What drives professional services firms? 30 years of insights

George Beaton

Over more than three decades as a researcher, author, speaker and consultant in the professions and professional services, I have had the privilege of observing, studying, and advising some of the world’s leading firms and professionals. These years have encompassed significant shifts: from analogue to digital, from seller-centric to client-driven markets, and from tightly held partnerships to diverse business models shaped by capital, technology, and client expectations.

As I reflect on what I have learned, certain themes stand out about what drives professional services firms. These threads run through my books, research, keynotes, client engagements and discussions with hundreds of professionals and clients worldwide.

1. Professionalism is the bedrock of trust

The core purpose of the professions is to serve the public good while delivering expert services in return for fair reward. That hasn’t changed. What has changed is the environment in which professionalism is practised – greater client sophistication, more regulatory scrutiny and expectations of greater transparency.

In my 2010 white paper Why Professionalism Is Still Relevant, and again in Why Professionalism Matters More Than Ever (2022), I argued that professionalism is not a quaint ideal. It is the bedrock on which trust is built. It is the moral and ethical spine of the professions. When clients say they value a firm’s integrity, independence, or ‘being in it for the right reasons’, they express their belief in professional values. In the face of commoditisation, it is these attributes – altruism, accountability, and commitment to excellence – that distinguish the professional from the mere provider. Ultimately, professionalism remains at the heart of what drives professional services firms, shaping the trust and value that sustain long-term client relationships.

2. Clients value cost-consciousness more than professionals think

One of the most striking findings across the decades of benchmarking we’ve done at Beaton is how consistently clients rate firms poorly on cost consciousness. This is not about being cheap; it is about being careful. Clients want firms that budget thoughtfully, explain costs, explore options and align price with perceived value. A firm’s ability to balance cost-consciousness with value delivery is a defining part of what drives professional services firms in competitive markets.

Although this is one of the top unmet needs, many firms and their practitioners remain ambivalent or even resistant to discussing fees openly. This reluctance damages trust. Being cost-conscious is a crucial differentiator, and those who adopt it by investing in scoping, pricing training, and financial communication enjoy both commercial and relational benefits.

[Cost consciousness] is not about being cheap; it is about being careful. Clients want firms that budget thoughtfully, explain costs, explore options and align price with perceived value.

3. The publication of NewLaw New Rules focused attention on business models

In the early 2010s, I popularised the term NewLaw to describe emerging legal service providers that diverged sharply from the traditional BigLaw model. These firms were often non-lawyer-owned, tech-driven, agile in delivery and built around scalable business models. They challenged many assumptions: that only partners could lead law firms, that hourly billing was sacrosanct and that brand did not matter.

Through my books NewLaw New Rules (2013) and Remaking Law Firms: Why and How (2016), my co-authors and I detailed these shifts. We warned that BigLaw would need to change profoundly or risk ceding large portions of the market – possibly shrinking from a dominant 80 per cent share to a minority player. While some BigLaw firms adapted, many still struggle to reorient deeply embedded business models. The advent of AI and its adoption is leaving many firms flat-footed.

The NewLaw concept reframed the strategy conversation. It enabled firms and clients to think more creatively about structure, ownership, value delivery, and client empowerment. It is not just law firms – built and natural environment consulting, specialist IP, accounting and advisory firms as well.

4. Listening to clients is a strategic imperative

From the beginning at Beaton Research + Consulting, we have believed that client feedback is a strategic asset, not just a nice-to-have. Our flagship benchmarking initiatives, the Client Choice Awards, and the Beaton Benchmarks all revolve around the idea that consistently listening to clients and acting on their insights fuels a cycle of loyalty, growth, and reputation. My LinkedIn article, “The Journey to the World’s Largest Market Research Syndicate”, tells this story.

This belief has its roots in pioneering work. In 1995, Dr Margaret Beaton completed her PhD at the University of Melbourne titled “The role of quality, value and structural factors on exit, voice, loyalty and neglect in the relationship between law firms and their corporate clients”. Her work identified how corporate clients responded to their legal service providers based on perceptions of quality and value, which would later become central to how firms measure success.

