Client Surveys

• Publication year: 1997
• Pages: 89
• Citation: Vol. 26 No. 3 Pg. 89

26 Colo.Law. 89 Colorado Lawyer 1997.

1997, March, Pg. 89. Client Surveys

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89

Vol. 26, No. 3, Pg. 89

The Colorado Lawyer
March 1997
Vol. 26, No. 3 [Page 89]

Specialty Law Columns
Law Practice Management
Client Surveys
by Diane Hartman

Editor's Note

This article, written by the CBA/DBA Director of Communications, first appeared in the January 1997 issue of The Docket, the monthly publication of the Denver Bar Association

So you think your clients like you? When was the last time you took a client satisfaction survey? An "image" survey done by the St. Louis Bar Association in 1993 offered some blunt observations: "Lawyers are virtually unanimous in their perception that their clients have a favorable perception of them." This is because clients rarely complain directly to their lawyers (although you can bet their friends hear about it) and because many lawyers don't routinely ask clients for feedback, either directly or through their organizations, the survey concluded

We talked with some Denver firms that have done client satisfaction surveys. They say it's worth the time and effort.

Take Holland & Hart's "Top to Top Client Interview Program." Since they started the program in March 1995, their top managing partners (who are not involved with that client's business) have called on the top people at their client companies in about two dozen instances. They ask for an hour, go to the client's place of business, and use a script of questions as a guide.

They ask what's working and what's not working, says Connie Proulx, client services director at H&H. "Are there things we could be doing better? Are there things other firms are doing that we could learn from? We ask them their plans for the future and how we can help them achieve their goals.

"We're starting with clients who have paid us significant fees, and we're trying to show them they're getting value for the dollars they've paid us."

What H&H has learned is that "you have to be continuously communicating with your client through your relationship, not just during a case . . . [E]very client is different. They have different needs, perceptions, and requests."

Although most of the feedback has been positive, they have uncovered a few problems with long-term clients who were just waiting to be asked how things were. In one case, a few weeks after the interview, they got new...