The National Creditors Bar Association Law Practice Management Blog

Last week in this space, we addressed the fact that law firms have really low  net promoter score s, with an NPS equal to about the average airline provider.  As we discussed, that means that your clients like you about as much as they like Spirit Airlines.  You can do better.   Fi guring out your  net promoter score is step one.  Step two is  improving  your net promoter score.  And, the answer to improving your net promoter score  comes from the question:  ‘how can I make it more likely that my clients will refer business to me’?  Here are at least a few ways:   Ask for Referrals.   It’s funny: some attorneys don’t ask for referrals.  But, how are your clients supposed to know that you want referrals, if you don’t address the elephant in the room?  So, be sure to tell your clients that you want referrals, and that your  business thrives on them.  If they know, they’re more lik...

Law firms work vigorously to convert leads: to get those leads to pay retainers and sign engagement agreements.  That all makes sense: winning business is essential for any organization.   However, once law firms convert clients, there is often a dry spell before the new client s  hear from their new law firms again; and, because many cases start with potentially significant periods before anything of note  actually  happens, new clients may go for months, or even a year, before they hear from their lawyer again.   This paucity of response is one of the reasons that  law firms have a bad reputation for customer service .  Keep in mind that , while you deal with the legal field every working day of your life,  for many of your clients, it will be the first (and potentially only) time   they ever have an interaction with the legal system .  So, it’s essential to keep them informed of what’s going on, even if you kno...