SUGARCREST: Why Training?

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Why Training?

Proven results: It is hard to downplay the importance of continuing training and education in the legal industry. Indeed, two landmark studies conducted in association with Of Counsel proved that effective training improves employee morale, boosts recruiting efforts, increases client satisfaction and ultimately increases revenue.

Increased competition and pricing pressures: The development of legal marketing skills in particular has become critical to an attorney's professional success. This is because the competition for business from corporate counsel is becoming increasingly heated as Fortune 1000 legal departments continue to reduce the number of firms on their approved lists. In fact, according to the aforementioned studies:

57% of Fortune 1000 companies plan to reduce their use of outside firms over the next five years;
70% of Fortune 1000 companies plan to reduce the number of firms on their approved lists over the next five years; and
81% say that cost is the driving factor behind these reductions.

These statistics are confirmed by the rapid growth in the requests for proposals and beauty contests that corporate counsel use to select law firms.

Legal expertise is assumed: Today, it is expected that every firm being considered has more than enough competence to handle the prospective client's legal matters. What separates the winners from the losers are the intangibles that stem more from marketing muscle than legal intellect. Today, more than ever, it's about your ability to conduct meaningful interviews with prospective clients, draft winning responses to RFPs, make successful client-focused presentations and demonstrate a firm commitment to client service and relationship management. It's about getting your clients to see you more as a trusted partner than a commodity-peddling vendor.

Clients and firm management demand it: More importantly, over 80% of Fortune 1000 clients feel that attorneys lack an understanding of their industry and their company. This gives you a tremendous opportunity to develop and use your marketing skills to separate yourself and your firm from the pack. In addition, the results of your marketing efforts will be amply rewarded when it comes time for partnership review, as most of today's firm managers are placing a strong emphasis on their associates' ability to develop new business for their firms.

The message is clear: to find, win and keep clients for life, today's attorneys must be much more than legal experts. They must learn to be business partners who make it their mission to fully understand their clients' needs and deliver practical, service-oriented solutions.