How do different styles of law firm win clients?

[Matt_96]

This is going to sound like a dumb question, but it occurred to me recently that I only have a very vague idea of how it all works.

For commercial firms, I understand reputation within the directories and pitching for positions on the legal panels of companies is important, but how does this actually work in practice? I also know that it is not unheard of for clients to jump ship to a new firm if the relationship partner goes there. But are there other avenues I'm missing?

For private client and smaller firms, I'm also not really sure how they win business, but I would guess that they build referral networks with other services for HNW clients (e.g. wealth management) as well as rely on their directory reputations and perhaps even word of mouth. Maybe for firms with substantial practices in more commercial areas (like BCLP, Mishcon or Macfarlanes) I imagine they could win work through cross-selling their services from other departments.

Does this sound about right? Does anyone else have any thoughts?

 

[G1996]

Hi

I only have limited knowledge about this, but will give it a go!

You asked how the pitching for work actually happens in practice - my experience is that often firms are invited to tender for certain pieces of work / projects. They have to put together fully costed proposals, sometimes deliver presentations and then the client picks. Sometimes the law firms sit through the presentations delivered by the other firms they’re up against, and sometimes it’s all done behind closed doors/ using documents only. Even if the client uses a specific law firm for the majority of their work, it’s pretty standard practice to have a look at the legal market and shop around.

As the legal market becomes increasingly competitive, firms have to think of new ways to attract clients. For example, this can be through innovation and the use of new technology. By streamlining the legal process, firms can offer clients more for less which is win win!! Some firms also offer services which extend beyond the purely legal, such as consultancy or support for in house legal teams. This helps law firms attract new clients, acting a one stop shop for all commercial / legal needs.

Just some thoughts!

 

[Matt_96]

Hi

I only have limited knowledge about this, but will give it a go!

You asked how the pitching for work actually happens in practice - my experience is that often firms are invited to tender for certain pieces of work / projects. They have to put together fully costed proposals, sometimes deliver presentations and then the client picks. Sometimes the law firms sit through the presentations delivered by the other firms they’re up against, and sometimes it’s all done behind closed doors/ using documents only. Even if the client uses a specific law firm for the majority of their work, it’s pretty standard practice to have a look at the legal market and shop around.

As the legal market becomes increasingly competitive, firms have to think of new ways to attract clients. For example, this can be through innovation and the use of new technology. By streamlining the legal process, firms can offer clients more for less which is win win!! Some firms also offer services which extend beyond the purely legal, such as consultancy or support for in house legal teams. This helps law firms attract new clients, acting a one stop shop for all commercial / legal needs.

Just some thoughts!

I like this approach, it definitely makes sense to me and is quite informative. So thank you for chipping in! But I do have some follow up questions.

If it's a tendering process, how exactly does a firm get invited for tender? Does an in-house lawyer select a shortlist of firms on the basis of their reputation within the directories? Or do they have specialist tendering managers who are constantly on the look out for tenders in the fields in which the firm excels? I guess what I'm trying to say is that I can't believe there isn't some action that sets the whole process in motion from the firm's end.

I also agree on your points about consultancy and legal tech services being good USPs for law firms, but in the realm of big commercial firms which most of us on TCLA are looking at, neither of those things is that uncommon anymore. So with this in mind, how does an in-house lawyer differentiate between law tech or consulting services? Would it be the case that how useful they are depends on the industry you're working in and the specialisation of the law firm?

 

[G1996]

In my experience (again, v limited), one of the main jobs of partners is to attract work and clients. I suppose it's a mixture of looking for opportunities and tendering for them, and being asked to tender based on firm reputation/ expertise in a certain area / previous work done for the client.

As for the specificities of the process, I'm afraid I don't know - maybe @Jaysen or @Jessica Booker know more about this side of things?

 

[Jane Smith]

There are lots of ways and it will vary from firm to firm. Some respond to public bids for Government and other state work advertised under public procurement law. Others follow similar tendering processes for non state body clients who want to use a similar system. Mostly however it can be knowing about the expertise of a particular firm so over the years I and those in firms where I have worked have been on committees of associations, given input into new legislation, written books, given talks, joined industry bodies.

One of my lawyer children is an in house lawyer who chooses external firms. At each company she has worked it has been various eg sometimes there is a historic relationship with a firm or a new in house lawyer arrives and has a firm they prefer or a new area of law arises and they want to find the best firm for that work.

Sometimes advice is needed in a hurry and other times there is lots of time to go through more formal processes, presentations,choosing firms etc.

 

[Matt_96]

In my experience (again, v limited), one of the main jobs of partners is to attract work and clients. I suppose it's a mixture of looking for opportunities and tendering for them, and being asked to tender based on firm reputation/ expertise in a certain area / previous work done for the client.

As for the specificities of the process, I'm afraid I don't know - maybe @Jaysen or @Jessica Booker know more about this side of things?

Haha I don't really know either - I was just caught out by a question on it in an interview; beyond throwing the word 'legal panels' around, it helped me realise I didn't have a clue! But this thread has brought up some interesting ideas that I hope everyone who reads it will find useful!

 

[Matt_96]

There are lots of ways and it will vary from firm to firm. Some respond to public bids for Government and other state work advertised under public procurement law. Others follow similar tendering processes for non state body clients who want to use a similar system. Mostly however it can be knowing about the expertise of a particular firm so over the years I and those in firms where I have worked have been on committees of associations, given input into new legislation, written books, given talks, joined industry bodies.

One of my lawyer children is an in house lawyer who chooses external firms. At each company she has worked it has been various eg sometimes there is a historic relationship with a firm or a new in house lawyer arrives and has a firm they prefer or a new area of law arises and they want to find the best firm for that work.

Sometimes advice is needed in a hurry and other times there is lots of time to go through more formal processes, presentations,choosing firms etc.

Thanks for this! You sound very knowledgeable about this stuff!