The Wide Gulf Between Lawyer Perceptions And Those Of Their Clients
Inside Counsel just published their 17th Annual Survey Of General Counsel. Fascinating stuff. Consistent with my recent posts on the Lake Wobegon Effect (here and here), the Survey reveals that 52% of law firm respondents graded their relationship with clients an A. On the flip side, only 25% of General Counsel graded their relationship with law firms an A. Seven percent graded the relationship a C, while no law firms graded the relationship a C. 68% of the firms said that the quality of service had improved over the past five years, but only 32% of the General Counsel Agreed. At the other end, almost twice as many General Counsel as firms believed that service quality had declined (35% to 18%).
Do the law firms even care? It doesn't seem so--80% of firms said they did not sent out client satisfaction surveys at the conclusion of matters. One quote I found insightful came from Robert Johnson, Managing Counsel of McDonald's, who said "Firms claim to understand our business model, but many do not walk the walk. They're more interested in impressing us with their esoteric philosophies than in reaching a resolution." Ouch.