A positive client experience can be a key differentiator for your law firm

Delivering an exceptional client experience is no longer a “nice to have” for modern law firms; it’s one of the most powerful and sustainable ways to differentiate your practice. The reason is simple: every law firm has technical expertise, but not every firm delivers an experience that makes clients feel heard, valued, supported, and confident.

CX Specialist, Kim Wiegand, shared her knowledge and experience working with law firms at our annual conference, Spark, in February. Here, we will break down Kim’s key insights and turn them into practical, actionable steps that your firm can implement immediately.

‍

‍

Understand why client experience matters more than ever

In an increasingly competitive market fuelled by online visibility, AI-enabled providers, and rising client expectations, technical skills and legal knowledge are no longer enough. Kim emphasised that most firms spend an exorbitant amount of time upskilling on the technical elements, yet far fewer invest in the experience side of legal service delivery. When a client seeks a lawyer, it is an emotive purchase and firms needs to ensure it is treated as such.

“No one wakes up in the morning and goes, ‘Yes, I get to buy a lawyer today!’. No one. It’s an emotive purchase. I’m getting a divorce, I’m buying a house, I’m in debt, I’m selling or buying a business… whatever it is, it is emotive.”

Clients aren’t simply purchasing knowledge. They’re buying trust, reassurance, and human connection.

The stats that matter

Kim highlighted research showing that clients who receive an outstanding experience are:

• 20% more likely to refer your firm
• 2.7× more likely to pay more
• 18× more likely to forgive mistakes
• 3.4× more likely to use you for another service
• 3.8× more likely to continue using you in 2 years

If you’re looking for a business case for investing in client experience, this is it.

‍

Focus on building a client-centered culture

Providing an outstanding client experience isn’t a script or a process. It’s a culture that you need to build and nurture in your firm.

As Kim says:

“Cultural shifts towards putting the client at the center of everything you do are so powerful, because client experience is human.”

She also notes that clients can feel your firm’s internal culture. Even if they have never see it directly, they experience the effects, such as your responsiveness, care, communication, organisation, and reliability. And they notice when something is off.

She shared a powerful example where a firm’s best client stopped working with them after learning that one of the lead partners had left a seven-months-pregnant associate to run a major transaction alone so he could go skiing.

What to do:

• Invest in training for your team on client experience principles, not just legal skills.
• Celebrate behaviours that reflect empathy, reliability, and client focus as a team.
• Measure and recognise staff who excel at communication and service—not only billables.
• Ensure internal operations (resourcing, delegation, workloads) support quality interactions with clients.

‍

Master the human elements of trust

To show the importance of building trust with clients and showing why they trust some lawyers more than others, Kim introduced Maister’s Trust Equation.

She breaks down each component:

• Credibility: How expert and confident a client believes you are
• Reliability: Doing what you say you’ll do
• Intimacy: Creating a human connection, such as sharing something about yourself or being empathetic
• Self-orientation: Not acting in your own interest

Following this equation will help you to build trust with your clients and provide them with a great client experience.

What to do:

• Introduce your team to clients early and humanise them.
• Ensure you communicate not just outcomes, but reassurance and understanding throughout each stage.
• Avoid using legal jargon. Explain the journey in plain English and make clients feel included and informed.
• Demonstrate reliability by sending regular updates, even when nothing is happening.
• Be transparent about fees and scope to build confidence early.

Check out how Smokeball’s client portal helps firms provide easy collaboration and effortless communication with clients.

‍

Design an intentional onboarding experience

You’ve won the client, now it’s time to get the details of the matter. An intentional and collaborative onboarding helps both you and your client. You get to understand their problem and and it helps to set a positive tone to your client’s experience with your firm from the very start.

“Every single client is different. Their expectations can be different—their needs, their sitatution, their emotional stability. How are you checking in with your client to ensure that you have the matter the way they expected?”

Consider your onboarding through the eyes of your clients: are they getting the chance to state their case properly? Does it make them feel like they’re just another addition to your database?

What to do:

Consider using a structured intake process that covers:

• Preferred method and frequency of communication
• Goals and concerns
• Scope and boundaries of the matter
• What they believe the key milestones should be
• Billing structure

Be open to setting time to manually do this on a call with a client if required.

See how Smokeball can support your onboarding experience with automated intake forms and customisable workflows.

‍

The #1 CX Driver is to make your firm “easy to do business with”

Kim shared research showing that the biggest driver of positive client experience is how easy they are to do business with. Some of the attributes that impact this driver include:

• How responsive are you?
• Do you follow through on what you said you would do?
• Does the client feel they have clarity on what’s happening?
• Are you organised with efficient processes and documentation in place?
• Are you communicating effectively in cadence that has been agreed upon?

What to do:

• Implement technology that reduces delays, confusion, and manual tasks.
• Use checklists, bring-ups, reminders, and automations to ensure reliability.
• Log all client communications.
• Provide clients with predictable updates.

‍

Seek feedback even if its uncomfortable

You’ve done the work, provided your advice, and helped the client so it’s done now, right? No. One of the best ways to get better at your CX and identify leaky holes is to get feedback. Kim shared further research on law firm clients:

“We know that 96% of customers won’t report or bring a complaint to you. 91% of those won’t come back… They’re not just telling their gran or whatever, they’re telling their friends and people who are in the same demographic as them: your market.”

What to do:

• Issue a post-matter survey.
• Actively review responses monthly with your whole team and use the feedback you receive to improve.
• Close the loop: reply, apologise if needed, and outline your intended improvements—this could potentially save a client relationship.
• Track feedback themes to continuously refine your process.

‍

Use technology to enable human connection, not replace it.

Technologies like AI can help to make things easier, more streamlined, and faster for law firms. But the one thing it isnt? Human. Kim recognises the powerful role of AI in improving efficiency, but emphasises:

“You don’t get [intimacy] from an AI agent… It can help you be efficient, but it can't replace the human element.”

She explains that yes, clients are open to automation but only as long as it supports a personalised experience.

What to do:

When planning your firm’s tech stack, see how you can use technology to:

• Reduce administrative burden
• Automate routine reminders and updates
• Keep matters organised

That way, you are giving yourself more time to build trust and connection—the aspects most important to your clients.

‍

‍

Delivering a remarkable client experience isn’t about being perfect. It’s about being human and client-centred.

Kim’s message is clear:

• Put the client at the centre
• Make their journey effortless
• Use technology to amplify, not replace, human connection
• Listen, communicate, and follow through
• Build a culture that values people, both clients and staff alike.

Firms that do this don’t just stand out; they grow faster, win more loyal clients, and build reputations that last.

‍