Have you ever wondered why your clients prefer your law firm over others? Or perhaps what they particularly dislike about your own legal services? In a recent survey conducted by India Business Law Journal’s sister magazine, Asia Business Law Journal, it was found that slow turnaround time and overpricing were the top turn-offs for clients in Asia when working with their counterparts in law firms.
As we narrowed down the list of top complaints, poor quality of service, unmet expectations, and poor communication, were among the top five grievances that made the clients unhappy.
Regionally, many of the opinions shared by in-house counsel are ubiquitous. Regular monitoring and sharing of information about regulations before they are signed into law are among the services that lead legal counsel expects from law firms. Being aware of such upcoming changes, companies can give their input to regulators and anticipate the potential impact.
Speed and quality
Solving unprecedented problems in a timely fashion is the main task for which in-house counsel needs outside assistance. However, among 76 respondents to our survey, more than half cited slow turnaround and pricing issues as the most common complaints, followed by the poor quality of service, unmet expectations, and poor communications. When it comes to billing methods, the majority of in-house counsel preferred project-based fees and flat rates, rather than the conventional hourly rates.
To support the need for agile workflow and efficient output, our survey found that almost all in-house counsel have a positive attitude towards legal technology.
Building bridges
In a competitive legal market, maintaining a good rapport with clients is crucial for law firms. More than half of the respondents in our survey said that an existing relationship is a top consideration in finding local and international law firms. However, when picking between many options, a law firm’s track record plays a huge role in the final decision, as confirmed by 59% of respondents.
Rajendra Lade, general manager, of legal, for Hindustan Petroleum in Mumbai, says a law firm’s understanding of the business’s needs, its readiness to work at reasonable fees, and its ability to give objective advice are the top considerations for him. “The advice should be proactive, and for mitigating litigation,” he says.
The research base should be very strong so that the correct position of law is communicated to the client for proactive and legally correct action. Inflated billing is one of the major issues.
Running the shop
Amid ongoing supply chain disruptions, increasing regulatory complexity, and an unstable geopolitical landscape, legal departments are facing more pressure than ever before. Many in-house counsels in the survey are invested in proactively building their legal teams’ workflow and processes, as well as implementing effective technology solutions. This reduces the review time of all related documents while handling a request, aids flexibility in being available at the required time zone and, further, is an added advantage to staying close to business and key stakeholders.
Hence these are the majors finding from this whole process
