Beat Out Larger Firms in Landing Corporate Clients
Small law firms that think they cannot compete with larger firms are simply wrong. If they do what is right! Many large firms don’t. I ran across a great article from the New York Law Journal by Joy Newton and Richard Skoller that appeared in Small Firm Business magazine entitled How to Get a Corporate Client
It contains many excellent suggestions that I like on how a small firm could distinguish itself in providing outstanding client service by:
• Offering to “Lend a Lawyer” (many in-house law departments are shorthanded)
• Meeting other temporary client needs (office space, conference room, help with press release, for example),
• Helping keep corporate law departments up to speed on the law by hosting CLE seminars,
• Knowing your client’s industry and keep them abreast of issues/problems you learn before they call you for advice,
• Learning about your client’s business goals, and introduce them to others who can help them achieve those goals,
• Doing the “easy stuff” right (return calls promptly, don’t bill for an associate along for training, make bills understandable, or not checking your Blackberry® during a meeting),
• Knowing and respecting budget constraints while avoiding surprises that will make the in-house lawyer look bad (obviously, that won’t be good for your firm either),
• Shoot straight in terms of your firm’s capabilities relating to a matter, especially when trying to cross-sell another firm lawyer, and
• Stay in touch so the relationship will continue to grow.
This article is definitely worth a read.
