Chrissie Lightfoot: A good friend and new blogger at the law gazette in the UK posted this blog last week:
The end of lawyers? Pah! This is the time of the ’super lawyer’.
“Actually being able to truly relate and care about the client and his/her business and/or predicament is fundamental to what true lawyering and LIC is all about. Extraordinary relationships and customer service will be the holy grail at the heart of the successful super lawyer. Building an enduring value relationship with the consumer, utilising ‘fluffy soft-skills stuff’ combined with a total consumer-centric focus is where the real value will be for the lawyer, law firm and consumer of today and the future.” Excerpt from Chrissie’s blog
In my comment to her blog, I added that these “super lawyers” would also have to treat their colleagues with the same value service. At least anecdotally, I have often heard that lawyers receive more clients from other lawyers than advertising or word of mouth. I did. That could also explain why plaintiff’s lawyers market so persistently to other lawyers in Florida.
In 16 years of practice, Plaintiff’s lawyers are the only lawyers to have ever paid me referrals and co-counsel fees. Frankly, I don’t see much that can save many lawyers from commoditization and global competition when they have difficulty personally thanking colleagues for referrals. How can we aspire to success and a better lifestyle in the legal profession without investing in relationships. Yet, I see lawyers investing in everything but relationship: from all kinds of software, Westlaw and Lexis, to expensive office space and hardware.
I recommend that any lawyer thinking about spending even more $$ for technology and infrastructure consider investing first in relationships. Consider investing in the skills to build and grow a deeper and broader network. You can buy Google Apps for $50 a year and all those gizmos don’t really advance a business like good relationships, or like returning calls promptly, and scheduling meetings and lunches with colleagues that can refer clients.
Don’t let yourself become so busy and distracted with tasks that you have no time to build and invest in your future, in a more joyful lifestyle. And remember: friends first, business second.
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