Strong client-firm relationships build loyalty and yield long-term results
Building relationships takes effort and time outside of the actual client work. Clients want to know their law firms are listening to them and learning about the goals of the business. Doing so allows a firm to provide additional value, anticipate legal needs and show that they listen.
December 21, 2014 at 07:00 PM
8 minute read
The following article is based on an interview with Lisa Sullivan, vice president, deputy general counsel, Intuit Inc. and Rodger Cole, partner and litigation chair, Fenwick & West.
It may come as a surprise to some of our readers to learn that many in-house counsel see strong, loyal relationships with outside counsel as a key building block to help a company reach its legal goals. To effectively build these relationships, it takes more than talking to a client every day during a big deal or case. Building relationships takes effort and time outside of the actual client work. Clients want to know their law firms are listening to them and learning about the goals of the business. Doing so allows a firm to provide additional value, anticipate legal needs and show that they listen.
“These relationships are vital to the success of the work we undertake together,” says Lisa Sullivan, “Criteria for selecting outside counsel must include expertise and experience, but the ability to create and maintain solid working relationships should also be a top criterion.”
Of her close relationship with Rodger Cole, she explains: “Rodger and I pretty much learned to be in-house counsel together when I came to Intuit 15 years ago. We partnered on everything that came in the door. We have remained in lock step all that time. It has been an amazing journey. Rodger and Fenwick exemplify the gold standard of legal practice.”
This attitude confirms what we hear from in-house counsel over and over—relationships matter. And if the expertise and experience meet a company's expectations, then relationships trump all else.
“Long-term client-firm relationships help ensure that outside counsel understands the company's goals and can get desired results,” adds Sullivan. For outside counsel, it is imperative to value client relationships and to let clients know you care about them and their business. “From my perspective, I will always value our relationship over the revenue associated with the legal work,” explains Cole. “The most important thing is doing what's right for Intuit, and that comes naturally from our long-standing, highly valued professional relationship and my understanding of their business, goals and expectations.”
To better understand what is important to clients, just ask. What we at Inside Counsel have learned through talking with clients is their three criteria they value when dealing with outside counsel: expertise and experience, relationship and teamwork, and business understanding.
“Teamwork and trust are inherent in a partnership like this one,” Sullivan notes. With Cole, she counts on solving problems together and working flexibly to complete tasks well. “We never sweat whose job it is; we just get the job done. Not once have we had to question a decision we've made together.”
Cole believes building strong working relationships like this one requires proactive effort, offering assistance when opportunities arise to add value, and models this approach for his team, “You teach by example,” he says. “If inside and outside counsel treat each other just as a commodity, neither is going to be fully engaged in the work. But if we both invest in the relationship, we'll do the job better.”
Sullivan agrees that role mdeling is important: “Rodger's team knows they don't just hand you a life vest and watch you row the boat to the other side. They get in the boat and row with us. The team knows what Rodger and we expect. We know they are in it all the way, and that's gratifying. Then we earn and share in the success together.”
Cole emphasizes that staying informed about a company's business priorities is part of maintaining that strong client-firm relationship. “To meet Lisa's expectations that we know the business, we stay on top of Intuit and the industry. We present to the law department regularly about what we see happening in the field. Intuit finds this helpful and important to know.”
The following article is based on an interview with Lisa Sullivan, vice president, deputy general counsel,
It may come as a surprise to some of our readers to learn that many in-house counsel see strong, loyal relationships with outside counsel as a key building block to help a company reach its legal goals. To effectively build these relationships, it takes more than talking to a client every day during a big deal or case. Building relationships takes effort and time outside of the actual client work. Clients want to know their law firms are listening to them and learning about the goals of the business. Doing so allows a firm to provide additional value, anticipate legal needs and show that they listen.
“These relationships are vital to the success of the work we undertake together,” says Lisa Sullivan, “Criteria for selecting outside counsel must include expertise and experience, but the ability to create and maintain solid working relationships should also be a top criterion.”
Of her close relationship with Rodger Cole, she explains: “Rodger and I pretty much learned to be in-house counsel together when I came to Intuit 15 years ago. We partnered on everything that came in the door. We have remained in lock step all that time. It has been an amazing journey. Rodger and Fenwick exemplify the gold standard of legal practice.”
This attitude confirms what we hear from in-house counsel over and over—relationships matter. And if the expertise and experience meet a company's expectations, then relationships trump all else.
“Long-term client-firm relationships help ensure that outside counsel understands the company's goals and can get desired results,” adds Sullivan. For outside counsel, it is imperative to value client relationships and to let clients know you care about them and their business. “From my perspective, I will always value our relationship over the revenue associated with the legal work,” explains Cole. “The most important thing is doing what's right for Intuit, and that comes naturally from our long-standing, highly valued professional relationship and my understanding of their business, goals and expectations.”
