How would you feel to learn that concierge law is considered part of the on-demand economy? Concierge law, also known as subscription-based law, is still considered a niche within the greater legal industry. But new law firms that provide only subscription-based services are popping up all over the country. Even existing law firms are starting to offer subscription-based services alongside a more traditional practice.

How Concierge Law Works

Concierge law works similar to concierge medicine in practice. Clients pay an annual or monthly fee in exchange for regular access to a basic list of services. In a medical setting, that would mean well patient visits, inoculations, annual checkups, and most other forms of primary care.

In a legal setting, access to a basic list of services really depends on the kind of client you are talking about. A business client might need regular contract reviews, help closing certain kinds of deals, and the like. Someone looking for personal services might want access to a lawyer for immediate help with things like traffic accidents and being pulled over by the police.

It seems to work due to the fact that there are plenty of people who want access to legal representation but do not want to be stuck paying huge retainers and excessive hourly rates. They want a simple price structure for basic services. If this doesn’t make sense to you, consider the following two statistics cited by MarketWatch in a December 2016 report:

• 80% of low-income earners cannot afford access to legal representation
• The average rates for attorney representation run between $200 and $520 per hour.

For an individual or small business that does not have need of in-depth legal representation, paying those hourly rates is just too much. They would rather pay for subscription-based legal services.

Preparing to Offer Concierge Law

Offering subscription-based legal services seems like a pretty good idea in the on-demand era. But like anything else, a law firm really needs to be prepared to do it right. We believe the first step in doing so is to deploy an appropriate legal case management software package. Our Salesforce case management solution is a strong candidate.

Understand that concierge law naturally results in working on a lot of smaller things rather than just one or two big cases per year. It means working with a larger number of clients on a more frequent basis. A law firm has to have the right case management software in place or things get out of hand very quickly.

The ideal case management application brings together all of those separate systems a law firm currently uses. This includes case management, matter management, billing, accounting, marketing, and research. Everything is centralized in a cloud environment that offers easy access to everyone involved. Giving clients access through a customer portal is a big plus as well.

The on-demand economy has changed the way, America does business. It is changing the way law is practiced, albeit more slowly than in other areas of the economy. Law firms taking advantage of the on-demand economy are finding a new way to practice law through subscription-based services. Is your firm one of them?

Attorneys tend to refer to those they represent as clients. That they are. However, those clients are also customers. They are paying for legal services in much the same way they would pay for lawn care or cleaning services. As such, they expect to be treated like customers the attorney wants to keep.

This post will discuss the idea of applying the customer service mindset to law. To get started, let us look at a few key statistics from Salesforce:

• 27% of consumers claim ineffective customer service as a major frustration
• 72% consider it poor customer service to have to explain their problem to multiple people
• 12% of consumers are frustrated by a lack of speedy customer service
• 79% who say they have used online feedback for customer service claim to have been ignored.

These are four key statistics that play a role in how people view the service they receive from their attorneys. Now let’s discuss why they are important.

Ineffective Customer Service

The whole point of customer service is to ensure that customers are happy. When problems arise, ineffective customer service only makes unhappy customers more unhappy. Does this matter in a legal setting? You bet. Ineffective customer service leads to a number of different problems, including a lack of trust.

Too Many People Involved

The idea of having to explain problems to multiple people indicates that there are too many people involved. This is frustrating for customers because it makes them feel as if they are getting nowhere. They would rather speak to one knowledgeable individual who knows what he or she is doing than multiple representatives who pass the problem on down the line.

This sort of scenario is particularly upsetting in the legal environment. Clients want to speak with their attorneys as much as possible. If the attorney is unavailable, an administrative assistant or legal aid is acceptable, as long as such discussions are on a limited basis.

Lack of Speed and Timeliness

Consumers generally don’t appreciate when they are left waiting by the companies that they do business with. They do not like waiting in lines; they do not like waiting on hold; they do not like having to wait for weeks or months for resolution.

In the legal arena, you cannot necessarily speed up the progression of a case. But you can answer customer inquiries in a timely manner. You can utilize things like chat bots on a website to give clients answers to their most frequently asked questions. There are ways to be faster at what you do as a case progresses.

Ignore Customers at Your Own Risk

Finally, ignoring customers is the absolute worst thing any business can do from a customer service standpoint. This goes back to effective communication in a legal setting. Clients have a reasonable expectation that their phone calls e-mails, and text messages will be responded to in a timely manner. They have a reasonable expectation of being kept updated about the progress of their cases.

We have thrown a lot at you in this post. We want to close by reminding you that legal case management software plays a key role in offering quality customer service. A package like NuLaw makes a law office more efficient, more responsive, and better at meeting client needs according to their expectations.

Sources:

Salesforce – https://www.salesforce.com/blog/2013/08/customer-service-stats.html