10 ASIAN LEGAL BUSINESS – INDIA E-MAGAZINE JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2024 Forum LISTEN TO THE CLIENT A Thomson Reuters Market Insights research report has revealed that law firms conducting formal client feedback programs can earn nearly twice the share of a client’s external legal spend compared to those not engaging in feedback. Client feedback plays a pivotal role in helping law firms evaluate their performance, improve service quality, build strong client relationships, and differentiate themselves in a competitive Indian legal market. By actively seeking and leveraging client feedback, law firms can continuously strive for excellence and meet the evolving needs of their clients. Indian law firm leaders share strategies on how they take client feedback and how they use it to improve their relationships. BY NIMITT DIXIT QUESTION How do you perceive the impact of client feedback on your firm’s overall performance, and what measures are you currently taking to actively involve clients in feedback programs? Nishith Desai, founder, Nishith Desai Associates Listening to client feedback and working towards improvement are integral aspects of our operational ethos. At NDA, we recognise our clients’ perspectives and the invaluable knowledge that it brings along. To actively involve our clients in feedback programs, we have implemented a multifaceted approach. Firstly, we conduct third-party periodic surveys (by Hinge Consulting, a U.S. company) to gather insights on client satisfaction, ensuring a structured and comprehensive understanding of their needs on various parameters, such as – our technical abilities, industry knowledge, proactiveness, and value creation. These surveys have helped us identify what’s working and what’s not. The data guides us to implement strategic improvements in service delivery and cater to our clients’ evolving needs. Furthermore, over the years, we have established open channels for continuous communication, encouraging clients to provide real-time feedback on their ongoing assignments. Suhail Nathani, managing partner, Economic Laws Practice As a law firm – our primary focus is towards benefitting our client and consequently, client feedback is a critical measure of our work. Client feedback shapes our practice in several key areas: enhancing service quality, fostering stronger client relationships, managing our reputation effectively, and informing our strategic choices. We encourage and actively solicit feedback. This process is not only about gathering opinions but is focused on a thorough analysis and incorporation of this feedback into our service delivery for the long term. It is also important that this feedback is received frequently and in a secure yet transparent environment. We constructively utilise this information to motivate our professionals and to enable them to focus their efforts on service excellence. Ashish Razdan, partner, Khaitan & Co Seeking feedback on the services delivered by us to major clients has been a regular feature of our client relationship programme and it has proved to be invaluable as a tool to deepen our engagement with them. It serves us both in taking stock of how well we have performed in meeting or exceeding the clients’ expectations and also course correct or intervene in real time where there may be an expectation mismatch. Allowing the clients to use this method is immensely helpful in making them feel that we are invested in the relationship and, over time, helps develop a closer-knit working relationship with them. Key members of the firm’s management team looking at client engagement and key relationship partners are expected to keep an eye on the health of the client relationship by checking in regularly with the key stakeholders at the clients’ end. While this initiative started with a clear focus on the firm’s major clients, it is now increasingly being implemented with many other clients with whom we wish to invest in creating a long-term engagement. To this extent, identifying the key firm representatives or relationship partners is the first step, followed by instituting a detailed process with regular check-ins and feedback sessions on ongoing matters.
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