legal sanity

The other day, I attended my son’s holiday celebration in his third-grade classroom. To capture the true spirit and meaning of the season, the kids took turns standing up in pairs and reading narratives about one another.

These weren’t fill-in-the-blank recitations. They were insightful and moving reflections. With their teacher’s guidance, the kids had taken the time to see and chronicle the world through their classmates’ eyes. This, of course, left nary a dry eye among us parents.

In my last post, I suggested that lawyers can benefit from seeing matters through our clients’ eyes. This requires us to set our own preconceptions aside. As John Baldoni notes in his recent post at (the just-revamped) Harvard Business Review, it also requires us to keep our egos in check.

Adding to the conversation, Seth Godin comments that gaining and keeping this other-focus can be tough when we’re so used to trying to get people to see things our way. (Lawyers are, after all, in the persuasion business.)

But, it can be done.

Pamela Slim offers us some pointers in a recent post on creating a client-centered, natural business model. Like Kathie Conway of Brains on Fire, you might also find that sharing personal stories is a direct route to learning about the people we work with and want to work with.

On the flip side, some suggest that you can’t really know others if you don’t have a strong sense of who you are. Those in need of some guided self-reflection can start with Seth Godin’s engaging 8 questions and a why.

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My longtime client, artist Pamela Lawton, recently showed her abstract paintings of New York City's modern architecture at an exhibit called Liquid City. Describing her work, Pamela says: "It's almost an 'intervention,' that's sort of an art term that people use to talk about taking something ordinary and conventional and altering it in some way. By noticing something obscure and distant and beautiful, I think it gives a different dimension to the neighborhood."

Taking something ordinary and conventional and altering it in some way.

These words really strike a chord with me since I’m always considering how lawyers can add a different dimension to the profession’s ordinary and conventional mode of client service. I’ve posted before that this kind of intervention requires us to see things through our clients' eyes and get to the heart of what they want and need from us and the law.

But, like other kinds of real-world interventions, this isn’t a simple or an easy proposition. Most lawyers and law firms are set in outmoded ways. Blogger Jim Hassett – who regularly posts on the topic of alternative fees - frames the problem out nicely in a series of posts on the profession’s addiction to the billable hour. At his blog, Patrick Lamb adds some insight in posts on firms raising their rates and being blind to fundamental market shifts.

For lawyers willing and able to shift perspectives, there’s a lot of inspiration out there. I first learned about William Kamkwamba, The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind, from a moving segment on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. Blogger Carolyn Elefant picks up the story to encourage lawyers who are “put out by the economy” or otherwise “feeling trapped in the [ ] lawyering grind.”

Seth Godin provides some more fuel for our client service intervention in his recent post on Boundary Makers. Finally, we can tap into the possibility of taking the ordinary and making it extraordinary by viewing this Fast Company slideshow on innovation in materials.

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This isn’t a post about politics. It’s about human relations.

As I’ve written here before, as lawyers, we’re in the business of human relations. To do our job well, we have to connect with the people behind the legal matters we take on and provide meaningful solutions to their problems.

Connecting with clients in this way is not an opt-in exercise in cutting-edge legal service delivery. It’s what our savvy community of consumers expects and demands. As blogger Patrick Lamb recently posted, when these expectations and demands go unmet – when there’s a breakdown in human relations - the fallout can be pretty significant. The lines of communication are wide open thanks to Social Media channels and it doesn’t take much to spread the word.

President Obama experienced this fallout in the wake of the recent shooting at Fort Hood. He’s been roundly criticized for his insensitivity-in-action on the day of the tragedy and lack of compassion and emotion while addressing mourners at the memorial service. Online columnist Nick Morgan frames the issue beautifully in a Harvard Business post titled Why Obama Needed to Speak From the Heart.

Like the rest of us, President Obama needs to be more conscious of the vital importance of relating to the people he serves on an authentic, emotional level. This is human relations 101; a course of action – or, really, a way of being - that’s no longer optional in politics or in business.

