Law.com Subscribers SAVE 30%

Call 855-808-4530 or email [email protected] to receive your discount on a new subscription.

LJN NewslettersNewsSectionsThe Corporate Counselor

Why Clients Fire Firms

BY Aric Press
October 30, 2012

In most legal markets, but especially the current one, law firms want to keep their clients. It's an obvious goal and one that, for the most part, they reach. But not always. The separations can be painful, costly on the margins, and, if the firm is paying attention, instructive. So why are firms losing important, blue-chip clients? Let us count the ways:

  • “They were doing a bad job: no results and a lot of invoices.”
  • “Poor service. Lots of delay. When challenged, they were completely up front and just said [they] don't have enough resources, which is pretty astonishing for an international law firm.”
  • “It has to do with quality and price. We paid thirty or forty thousand euros, more or less for nothing. So, they had to go.”
  • “The main client relationship [partner] left the firm. I find that often when partners leave, those firms neglect to contact clients to say we still want your business and we have signed a new relationship manager. They tend not to correspond with you. Yet the partner who leaves always contacts you from the new firm.”
  • “There was a severe lack of relationship between what the bills were and what the value delivered was.”

The Survey

The quotes come from a new report by Acritas, the UK-based market research firm. They are verbatim responses from aggrieved in-house lawyers who were explaining why they stopped using a law firm. Working from a call center in Newcastle, Acritas interviews a couple thousand general counsel in about 45 countries each year on their experiences with the law firms they've hired. From this research they compile a ranking of law firm brands and ask a variety of questions about the attitudes and practices of clients and their legal service providers. This year they asked about firing firms.

The answers, of course, were one-sided. And no doubt there were some prickly customers in the bunch. Nonetheless, they are worth heeding, for the firing phenomenon is no longer isolated: Thirty percent of the in-house counsel reported dropping at least one firm in the last year. The fired firms can't be regarded as trivial. I've read the list, and it's a litany of the rich and famous. Nor can the unhappy clients ' mainly big companies: Twenty percent reported revenues of more than $6 billion, and another 40% reported more than $1 billion.

This premium content is locked for Entertainment Law & Finance subscribers only

  • Stay current on the latest information, rulings, regulations, and trends
  • Includes practical, must-have information on copyrights, royalties, AI, and more
  • Tap into expert guidance from top entertainment lawyers and experts

For enterprise-wide or corporate acess, please contact Customer Service at [email protected] or 877-256-2473

Read These Next
Yachts, Jets, Horses & Hooch: Specialized Commercial Leasing Models Image

Defining commercial real estate asset class is essentially a property explaining how it identifies — not necessarily what its original intention was or what others think it ought to be. This article discusses, from a general issue-spot and contextual analysis perspective, how lawyers ought to think about specialized leasing formats and the regulatory backdrops that may inform what the documentation needs to contain for compliance purposes.

Hyperlinked Documents: The Latest e-Discovery Challenge Image

As courts and discovery experts debate whether hyperlinked content should be treated the same as traditional attachments, legal practitioners are grappling with the technical and legal complexities of collecting, analyzing and reviewing these documents in real-world cases.

Identifying Your Practice's Differentiator Image

How to Convey Your Merits In a Way That Earns Trust, Clients and Distinctions Just as no two individuals have the exact same face, no two lawyers practice in their respective fields or serve clients in the exact same way. Think of this as a "Unique Value Proposition." Internal consideration about what you uniquely bring to your clients, colleagues, firm and industry can provide untold benefits for your law practice.

Risks and Ad Fraud Protection In Digital Advertising Image

The ever-evolving digital marketing landscape, coupled with the industry-wide adoption of programmatic advertising, poses a significant threat to the effectiveness and integrity of digital advertising campaigns. This article explores various risks to digital advertising from pixel stuffing and ad stacking to domain spoofing and bots. It will also explore what should be done to ensure ad fraud protection and improve effectiveness.

Turning Business Development Plans Into Reality Image

This article offers practical insights and best practices to navigate the path from roadmap to rainmaking, ensuring your business development efforts are not just sporadic bursts of activity, but an integrated part of your daily success.