springfield.)|ret||ret||tab|

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