Voice of the Client: Chief Client Service, Experience and Value Officers in Law Firms

|

Why This Growth in Law Firm CCSOs?

No matter the size of a law firm, the top determining factor in building and maintaining its success is the actual experience clients have with the firm. Without a portfolio of satisfied clients, lawyers and law firms need to spend significant amounts of time and effort to continually attract new clients.

A large volume of legal industry research concludes that superior client service is the number one differentiator for lawyers and law firms and directly correlates to law firm success, longevity and profitability.

An increasing number of the world's largest law firms are conducting business at such a scale that having a dedicated, full-time client service or experience officer adds significant value to the firms and their clients.

“At the end of the day, our clients' experience is what matters most,” says Angela Quinn, who serves as Chief Client Officer at Husch Blackwell. “The role of my team is to identify, evaluate, coordinate and make appropriate upgrades for client service touchpoints. Each activity we undertake — even those far removed from client-facing work — traces back to one question: How does this impact the client?”

Traditionally, the primary focus of lawyers and law firms has been on the results attained for the client; e.g., whether the case was completed to the client's benefit, whether a deal or transaction was successfully closed, whether the counsel and advice provided to the client was effective. While achieving great results for clients is critical, of equal importance to clients when they evaluate their experience with law firms is the timeliness, efficiency and effectiveness of the communications and service delivered throughout the lawyer/law firm–client relationship.

At Husch Blackwell, the CCSO position is working, generating significant results for both the firm and its clients. In both 2017 and 2018, the firm won a Value Champion award from the Association of Corporate Counsel for the work Angela and her team coordinated with and for firm clients Monsanto and Express Scripts. According to Greg Smith, Chairman of Husch Blackwell, “Angela's role has been a great benefit for our firm, our lawyers and our valued clients. As a firm, we are much more focused on our clients' entire experience.”

Law firm clients agree. According to Cammie Teems, Risk Manager for Bestway USA: “We recently sent an RFP to various law firms. Only one firm offered a dedicated client service professional as part of its proposal, a position that I had never heard of before. She added considerable value to our interview, selection and eventual onboarding processes, and continues to be of tremendous assistance.”

Joshua Sherbin, General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer, TriMas Corporation says: “While we typically rely on a key relationship lawyer at each law firm we work with to manage quality and cost and navigate our relationship with the firm, I see the value in having a professional dedicated to this role whose mission is to focus on client satisfaction.”

However, some law firm clients caution lawyers to avoid thinking that a dedicated client service professional takes the responsibility off them as practicing lawyers and that they can simply delegate all client service. Jill Jacobson, Vice President and General Counsel, Americas, Husqvarna, cautions: “The lawyers who are actually going to do our work should not fully delegate relationship building and proactive client service to anyone. After all, those are the folks with whom I need to have a relationship built on trust and confidence.”

Being responsive to clients' needs and expectations continue to be an ongoing challenge most law firms face. “It's like a game of whack-a-mole,” says Amanda Brady, Partner and Global Practice Leader of Major, Lindsey & Africa's Law Firm Management practice. “The law firm professionals in these evolving roles are often chasing a moving target as they try to help their lawyers and firms up the game on client service, understand exactly what 'client service' means to each client, and whom should be the involved in the relationship. The good news is, however, that firms are now taking this seriously and are investing in talented people to lead these initiatives, giving them resources and making this a cultural imperative at their firms.”

At Linklaters, “the client experience is not just about our overall service delivery at every touch point, but also about our emotional connection with our clients — before, during and in-between transactions,” says Sarah Wiggins, Global Head of Clients & Sectors and Executive Board Member for the firm. She continues: “A key part of the Linklaters' client experience is that our clients feel we have their back and enjoy the interaction with our people on a personal level. Everyone in our firm has an integral role to play in the client experience: partners; associates; trainees; secretaries and members of our business teams. By embedding a culture and practice of client service excellence from cradle to grave across all facets of our business, we demonstrate to clients that they are at the heart of everything we do.”

CCSOs' roles, areas of focus and responsibility vary. Some are tasked with overseeing, coordinating and enhancing (as appropriate) some or all of the firm's key, client-facing support functions, such as marketing, business and client development, communications, lateral integration, new client intake, invoicing/billing and/or other support functions within the firm.

For example, Angela Quinn is responsible for managing the in-house marketing and business development (MBD) department, as well as the client-service program, pricing staff and new business intake. Other firms created a separate, leanly staffed, but well-funded client-service function designed to increase and enhance internal collaboration between support departments and lawyers and, ultimately, client satisfaction.

