As a CEO, I've hired and fired many a law firm in my time. In almost every case, my main reason for ending the relationship was the distant -- even cold -- attitude of those law firms. Their sole interest was to provide legal services. They were satisfied to follow the daily routine of their legal work without learning anything about our company. They sure didn't offer us the superior client satisfaction that our own company's employees provided our clients.

Now that I'm training attorneys, I see first-hand that the absence of client satisfaction has become the demoralizing norm in the legal profession. Bluntly, client dissatisfaction is the rule, not the exception. A recent BTI Consulting Group survey found: "Seventy per cent of clients tell us that a law firm other than their own delivers better client service." The survey also found that "clients plan to cut law firms by another 40%".

As I write this article, I am reminded of a conversation I had this week with a potential client. She said that all her firm's attorneys provide "exceptional" client satisfaction. Therefore, her law firm was not in need of our services.

For years, I've taught my daughter to question authority. At this moment, I had to take my own advice. I countered: "When was the last time one of your lawyers called a client for a meeting in the client's office to learn more about their business? And did they do it without charging the client?" After a moment of silence, she confessed, "I can't think of a time."

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