My friend and in-house marketing professional extraordinaire Heather Milligan of Barger & Wollen has an excellent post at The Legal Watercooler on how to counteract the not uncommon lawyer stance that they are "too busy to market."

In a letter to law firm leadership, Association of Corporate Counsel General Counsel Susan Hackett explains how law firms can access the "satisfaction" survey in-house counsel have been participating in since ACC's announcement of the initiative last October. The initiative, dubbed "Value Index" is part of the broader ACC Value Challenge. An evolving initiative for in-house counsel and law firm's to maximize tools, ideas and define "value" in serving corporate clients.

Last week, I accompanied one of our client’s managing partner and marketing director teams on a client feedback interview. The first thing the managing partner said after leaving the client’s office was, “That was really fun! We should be doing this every month. It should be part of my job description as managing partner.” And he meant it.

We advise law firms to start small. Select clients with whom they and the relationship attorneys are comfortable and to be upfront with the client that this is a pilot program, a “new” thing for the firm, and something they will do with all of their clients. The clients are usually flattered to be first and happy to participate.

It was a typical client interview, a small private business faring better than most in this economy, but still feeling its impact. We spoke to two business people.

There were no surprises, no hidden problems, no glaring opportunities. Yet, as we listened to the savvy business partners talk about their challenges, goals and interests, the knowledge we gained was immeasurable. We gained insight into the duo’s working relationship, saw how they view each other and the world, and learned what they really want to accomplish. It was enlightening.

Later that day, I got around to reading the Sunday New York Times. “The Corner Office” column is a favorite. Last week’s interview with Cristobal Conde, president and C.E.O. of SunGard, really struck a chord for me. He says, “I try to see a client every day… They’ll tell me things – what are their biggest issues, what are their biggest bets. All this information is incredibly valuable.” He went on to describe how critical it is to take that information back and share it internally so the entire organization can benefit from the insights. How many law firm leaders talk to a different client every day and report what they learned to the entire firm?

So make it a 2010 resolution. Talk to a different client at least every month in 2010. It will be fun and they will tell you really valuable things!

Join me and Sandy Williams, Client Service Partner at Foley & Lardner and leader of the initiative and others to learn how your firm or corporation can get beyond the alternative fee discussion and toward superior client service:

Doug Chia, Senior Counsel & Assistant Corporate Secretary, Johnson & Johnson, New Brunswick, NJ

• Doug provides legal counsel to the corporation on matters of corporate governance, securities regulation, public company disclosure, and Sarbanes-Oxley Act compliance will share his insights and perspectives from the client side of an influential Fortune 50 company.
  

Christopher Marston, Founder and CEO, Exemplar Law Group, Boston, MA

• Christopher started the first law firm in the U.S. to offer a fixed, value-based pricing structure to clients at the age of 29; six years later, Exemplar is thriving and he has been recently named a "Legal Rebel."
  

Nat Slavin, Founder and Partner, Wicker Park Group, Chicago, IL

• As a Founder and Partner of Wicker Park Group and former publisher of Inside Counsel magazine, Nat conducts client interviews designed to help lawyers maximize their client relationships. Few have a better pulse on the client service horizontal than he.
  

They will gather together live online in a virtual panel (vPanel) discussion entitled “Beyond Alternative Fees: How to Deliver Better Client Service” on Monday, February 1, 2010 at Noon EST.

Click here for more information:

http://www.shiftworldwide.com/vpanels/beyondfees.htm

My friend Dov Seidman has a great post on the Huffington Post about how to think of partnering with your clients. As we talk to in-house counsel and other corporate executives we constantly hear that those outside counsel who understand business pressures, are aware of the internal clients' needs and have "aligned goals" have the greatest loyalty and successfully differentiate themselves from the competition.

My dear friend Sarah Robinson is doing something amazing. She has asked 30 people to author a blog post under the theme "Changing Your Game." One post will appear each day for 30 days. Today is day four of the series and is my day to contribute! Please check out my post on "Making The List."

My friend Pat Lamb just shared this reminder in his In Search of Perfect Client Service blog (via Dan Hull)

Client service is hard. We always remind law firm attorneys to do the following three things when learning how to best serve your clients:

1. Ask how you are doing.
2. Respond to the answer to that question.
3. Go back and ask again.

Remember that every client is different, and every lawyer in every legal department in every company has different needs, goals and preferences. Learn what matters, and when you ask, you are making a promise that you will follow through.