Law Practice Management Asked and Answered Blog
« Earlier | Later »Jan 08, 2008
Law Firm Client Satisfaction Surveys
Question:
We have recently lost a key partner, several key institutional clients, and we don't know why. We are considering doing a client satisfaction survey to insure that we are not falling asleep at the wheel and providing the best service possible. We also want to make sure we understand current client needs and whether our services are still adequate. What are your thoughts?
Response:
For institutional clients we would recommend telephone interviews, face-to-face interviews, or a combination of both.
Typically, when we work with a client we establish the initial research objectives of the project and then the best way to achieve them. For example, do you just want obtain feedback from your top 10, 25, or 50 institutional/busines clients or your entire client base?
In the case of a study population of your top 10, 25, or 50 clients we usually recommend a telephone interview technique. We shoot for a 90%+ response/participation rate. We develop the questionnaire with the client and then conduct the interviews and compile a report consisting of both statistical metrics (grades if you will) and client commentary/narrative. Often it is the narrative commentary that provides the most actionable information. Recently, when conducting interviews of an insurance defense law firm's insurance company clients a client advised us that they had stopped sending new files/cases to the firm because of poor communication and status reporting. Based upon our interviews the firm was able to resolve the internal issues and repair the relationship with the client. The law firm was also contemplating implementing a blended billing rate structure and wanted us to obtain the client's reaction. We also obtain feedback from these clients on what topics they wanted presented in seminars that the law firm put on for their insurance clients – both in group sessions with other insurance company clients and private onsite sessions for individual insurance company clients.
Before conducting the interviews we ask the law firm client to contact the client and solicit (sell them on) their participation in the study. We then contact them, make the appointment, and conduct the interview. In our proposal for these services we pledge client confidentiality and are willing to sign a confidentiality agreement with the firm as well.
For individual clients, due to the number of clients, a paper mailed survey is typically used. The response rates will be less (30% tops usually), these will less narrative/commentary, less actionable information, and there will be no ability to probe. In these cases we develop the questionnaire, the law firm mails out the questionnaires for us, the returned questionnaires come to us directly in the provided reply envelope, we compile the data and the report and provide to the firm.
If you decide to handle the project in-house rather than outsourcing a similar approach would be recommended. Just insure that you staff and resource the project properly.
John W. Olmstead, MBA, Ph.D, CMC
Oct 04, 2007
Tips for Staying Energized and Productive
By John W. Olmstead, MBA, Ph.D, CMC
I am often asked to help law firms design and implement strategic business plans. I also coach many solo and small firm attorneys in career as well as personal and professional life balance issues. In both situations the starting point is the same. Begin by taking inventory of your personal life goals. Only then can you effectively begin planning an effective career strategy or law practice. Unfortunately, may attorneys start with the law practice and take care of business first and fail to take care of their personal lives until it is too late. It is much easier to begin your life and career with balance that it is to try to bring your life back into balance later in life.
Ask yourself the following questions:
1. Do you find yourself spending more and more time on client and firm work-related projects?
2. Do you often feel that you don't have any time for yourself or your family and friends?
3. Does it seem that every minute of every day is always scheduled for something?
4. Do you sometimes feel as though you've lost sight of who you are and why you chose law as a career?
5. Can you remember the last time you were able to find the time to take a day off to do something fun — something just for yourself?
6. Do you feel stressed out most of the time?
7. Can you remember the last time you used all your allotted vacation and personal days?
8. Does it sometimes feel as though you have never even have a chance to catch your breath before you have to move on to the next client project/crisis?
9. Can you remember the last time you read — and finished — a book that you were reading purely for pleasure?
10. Do you wish you had more time for some outside interests and hobbies, but simply don't
11. Do you often feel exhausted — even early in the week?
12. Can you remember the last time you went to the movies or visited a museum or attended some other cultural event?
13. Do you do what you do because so many people (children, partners, parents) depend on you for support?
14. Have you missed many of your family's important events because of work-related time pressures and responsibilities?
15. Do you almost always bring work home with you?
If you answered with non-positive responses to more than five questions your life is out of balance and you need to take steps to correct the situation.
Here are some ideas:
Keys To Happiness
- You must take responsibility for your personal happiness, set clear goals, develop skills, become sensitive to feedback, know how to concentrate, and get involved.
- You must have an overall context within which to live.
Tips For Staying Energized And Productive
TIP #1: Develop a Personal Life Plan and a Career/Practice Business Plan.
TIP #2: Use and work your plan.
TIP #3: Work smarter not harder. Improve your time management skills.
