Business & Financial Management

In our most recent blog, John Thompson gave us a great overview as to what was meant by 'value' from a corporate law department perspective.

So today's question is " how can law firms meet (or hopefully exceed) these requirements and expectations ?"

Luckily for those of us in law firms, in today's short blog  we are going to hear from Delilah Flaum (a partner with Winston Strawn) where Delilah has some sage advice as to how law firms can successfully do just that.

·         Delivering value in pricing and client relationships requires you to figure out what is already working.  To quote Chip and Dan Heath from their book Switch, “find your bright spots.”  Where are you already delivering value in pricing and client relationships?  Those are your bright spots.  Start and build from there. 

·         To quote Peter Drucker – “What is measured, improves.”  Build a good tool box so you can measure value in pricing and client relationships. 

·         Develop financial tools that move from the traditional law firm cost-plus pricing to value pricing. 

·         Share best practices within your law firm regarding client communication and building client relationships. 

·         It never hurts to ask clients how they like their lattes.

·         Clients have more and more (and better and better) access to data about their outside counsel billings.  Make sure you see what your client sees, and address any issues before they become problems.

·         Ralph Waldo Emerson is wrong.  Consistency is not the hobgoblin of little minds – it is the mark of a successful law firm.

·         Consistency in pricing value and positive client relationships firm-wide supports successful cross-selling.  And virtually all surveys show successful cross-selling is one of the best ways to deepen and strengthen client relationships.

·         When it comes to value in pricing and client relationships, remember the wisdom of Billy Crystal in Analyze This – “It’s a process.”

In our final blog post (issued later this week), I will take a few moments to reflect on some of the key themes mentioned during this short series.

Until next time!