Competitors to lawyers - accounting and consulting firms and others - have made inroads to traditional lawyer territory by recognizing and providing added value to the specific task needing to be done. They know the expected is not enough - unless it comes at a notably reduced cost. In most instances when clients complain about fees, their beef is not so much about absolute dollars or hourly rates, but rather what they perceive they are getting for the money they are paying.
For countless years, lawyers have convinced themselves, and assumed they had persuaded others, that simply being good at what they did had sufficient and easily recognizable value. (This assumption holds true for internal clients as well - for example associates with regard to their partner/clients.) Not so, even in good economic times.
ADJUST PERCEPTIONS
Law firms and individual lawyers' must develop the habit of seeing themselves and their services as others see them. Despite their historical prominence in the community and business, attorneys in general increasingly are perceived as impediments to quick accomplishment of business goals and as a costly layer of expenses built into a cumbersome legal system. Consumers and business people hold lawyers in the legislatures and government bureaucracies responsible for passing more and complex regulations with which they must comply and that raise the costs of products and of doing business. A recent Harris poll indicated that lawyers are the professionals that have fallen the farthest in public esteem since 1977 (although business executives, bankers and accountants are ranked lower in prestige). Business people often complain that they are forced by the system to hire lawyers, whose role seems to be to tell them they can't do things rather than to find a viable and acceptable way to achieve the client's objectives.
Frequently these perceptions are unfair, but client perceptions are what count most. Lawyers can counteract this criticism if they first think creatively about their roles and cast themselves as facilitators and problem-solvers who add value to each matter they handle and each relationship they build. If value is added and communicated in each instance, lawyers will be a welcome part of the client team, will be more appreciated, and will find it easier to retain and expand business.
UNDERSTANDING VALUE IS THE KEY TO HIGH QUALITY SERVICE
Begin by getting into the client's psyche and understanding why a client seeks an attorney's assistance. When a client comes to a lawyer, it is generally for one of three purposes:
Lawyers must see the services they render in those terms to understand the concept of value. Each of these situations is stressful. A client may actually be looking for a savior, a warrior, a friend, a therapist, a coach, an expediter - even a miracle-worker - although the client often may not be able to articulate that quest.
Each case or matter has one or more specific objectives. Meeting them creates value to the client; but remember, often the client will view the lawyer's role as a necessary evil unless there is some value added beyond the baseline expectations.
Clients calculate value in terms of return on their investment, the effect of purchased services on their strategy and business operations, and the personal effects on the decision-makers at all levels. In other words, they evaluate the extent to which the services and service deliverers relieve their pain and help make them more successful in their careers and/or personal lives. These are the "what's in it for me" (WIFM) factors that the service provider needs to identify in order to make the sale and have a satisfied client ultimately.
HOW TO ADD VALUE
Value can be added in many ways including by:
Review the above points frequently. Incorporate them into new business presentations and periodic conversations with clients. Make your own value-added checklist for each client situation. Constantly think about ways to add value in each communication and contact with a client. Not only will clients see their lawyers in a new light, but also they will be likely to tell others that their lawyer is a valuable part of their business and personal success.
© Phyllis Weiss Haserot, 2000
Published in the New York Law Journal 1999.