Not what you hear: high satisfaction with their firms’ ability to understand clients’ business needs

Magazines and conferences relish headlines about dissatisfaction by general counsel with their law firms, but a recent survey by Robert Half Legal of 150 attorneys “among the largest corporations in the United States and Canada” undermines those complaints. As reported in The Lawyers Competitive Edge, Vol. 11, March 2009 at 12, a solid 31 percent of the in-house lawyers answered that they are “Very satisfied and 63 percent are “Satisfied” ” with their law firms’ “ability to understand clients’ business needs.” I assume “ability” translates into better client service.

Obiter dicta on the methodology of this survey: “All respondents have at least three years of experience in the legal field.” It surprises me that Robert Half specifically notes this, because rarely do law departments hire attorneys with less than three years of experience.