Highwood, Illinois knows how to put on a show. Every year the town hosts a three-day music festival called Nashwood, where country and blues acts roll in from across the country. My wife and I spent the weekend hopping between venues, and on the final night decided to do something unusual for us — we winged it on dinner.
We wandered into a long-standing restaurant that looked promising but was completely empty. That should have been our first clue. The smell hit us right away. My wife thought it was gas, but after years working in restaurants, I knew it was sticky floors and a lack of sanitation. Still, we sat down.
Five minutes passed. No menus. No water. No greeting. Nothing. We just sat there staring into the void, waiting for someone to acknowledge we existed. After waiting a bit longer, I said, “This isn’t working.” We got up to leave. Only upon reaching the exit door did a voice yell “Wait!” from across the room. Too late. They lost us, not just that night, but forever.
We walked a few doors down to a place we knew. Busy, welcoming, responsive. They squeezed us into a booth without a reservation. Menus in hand immediately. Halfway through dinner, a server noticed the water glass was low, disappeared, and came back seconds later to refill it. That’s what great service looks like — quality, consistency, responsiveness. No wonder this particular restaurant is widely known as the best in town.
The contrast between those two experiences made me think about law firm client service. Because here’s the truth: lawyers lose clients the same way restaurants do. Not with one catastrophic failure, but with little lapses in responsiveness, inattention to quality, and inconsistency. If you want clients to stay, grow, and refer others, you need to deliver on these three things.
1. Responsiveness is Everything
When a client calls, emails, or reaches out, silence is deadly. Today’s clients aren’t leaving voicemails and waiting patiently. They’ll move to the next lawyer who answers. Responsiveness doesn’t mean you personally pick up the phone 24/7, but it does mean you’ve built systems, so someone always does.
That can be a receptionist, an assistant, or an intake team — anyone who makes the client feel heard and cared for in real time. Set expectations on availability, sure, but don’t make the mistake of letting messages or emails pile up. In law firm client service, just like in restaurants, “we’ll get to you when we get to you” means the client is already halfway out the door.
2. Quality Service Must Go Beyond the Myth
There’s a dangerous myth in legal circles: if I provide good service and fair pricing, my clients will never leave. That’s outdated. Procurement departments are constantly shopping for alternatives, and other lawyers are knocking on your clients’ doors every single day.
Good isn’t enough. You need to go above and beyond. That means being proactive: sending relevant articles, introducing them to helpful contacts, checking in on their business challenges, or even just remembering their favorite soccer team won over the weekend. When you demonstrate that you see them as more than a file number, you’re building a relationship that’s hard to displace.
Think about it this way: if your law firm client service only meets expectations, you’re vulnerable. If it consistently exceeds expectations, you’re indispensable.
3. Consistency Builds Loyalty
Responsiveness and quality service don’t mean much if they’re inconsistent. You can’t be attentive in January, vanish in March, and expect loyalty in June. Clients value steady, reliable attention. That’s where a client retention plan comes in.
Identify your A, B, and C clients. A’s get the most personalized attention, because they represent the biggest opportunities for long-term value and growth. B’s still get strong service, but maybe fewer touchpoints. C’s get baseline quality without draining resources. Treat everyone with respect but invest your time where it matters most.
Consistency in outreach, updates, and check-ins is what cements relationships. Without it, clients drift. With it, they get sticky, grow, and refer.
Bringing It Back to Dinner
We’ll never return to that first restaurant. The smell, the silence, the inattention — it all added up to one clear message: “We don’t care.” The other place, the one that noticed my water glass. We’ll go back again and again.
Your clients are making the same calculations every time they interact with you. Are you the restaurant they can’t wait to revisit, or the one they’ll never give a second chance?
Law firm client service isn’t just about winning cases. It’s about being responsive, delivering quality beyond expectations, and doing it consistently. Nail those three, and your clients will stay loyal, bring more work, and introduce you to others.
Client retention is important, but it’s just a part of the puzzle. Effective business development is a learned skill. If you’re ready to sharpen your client service strategy, grow your book and build a stickier practice, let’s talk. I’m Steve Fretzin, and you can reach me at steve@fretzin.com or DM me on LinkedIn.
Steve Fretzin is a bestselling author, host of the “Be That Lawyer” podcast, and business development coach exclusively for attorneys. Steve has committed his career to helping lawyers learn key growth skills not currently taught in law school. His clients soon become top rainmakers and credit Steve’s program and coaching for their success. He can be reached directly by email at steve@fretzin.com. Or you can easily find him on his website at www.fretzin.com or LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/stevefretzin.
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