Across the legal industry, competition for clients has never been fiercer. Growth isn’t being driven by billable hours anymore – it’s being driven by client experience in law firms. The firms that prioritise law firm CX are the ones building loyalty, securing referrals, boosting client retention and translating relationships into profitability. Many law firms are discovering that profitability depends less on technical expertise, and more on how clients feel working with them.
As the largest collector of client feedback on professional services over the past two decades, we can tell you the research is overwhelmingly clear. Investing in CX isn’t a soft strategy, it’s a hard business driver.
Law firm CX and its impact on profits
Law firm CX (client experience in law firms) isn’t just a nice to have. It’s becoming the foundation on which firms build client loyalty, trust, reputation and profitability.
What is CX?
Client experience is the net value of how clients and prospects feel about every interaction with your firm. Every phone call, billing note, or strategic update has an impact on CX. This article has a comprehensive explanation of CX and why it matters in professional services.
For law firms, CX is a crucial metric because clients don’t only engage your firm for legal advice. They respond to how you make them feel throughout every process from first coffee meeting to a signed and executed deal.
Law firm CX is impacted by every phone call, email, update, communication and touchpoint your firm has with a client.
Why CX matters to law firms
Delivering excellent law firm CX is not only in the best interests of your clients. Beaton’s research confirms there are powerful financial reasons for professional services firms in all industries to focus on improving CX for their own gains. Clients of firms with great CX are:
- 6x more likely to be prepared to pay more
- 4x more likely to consider using the same firm for another service
- 18x more likely to forgive a mistake
- 8x more likely to be still using the firm in 2 years’ time
Source: The State of CX in Professional Services
“Client experience is not a fluffy or happy-clappy concept. It’s commercial. It has a massive commercial impact – on your ability to charge a premium price, to decrease write-offs, win more work, boost repeat use, strengthen your share of the client’s wallet and more,” says Paul Hugh-Jones, partner at Beaton.
Additionally, a recent external study found a staggering 89 per cent of legal clients say their experience with a law firm influences their decision to stay or recommend that firm. Moreover, firms emphasising client experience can see up to an 80 per cent revenue increase.
Clearly, law firm CX is not just an afterthought, it’s a financial imperative.
Client experience... has a massive commercial impact – on your ability to charge a premium price, to decrease write-offs, win more work, boost repeat use, strengthen your share of the client’s wallet and more.
Why c-suite clients matter even more
Executives at the c-suite level have high expectations – but these are not only related to technical advice or legal deliverables. C-suite clients expect strategic insight, proactive communication, and a sense of partnership. For them, legal matters are never the only concern; they are part of broader business decisions tied to growth, risk, and shareholder value.
According to a Thomson Reuters report, 73 per cent of corporate legal clients say strategic advice that supports business goals is the number one factor in law firm retention. Thus, when law firms engage the c-suite directly, the relationship shifts from “legal adviser” to “strategic business partner”.
Why does this matter? Because c-suite engagement directly impacts how smoothly and quickly projects get approved and get done. Treating a c-suite client to a great experience can be a fast track to securing future work.
When the executives in your client’s business feel included and informed, your law firm will be able to:
- Accelerate approvals and workflow: Key decisions don’t stall when the executives responsible for risk, finance, or operations already understand the legal strategy and trust the firm’s advice. Direct engagement shortens the feedback loop, reducing bottlenecks.
- Green light deals and work projects: By aligning legal advice with overarching business strategy, lawyers help the c-suite move forward with confidence. This often results in your firm being involved in more transactions, investments, and partnerships for the business. Inevitably, it drives more billable work for your firm, and a deeper advisory role.
- Reduce the risk of re-work or disputes: Misalignment between in-house teams and executive expectations can slow progress or cause costly backtracking. Regular dialogue with the c-suite ensures everyone is working toward the same business outcomes.
- Strengthen client loyalty: By delivering all of this at the executive level, firms cement themselves as indispensable.
C-suite is crucial
Strong executive-level relationships act as an anchor for your firm – particularly during renewals, complex negotiations, or future referrals. Even if other firms are competing for your clients, delivering a superior CX can help ensure your clients won’t move on. After all, executives make the final call on which external advisors their business will use, and they’re unlikely to sacrifice a relationship with a firm they trust and value.
