Hiring good lawyers is difficult. Hiring good lawyers that will return your phone calls and respond to your emails promptly is extremely difficult. But what if clients could confidently hire law firms knowing, before the engagement, that they would be well taken care of?
“Law Firm Network Dynamics” explains how clients get priority treatment from Primerus law firms. When a client is referred from one Primerus lawyer to another, or if a client contacts Primerus directly and is put in touch with one of its member law firms, there is an extra layer of accountability which should bolster confidence in the quality of the representation.
Clients working with Primerus firms join an interconnected web of resources, relationships, and communication which are otherwise challenging to find in the open marketplace. This priority treatment is rooted in four main principles:
- Genuine Relationships and Deep Connections
- Accountability
- Communication and Knowledge Sharing
- The Primerus Promise
Genuine Relationships and Deep Connections
Primerus is not a passive referral organization. As a “society” there is a strong emphasis on developing relationships and getting to know one another. Lawyers within the organization spend a great deal of time getting to know one another throughout the year. Primerus holds over a dozen different conferences globally to regularly bring members together. The members recognize that face time with one another is important. They meet, they learn about each other’s practice mix, and develop a better understanding of how to represent shared clients. Inevitably friendships form. “I have more [lawyer] friends in Primerus than I do in all of Houston,” said Primerus member Bob Brown of Donato Brown Pool & Moehlmann (Houston, Texas). Other Primerus members have even suggested they know some of their fellow Primerus colleagues better than they know their own law firm partners. These close connections allow Primerus members to genuinely care about one another and share the same level of care for each other’s clients.
Accountability
Primerus screens and vets every member before being admitted into membership. Primerus continues to audit member firms annually for any potential quality concerns and collects quality satisfaction surveys from clients that hire these firms. Member law firms are held accountable to the work they do for clients that come to them by virtue of their membership in the organization. The law firms are also accountable to one another. From the perspective of Primerus members, Primerus and every Primerus member is a potential referral source. In order to protect those referral pipelines, quality work must be done. Members not only put their own firm’s reputation on the line, but they are also representing the Primerus organization. This added scrutiny means Primerus firms will do a little extra, return one more call, answer one more email, strategize a little more carefully, and prepare a little more thoroughly.
Communication and Knowledge Sharing
Communication among the members may be better than it has ever been. As an international organization, Primerus has had to rely on technology to help members stay connected. The global pandemic has led to almost immediate widespread acceptance of virtual conferencing platforms like Zoom, WebEx, Google Hangouts, Microsoft Teams and others. Primerus members are interacting via video conference more so than ever before. Global Meet Ups, Practice Group gatherings, Section calls, small group round tables, and happy hours are taking place on a weekly basis. The lines of communication have never been wider and never busier.
The open dialogue shrinks the global legal marketplace. Clients benefit from members’ flexibility to help move across jurisdictions. Primerus members freely share resources and can leverage expertise from multiple Primerus firms as needed.
The Primerus Promise
The Primerus Promise is an express commitment from Primerus and its members to provide an experience unmatched in the legal marketplace. It ensures that all Primerus attorneys are top quality, that their work product is excellent, and they deliver high level concierge service.
Many firms aspire to provide next-level service. But, when faced with a book of business, time constraints, deadlines and other stressors, aspiration may quickly turn into ‘good enough’. Primerus members and their clients can be confident that ‘good enough’ will never be acceptable.