Some recent Legal sector research, the LexisNexis Bellwether Report 2015 http://businessoflaw.lexisnexis.co.uk/download-the-bellwether-report-2015/ obtained the views of 118 lawyers and over 500 private clients.
The main findings are that:
- Increasing client power
- “A new breed of smart client has emerged – empowered by technology and the internet, always searching for best value and very much aware of their own importance as customers” heralding a revolution in the traditional client/lawyer relationship
- Most lawyers (80%) believe their service is “above average” but only 40% of private client interviewed say that the service they receive is at this level
- Clients want more control, regular updates and more involvement and are more likely to question, rather than take advice at face valueService level gap
- “Clients don’t tend to expect a high degree of rapport when they enter into the relationship, As one client put it “Lawyers are not people people” another said “They talk more than they listen, which is a big turn-off. I judge them based on the questions they ask”
- Mismatch between client and lawyer expectations
- The top five things that clients look for in a solicitor are:
- Clear indication of the likely costs/fixed fees
- Regular updates on progress
- Charging system explained clearly at outset
- Appreciates client needs and expectations when taking the case on
- Personally responds to emails/calls within 24 hours
- The top five things that clients look for in a solicitor are:
- Need to specialise
- “More firms are going to have to become more specialised. Because there are all these competitors who can do the bog-standard work”
- 60% of the firms interviewed described themselves as specialist
- Demand for fixed fees
- Demand for fixed fees has risen but “many independent lawyers are putting off the decision, perhaps equating it with a “race to the bottom” approach”
- Client retention worries
- “6 out of 10 lawyers see retaining clients as a challenge”
- Biggest challenges
- The biggest challenges are seen as follows:
- Continuing demands of compliance/regulations (85%)
- Attracting new clients (34%)
- Keeping working practices and systems up to date (75%)
- Retaining clients/decline in client loyalty (72%)
- Low levels of implementation
- 80% of lawyers describe their firm as “actively embracing change” but yet “Out of the 15 changes monitored, lawyers had implements an average of just over five”
- The biggest challenges are seen as follows:
- The projects which most firms had implemented included:
- Website development (86%)
- Investing in training (83%)
- Actively measuring client satisfaction (75%)
- Anticipated growth
- Despite 90% of lawyers believing they’re operating in a period of unprecedented change, “Two in three lawyers expect their business to grow in the next five years”
- What it takes to be smart
- Smarter firms are likely to adopt the following:
- Client servicing (transparency, above average service)
- Information and support (information access, staff training)
- Business management (forward thinking, development strategy, outsourcing
- Process: tools and software (tech advanced, investment in systems)
- Flexible working
- “67% of entrepreneurs who strongly agree they get a real buzz out of practising law and only 27% of non-entrepreneurs do”
- Smarter firms are likely to adopt the following: