Size doesn’t matter, to clients
THE REPUTATIONS of your lawyers will get you everywhere, while the size of your firm and your national presence are unlikely to impress, according to a Mahlab Recruitment and Harris Cost Lawyers
THE REPUTATIONS of your lawyers will get you everywhere, while the size of your firm and your national presence are unlikely to impress, according to a Mahlab Recruitment and Harris Cost Lawyers survey into the criteria used by in-house lawyers to select, retain and control costs by Australian companies.
Corporate Counsel — Law Firm Relationships, has been released in a joint effort by Harris Cost Lawyers, Mahlab Recruitment and the Australian Corporate Lawyers Association (ACLA).
According to the report, the primary selection criterion is a combination of the firm’s past experience and specialised expertise, as well as individual lawyers’ reputations.
Conversely, national presence and the size of the firm does little to sway potential clients. But your geographic location does matter, and companies will look to firms that are local when they are outsourcing legal services.
For 40 per cent of those surveyed, poor quality work was enough to get you off their books, this being the clearest reason for termination. Non-practical advice and excessive costs were also significant client concerns.
See ‘Time is money’ on this website for full report.