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For the last few years, I’ve devoted a lot of space here to the idea and practice of client-centricity. You can sample my take on the topic via posts like these:

evangelizing legal service delivery 

client experience management 

legal service delivery: what controls the client experience 

are you remarkable?

client centered care 

(re)designing legal service delivery around the client experience (introducing my legal sanity mentor series

why it’s a great time to be a village lawyer 

I based these posts on insights gained from business and marketing experts outside the legal profession. But, client-centricity isn’t unknown in the law. To the contrary, our profession is firmly rooted in this kind of intimate, human-to-human service. Arguably, like the mom and pop shops on main street, it was a norm until larger market forces emerged in the form of BigLaw and the billable hour.

Given our rich history, I prefer to look at client-centricity as a lost art that’s poised for rediscovery now that the legal profession is shifting under the weight (or, jolt) of the economic downturn. As we reclaim this part of our past – and adapt it to a new generation of clients – we can take some tips from articles on creating client-centric services, including a recent one from Business Week on The Art of the Soft Sell.

The article discusses the customer-centric, or consultative, sales process that’s based on “showing how your product or service can help solve a customer's problem.” One of the quoted experts is my friend and colleague Adrian Miller, founder of Adrian Miller Sales Training. According to Adrian, "Consultative salespeople are problem solvers and conceptual thinkers and tend to look at the big picture."

If you want to learn more about offering client-centric legal services as an adept problem solver, stay tuned for my interview with Adrian Miller in the next installment of the legal sanity mentor

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Due to the summer posting hiatus, it’s been a little while since the last installment in my series of posts on redesigning legal services around the client experience.  

I’ve always been a proponent of the idea that it’s really hard for unhappy lawyers to provide great client service. To put it another way: The lawyer experience and client experience are two sides of the same coin. You can get a good sense of what I’m driving at by sampling some of my archived posts on the subject:

lawyer experience management 

creating a firm culture that enhances the lawyer experience 

lawyers as user-innovators

can law firms change to meet user demand?

With the recession-fueled law firm shake-ups, the lawyer experience has become a front burner issue for many displaced practitioners as they contemplate their next professional steps.

Kathleen Brady is an expert in career planning for lawyers. I first met Kathy when I was a student and she was Assistant Dean of Career Services at Fordham University School of Law. I asked her to dialogue with me about her work with lawyers going through career transition.

AH You must be busy.

KB Yes, I’m incredibility busy doing outplacement work for law firms.

AH Is it frustrating? How do you deal with fact that there are more lawyers than jobs?

KB We’re not head hunters, so our success isn’t measured by the number of jobs we help people get. Rather, we help lawyers move through the transition process.

AH I like that, helping people through a process. What emotions do you come across?

KB Emotions across the board – from truly relieved because they hated what they were doing to shocked, devastated and appalled because they did everything they were supposed to do and still find themselves out of work.

AH How do you help people deal with the emotions?

KB It’s really important to let them feel what they’re feeling and work through that. If they don’t, the emotions come out at the worst times, like, during job interviews.

AH What does it mean to let them feel what they’re feeling?

KB  It means encouraging them to express their feelings – to vent, cry, etc. We let them know it's OK to be emotional. But, the key is to not let them get stuck in their emotions. To prevent this immobility, we help people focus on effective steps they can take to move forward in their career. That said, when people present additional issues – such as depression, eating disorders or substance abuse - it’s important to recognize the limitations of your counseling abilities. A few psych courses in college or grad school doesn’t qualify me, or most other career counselors, to address those issues. You have to know enough to know when you need to make a referral.

AH  What’s the biggest challenge to getting lawyers-in-transition to experience and embrace this forward momentum?

KB The biggest challenge is convincing them that the job loss, especially a layoff, isn’t personal. It’s challenging because there’s nothing more personal than losing your job. This is where support groups and other resources (bar associations, alumni groups and virtual communities) are vital. Being able to see the common ground, how the recession is hitting everyone, makes it less of a personal slight.

AH Is there a silver lining here when it comes to the lawyer experience?

KB Yes there’s a huge one; particularly for new lawyers. Before the most recent recession, many lawyers moved into their careers without thinking about long-term goals. After a few years, they’d look up and realize they were miserable. Then, they would go through a process of figuring out what they wanted from their career. This process of taking a hard look at your career is happening en masse now and it’s a good thing. Lawyers have a chance to be more deliberate in how they shape their career in the law or on a more non-traditional path.

