What clients really want
The question I’ve been asked most during my 30+ year in the legal market is: what do clients want? (Closely followed, it must be said, by: what is everyone else doing?)
Words like ‘quality’ and ‘value’ come up time and again in the seemingly interminable client surveys law firms conduct, but am I going to buy ‘quality carpets’ or ‘value beans’?
What I think law firms are really asking clients is: faced with a bunch of firms who are all recommended, who all charge more or less the same, who all look the same and talk the same, what would make the difference?
Efficient and effective processes should be a given. Beyond that, I think what legal clients really want is the same thing law firms want from people like me: insight. And how in the heck do you bottle that and sell it?
I usually shy away from using dictionary definitions, but the definition of insight nails the concepts. It talks of intuition, of “penetrating discernment” leading to a revelation of the “underlying truth” of something.
Insight, for me, is a process. Curiosity comes first and curiosity produces knowledge. Understanding is the next stage, and here, assumption is the enemy. Keep asking questions.
Understanding is seeing how all the pieces fit together and seeing the things other people miss. But then you have to communicate your insights to your client in a way that resonates with them and prompts them into the right kind of action.
The best lawyers I’ve ever met are, like the best writers, the most intuitive and therefore insightful ones. You can be taught to be very good at legal process just as you can be taught to be a fine writer, up to a point.
But beyond that point, it’s about seeing the things other people miss in their own world. A good lawyer, like a good writer, will reveal, surprise and expand the client’s/reader’s understanding.
I’m not sure insight is something that can be taught but I think you can get better at honing your instincts.
If you’re any good, you’ll be insecure about it, but you have to push past that and trust your gut. Find examples which demonstrate your insights. Listen to yourself articulate them. Identify someone you think of as insightful and get them to help you discover your underlying truth.
If you’d like a chat about insight, feel free to drop me a DM.