Engaging at the executive level also opens the door to broader conversations about risk management, compliance, and long-term strategy. These are conversations that generate more opportunities for law firm business development. Instead of being seen as a cost centre, your firm becomes a driver of value. And that distinction matters: research shows that client-centric organisations are 60 per cent more profitable than their peers.
“The key is for individual partners to engage with their c-suite relationships with the express purpose of determining how they can be of most value to the CEO, CFO, COO, CRO, etc when there is no particular transaction afoot,” explains Paul Bonomy, partner at Beaton.
CX trends in law firms
By now we should have convinced you that delivering great CX to c-suite clients is very important. Despite this, our research finds most law firms are delivering a relatively poor experience to executives once a client relationship progresses past the initial onboarding and scoping phase.
The chart below summarises this important finding. C-suite clients of law firms begin in what could be considered a “honeymoon phase”. Firms put in great effort to impress, communicate with, show value and gain the trust of c-suite personnel in their clients’ businesses during this phase. And it works – so much so that c-suite clients rate their experience on average 8.1 out of 10. However, once the legal work has begun and the firm transitions to an ongoing relationship with the business, the same executives report a worsening experience.
Meanwhile, the chart shows people in the client’s legal department (such as general counsels) report worse CX at onboarding compared to higher ratings later in the relationship. It appears that the law firm’s sentiment becomes: “Now that the matter’s underway, we only need to communicate with in-house lawyers.”
This is a short-sighted and risky approach that sidelines the true decision-makers.
The cost of declining c-suite CX for law firms
The c-suite has visibility of the entire company’s agenda and ultimately determines whether a relationship with your firm continues. By devaluing their CX as time goes on, firms risk leaving the most influential stakeholders feeling disengaged and undervalued.
As Paul Bonomy, partner at Beaton says:
“Given their necessary interest and the roles they play in major transactions, c-suite members need to be engaged and feel involved in the progress of matters – in ways that suit them.”
“However, law firms are not maximising their opportunities for future work and referrals if they lose focus on the CX of the c-suite during and following a significant transaction.”
Treating CX as something that starts strong during onboarding but then fades once the matter is underway is a recipe for churn. Law firms that instead maintain open, proactive engagement with both in-house counsel and executives position themselves not just as legal advisers, but as trusted business partners.
Law firms are not maximising their opportunities for future work and referrals if they lose focus on the CX of the c-suite during and following a significant transaction.
The key to ongoing engagement
For too many firms, client engagement stops when a matter closes. But if the goal is law firm referrals and growth, real opportunities begin after the file is finished.
Clients at the c-suite level are looking for partners who continue to add value to their business long after the ink has dried. This is where firms can differentiate themselves and strengthen both client loyalty and long-term law firm client retention.
The most effective law firms think beyond the scope of legal advice and actively creating opportunities for connection, insight, and business impact. They position their firm not just as a legal service provider, but as an essential partner to success, a convener of knowledge and networks.
Practical examples of this include:
- Sharing thought leadership content tailored to a client’s industry or role
- Convening roundtables and advisory briefings where executives can exchange ideas with peers facing similar challenges
- Facilitating introductions to industry peers or potential business partners
- Presenting industry benchmarking reports to give the client competitive insights
- Offering client-specific newsletters that give insights directly aligned to their sector and leadership challenges
- Flagging upcoming regulatory or geopolitical developments before they become crises, demonstrating foresight
Law firm partners must be proactive in identifying opportunities to engage, rather than waiting for clients to initiate contact. This often requires staying informed about industry trends, competitor pressure, and emerging risks the client might face. Bonomy adds that partners should also “demonstrate a genuine curiosity and empathy, be prepared to invest their time, and customise the activities of their firm to align with the specific needs of their c-suite relationships”.
Sharing thought leadership content and presenting relevant insights to clients is a valuable way to boost law firm CX.
Challenges engaging c-suite clients
Even the best-intentioned firms face hurdles when it comes to delivering a seamless client experience to the executive-level client. On paper, law firm partners may agree that CX is crucial for growth, retention, and profitability – but in practice, the execution often falls short. Here are some of the common mistakes and pitfalls that undermine law firm client relationships:
1. Lack of proactive outreach
Our data reveals clients are experiencing a 30–50 per cent decline in proactive outreach from firms. This indicates that after the initial prospecting and scoping stage, many law firms subconsciously default to only liaising with the in-house legal team. The c-suite engagement in your law firm falls away – leaving the door open for competitors to step in. You can be almost certain other firms are stepping in to “court” your client.