TIP #4: Create your life balance expectations for you clients and your superiors in the firm. When interviewing for a new job or position let your future employer know your expectations upfront.
TIP #5: Tend to your physical health. Insure that you address prevention and treatment of diseases, weight control, physical fitness and stress management. Schedule and keep annual physicals. Exercise daily.
TIP #6: Begin looking for ways to implement alternative billing. Look for alternatives to billable hours.
TIP #7: Take time for yourself and family. Take vacations.
TIP #8: Define what is important to you and define your personal-professional life balance boundaries.
TIP #9: Enjoy life and get involved in activities other than the practice of law. Pursue hobbies and other interests.
TIP #10: Know your personal and professional goals.
TIP #11: Learn to relax. Take time everyday for meditation, prayer, yoga or some other activity that is focused solely on relaxation.
TIP #12: Schedule time for relationship building and maintenance.
TIP #13: Never eat alone. Use mealtime to network with referral sources, potential clients, and other professionals.
TIP #14: Turn off e-mail notifications, pagers, and cell phones.
TIP #15: Develop a personal and business budget and follow it.
TIP #16: Network, Network, Network both inside and outside of the firm.
TIP #17: Develop your conversational skills.
TIP #18: Eliminate clutter at home and at work. Develop a filing system for your personal papers and business files and documents. Open and review your mail immediately and discard anything that you do not intend to keep.
TIP #19: Use technology to streamline your work.
TIP #20: Delegate work.
It takes 30 days or longer to form new habits. PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE. Celebrate your successes, reward yourself, and continually strive for improvement.
Oct 04, 2007
Suggested Practice Tips For Today
- Never eat lunch alone. Have lunch everyday with clients, prospective clients, referral sources or members of your team.
- Take our time management self test. Begin working on your problem areas one behavior at a time. Time is money.
- Enter you time daily into you time and billing system – both billable and non-billable – as you work. Don't go home until you have accounted for an entire day. You may be dropping 10-25% potential revenue.
- Look for ways to brand yourself – dare to be different. With the internet you really can expand your base beyond your local community.
- Set a few goals and hold yourself and your team accountable.
Jul 02, 2007
Client Satisfaction Surveys
Question:
We are becoming more and more concerned about the firm’s future? Recently we have lost a couple of our insurance defense clients and others may be sending us less files? Do you have any suggestions?
Response:
Our firm recently completed client satisfaction interviews for several of our insurance defense law firm clients. Here are a few quotes and a summary of what these insurance company law firm clients told us:
- We want to work with proactive attorneys that aren’t afraid to try cases.
- Limit the number of people working on a file. I like consistent assignments.
- I expect attorneys to get back to me by the next business day.
- I like one partner and one associate per file.
- Most of our billing issues with law firms is due to excessive use of associates time.
- I get upset with attorneys that want to settle right before trial.
- The primary reason that we terminate our relationship with our outside attorneys is not reporting to us in a timely fashion and poor communications.
- I find that many lawyers are poor at managing their files and have poor basic communication skills. I work with lawyers that can do both of these things well.
- I think that it is important that law firms provide value added services such as newsletters, legislative updates, e-alerts, seminars, etc on a “no charge” basis. These services are provided by most law firms these days. Such services help us do our jobs better, improves communications and the overall relationship between our organization and the law firm, keeps us up to date on changes in the law, and helps the law firm stay abreast of emerging needs in our business.
- I will pay higher fees to lawyers that aren’t afraid to try cases.
Much can be learned by talking to your clients. Structured telephone interviews conducted by a neutral third party can provide many surprises as well as answers. Client satisfaction interviews can be the best marketing investment that you can make.
John W. Olmstead, MBA, Ph.D, CMC
Jun 29, 2007
Business Identity Plans
Question: I have heard you speak about Business Identity Plans. What is a Business Identity Plan?
