Client Services Bulletin December 1997

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Bulletin Number:

97-002v

Date:

December 1997

Subject:

Professional Service Practice For Law Firms - A Five Step Program

By: Dr. Thomas J. Venardos

Both the economy and our professionalism require us to offer the best service to our clients. One definition of a service professional is a person who subscribes to the highest level of ethical practice, demonstrates good manners, has a deep sense of self-worth and respect for others, and can produce real and meaningful results for their clients. Too often professionals are criticized for being callous and out of touch with their clients.

It has become a known fact that for every satisfied client, they will tell only one other potential client about your firm. While for every dissatisfied client, they will tell ten to twenty other potential clients about the kind of poor service they have received. Unfortunately, lawyers remain at the bottom of the list when it comes to trust and honesty issues as perceived by clients. Teachers, professors and doctors are at the top of the list when it comes to trust and honesty issues.

What can you do to begin to change this perception? Here are a few examples of new standards that can be practiced when being considered as an effective service practitioner:

1. Promote your professional reputation and that of the law firm for which you are a member.
2. Always make it a point to develop long-term professional relationships with clients.
3. Promote value-added features to your practice. These are little extras that may come out of your pocket, but they differentiate you from your competitors.
4. Show immediate and long-term results to your clients.
5. Demonstrate a willingness to learn new service skills that can enhance your chances for long-term professional success.

Below is a five-point program that can be implemented by you and your firm to begin the improvement of service practice.

1. Keep your firmís vision and philosophy simple.
2. Practice this vision and philosophy on a daily basis.
3. Create an infrastructure that has the highest standards for service practice.
4. Remember that everything is connected to everything elseóthe law profession, your firm, the community and the clients are all related.
5. Always begin at the beginning and work forward to the expected end.

This means that reaching your expected standards may take a few years. Also remember there are no silver bullets.

This provides you with the skeletal workings of a Professional Service Practice Program. All you need to add is personal commitment and follow through over the next several years. You can be successful with your desire to improve. We wish you the best of luck in your endeavors.

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