Law 360 article: why being a Trusted Advisor is no longer enough
This article was published on the prestigious Law360 site in the US on 20th September 2024.
Most firms aspire to be trusted advisers to their clients. They should really aim higher — they should aim to be trusted partners.
In pretty much every law firm strategy I have seen, the phrase "trusted adviser" appears as a cornerstone of the firm's ambition with key clients. It's certainly right to focus on being trusted: If a client trusts a lawyer's judgment, they will choose the lawyer. If they build a trusted relationship together, the client will retain the lawyer and come back when they have another issue that needs tackling.
Further, the evidence suggests that fear trumps greed when we make decisions. We avoid loss more strongly than we seek gain. That means that the avoidance of risk is a primary motivator in our decision making.
That is why trust is a crucial factor in who gets which piece of business. There is increasing choice in a competitive market, but clients need to feel safe every time they make a move.
This is particularly true if the work is critical. Fees become less important than confidence in the individual and their team. When things could collapse if you make the wrong decision, do you find the least expensive adviser — or the one whose advice you trust?
But it's no longer sufficient to be merely a trusted adviser to your most important clients.
An adviser is still essentially on the outside providing a service when needed.
On the other hand, a trusted partner is on the inside, working alongside the client with aligned ambitions. A trusted adviser supports the team, whereas a trusted partner is on the team.
Firms and attorneys should thus aim to move from trusted advisers to trusted partners.
Here's why.
A Team Effort
In pretty much all legal assignments, there is total interdependence between the firm and client for the success of the project and relationship. In almost all assignments, too, there is more than just advice provided, there is also implementation by the law firm. Not one of these assignments can be successful without deep interaction with the client, who also has responsibilities in relation to the delivery of the project.
The idea that this is an external advisory service to be bought does not do justice to the relationship involved in a successful assignment. Any professional service provider is — together with the client — achieving an outcome.
Being an adviser is thus not a sufficient description for what most lawyers do for and with their clients. The relationship involved is as critical to the outcome as the technical delivery.
A partnership, on the other hand, is based on mutual value — winning is done together, with value created for everyone. It is a relationship of peers, with equal respect. This is different from so many professional engagements, where even huge firms are sometimes seen as a transactional supplier to the powerful client, trusted to supply services when needed.
This is not a secure position for the law firm in the long run. A purely transactional arrangement will not last, because that project will come to an end, or someone else can do the same thing cheaper and faster. Or another attorney will win your business because they are closer to the client.
A partnership mindset, on the other hand, is the basis for sustained trust between the parties. This approach leads to mutual problem-solving and greater ambition about what can be achieved. It's in everyone's interest.
When this is true, firms can align their interests with those of the client, and the client benefits from having a true partner focused on business outcomes and value creation.
Focusing on the Clients Who Are Willing to Build Partnership
This takes time and additional effort. Which clients should firms invest into in order to achieve trusted partner status? One possible answer is: those who are already important to them and have potential for growth.
Another is: the client relationships in which the firm is at its very best, where the firm delights the clients, loves working with them and knows they are the most profitable.
Once law firm leaders have identified the right clients to focus on, they should ask themselves and their teams: What is it about them, and us, that makes this such a great fit?
The point is to have a focus. This is like spear fishing — where you target the big fish —rather than net fishing, where you cast your net and see what you catch. It is critical tohave a clear and well understood narrative that identifies who these big fish are, why the firm is the best choice for them, and the value the firm creates for them by leveraging its strengths.
This allows the firm to develop tailored propositions around the client's needs, becoming much more relevant to their business.
This contrasts with firms that provide clients with a menu of separate services that the client can choose. That leads to transactional buying, which is more typical in a trusted adviser relationship, but less so in a trusted partner relationship.
Lawyers can work with their best clients in an open way to see the world from their perspective. Develop a proposition, workshop it with major clients on the basis that you are trying to develop services that fully meet their needs, and then refine it so that it achieves that ambition.
In my experience, open discussion of this type with clients is rare in this sector, but it's a powerful way to explore what really works, and it demonstrates a real commitment to bespoke service — and partnering to create value.
The key is to then have a clear story of the value you create — not simply the services you provide — that everyone knows and can articulate. The great thing is that if it is true for these clients, it will also be true for others like them.
What It Means to Be a Trusted Partner
The question for the firm is then: What does it mean to be a trusted partner with my key clients? What value does it bring them, as well as my firm? What does it look and feel like in practice, and what changes about how we work together as a result?
Many professionals believe that by doing their job brilliantly, they will become trusted partners to their clients. This is the obvious starting point: Clients must trust that the lawyers are excellent at the work.
But other firms and their attorneys do excellent work, too. And if those firms have a closer relationship with this client, they will win discretionary business, grow the range of work they do, and maybe eventually eat the lunch of those who do not.
