Three steps to stronger relationships.

• Author: Young, Mary K.

Building relationships takes on added importance in a difficult environment. As the economy slowly climbs out of the recession, it has become more important than ever for lawyers to reach out and make personal connections with their clients, each other and law firm staff. Lawyers who have focused on building and expanding relationships during the recession will find that their practices grow more rapidly as the economy improves. And legal marketers can help by offering training and support to their lawyers to help develop and expand their connections.

1. Build Your Relationships

   This is not the time to cut back on your budget for activities that allow you to interact with clients. If anything, your lawyers should be doing more client entertainment and educational activities. Clients will appreciate free CLE programs, alerts, seminars and Webinars more than ever as long as they are timely and relevant to their business. This is the perfect time for associates and young partners, many of whom will have available time, to become engaged and educated in client development.

   Legal marketers can be catalysts for deepening client relationships by helping their lawyers develop a plan for each important client. Ideally, this exercise will be conducted as part of a key client program and it will coincide with the firm's annual planning and budgeting process. But developing a plan for staying close to the client can be done at any time.

   Legal marketers can lead the process by developing a strong understanding of what has been done with the client in the past. In addition, they can conduct research into the client's business situation and the nature of the firm's relationship with the client. Armed with this information, marketing can work with key relationship partners to develop a plan that addresses which activities should be kept and which should be added.

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   The lawyers should then take the crucial step of meeting with the client to discuss the client's needs and refine the plan.

   Finally, marketing and the relationship partners should finalize the plan and develop a budget to support it. As the plan is developed, keep in mind associates and young partners, who may be able to find roles such as developing the curriculum for a CLE program, writing alerts or meeting with more junior members of the client's team.

2. Convey a Sense of Urgency and Empathy

   Your clients are engaged in rethinking everything from their departmental...