AH Is there one skill that’s vital to successfully navigating this path to a positive lawyer experience?

KB I’d say networking and business relationship skills are vital. For example, many lawyers spend all their time searching for a job on the internet. They send out 500 resumes to little or no avail. The best way to find a job is to use all your resources. If you see something online, find someone you know at the firm and get your resume to them. If you don’t know anyone there, use your network to make a connection. Connecting with people can be hard work, but it’s a great skill to hone because it’s the same skill set that helps you build relationships for business development and career advancement.

AH Any final words of advice?

KB Young lawyers need to reset their expectations. Some still are convinced that they need to work at the biggest and most prestigious firms. But, they really need to consider where they can acquire the skills they need to get where they want to be in the long term  They need to seriously consider: “Does this job take me closer to my dreams or take me away from them?”

Thank you, Kathleen, for helping us better understand how we can optimize the lawyer experience, even in these difficult times.

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As we were driving from one weekend activity to the next in our small New York suburb, my middle child looked up from her cell phone and, in an iPod-induced-too-loud-voice, said, “I love this town. It’s pretty, friendly and makes me feel safe.” I think she gave voice to what many of us feel and experience in our personal and professional lives.

When people engage lawyers – especially in contentious matters - they often arrive at our door feeling unsafe and insecure. As much as they want our legal advice and guidance, they’re also expecting that we’ll help them gain/regain a sense of safety and security. The problem is that many lawyers are unaware of their clients’ emotional needs. As a result, clients quickly frustrate and the attorney-client relationship becomes stressful and unproductive all around.

One good solution stems from knowing what it means to be a village lawyer. Put a bit differently, lawyers benefit from understanding what millions of people, including my daughter, so positively respond to about the villages in their lives. With that knowledge and understanding, we can focus on figuring out how to recreate that village sensibility for our clients’ (and our own) benefit. 

Addressing this topic, one of my favorite bloggers, Sonia Simone, writes that it’s a great time to start and nurture a village business.

While village businesses aren’t bound by brick and mortar or geographical limits, they are “personal, intimate, and human-scaled” and “serve a relatively small number of people.” Even if you’re a lawyer in a large firm, you can still be a village lawyer because you’re likely dealing with a small number of clients. As village lawyers, we share a common bond with our clients because we understand and relate to their common needs, interests and concerns.

When it comes to client service, Simone notes the importance of giving people “a place to get together. To know you better, and know one another better.” We can accomplish this virtually or face-to-face.

If you’re excited by the prospect of creating an online community for your villagers, you’ll find some thought-provoking considerations in this Social media Strategy Checklist by ClickZ’s Sean Carton. Chris Brogan enhances the dialogue by detailing 5 Things Small Business Owners Should Do Today Online.

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My introduction to Jason Mendelson came by way of a compelling how-to blog post he wrote titled: Quick Ways To Get Fired as a Lawyer. From the first read through, it's clear that Jason knows what he’s talking about. As a self-proclaimed “recovering lawyer” and successful VC with his own company, Foundry Group. he’s gained insight into the best and worst of legal service delivery from both sides of the fence.

Through the wonders of six-degrees-of-separation (many thanks to Debbie Huttner and Michael Huttner), I connected with Jason and had a lively discussion on the topic of re-designing legal services around the client experience.

AH: How many lawyers have you worked with over the years?

JM: 2,000-3,000.

AH: What percentage of these lawyers were excellent?

JM: 5%

AH: What makes a lawyer that pretty rare kind of advisor that inspires client evangelism – someone who provides such meaningful service that clients voluntarily shout his or her praises?

JM: I think it’s a combination of factors:

1.   Team Feeling/Proactive Representation: You want to get the sense that your lawyer is part of your team and interested in your business. You want them to be there for you and thinking about you/your business when you need them to, and also thinking about you/your business even when you don’t need them for a particular matter. This sounds obvious but it rarely happens.

2.   Consistency: This means not swapping out people. For example, in the initial meeting, you meet with certain lawyers, you build rapport and a connection with them and then you end up with different lawyers working on your deal. 