2. Resource constraints
This is the most common excuse for not proactively reaching out to clients. Time-poor partners often focus on immediate deliverables, leaving little bandwidth for proactive engagement. It’s easier to work through in-house counsel than to schedule updates with busy executives. Yet this shortcut comes at a cost. Neglecting the c-suite reduces opportunities for law firm business development and limits visibility into broader strategic needs that could lead to referrals or new matters.
3. Deterioration of business development skills and confidence
Many lawyers have built their careers on technical legal expertise – not on relationship management, strategic communication, or consultative selling. Yet engaging the c-suite requires exactly those skills. To deliver the kind of client experience in law firms that executives expect, partners need to be trained and supported in BD skills. Firms that don’t invest in legal business development training risk leaving their most senior lawyers ill-equipped to engage meaningfully at the executive level.
4. Overemphasis on billable hours
The billable hour remains a cornerstone of law firm economics, but it can work against client experience. Many firms still measure success by hours billed rather than by the profitability of work or the strength of law firm client retention. This culture undervalues time spent on proactive relationship-building – i.e. the activity that drives long-term growth and ROI of client experience in law firms.
5. Moments of misery
In a 2020 research study into law firm CX, we examined the emotions which had the strongest impact on satisfaction scores. The two most impactful emotions clients reported were “unimportant” and “frustrated” – both negative drivers. The report suggests that for law firms the priority for a CX program should therefore be to eliminate these moments of misery first and deliver moments of magic second.
Implementing an automated feedback survey system to regularly check in on client sentiment, such as Beaton Debrief, can act like an early warning system in this situation. Acting quickly on any negative feedback can turn a potential misery moment into a positive client experience.
Clients of law firms with great CX are 6x more likely to be prepared to pay more.
Quantifying the return on investment for law firms investing in CX
Contrary to the idea that CX is a “pie-in-the-sky” concept, it’s rather simple to quantify the upside of investing in your law firm’s CX strategy. In the Australian context, FY 2024 saw average hours worked in law firms grow 7.5 per cent, with transactional demand up 8.5 per cent. In such a tight market, firms that stand out through superior CX can capture the best opportunities.
For law firms, the return on their investment in CX comes in multiple ways:
- Increased client retention: Law firms providing a superior experience will naturally retain clients for future work.
- More referrals: Satisfied c-suite executives are likely to recommend the firm to their peers and colleagues, generating new business opportunities.
- Enhanced business relationships: A focus on CX leads to deeper business relationships. Law firms can position themselves as trusted partners rather than just service providers by genuinely understanding the needs of c-suite members.
- Increased profitability: Firms that invest in CX often see higher margins. Satisfied clients are more likely to return, refer others, and expand their use of services. This boosts firm revenue without the added cost of acquiring new clients.
Engage c-suite clients with confidence
Beaton’s valuable ideas business development (BD) training workshops give legal professionals the confidence to move beyond transactional conversations, and build strategic relationships with c-suite executives.
We draw on Beaton’s unique research into buying behaviour and the drivers of executive decision-making to train professionals to uncover client needs and anticipate challenges. Lawyers learn to position themselves as trusted advisors who understand the broader business context rather than a single project or transaction.
Through our Valuable Idea Conversations framework, lawyers learn how to engage c-suite leaders in discussions that feel relevant, timely, and genuinely valuable. They gain the confidence to start conversations that strengthen trust and open the door to future opportunities.
Conclusion: CX isn’t optional – it’s your growth engine
Law firm CX is no longer a nice-to-have. It is the cornerstone of client loyalty in law firms, a key to law firm client retention and long-term profitability.
The most successful law firms treat client relationships as ongoing, not episodic. They combine proactive communication, tailored insights, and thoughtful networking to position themselves as indispensable business partners. Investing in legal business development training, leveraging frameworks like Beaton’s Valuable Idea Conversations, and committing to executive-level engagement ensures your firm consistently demonstrates value beyond the matter at hand.
If your law firm wants to thrive in today’s competitive legal market, elevate your client experience. Start with the c-suite, make every interaction matter, and watch your relationships, and your bottom line, flourish.
Download 'The state of CX in professional services' report
Take a look into the client experience (CX) strategies of professional services firms across Asia Pacific.
