In a study released last year, the 24,137 responses received indicated that newly sworn-in lawyers need basic competencies to keep clients satisfied, which, in turn, keeps their bosses happy, too.
Alli Gerkman, director of the IAALS’s Educating Tomorrow’s Lawyers Initiative and one of the study’s authors, says attributes such as being on time, being diligent and maintaining confidences are personal characteristics necessary for success in any profession, not just law. Still, she maintains, “they are important to the representation of clients.”
Another important skill valued by hiring managers of attorneys is the ability to hear and comprehend what clients are saying. “There’s no doubt a top priority is to listen to clients,” Gerkman says.
Not only does the study illuminate what lawyers can do to keep their clients happy, it was also designed to solicit data that law schools can use to formulate curriculum to ensure lawyers graduate with those basic competencies and skills. Conversely, says Gerkman, law firms and corporate law departments need to hire candidates who embody the attributes they claimed to value.
“By knowing the competencies needed to serve clients, law schools and students can position themselves in better places to serve clients once they are practicing,” she says.
Joshua Lenon, Lawyer-in-Residence at Clio, a cloud-based law practice management software company, says the IAALS study establishes important foundations for practicing law. Among the most imperative attributes lawyers need to keep their clients happy falls into two categories: short-term and those that can be developed over time.
“The ‘develop-over-time’ refers to developing a wealth of knowledge” that comes with years of experience practicing law, Lenon says. A new lawyer isn’t expected to possess those attributes when they first start out, but it is presumed the attorney’s knowledge and skill set will increase over time.
What is encouraging about this revelation, Lenon says, is that young lawyers aren’t expected to possess the same competencies as their more experienced colleagues. “It means a new lawyer can still grow. You don’t have to know it all to be a lawyer,” he says.
Still, for the newly minted lawyer to prove they are learning and growing as an attorney, they need to demonstrate they can:
- Keep client confidences
- Honor commitments
- Maintain professional communications
The Rules of Professional Conduct require those minimums of lawyers while offering additional guidelines about how lawyers can keep their clients satisfied. For example, Lenon notes, the Rules say “Lawyers are deemed competent to handle all kinds of cases but that does not mean they are knowledgeable in all types of cases,” he says. In other words, attorneys would be wise to toil in the area(s) of law in which their practice focuses.
How to Know if Your Clients are Happy
There is a fail-safe way to know if clients are happy, Lenon says. “Ask them,” he urges. Soliciting client feedback is a great way for a lawyer to learn what they did well and how they can improve the services they provide clients.
In an article from the Legal Intelligencer, Michael Rynowecer, head of BTI Consulting, discussed the power of surveying clients. Law firms should tailor their strategies to each client and provide them with the opportunity to provide feedback, he says.
Despite the value of surveying clients, “most lawyers don’t have a way to solicit feedback, but they should,” Lenon says.
If a client feels their attorney did his or her best on a case, the client will usually be satisfied, even if the outcome did not turn out in their favor. “If the client is unhappy with your performance, look at how you handled the case. Did you provide status updates? Did the client have a chance to contribute to the process? Even if you lose the case, does the client have an idea where to go next?” Lenon asks.
Certainly every lawyer can’t win every case, “but you can keep your client informed, no matter the outcome,” Lenon says. It is also imperative that clients don’t feel like they are alone. Make them feel “you did everything possible on their behalf,” Lenon says.
As for the three core competencies (maintaining confidentiality, diligence and maintaining communication with clients), Lenon says it is imperative for a lawyer to “keep contact with clients, even if it means you inconvenience yourself.”
Tami Kamin Meyer is an Ohio attorney and writer.