3.   Creativity: If you can think creatively and strategically on how to manage the legal issue in an efficient and effective way, you will get into the Lawyer Rock Star Hall of Fame.

 AH: That gives us a good sense of the lawyer’s side of the coin. Are clients at all responsible for creating their own positive experiences with legal service consumption/delivery?

 JM: The irony is that people who hire lawyers have no idea if the lawyer is any good. I give entrepreneurs 5-6 questions to ask potential lawyers when interviewing them. But the truth is that any lawyer can get past those questions. The best is to ask present or former clients of that lawyer/law firm and to ask other lawyers who have worked with the lawyer on opposite sides of a deal or dispute. Lots of lawyers can get a great reference, show up and woo you in a board meeting but then they don’t really know how to get the work done. They don’t do quality work.

So, yes, I think the client has some responsibility for ensuring their own positive service delivery experience. I riff on this in my Lawyer Bill of Rights. If a client doesn’t follow it, the client has no right to complain.

Thanks, Jason, for lending your insights into client experience design and helping us build legal sanity.

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Chrysler has let me down big time. I know, you’re probably thinking, “take a number and get in line, it’s a long one.” The company’s financial woes are already old news. But, that’s not what this is about.

This about the 2008 minivan that my kids practically live in. The subject of multiple recalls, it’s currently without A/C due to a defective hose. Chrysler knows about the problem and admits responsibility under its warranty. But, according to my dealership, the company just can’t keep up with the vast demand for replacement hoses. So, it’s been a waiting game. And, by some twist of coincidence, it’s been unseasonably hot on and off here in NY. The sizzling metal and glass box breeds major kid (and parent) crankiness, even with all the windows down. The summer months stretch out ahead.

Although the dealer claims that we’re next on the list when a hose shipment comes in, Chrysler has done some serious damage to a once solid customer relationship.

I can’t help but wonder how Chrysler would respond if it were a fly on the virtual wall that I post this on. Maybe it could take some guidance from Spike at Brains on Fire and embrace the upset it’s generated by producing a faulty A/C system and, then, not fixing the problem promptly. Or, maybe it’s a matter of fessing up to its own vulnerabilities as a company or asking whether it’s easy to deal with as a service provider (article courtesy of my business associate, Adrian Miller).

I’m sure there’s some room for making amends or, at least, stemming the tide of defecting customers. Come on Chrysler, take a look at yourself and ask, “where’s the love?”

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In my last post, I noted that we’ve entered a new age of radical transparency in which businesses must be keenly aware of their consumer community (or, communities) and make it easy for community members to offer feedback and comments. For most law firms and lawyers, this requires a big shift towards understanding, valuing and heightening the client experience.

I recently spent some time talking to law firm consultant Gerry Riskin. A co-founder and principal of Edge International, Gerry is a widely recognized expert on managing professional service firms. He shares his views at his terrific blog, Amazing Firms, Amazing Practices, and via Twitter. I asked Gerry for his thougts on client experience management.

AH: How important is the client experience?

GR: It’s extremely critical and I base that on what people have reported to me about firms they’ve worked with. For instance, the general counsel of a huge financial institution hiring literally hundreds of law firms described his favorite firm this way: “When I get there, the receptionist greets me by name and offers a decent refreshment. There’s good, current reading material in the waiting area. The person who I’m there to see comes out promptly. But, even before that, other people come along and say hello to me while I'm sitting there.”

AH: So, his experience didn’t turn on the quality, quantity or price of the legal advice he received.

GR: Right. And let's be honest, if he was in Buenos Aires and needed immediate brain surgery and the one and only brain surgeon in Buenos Aires was a jerk, he would use that jerk brain surgeon because he had no choice. But, when it's anything that more than one person can provide of equal quality, it comes down to the experience. I think – and I will include myself here - all of us would like to think of ourselves as having expertise, as being special and particularly knowledgeable. We don't like to think we're easily replicable. But, the truth is in most respects we're not unique.

AH: So, given that most firms and lawyers are indistinguishable in terms of their expertise, client experience becomes a key differentiator?