So, what do CCSOs do on a day-to-day basis? Most CCSOs split their time and efforts between coordinating internally with firm lawyers and staff and reaching out to clients and prospects. CCSOs often work directly with firm clients, prospective clients, new laterals, and/or referral sources, and — importantly — collaborate internally, to:

• Meet with and interview existing and prospective new clients
• Conduct or participate in post-matter/case client interviews
• Participate in RFPs, beauty contests and other new business proposal meetings
• Initiate, communicate and manage new client onboarding steps and deliverables
• Suggest available firm value-added services and options to clients and prospects
• Assist the firm's lawyers in scoping, pricing and budgeting for new cases and matters
• Scope and assist in the development of secure, custom client extranets
• Create, maintain and follow up on prospect and client service pipelines
• Participate in, coordinate and assist with legal process management
• Determine and coordinate delivery of desired work product, invoices, periodic reporting and service
• Serve as another dedicated point of contact for any service-related issues or questions
• Help identify where other areas of service may be needed or useful
• Match and introduce appropriate firm lawyers to optimal clients and contacts
• Identify, coordinate internally and introduce possible customers for clients
• Follow up with clients periodically during and after cases (as appropriate) to help ensure client satisfaction
• Identify clients' pro bono and charitable activities and how the firm's lawyers can get involved
• Ensure the lawyers and firm continue to develop relationships and add value over time
• Support new lateral acquisition and integration over time
• Coordinate, implement and manage client “listening” programs and efforts

Colleen Moorehead, who has served as Chief Client Officer for the Canadian law firm Osler for over six years after a successful career founding and leading the financial technologies company ETRADE Canada, says: “Most law firms have a written strategic plan, but it needs to be actionable. Executing is what gets results and is the differentiator. My team and I focus intensely on this every day. We ensure our lawyers are able to execute strategic initiatives by coordinating and streamlining the delivery of our services and communications to our clients. We deploy smart technology, enhanced work processes and people. For example, we have built a robust client listening program supported by key technologies and tools, including client reporting dashboards, post-experience interviews, internal client plans and advanced CRM [customer relationship management] support.”

Many CCSOs are lawyers or experienced professionals with former law practice or in-house counsel experience, as well as significant business experience. This background helps shift the law firm culture from one with an internal focus to one that is more client facing and market driven. Cole Silver, who serves as Chief Client Officer at Blank Rome, says: “Because I have served as a law firm owner and former general counsel for over 25 years, my main contribution is bringing client centricity and the 'voice of the client' to firm pitches, marketing, strategy, business development and the overall client experience. Our firm's primary objective is to provide clients with a level of service second to none, and my role helps make that happen.”

With billable time demands being a reality for most outside lawyers, helping lawyers see and work past their own agendas is often an integral part of a CCSO's job. The compensation and origination systems used by many law firms can be hurdles to the success of a dedicated CCSO. Law firms that operate in a truly collaborative, collegial culture and allow for shared-origination credit tend to have greater success with CCSOs. Firms with “one-touch” or “grandfathered” origination credit schemes can encourage client hoarding and inhibit collaboration on many levels. According to Silver, “the 'ownership' of a client by an individual lawyer can be the 'fruit of the poisonous tree' that can stonewall collaboration, shared compensation, and organizational alignment.”

Another hurdle shows up in the form of the ever-evolving technology platforms and options available to law firms. All the technologies used by law firms ultimately support winning clients the results and service they desire. That said, identifying and integrating technologies is a continual challenge for most firms. CCSOs play a role here, helping to identify and vet the best options available in a manner that saves the firm time and money.

The struggle to innovate in meaningful ways remains a challenge for many law firms. The pace of innovation remains slow in law firms because of several factors, including the following:

• It's much easier to do things the way they have always been done for firms and for individual lawyers.
• Most lawyers are naturally risk-averse and skeptical.
• Many fall victim to the Dunning-Kruger effect, where think they know more than they do.
• With steady growth and profitability, many think: “why rock the boat”?

Many (but not all) law firms only pay lip service to innovation. Allen & Overy, Eversheds, Linklaters, and Seyfarth Shaw, among other firms, are innovation leaders within the legal industry (in fact, law firms are increasingly naming and hiring chief innovation officers). Osler went a step further and created a leadership role and structure centered around innovation and funded it, along with a research and development function.

In sum, CCSOs are playing an increasingly important role in the evolution and growth of law firms and law firm clients.

*****

Julie Savarino is an attorney with over 30 years' experience working with lawyers and law firms to develop and enhance client relationships. She recently concluded a successful in-house position with Dickinson Wright, where she served as Director of Client Relations, and continues to serve the firm as an external, Client Service Liaison. For more information, please visit www.BusDevInc.com.