Has the global financial crisis changed the approach of private practice law firms to client relations?

Businesses around the world have had to try harder to win and retain work during the economic downturn. Law firms should be no exception, but judging by the results of our recent survey of leading in-house lawyers, complacency appears to be something of an issue. Fewer than half of the respondents said their law firms were more attentive to their companies’ needs since Western economies headed south. Perhaps most worrying is the sizeable number of firms that cut resources so significantly that they are now noticeably less attentive to client requirements. Lost clients in a recession will be hard to win back when economic growth eventually returns.