To better understand what is important to clients, just ask. What we at Inside Counsel have learned through talking with clients is their three criteria they value when dealing with outside counsel: expertise and experience, relationship and teamwork, and business understanding.
“Teamwork and trust are inherent in a partnership like this one,” Sullivan notes. With Cole, she counts on solving problems together and working flexibly to complete tasks well. “We never sweat whose job it is; we just get the job done. Not once have we had to question a decision we've made together.”
Cole believes building strong working relationships like this one requires proactive effort, offering assistance when opportunities arise to add value, and models this approach for his team, “You teach by example,” he says. “If inside and outside counsel treat each other just as a commodity, neither is going to be fully engaged in the work. But if we both invest in the relationship, we'll do the job better.”
Sullivan agrees that role mdeling is important: “Rodger's team knows they don't just hand you a life vest and watch you row the boat to the other side. They get in the boat and row with us. The team knows what Rodger and we expect. We know they are in it all the way, and that's gratifying. Then we earn and share in the success together.”
Cole emphasizes that staying informed about a company's business priorities is part of maintaining that strong client-firm relationship. “To meet Lisa's expectations that we know the business, we stay on top of Intuit and the industry. We present to the law department regularly about what we see happening in the field. Intuit finds this helpful and important to know.”
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View AllInside Track: How 2 Big Financial Stories—an Antitrust Case and a Megamerger—Became Intertwined
AT&T General Counsel Joins ADM Board as Company Reels From Accounting Scandal
How Gen AI Is Changing Legal Work for In-House Counsel
Trump Likely to Keep Up Antitrust Enforcement, but Dial Back the Antagonism
5 minute readTrending Stories
- 1Infant Formula Judge Sanctions Kirkland's Jim Hurst: 'Overtly Crossed the Lines'
- 2Trump's Return to the White House: The Legal Industry Reacts
- 3Election 2024: Nationwide Judicial Races and Ballot Measures to Watch
- 4Climate Disputes, International Arbitration, and State Court Limitations for Global Issues
- 5Judicial Face-Off: Navigating the Ethical and Efficient Use of AI in Legal Practice [CLE Pending]
- 6How Much Does the Frequency of Retirement Withdrawals Matter?
Who Got The Work
Michael G. Bongiorno, Andrew Scott Dulberg and Elizabeth E. Driscoll from Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr have stepped in to represent Symbotic Inc., an A.I.-enabled technology platform that focuses on increasing supply chain efficiency, and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The case, filed Oct. 2 in Massachusetts District Court by the Brown Law Firm on behalf of Stephen Austen, accuses certain officers and directors of misleading investors in regard to Symbotic's potential for margin growth by failing to disclose that the company was not equipped to timely deploy its systems or manage expenses through project delays. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton, is 1:24-cv-12522, Austen v. Cohen et al.
Who Got The Work
Edmund Polubinski and Marie Killmond of Davis Polk & Wardwell have entered appearances for data platform software development company MongoDB and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The action, filed Oct. 7 in New York Southern District Court by the Brown Law Firm, accuses the company's directors and/or officers of falsely expressing confidence in the company’s restructuring of its sales incentive plan and downplaying the severity of decreases in its upfront commitments. The case is 1:24-cv-07594, Roy v. Ittycheria et al.
Who Got The Work
Amy O. Bruchs and Kurt F. Ellison of Michael Best & Friedrich have entered appearances for Epic Systems Corp. in a pending employment discrimination lawsuit. The suit was filed Sept. 7 in Wisconsin Western District Court by Levine Eisberner LLC and Siri & Glimstad on behalf of a project manager who claims that he was wrongfully terminated after applying for a religious exemption to the defendant's COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The case, assigned to U.S. Magistrate Judge Anita Marie Boor, is 3:24-cv-00630, Secker, Nathan v. Epic Systems Corporation.
Who Got The Work
David X. Sullivan, Thomas J. Finn and Gregory A. Hall from McCarter & English have entered appearances for Sunrun Installation Services in a pending civil rights lawsuit. The complaint was filed Sept. 4 in Connecticut District Court by attorney Robert M. Berke on behalf of former employee George Edward Steins, who was arrested and charged with employing an unregistered home improvement salesperson. The complaint alleges that had Sunrun informed the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection that the plaintiff's employment had ended in 2017 and that he no longer held Sunrun's home improvement contractor license, he would not have been hit with charges, which were dismissed in May 2024. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer, is 3:24-cv-01423, Steins v. Sunrun, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Greenberg Traurig shareholder Joshua L. Raskin has entered an appearance for boohoo.com UK Ltd. in a pending patent infringement lawsuit. The suit, filed Sept. 3 in Texas Eastern District Court by Rozier Hardt McDonough on behalf of Alto Dynamics, asserts five patents related to an online shopping platform. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap, is 2:24-cv-00719, Alto Dynamics, LLC v. boohoo.com UK Limited.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250