So why did those clients who loved you enough to hire you to represent them then leave you? Acritas' global research provides some insight into the recent epidemic of client churn, reports THE AMERICAN LAWYER.
Essentially the reasons fall into these categories:
Lack of responsiveness. This takes all kinds of forms. To the client, it appears the firm isn't paying attention to its business. Or, the partner handling the matter leaves and goes to another firm but the old firm never contacts the client to try to win back the business. Yet the partner certainly does get in touch with the client from the new firm.
This confirms what law firms doing their own surveys have found. Clients want to be paid attention to in a timely manner. Sometimes this is more important than the fee schedule.
No results. The invoices keep coming in but there is no movement in the legal matter, often for months.
Price. This is usually associated with not enough or no results. For what the client has agreed to pay, not enough seems to be getting accomplished.
Will this information change how law firms around the world conduct business? Actually little has changed in the traditional model of how U.S. law firms operate since the Crash of 2007.
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