Response: A business identity plan is a communications design plan that insures a consistent and professional firm identity and message is being conveyed through all of its collateral marketing materials and vehicles. It begins with identifying the firm’s core values, uniqueness, and essence which frequently is a result of a strategic planning process. Then designers create graphic identity scenarios depicting illustrative letterheads, business cards, web site, etc. Frequently logos and tag lines are developed. Once the firm selects an identity plan it is incorporated in a consistent manner into all marketing materials including:
Jun 29, 2007
Skill Requirements for Office Managers/Bookkeepers in Small Law Firms
We are often asked about skill requirements for office managers/bookkeepers in small law firms. (Six attorney and under firms) Many law firms in the six attorney and under size have shared with us their frustration in staffing the billing and accounting function. Often their investment in computerized billing and accounting systems fails to yield desired results due to poor accounting and management skills. Many small law firms assume that legal secretaries also have requisite accounting and management skills. Our experience has been that often this is not the case. Training, skills, and work behaviors are often different. Bookkeepers/accountants and secretaries are different animals. Many small firms are better off creating a accounting/bookkeeping position and staffing the position with a qualified bookkeeper/accountant. For many firms under six attorneys that have fully automated the billing and accounting function and have distributed time entry, this is not a full time position. In such instances many firms have either recruited a part-time bookkeeper/accountant solely for the accounting function or have created a combined position of office manager/bookkeeper. This justified a full-time position. Look for the following skills when evaluating candidates. Professional training in bookkeeping and accounting fundamentals as well as management principles.
Jun 29, 2007
Client Development/Marketing – Long Way to Go in Many Small Firms
We just returned from participating at a Solo Small Firm Conference which was held for solo and small firm practitioners in the mid-west. I spoke at two session and we had a booth there as well. A few statistics:
- Over 800 attended the event
- Of the 200 people that we met with – 70 had no business cards with them
- 60-70% did not have web sites
- 60-70% did not have internet domain names
Personal networking and relationship building is still one of the best ways to cultivate clients. Not having a presence on the internet is like not being in the phone book.
Solo and small firm attorneys need to use all of the tools available to project their image. It does no good to spend money on developing marketing tools and then not use them.
May 15, 2007
Problems With Office Staff Getting Along
Question: I am the managing partner in a three attorney firm and am having problems with office staff members getting along. Office conflict is rampant. Any suggestions?
Response: You must begin by identifying some of the causes. Poor communications often can be the root cause of such problems. Interview each of your staff members individually and probe. What do they think? Is communications a problem? Are roles, duties, and responsibilities clarified? Lack of clarity can in these areas can lead to turf wars. You may want to design job descriptions for each employee and clarify roles, duties, and responsibilities for each employee. Conduct short weekly staff meetings to enhance communications. Use agendas. Take minutes of the meetings. Advise everyone of your expectations including all members working together as team members. Let them know that working together as a team is a performance factor that will be considered in performance evaluations and reviews. Conduct periodic performance reviews. Counsel and take action against problem employees. John W. Olmstead, MBA, Ph.D, CMC
Jan 31, 2007
Future Investments
Question: If a law firm could select only one area for future investment, where would you recommend that such investment be made?
Response: In their people – their intellectual capital. I am amazed at the minimal investment that law firms make in their staff. Law firms are in the knowledge business and their product is their intellectual knowledge. While law firms do invest in their attorneys, such is not the case with the staff. Although staff members are often on the front lines in dealing with clients, very few law firms are providing them with skill training in areas such as communication, marketing, client service, conflict management, effective writing and speaking, time management, computer applications, client complaint management, etc. By the way, attorneys need training in these areas as well. Why do law firms hire the cheapest talent they can find to fill the receptionist position when it is the receptionist who often has the initial contact with a new client. I find it amazing that firms spend huge amounts of money on advertising and marketing and they fail to invest in the other tools needed for effective new client intake. Small firms should consider assigning their receptionist the role of marketing coordinator with responsibility for assisting in the management of client relationships and the firm’s marketing program.
Jan 26, 2007
Firm Administrator Priorities
Question: I am a new administrator with my firm. I am also the first administrator that the firm has had. Do you have any suggestions as to where I should start? What are my priorities?
Response: As a first administrator you will face a dual challenge. You will have to justify the new position as well as yourself and your performance. You will be second guessed and partners will from time to time question whether a legal administrator was necessary or wise. There will be problems with role clarification. Suggest that you insist on a job description for yourself and a governance plan that outlines the authority and responsibility of the administrator, the managing partner, the executive committee, and the partnership. This will set the boundaries. On your first day at work suggest that you start by meeting with all of the personnel. Meet individually with the partners and associates and get to know them, their desires and hidden agendas. Initially conduct a get acquainted meeting with the staff and then meet with each staff member individually. Discuss their jobs and their duties. Ask for suggestions. Work with the bookkeeper and get up on the accounting operations as quick as you can. Learn the office computer system. Initially your two biggest priorities will usually be personnel and accounting. Read the minutes of firm meetings and office administrative files. If you are weak in accounting and computers obtain whatever additional training that is required. Join the Association of Legal Administrators and attend their meetings and conferences. Our firm provides skill transfer coaching and provides materials for new legal administrators as well.
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