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Raising the Bar for Client Services in the Legal Industry

By Richard Culberson |

Raising the Bar for Client Services in the Legal Industry

The following was contributed by Richard Culberson, the CEO North America of Moneypenny, the world’s customer conversation experts, specializing in call answering and live chat solutions.

Delivering exceptional client service in the legal industry isn’t about grand gestures or over-the-top perks. Instead, it’s about providing seamless, efficient, and consistent experience—ensuring clients feel supported, informed, and confident in your expertise.

Legal professionals instinctively prioritize client satisfaction, knowing that trust and reputation are everything in the industry. However, keeping clients happy doesn’t require excessive handholding or elaborate corporate hospitality. True exceptional service comes from delivering reliable, solutions-focused support that alleviates stress and allows clients to focus on their priorities.

What Does Seamless Client Service Look Like in Law?

The key is demonstrating value by making legal processes smoother, less stressful, and more efficient. Clients don’t just seek legal expertise—they seek peace of mind that comes from knowing their matter is in good hands, that communication will be clear, and that their legal team will proactively anticipate their needs.

For law firms to reach this high level in client service, it means keeping promises, handling matters efficiently, and exceeding expectations where it matters most—through expertise, responsiveness, and a seamless experience.

How to Build Long-Term Client Loyalty

Focusing on client experience is often a thankless task in the short term, as good service is expected, while poor service is called out. However, over time, delivering consistently excellent service will build trust and loyalty because when clients know they can rely on you, they are more likely to return for future matters and refer others to your firm.

However, being dependable doesn’t mean standing still. Instead, by understanding client touchpoints and pain points, legal professionals can provide even greater value—sometimes before clients even realize they need it.

The Role of Personalization in Legal Client Service

Every client is unique, and every client has unique needs, and it goes without saying that tailoring your approach to those needs is a key differentiator in the legal industry. Even if it is the same type of case as the one you have just handled, it is still unique and requires personalized updates, proactive case management, and thoughtful communication. This will only serve to enhance the client experience and demonstrate that your firm values their business.

What’s more, providing this level of service turns satisfied clients into ambassadors for your firm. While appreciation gifts or hospitality, for example, can be a nice touch, they are meaningless without the reliable service behind them. The true measure of outstanding client service is in making complex legal matters as smooth and stress-free as possible.

Seven Pillars of Seamless Legal Client Service

To consistently deliver outstanding client service, legal professionals should focus on these key principles:

  1. Understand Your Client – Know their goals, concerns, and expectations.
  2. Deliver Convenience and Ease of Use – Make processes straightforward and accessible.
  3. Be Proactive – Anticipate client needs before they arise.
  4. Personalize Your Approach – Tailor communication and solutions to each client.
  5. Communicate Clearly and Regularly – Keep clients informed without overwhelming them.
  6. Keep Your Promises – Reliability builds trust and long-term relationships.
  7. Seek and Act on Feedback – Continuously improve based on client insights.

Reframing the goal from going “above and beyond” to making the legal journey as effortless as possible will create a strong foundation for long-term success. And by doing so, law firms can build lasting client loyalty and a reputation for excellence that sets them apart in an increasingly competitive industry.

About the author

Richard Culberson

Richard Culberson

Commercial

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Deminor’s Wouter de Jong Sees Untapped Dutch Demand for Commercial and Patent Dispute Funding

Deminor's newest Dutch hire has said many sound business-to-business disputes in the Netherlands go unpursued because of cost, risk or resource constraints, pointing to an opening for litigation funders.

As reported by Litigation Finance Insider, Wouter de Jong discussed his move into funding in an interview published on 4 October. De Jong joined Deminor as Senior Legal Counsel in its Utrecht office after more than 14 years in disputes, including eight as a patent litigator in private practice and six as Head of Litigation at a major international company, as Deminor announced in September.

He said litigation funding is less unfamiliar to Dutch companies than it was 15 years ago but remains poorly understood. Two misconceptions recur with clients: the non-recourse "no cure, no pay" structure, and the extent to which Deminor offers litigation expertise beyond capital. He credited the Netherlands' legal system, efficient proceedings and strong judiciary for producing meaningful outcomes within reasonable timeframes.

De Jong also highlighted intellectual property. The Unified Patent Court, he said, lets patentees resolve disputes across larger territories in a single forum, and he has seen rising local inquiries about patent funding. Patent cases demand deeper underwriting of the technology and the scope of protection, making them slower to assess than typical commercial disputes.

The interview signals where Deminor expects growth from its Dutch presence, which opened in June as its tenth office worldwide: single-claim commercial and IP disputes, rather than the collective actions for which the Dutch market is better known.

Loopa Finance’s Gouveia Urges Litigation Funding Rules That Protect Transparency Without Capping Returns

A senior investment manager at Loopa Finance has argued that litigation finance regulation should safeguard transparency and independence without restricting pricing, access to capital or the industry's ability to innovate.

As reported by Litigation Finance Insider, Marina Gouveia, Senior Investment Manager at Loopa Finance, said in a commentary published on 4 October that standards-based oversight is preferable to prescriptive statutory rules. She identified transparency, independence, contractual clarity and the integrity of proceedings as the priorities.

Gouveia noted that the market spans single-case funding, portfolio financing, award monetisation and law firm or corporate structures, and that sophisticated corporate clients and individual consumers have very different needs. A uniform regime, she suggested, would fit neither well. She also warned that return caps could make some claims less commercially attractive to finance, particularly those needing large upfront costs or long proceedings, which could narrow access to justice.

She accepted that some regulatory goals are legitimate, including managing conflicts of interest, ensuring parties understand their agreements, verifying that funders have the resources to perform, and protecting claimants' control over strategy and settlement. Her preferred route is standards that evolve through courts, arbitral institutions, counsel and funders as new risks emerge, rather than legislation attempting to anticipate future products.

The piece names no specific jurisdictions or bills. It arrives as regulators in the UK, EU and several US states continue to debate disclosure and oversight rules, and it reflects the self-regulation approach funders such as Loopa have promoted through bodies including the European Litigation Funders Association.

PGMBM Opposes Bid to Hold 400,000-Claimant Mariana Hearing in Private

Pogust Goodhead, trading as PGMBM, has said it is opposing an application to hold today's High Court hearing on who represents more than 400,000 claimants in the Mariana Dam litigation under seal.

According to a statement issued by PGMBM, lawyers acting for the Mariana Client Committee served an application on Monday asking the court to hold the hearing in private. A PGMBM spokesperson said the firm believes the move "flies in the face of access to justice" for the claimants affected by the disaster, and described transparency for clients as fundamental. PGMBM said it is urgently asking the judge to reject the application in the public interest.

The hearing is an expedited two-day session on 5 and 6 October to decide which firm should act for the claimants. As Legal Futures reported, the High Court earlier refused a request to stay the proceedings and directed that the representation dispute be determined at that hearing, rejecting calls for it to be held in private. The dispute pits PGMBM against Bailey Glasser International, which the Client Committee has sought to instruct in its place.

The statement did not say how the court has responded to the new application, and the application itself was supplied to media only as an attachment. PGMBM's account is one side of a contested matter, and the Client Committee's lawyers have not been quoted.

The fight over the case, a claim against BHP over the 2015 Fundão dam collapse, has drawn attention across the litigation funding market because control of a mass claim of this size determines how funders, lawyers and claimants are aligned ahead of the quantum trial listed for April 2027.