What Do Clients Want Most From Their Lawyers?

Lawyers work for their clients, but many of them don’t understand their perspective. With your mind so concentrated on legal work, you may overlook the emotional experience connected to each case. 

But for clients, emotions are one of the biggest influences in their experience. From stress and anxiety to fear and even anger, people who seek out lawyers are wrestling with a lot of emotions behind the scenes. 

As their lawyer, you can make them feel validated and supported through the right client service. In addition to making the legal process fast and efficient, you can improve your customer service by personalizing care to suit each client’s needs.

Before you can do that, though, you need to know what clients really want from a lawyer and how to provide it without slowing your business down.

What Do Clients Want in a Lawyer?

Some lawyers mistakenly think that clients only care about results. Yes, they are counting on you to deliver favorable outcomes in their case. But there is so much that takes place between connecting with you and reaching a conclusion.

In fact, the bulk of the legal process unfolds in this place between the moment a client connects with your firm and the day their case closes. 

How does your firm support clients throughout their legal journey?

Clients want a lawyer they can trust, and the only way to build that is through communication. Clear communication eases stress, lowers anxiety, and clarifies uncertainties. It also helps a client feel more confident that their lawyer is invested in ensuring they get the greatest outcomes for their case. 

Let’s look at some other qualities clients look for in a lawyer.

Honesty

No one wants to be lied to, and clients can feel like a lawyer is being dishonest if they don’t give them complete details about their case. If you don’t think a client can get their best-case-scenario outcome, tell them why. And then, tell them what you can realistically help them achieve instead.

Honesty is essential in law and customer service. Providing the greatest care to your clients means always taking the time to fill them in and make sure they feel up to speed on their case. 

Timeliness

You have a busy practice, but clients don’t think about all the other cases you’re working on besides theirs. This is why automated messaging can be so helpful for lawyers. You can reply to clients rapidly without neglecting your duties. 

Even if there is no news to report, letting a client know that you’ve filed all the necessary paperwork and are waiting to progress makes a difference. Some lawyers may think that it only makes sense to reach out when they have a status update, but this isn’t true.

Clients don’t want to guess if you’re still working on their case. Even a simple reminder of what you’ve done and what the next steps are can ease stress and increase customer satisfaction. 

Expertise

A legal specialty can help you attract more clients, and it allows you to leverage your knowledge to deliver greater outcomes. While there are many great general attorneys, clients tend to seek out experienced lawyers in a particular field, like personal injury or family law. 

No matter what you practice, make sure your website and interactions always demonstrate your legal expertise. Good customer service is grounded in dependability, and people translate experience and expertise as qualities of a good lawyer. 

What Is Important for a Lawyer?

Law firms must consider how they’re appearing to the public. It doesn’t even matter how successful you are in the courtroom if your marketing messages are completely off-target.

Client service is a skill that every lawyer needs to develop throughout their career. One way to ensure the customer experience stays positive is to make sure your entire legal staff follows a client service policy. 

This policy can guide interactions between your law firm and clients that leads to greater interactions and higher satisfaction. Greater client service also helps reduce the number of incoming calls and emails. When clients feel cared for, they don’t constantly have to seek out answers or make repetitive requests. 

What Qualities Make a Good Lawyer?

The qualities of a good lawyer include responsiveness, diligence, trustworthiness, and accountability. These characteristics help you conduct your legal work morally while serving your clients well.

In addition to being knowledgeable in their practice area, a lawyer has to also be compassionate and empathetic. Understanding and relating to their clients’ needs ultimately allows them to deliver more authentic, meaningful service. 

The reality of being a lawyer is that clients care just as much about how you treat them as what you can do for them. This means you have to prioritize communication and relationship-building alongside all your legal work.

A legal client app can help by giving you a one-stop-solution for all your interactions. In addition to making communication easier, it can also provide you with feedback about how clients feel about your firm’s service. 

What Is the Most Common Complaint Clients Have About Attorneys? 

Most clients complain that lawyers don’t communicate enough. While this sounds bad by itself, it can get worse when clients associate your lack of responsiveness with inactivity or inexperience. 

Case Status is the best way to stay connected with all your clients. We offer an easy-to-integrate client app that supports all your communication needs through:

• Real-time translation in 138 languages
• Automated messages and reminders
• Built-in messaging service 
• Text messaging
• Branded interface
• Helpful client portal 

Case Status can integrate with all your current accounts in a CRM such as CasePEER, Clio, Salesforce, etc. Whether they are brand-new to your business or a long-term client, Case Status enhances the way you communicate with every client through personalized service.

If you’re ready to learn more about how a client app can transform your law firm’s customer service, we’re here to show you.

Contact us today to book a free consultation with one of our team members. We’d love to show you how Case Status can benefit your practice.

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