SMALL LAW FIRM CHALLENGE:
Clients Demanding More for Less

In the 2016 State of U.S. Small Law Firms Study conducted by Thomson Reuters, 300 leaders of small law firms were asked about the challenges they face, how they define success, and changes they’ve made (or should be making) to support a long-term strategy.

One of the major challenges identified by these small law firms was clients demanding more for less or
client rate pressure.

In the study, small law firm leaders were asked:

Is “clients demanding more for less or rate pressure from clients” a challenge at your firm?

62% of small firms say clients demanding more for less or rate pressure from clients is a challenge for their firm. But even among those that say it’s a significant challenge, only a third (see chart below) have implemented changes to address the issue.

Has your firm implemented changes to address this issue?

When asked what factors define success for their firm, small law firm leaders identified client satisfaction ratings more than any other factor; repeat business was a close second. Both were ranked higher than “overall profits”.

Attorney's that choose to ignore this challenge cope by either working more hours to manage the mounting non-billable tasks or by writing time off to meet clients' expectations. They ignore the likelihood that this will continue to worsen overtime, leaving them with fewer clients and lower realization rates. This begs the question - what can you do about it?