A firm’s reputation 

Secondly, clients will take into account the reputation of potentially suitable law firms. Now, reputation is not the same as capability. “Capability” simply indicates that a firm can do something. A good reputation however can indicate that the firm does that thing well, which helps to create a sense a trust. 

Clients might also feel more at ease if they feel like they’re hiring “the best”, as there’s less chance of them being held accountable if the law firm screws up. Conversely, if a client tries to save on costs by appointing an inexperienced firm on an important matter, this might be seen as negligent should things subsequently go wrong. 

As explained by Laura Brunnen, there’s a well-known saying that “a General Counsel has never been sacked for hiring Linklaters or Slaughter and May”.

So what might clients look at when assessing a firm’s reputation? Well, this could include considering a firm’s rankings, awards, industry recognition, and reputation among other clients and lawyers, as well as the reputation of specific lawyers at the firm. On that note, remember that it’s often clients’ in-house legal teams that engage law firms, and the lawyers in those teams will likely be aware of which firms and lawyers have a good reputation in specific areas.

Relevant prior experience

Linked to reputation is a firm’s prior experience. Clients will be more inclined to work with a firm that can point to its previous experience working within the client’s industry, for similar businesses, and on the types of legal matters that the client wants (or might need) help with. In this context, prior experience can give credibility to the firm’s assertions that it is able to carry out the work effectively. 

Alex McPherson adds that if some of the firm’s lawyers have previously worked for a regulator (e.g. the Competition and Markets Authority, HMRC or the Financial Conduct Authority) or the firm has collaborated in some way with a high profile public body, this can also add real credibility in the eyes of clients that are regulated by those public bodies. After all, if the firm and its lawyers have a first-hand understanding of what those public bodies expect and how they operate in practice, they can pass this knowledge on to clients).