KPIs as a Marketing Tool for Law Firms?

The Harris Cost Lawyers/Mahlab Recruitment survey of Corporate Counsel/Law Firm Relationships found that 51% of corporations use panel firms, but only 23% of Corporate lawyers had procedures in place to formally review the performance of their lawyers, even if a panel was used.

Formal KPIs provide a non-threatening environment in which a client can express their concerns and desires. It is an interesting marketing tool for a law firm to propose their own set of KPIs, if the client does not do so. This assists the client, but also sets the ground rules and parameters within which the parties are operating. Identifying appropriate KPIs will require identifying the client's expectations - which is the base starting point for delivering value to the client.

We all should know that we are fortunate if a client expresses dissatisfaction, because at least we then have the opportunity to remedy the situation. 95% of clients keep quite if they are unhappy and simply never come back, or worse still, we both lose the business and end up in a dispute over costs.

Formal KPIs help avoid this.