Greater collaboration and personalization rank among the reasons clients choose small law firms
As a client sets out to select legal counsel, a number of factors can work in favor of small law firms. These include a greater sense of flexibility and personalization for the client.
Here are five reasons why clients might look to small law firms for counsel:
Personalized service
By far the most attractive aspect of working with a small firm comes in the form of relationship-building and client service. With a small firm, a client can count on working with one or two people consistently, which helps create a foundation of trust.
Lawyerist highlights the importance of a great client experience:
“According to Bain and Company, businesses that excel in designing great customer experience grow revenues 4%–8% above their market. A great client experience also increases long-term loyalty, which has an added impact on revenue growth…Industry disruption is happening in nearly every market in the form of competition, online or virtual offerings and other technologies. This pushes all businesses to take client experience seriously…”
Taking care to listen deeply to clients and to create personalized approaches goes a long way toward ensuring a great client experience.
Specialized focus
Many independent lawyers choose to focus on one or two key practice areas. This specialization allows an independent lawyer to understand the nuances necessary to serve clients in that space. Clients seeking a deeper understanding of that area of law will turn to you as a subject matter expert.
FindLaw points out how a niche practice can boost your marketing efforts and referrals:
“One of the greatest challenges in marketing is maintaining what advertisers call ‘share of mind’– being remembered as a potential provider when a need arises…Your specialty creates a clear (and, hopefully, lasting) picture in the minds of potential clients about what you do. If they need or hear of someone who needs what you do, you will stand out. You become the ‘go-to’ person for particular types of matters.”
A niche practice allows you to dive deep into your knowledge and deliver better results to clients as a result.
Flexibility and access
Big law firms might offer breadth of service, but small law firms have the ability to flex to offer both depth and breadth. As discussed in the last section, many small firms choose to focus on a niche practice area, creating more depth in both knowledge and service.
The breadth comes in when you partner with complementary niche law firms to expand your service offering. As an independent lawyer or small law firm, you have more opportunities to create as-needed collaborations to meet the needs of a specific client. Clients appreciate having access to your existing relationships to meet their changing legal needs.
Innovation and technology
Finally, modern law clients expect more than the status quo or cookie-cutter approaches. Small law firm lawyers have the ability to embrace new technology strategically and offer new approaches to clients. Clients have come to expect this nimbleness, and it gives small law firms an edge over slower-moving big law bureaucracies.
Juris Review notes:
“As the legal industry continues to evolve with technological advancements, firms must remain agile in adopting and integrating these tools to stay competitive. While the shift towards automation and AI may be daunting for some, it is clear that legal technology offers a wealth of opportunities for law firms to improve their services and better serve clients. Firms that embrace these innovations will be better positioned to thrive in the changing legal landscape, offering more efficient and cost-effective services.”
Bigger isn’t always better when it comes to law services, and many law clients have become savvy to that fact in recent years. As a small law firm, you have the opportunity to lean into what makes your offering unique and attractive to a variety of clients.
Learn more about how to grow your small law firm in our collaborative shared office spaces for lawyers in Denver and Las Vegas. We see small law as the future.
