The Mindfulness Blog

Remember the old business mantra that, "the client's always right"? That was never part of the legal profession's business model, in which clients were often regarded as wrong. How about the notion that, if you treat people right, they'll treat you right? That sentiment never made it into the legal profession's C-suite. Everyone was replaceable-- and ROI was king.

But not any longer. There's a new kid in town, and that kid's name is "value"-- something of which both clients and workers are becoming increasingly aware. What's the value that a law firm can provide to a client, and how much will it cost? What's the value that a law firm can provide to a lawyer or it's legal staff, and how will it be provided? In today's business world, discerning clients want to know-- and discerning lawyers/legal staff, want to know.

How many law firms are prepared to provide a meaningful answer to either of those questions? And among those that have an answer, how many are able to actually deliver-- value, that is. The response is largely subjective, but it's nonetheless real. And my response is, very few.

Value has nothing to do with the predominant practice of billing by the hour (the metric by which most clients are charged). And value (or, "bounce", as it is referred to colloquially) for many lawyers or their staff, is usually just an incident of firm reputation-- which has little, if anything, to do with actual value.
 
My suggestions are: 1) change the firm's billing metric, and 2) institute a meaningful wellbeing initiative that is available to all lawyers and staff. Neither are favored by most law firm leaders, and neither are likely to be genuinely pursued in the near or foreseeable future-- which is (I believe) terribly short-sighted.

The sooner our law firms start operating on principles of value, rather than return, the better!