Canadian Lawyer - sample

20 M A Y 2 0 1 7 w w w . C A N A D I A N L a w y e r m a g . c o m nformation is key for both law firms and clients. And while companies gather data about the firms and the lawyers with whom they work, often without their knowledge, there is concern that lawyers don't do the same. Yet that information is avail- able, ready for the taking. One strategy that crosses many items off the lawyer-client relationship man- agement to-do list is surveys. Conducted online, on paper, over the phone, through meetings or by a third party, they provide insight into the firm's performance to help identify problems that may otherwise go unnoticed. But surveys are a flexible tool and can also be used to promote the law firm and its business development efforts and gather information about clients. "Very few firms did this when I was gen- eral counsel and I always thought that was a mistake," says Sterling Miller, who, after two decades as corporate counsel, now serves as senior counsel at boutique law firm Hilg- ers Graben PLLC in Dallas, Tex., where he instituted the use of client surveys at the completion of every client project. "Right off the bat, you've created some goodwill with the client." In fact, Canadian Lawyer's annual cor- porate counsel survey found that 87.8 per cent of large companies asked were not surveyed by law firms, 5.3 per cent had in- person surveys done, 4.8 per cent were over the phone and 2.1 per cent were written. Surveys can be a great way for law firms to manage relationships and to learn about potential problems, says Jana Schilder, co- founder of Toronto-based marketing and public relations firm The Legal A Team. "You always want to know what your cli- ents are thinking. You always want a frank relationship with clients. You want to be proactive and offer solutions before you get called on the red carpet," she says. Schilder suggests firms dealing with individual consumers conduct surveys with no more than 10 questions annually to existing clients and prospects who asked for a consultation but didn't hire the lawyer or firm. The legal contact with the major business clients may not be so interested in filling out a questionnaire, she adds, so a meeting over lunch might be a better option to address four main areas: what the client thinks the firm does well; what it didn't do well; what is the client's major concern; and how can the firm help with its concerns. The purpose is to determine the client's level of satisfaction about the overall outcome, the working relationship of the firm and if the wants and needs of the client were addressed. Surveys of several clients might reveal trends, such as a particular area or person within the firm that requires improvement. The results might also indicate the need to expand a practice area and provide addi- tional services to the client. Surveys might also validate the work of the firm or the lawyer and may be used in promotional material. The information gleaned can ultimately be used to pro- vide some useful analytics for the firm, says Howard Kaufman, who was in-house lawyer at Xerox for years before becoming counsel at Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP in Toronto. "You need an objective, sta- L AW O F F I C E M A N A G E M E N T BLAIR KELLY Client surveys Getting feedback from your client or potential client is important, but it needs to be done properly By Marg. Bruineman I

• Cover