In the following years, we realised that Margaret’s intellectual property could be commercialised. Her research provided the groundwork for our consulting model and data products, which now guide the decisions of hundreds of firms across Australia, New Zealand and worldwide.

The ability to listen deeply to clients and adapt is not just good practice; it is central to what drives professional services firms forward.

Books and papers authored by Dr George Beaton

5. The state of client experience

In our 2022 report, “The State of Client Experience in Professional Services”, we delved into the maturity of CX programs across law, accounting, engineering, and consulting firms (Beaton Global CX 2022). The findings were sobering:

Most firms overestimated their CX maturity. While many said they had a client experience strategy, few had dedicated resources, linked KPIs, or systematic feedback loops.
Firms with robust CX programs outperformed peers in terms of client loyalty and revenue growth.
Client expectations are rising, particularly around proactivity, communication, and relevance.

We concluded that CX is no longer a soft skills concept; it is a strategic necessity. And it must be owned by leaders, not delegated to marketing and BD.

6. Technology isn’t the problem – adoption is

Few professional firms lack access to capable technology. But many fail to unlock its full benefits. Why? Because behavioural change is hard. Professionals often default to known patterns, even if tools exist that could automate, streamline, or improve outcomes.

In keynotes and articles, I have argued that firms must stop treating technology as merely an IT issue. In reality, it is a cultural, leadership and incentives challenge. Lawyers and accountants need structured training in tools such as document automation and predictive analytics. They should be rewarded for adopting them in practice. Equally important, firms must educate clients about the benefits these technologies deliver — greater efficiency, accuracy and value — so that adoption becomes embedded across the profession.

Until firms address the human barriers to adoption, they will continue to underperform their technological potential. AI is making this an urgent imperative.

8. Firms must align their strategy with client-led change

Strategy in professional services must be built not just on internal capabilities, but on understanding client needs, trends and power. Over and over, I’ve seen firms fail not because their services were poor, but because they fell out of step with their markets.

Successful firms:

Rethink delivery models (outsourcing, automation, modular teams),
Break down internal silos that hinder client focus,
Invest in their brand as a system of trust, not just a visual identity, and
Align their culture and KPIs with client satisfaction, not just utilisation.

These firms treat strategy as a dynamic capability, not a plan gathering dust in a drawer.

Being client-led, rather than inwardly focused, is a fundamental example of what drives professional services firms to sustained success.

9. Professions must adapt or risk being marginalised

The professions have a proud history dating back hundreds of years. However, pride can become complacency. Today’s clients are better informed, more mobile and more demanding. They want transparency, value, empathy and outcomes – not rituals, jargon or one-sided advice.

The professions must renew their social compact; that means:

Embracing transparency and accountability,
Reaffirming public interest alongside private gain,
Making space for diverse talent and non-traditional expertise, and
Ensuring that inclusion, accessibility and ethics are more than policies. They are lived values.

If the professions do this, they will remain trusted pillars of society. If not, they risk being seen as legacy industries clinging to privilege.

Conclusion: think global, act local

Throughout my career, I’ve been privileged to work with firms and clients across Australia, New Zealand, the UK, the US, Canada, Asia and Africa. While structures differ, the essential themes are global: clients want value; professionals want meaning; firms want profitable performance. What drives professional services firms is a blend of professionalism, client trust, cost-consciousness, strategic agility, and the smart adoption of technology.

What changes is the context. And that is why truly great firms combine global insight with local understanding. They act “glocally” – adapting to cultural nuance while staying true to universal principles of quality, service and trust. Irrespective of profession or size, the firms that thrive are those that can balance consistency with flexibility — delivering experiences that feel both reliably excellent and uniquely relevant to each client’s world.

Those firms put clients at the centre, embrace innovation like AI, and never lose sight of the values that make the professions trusted pillars of society. By aligning global insights with local nuance, professional services firms can deliver lasting value — to their clients, their people, and the communities they serve.

Dr George Beaton is Executive Chairman of Beaton and a globally recognised authority on professional services strategy and client research. With more than 30 years’ experience advising firms, governments and universities, he has pioneered thinking on NewLaw, client experience and the future of the professions. He is the author of NewLaw New Rules and Remaking Law Firms.