GR: Yes. And I don’t base my theory on that one example. It’s a common theme. In fact, on a recent plane trip, I sat next to next to a billionaire who's on the board of many pharmaceutical companies. I asked him to tell me about the law firms he likes and doesn’t like. Anyway, the punch line is, here is a powerful, powerful, powerful man whose biggest complaint about a law firm is his reception area experience and what he perceives to be the arrogance of partners walking through without bidding him good day. And, I bet those partners who walked by without acknowledging him were completely unaware of what they were doing (or not doing).

AH: So do you have a couple of nuggets of advice on what it takes to create the optimal client experience?

GR: Well, at the highest level of abstraction, you need to have complete empathy. Ask, “If I were the consumer of this service, what would I want?” The challenge is that we get blind spots based on familiarity. So you need fresh eyes and the best source of fresh eyes is your clients. Ask them: “Of all the law firms you've ever been to, of all the lawyers you've ever worked with, what do you like best and what should be done differently?” That allows your clients to be very candid without attacking you or your firm. You can also transpose your own experiences. Lawyers use other services, lawyers get annoyed by bad service here or delighted by good service there. Take a moment and analyze what makes your experience good or bad. Then ask the next question: “Do we do any of that in our environment?” Last, but of course not least, is training. Knowing is not doing. But, people have a very hard time getting that. They think once they know about something, they’re doing it. It's like listening. My wife says I should listen to her better so I think, oh, okay, I know the concept of listening so I'll listen to her better. But, it's not until I practice it, maybe get trained in it, maybe understand the structure of listening that I really listen better. 

AH: Gerry, you’ve offered great insight into the client experience. Thanks so much for helping us cultivate legal sanity.

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I’ve been interested in psychologist Daniel Goleman’s work since reading his book on Emotional Intelligence years ago.

Along with thinkers like:

Dan Pink 

Hugh MacLeod 

Kathy Sierra 

Chris Brogan

Tim Sanders 

Pam Slim 

Goleman has inspired me to look at the legal profession through a broader social-cultural lens.

As a culture, we’re becoming more and more right-brained in orientation. We now place a premium on authenticity, emotion, creativity, meaning and honesty in our personal and professional interactions.

In a recent post for Harvard Business, Goleman writes that consumers are calling for a new kind of openness - a radical transparency that “converts the chains that link every product and its multiple impacts — carbon footprints, chemicals of concern, treatment of workers and the like — into a force that counts in sales.”

To keep up with this demand, Goleman notes, businesses should engage their consumer community (in the law, this would be a firm’s clients, lawyers and non-legal staff) and make it easy for community members to offer feedback and comments. If they drop the ball on this front, big brother is ready to step up in the form of open mike watchdog sites like GetSatisfaction.com.

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Authentic. Transparent. Human.

These three words come up again and again in conversations about creating and sustaining business relationships in the current marketplace. For lawyers, this really isn’t about a new way of relating to our clients, prospects and colleagues. It’s about getting back to our roots as service providers and connecting with the people behind the legal matters we take on. The practice of law has always been about helping people solve problems, overcome challenges and meet goals. But, somewhere along the way, the legal profession (with the help of law schools) lost sight of its human nature.

Over the years, I’ve posted on the importance of bringing ourselves back to our work so we can authentically relate to our clients and others:

• Finding ourselves in our work  
• Self-awareness in the practice of law
• What lawyers can learn about the power of authenticity
• Making the connection
• Mutuality in business relationships

In his new book, Fuel the Spark: 5 Guiding Values for Success in Law & Life, Colorado attorney Kevin Houchin shares practical wisdom on cultivating an authentic life in the law. Legal Sanity Co-producer Lori Herz asked Kevin for his thoughts on (re)designing the lawyer-client relationship for a better client experience.

LH: You set out five guiding values in your book: Accept; Show Up; Pay Attention; Many irons In The Fire; and Stewardship. They’re all relevant to cultivating a meaningful life in, and outside of, the law. But, I’d like to focus on the first one – Accept. In the chapter on this guidepost, you write something that I find particularly compelling:

“There are many things about the legal profession you must simply accept because you cannot change them. But there are also many things you can change because you control your outlook, your goals, and your choices. To maintain balance in your practice and your life, you must first identify what you are willing to accept and what you are willing to accept the responsibility for changing.”