This is why firms should place as much importance on the relationship as the delivery, and why they should be intentional about designing a high-trust partnership with valuable clients. This starts with being clear about what this looks and feels like, defining a trusted partnership in the context of that firm and then acting consistently in line with this definition.
The Three Dimensions of Trust
Becoming a trusted partner involves actively designing the relationship the firm wants to have with key clients. What are the design guidelines?
My definition of "trust" in business contexts contains three dimensions, or what I call the "3 C's" — clarity, character and capability.
Clarity is the foundation of trust. It means everyone is exactly on the same page about the purpose of the relationship, and getting clear provides the basis for exploring greater ambitions together.
So many attorneys and their clients just want to get started on projects without really setting out total clarity about what those involved can achieve together. Taking time to ensure there is clarity will pay dividends in terms of outcome — and the trust that is created through the process.
This is just as true in terms of the relationship with a client. With major clients, sit down and be really clear about what they want to achieve across their business, and develop an aligned approach to helping them achieve this. That is the basis of trusted partnership.
Character is the way this translates into behaviors. The manner in which attorneys work with their clients is as important as the work itself in building and growing trust. Behaviors are often simply assumed. It's a very powerful process to articulate with a client the high-trust behaviors they can expect from your team — and also those you need fromthem in order to do a great job with them.
I use five high-trust behaviors as a template to define what this looks like in any relationship. Let's take an obvious one: honesty. This is much more than lack of corruption.
It means being open and straightforward, telling the truth — even when it is uncomfortable — behaving with high levels of integrity, and being timely with information. By defining what they mean in the context of this relationship, you can flesh out potential challenges and considerations that may be relevant, and ensure everyone knows that this is what we mean and how we will behave.
This can be a real point of difference for the firm, set out in bid documents and publicly. That's because it is as often how you deliver as much as what you do that leads to your people being chosen.
Capability is more than just what you can do. It is about the interdependence of the parties involved, and how they will work together to achieve greater value. It involves paying attention to the relationship together alongside accountability for project delivery.
Once again, being explicit and open about this is a powerful way to build and grow trust. As well as project execution check-ins, have a process to talk about the way the partnership is working, and whether everyone is working toward the aligned ambition set out at the start.
Practice leaders can use this model to explore with their team each trust dimension in relation to specific clients. This can be used as a clear definition of what it means to be a trusted partner with their firm. The task is to articulate the answers and turn them into a structured program.
Move the Middle 60
Another key part of this program is to identify which lawyers need the most help. It may be that those running your most important accounts are already great relationship builders.
Many lawyers are.
On the other hand, many are not. Until now, that's been OK. But the rapidly changing environment means that's no longer good enough. Broadly speaking, there's usually a 20/60/20 rule. If you're lucky, 20% of a firm's attorneys are natural rainmakers. They may or may not be the best technicians, but they are responsible for a high proportion of the firm's profits.
Beyond this, 60% are decent. They do a great job for clients, are already busy with work and get lots of repeat business. But it's largely transactional — when the client has a need, they know they can depend on them. For the reasons set out above, much of this work is at risk of being taken by other firms with better relationships.
Improving their client partnership skills, and their ability to broaden the firm's footprint, can have an enormous impact on revenue and profits.
Finally, 20% will always struggle to be rainmakers. They may be great lawyers, but they need a lot of help in terms of client relationships. It may be better to recognize this and ensure they focus on technical delivery, while others lead on major accounts.The danger is that a firm accepts this situation. The 60% are put through occasionalbusiness development training and expected to get on with it. Some will; some won't.
Increasingly, this will create difficulties.
The key here is to focus on the middle 60%. The tighter market means this cohort must up their game and have a structured way to consciously and intentionally build trusted relationships with key clients. The firm must show that this is a priority, not something that's merely nice to have. Billable hours need to be dedicated to this effort.
This approach applies as much to associates and future partners as current partners. The shift to a genuinely relationship-based firm, as far as key clients are concerned, should be clear, resourced and understood as the strategy.
Many already use these words. The challenge is to turn them into real behaviors.
Becoming a Trusted Partner
It's a great ambition to be a trusted adviser. Those who say they are already there, well done. My advice is to check in with your clients — what does this actually mean in practice?
When do they call on you, and why? What business value do you provide to them? How does their trust in you compare with their trust in other lawyers available to them? Get their perspective, and see what they think is important.
These are powerful questions for a discussion, in an environment where you can have a relaxed and open exploration.
If you can move the discussion to becoming a trusted partner — and you know what you and your firm really mean by this — then you are one step toward a deeper relationship with that client. Be highly intentional about this effort with your most important clients.
If you are a great fit for them, and them for you, then this is the formula to create much greater value together, with better outcomes for everyone involved.
Stuart Maister is the founder at Strategic Narrative Ltd. He is the co-author of the
forthcoming book "Choose Trust: Building Relationships for Business Success" (The
Economist Books, February 2025).
