It's July 4th: Do Your Clients Know Where You Are?

"We expect an attitude that recognizes we are the client."

Here is the annual and updated July/August issue, focusing on what clients expect from vacationing attorneys. Every year it has been well received as a reminder to outside counsel of the service clients expect all year round.

Be accessible, no matter where in the world you go

Before you take off for your summer vacation, make certain that your most significant clients know how to reach you. When something hits, your client has to deal with it right away, not when you conveniently return.

Listen to what the CEO of a healthcare company said in a Strategic Client Interview, of two attorneys on vacation, one who was accessible, and one who wasn't. "When he was going on vacation in Hawaii, he made himself available to us. We were able to call him at three o'clock in the morning there to be on a call with our finance committee. He was able to articulate the details of the purchase and knew the answers to the questions. So, we didn't have to face any delays.

"I had a similar need for our labor attorney from another firm when he went to Italy, but he wasn't available. It was a setback for us. If he weren't so good at what he does, I would have replaced him."
Eventually the client did, and with the former attorney's firm.

Be prepared to cut a vacation short

Don't be surprised if you have to cut a holiday weekend or vacation short, to accommodate a client's urgent legal needs. The Wall Street Journal's "Best of the Law Blog (March 26)" reported on its survey of law firm attorneys' stories of "ruined weekends and dashed vacations," and received numerous "tales of woe."

Clients, however, were not sympathetic, The Journal added. "You guys charge us hourly rates that are absurd," wrote a client. "And in exchange for us paying those giant bills which support all of you, we expect no whining, no excuses, and an attitude that recognizes we are the client. If you are looking for sympathy, go cry to your spouses. If you want a friend, go buy a dog."

You'll learn more about the service your clients expect when you listen to them through Strategic Client Interviews.

For more information on Strategic Client Interviews, contact Joyce Smiley at 561-775-9755. On the Web at www.jkscompany.com.

Verbatim is published electronically by JKS & Company LLC/Strategic Client Interviews. Copyright 2008 JKS & Company LLC. All rights reserved.