How do you think this pertains to the way lawyers can connect with clients and others in everyday practice?

KH: The possibilities here are as endless as the combinations of lawyers, clients and matters.The first level of this value aims to help us think about the types of cases we take on and what that means to society. For instance, I don't accept criminal or divorce cases. Accordingly, since I don't accept personal responsibility for changing those situations for those clients, I have accepted to let those situations exist as they are - hoping other attorneys will accept the responsibility to take the necessary steps to help society.  

At the next level, we can choose how we will interact with our clients, but it's important that we don't judge either our clients or ourselves too harshly. Each client is different, some are very business-like and don't want a lot of small talk, especially if they think the "clock is running.” Others simply want someone to listen to their full story and empathize, even if we could jump in with the answer after only a few minutes. I talk a little bit about this in the section discussing my theory that to receive respect from our clients and peers, we must first surrender our instinct to judge.

LH: Yes, in that section you encourage us to identify what we must surrender in order to receive the changes we want in our law practice. As an example of this surrender-to-receive dynamic, you write:

“When you surrender judgment, you automatically open up to the possibility that the other person is worthy of respect. In turn, that makes it easier for the other person to open up to the possibility that you are worthy of respect.”

I really like this couplet. I call this “mutuality” in business relationships – a genuine kind of give and take. Is this what you’re getting at?

KH: "Mutuality." I like that word. I hadn't thought of it exactly that way, but it works. To some extent, we have to put ourselves emotionally in the trenches with our client's immediate challenge. When they know that we are with them emotionally, as well as physically and intellectually, something changes. The trust deepens. As I discussed before, I don't take on criminal cases because I don't know if I could let myself be that open to the client in those situations. That's just me. The important thing is to know yourself well enough that you do your best to only take on cases where you are able to form this kind of emotional bond with your client. It helps you be a better lawyer, and on a practical note, it will shorten the time it takes to get paid for your work because the client knows you're not just helping them for the money.

LH: To surrender our judgment in the lawyer-client relationship, we need to really listen to our clients and not talk over and around them with a deaf ear. This syncs with another of your guiding values – Pay Attention. You write:

“We sometimes deal with clients during very difficult times in their lives, so paying attention to how they are saying something may allow you to alleviate some discomfort, heal some harm, remove some shame, and get to the bottom of the problem.”

Can you share a personal experience with this?

KH: The simplest thing happens fairly often in my office because I'm a true solo and do not have a receptionist. The phone will ring in the middle of a meeting and my client might look at me with some surprise that I don't move to answer it. This gives me a chance to let them know that I'm paying attention to them in the moment. Take it a step farther and you're squarely in the active-listening techniques. In those active listening situations, you find the chance to make the emotional connection.  Showing that you have personally made the same mistake the client made in a situation, letting them know they aren't stupid, or that others have done the same thing pretty often removes their shame and fear and helps you start solving the problem. The next step of paying attention is watching for ways to help your clients when they're not in the room - referrals or becoming a fan of their product on Facebook are good examples. Following them on Twitter is another. Basically, becoming their friend instead of just their attorney will go a long way toward helping you be a better lawyer. It will also bring you more business and help you reach your own personal goals for success.

LH: Kevin, thanks for sharing your thoughts on client service and helping us cultivate legal sanity. We wish you all the best with your new book.

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Three Rules of Work: Out of clutter find simplicity; From discord find harmony; In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity– Albert Einstein

Spring. Passover. Easter. It’s the time of year when we’re reminded that we’re resilient by nature and can move through challenges to a place of renewal and possibility.

Just as we survey and fix up our personal space during a spring cleaning, we can take an honest look at our business practices and see what’s worn out, broken or just no longer useful. For many law firms and lawyers, this process will reveal some areas of client service that have fallen into disrepair.

As you assess the problem and weigh possible fixes, you can gain some inspiration and practical advice from these sources:

Five Things - Do them and Clients will Love You

Speak Your Customer’s Language

Is Your Brand Vulnerable?

Word of the day: Relevant

On being a chief evangelist

Who’s in Charge of Your Company Culture?

Roam Before You Pave

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I’m happy to announce that I’m launching a new feature here called the legal sanity mentor.

