Law Firm Client Relationships: 4 Questions That Get You on the Short List
Every General Counsel has a short list of law firms they call first, and a long list they put up with. I sat on the client side for nearly 2 decades, and the difference almost never came down to legal skill. It came down to curiosity. Here are 4 questions that build law firm client relationships, and one tool that gets clients to finally tell you the truth.
Key Takeaways
Curiosity beats another update.
GCs keep calling the firms that ask how their advice was used, not the ones that send more updates.
Your advice has a second audience.
In-house counsel rarely decide alone, so find out who makes the final call and shape the advice for them.
Ask for one thing, not a grade.
"What's one thing we could have done differently?" gets honest answers that "How did we do?" never will.
Why Law Firm Client Relationships Come Down to Curiosity
Most firms try to stay top of mind by sending things. Client alerts. Newsletters. Invitations to the annual reception.
None of that gets you on the short list. What gets you there is asking better questions than the other firms. Not about the law. About how your client actually works.
Here are the 4 I wish more of my outside counsel had asked me.
Question 1: "How Did You Use My Advice?"
If a friend renovates their kitchen, you can ask about the countertops and the new oven. The better question is: what do you actually cook in there now?
Stop asking whether your advice was good. Start asking what happened to it after you hit send.
Those 6 words open up more about your client than any feedback form. Their priorities. Their constraints. Who in the room carries real weight and who doesn't.
The answer might sting. Your memo is probably not framed on the wall. But even a messy answer is valuable, because almost nobody asks.
Make it a habit, not an annual review. After every significant piece of work, a 10 minute call. What landed, what didn't, how it played internally. Don't bill for it. It's one of the best returns on time a firm can get, and almost nobody does it.
Question 2: "Who Makes the Final Call?"
Here's what happens after you send me your advice. I translate it into business language. I take it upstairs. I defend it to someone with different priorities, a different appetite for risk, and far less patience for legal nuance than I have.
In-house counsel are rarely the only decider. By the time your advice reaches the person who acts on it, it's been trimmed, reworded and simplified, sometimes more than once.
Knowing who that person is changes how you frame the advice and how you deliver it. So ask early: "Are you comfortable if I walk your business team through this directly?"
Often the answer is a polite no. Expect it. Then ask: "What would need to change for that to work?" That answer moves over time. Ask again in 3 months.
The outside lawyers who got this were gold to me. They helped me figure out how to land the advice inside the company, not just what the advice was. That's a different skill, and the firms that build it get more work.
Want to know where your own client relationships stand? Take the free Lawyer to Leader Assessment.
Question 3: "How Do You Like to Get Information?"
In-house lawyers have almost no time to keep up with changes in the law. Firms know this, so they send updates. Long ones. In writing. Written for everyone, which means written for no one in particular.
Ask about the format, not just the topic. Video, audio, a one page summary, a 5 minute call.
With AI, turning a long legal analysis into a short audio briefing is no longer a big project. I do it myself for topics I want to learn. If I can set that up at home, a law firm's marketing team can too.
Lawyers produce the analysis. Marketing packages it the way the client asked for it. That's not a billing problem. It's a process problem, and clients notice which firms solve it.
Question 4: "Before I Answer, How Does This Affect You?"
When a new law hit our industry, the best outside counsel called me. They didn't open with their analysis. They asked what it meant for us specifically, what my management team needed to understand, and how they could help me think it through.
The others sent a client alert.
A call that starts with a question beats a memo that starts with an answer. GCs remember who showed up curious. We forget who sent the update.
And try flipping the usual lunch and learn. Instead of your firm presenting to the client, offer a joint session: one of your junior associates presents on an issue in the client's industry, and the client's team gives her feedback. It develops your people and theirs, and it tells the client you see this as a partnership, not a transaction.
A Simple Tool for Better Law Firm Client Relationships: The One Feedback Question
After your next significant piece of work, call the client. Not to check in. To ask one question.
"How did we do?" gets you nothing. It's too easy to answer politely.
Ask this instead: "What's one thing we could have done differently?"
It works for 2 reasons. It's only one thing, so it's easy to answer. And "differently" takes the sting out. You're not asking what went wrong, only what could have gone another way.
You'll learn more in that 10 minute call than in a year of formal reviews. And the client will remember that you asked.
FAQ: Client Relationships for Lawyers
How do law firms get on a client's short list?
Be more curious than the other firms. Ask how your advice was used, who makes the final call and how the client likes to get information, then act on what you hear.
What questions should outside counsel ask their clients?
Start with "How did you use my advice?" and "Who makes the final call?" Both tell you how the client really works, which shapes how you frame and deliver your next piece of advice.
How do you get honest feedback from a client?
Skip "How did we do?" and ask "What's one thing we could have done differently?" One thing is easy to answer, and "differently" makes it safe to be candid.
Up Next: The Most Valuable Thing You Can Bring a Client Isn't the Answer
Next time: why your best value to a client often isn't the legal answer at all, and what GCs are really paying for.
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Jonathan Cullen
Want to see where you stand on client relationships? Take the free Lawyer to Leader Assessment at jonathancullencoaching.com or book a call with me below to discuss.
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