Client Relationship Management

The need for law firms to maximise the benefits of an effective client relationship management culture have never been greater. More and more clients expect their law firms to understand their expectations and to manage their legal work and related support services. Law firms that train their partners to effectively manage client relationships will be gain a competitive advantage in a competitive market.

The most important people for a law firm are its clients. Without clients, there is no billing.  Without billing there is no firm.  Client relationship management in a law firm is all about knowing who your clients are, what you do for them and how you can do more.  Effective client relationship management has to be an essential part of managing a practice.

An effective client relationship management culture benefits the client, the lawyer, and the law firm. Clients benefit in many ways. They receive more focused attention to their needs; they are given greater opportunities to partner with the law firm, and they learn more about the resources of the law firm. How often have senior client contacts said to partners “I didn’t know you did that kind of work. We have been sending that work to....”.

The lawyer benefits because he or she is often viewed as a more valuable resource to the client. An effective CRM programme requires the client partner to more thoroughly understand the client’s business and to bring the firm’s resources to bear on the client when appropriate. The law firm benefits by having in place a means to protect the work it has. The firm also benefits by separating itself from those firms that ignore or are oblivious to how CRM strengthens relationships between client and law firm.

If management expects its lawyers to take action – to do the things that an effective CRM initiative requires - it must provide an answer to an important question that busy lawyers pose: “What’s in it for me”? That is not a selfish question. After all, if partners are busy with client work, why should they take on additional work they often perceive as not needed? While firm peer pressure may stimulate them to give the appearance of commitment to CRM programming, little action will be taken if the lawyers do not see value in it for them and their clients. If firm management cannot demonstrate to its partners the value, based on precedent, to partners of client relationship management, the firm is wasting its time and money on CRM.

From our experience within the market in order to encourage staff to engage with a CRM policy management must:
 

1. Understand that client retention and expansion are less dependent on traditional marketing and increasingly related to the value perceived by a client on its interaction with its legal service providers. The providers include the client partner, the lawyers working on client matters who may or may not have direct contact with the client; and the support staff, including para-professionals, secretaries, and consultants.

2. Determine their client’s expectations, keeping in mind that they can vary. The most common sources to determine client expectations are: written statements produced by clients; formal letters of engagement; and research. Once the service team lawyers and support staff understand the client’s work product and service delivery expectations, producing a plan to exceed those expectations becomes an integral part of the CRM strategy for that specific client. While written client statements and engagement letters are self explanatory, a brief review of research will further explain its value to the CRM process.

3. Provide effective CRM support systems, which enable the fee earners to see and record information about the client and its expectations, and what possible opportunities there might be to work further with that client.
 

Whilst 1 and 2 are to a large extent down to management focus, the use of an effective CRM such as the Norwel CRM module can do a great deal to support staff in achieving CRM objectives, by making it easy to record information, and to understand what opportunities there are. This coupled with good interaction with the practices marketing team can help focus on keeping the client informed about what the firm can provide.

Shouldn't you be looking at a legal software systems supplier who acknowledges that every firm is different?

To learn more about how Norwel solutions can help your organisation contact Stephen Skinner on 0161 492 1600, email steve.skinner@norwel.co.uk.