It's that time of the year again, when we give you our summary of the State of the Industry, as revealed at LegalWeek New York. There were two main themes, neither of them new, both connected. One theme was client service, which we'll tackle now, and the other was Gen AI, which we'll unpack for you next week.

Client service is no longer the elephant in the room, it's now the lion which roars loudly at anyone who will listen. And listen you should, because client service is the key to everything. Not client service in theory, or as a vague intent, but applied daily in a way that clients can see and appreciate. If you've been following Lean Adviser, you already have in your hands the only practical "how to" guide to make client service a part of your daily work. Every task, every job, every day.

As ever, the State of the Industry presentation was data led. A large group of global GCs were polled and the insights were consistent: the key to getting hired and rehired is customer service. But what do legal departments value? Again, there is data to try to codify it for you.

Top of the list comes knowledge of the client company. Deep knowledge, extending to its objectives, risk appetite, competitive posture and even future challenges. As we say in Lean Adviser, "specialize in the client."

Remember, the legal department has a client of its own — the business. So always ask yourself, how will this help the business? Next, use that understanding of the client's business and industry to tailor your advice. If  your advice is tailored to the client's specific industry and business needs, this will differentiate you.

Is that it? Almost. The research identified two more key behaviors that will get you rehired, and they're super-easy to adopt.

First, quality communications. It's more than just keeping the client informed, it's about lean communication skills. As lawyers, we love to showcase our expertise through the written word, and we're all faced with the temptation to let it rip. But what clients want is succinct, digestible and solution-driven updates.

Second, try to see round corners. The lawyer who deeply understands their clients business, who anticipates developments before they happen, and who actively scans the horizon to keep their client a step ahead, will have a client for life.

If you wanted an aide memoire to pin above your desk, you could do a lot worse than this slide from the 2024 Legalweek State of the Industry presentation: