Practice Management

A client's costs: your problem, too.

By Dan Hull

"Rule Eight: Think Like the Client--Help Control Costs". There are three steps here. First, realize you have a conflict ($) in following this rule. Second, think about any client who knows you want long-term work. Third, ask yourself: are you a "trusted advisor" or not? Or is the client conciliere overture you float out there just noise and BS for websites, blogs and press releases?

If a client knows you want a long-term relationship, and you convey that in action, it will trust you to save it money--and you will. See Dan Hull's April 2007 post, which begins:

Ask any associate lawyer or paralegal what a "profit" is.

You will get two kinds of answers. Both answers are "correct"--but neither of them helps anyone in your firm think like the client.

Meeting of local bar association "Client Services" section, 2006

Full post as published by What About Clients? on December 03, 2008 (boomark / email).