Each month, experts and influencers across a range of fields will share their views on and around the topic of designing client-centered legal services.

This is a topic – and a mission - that’s taken on a lot of personal and professional significance for me as I’ve grown my solo practice. It’s also gained a great deal of attention outside the law due to the advent of a consumer culture valuing meaning, positive experience and emotional connection.

I’m publishing the first post in this series next week. It’s an interview with Smart Design founder Dan Formosa (full disclosure: Smart design is my client). With products like OXO Good Grips kitchen tools and Ford’s new SmartGauge instrument panel to its credit, Smart Design has pioneered the art and science of understanding and designing for the consumer experience.

If you want to preview Dan’s insights and work, he’ll be today’s guest on Debbie Millman’s VoiceAmerica radio show, Design Matters. You can listen to the live stream at 3PM EST. For time shifters, it will also be available at iTunes.

I look forward to presenting the legal sanity mentor to you and, as always, welcome your feedback and suggestions about it.

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Here are two facts:

• There’s a client service deficit in the law.
• Lawyers tend to regard emotions – their own and other people’s – as irrelevant to their work.

At first glance, these two facts seem unrelated. But they’re actually closely (even intimately) connected.

Some time back, I posted on the interplay of emotions and client service in this new era of customer control. I linked to a ClickZ article citing a (then) new book by Dan Hill called Emotionomics: Winning Hearts and Minds. Launching from the premise that humans are primarily emotional decision-makers, the book discusses how emotions factor into our business opportunities in the marketplace and workplace.

Picking up on this point from a slightly different angle, in a recent post, designer and marketing mentor Peleg Top says, Go ahead, get emotional. Top notes that, in marketing (and, I’d add, in providing) our services, “an effective way to generate action is to tell a compelling story, one that hits your customer’s emotions.” Suggesting that most service providers miss this mark, he observes:

If you look at the majority of service companies [ ], the common story is all about who they are and what they do best.  If I’m the customer, why would I believe them? What would compel me to trust that they really know what MY problem is? What my needs are? No feelings are generated and I will pass over them without a second thought.

In this new economy, feelings are a main form of currency. It may require a leap into the unknown for many lawyers, but to build strong and lasting business relationships, we need to give our clients the emotional connection they’re craving.

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Over the years, I’ve written several posts comparing the client service lawyers typically offer with the patient care doctors usually provide.

One of the first discussed the humanism in medicine movement and a related medical school curriculum that encourages a more holistic approach to treatment – body, mind and spirit.

It doesn’t take much experience in the law (maybe just a few months in law school) to realize that the legal profession doesn’t place a premium on “treating” the person behind the matters we take on. To the contrary. We’re encouraged as students and practitioners to reduce human issues to a dry set of rights, rules and responsibilities. It’s all about applying the law to the facts.

Plenty of us eschew this model of client care. We see and value the human-to-human connections we make with our clients. This kind of connection is the subject of a recent New York Times article that asks, How Connected Are You To Your Doctor? In it, Dr. Steven J. Atlas, co-director of primary care quality improvement at Massachusetts General Hospital, notes:

By focusing on new treatments, new technology and instant access, we have undermined the patient’s ability to have a longstanding relationship with a doctor, to have a doctor who knows him or her as a human being. If all your primary care doctor does is order tests and make referrals to specialists, he or she will miss the fact that you are stressed out because you lost your job or your health insurance.

I think a candid, comprehensive study of the quality of client care in the law would yield similar observations. The question remains whether the profession is ready, willing and able to respond with widespread reforms starting in law school and continuing in law firms and other practice settings.

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If my recent posts on personal branding and remarkability in business left you hungry for more, baffled, or somewhere in between, here’s a follow-up that makes the same points in a different way.

In this interview, Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh shares this gem when asked what the company would look like stripped of its social Web presence: “I don’t think it would look that different. We’re not really focused on social media tools specifically. We’re focused on forming more personal emotional connections with our employees, our customers, and our vendors.”

Especially in this business climate, it’s well worth pondering what would happen if lawyers and law firms built their brands around the core principle of making personal emotional connections with clients, employees and colleagues. Maybe something like this.

If you’re still wondering how your clients will feel and react if you center your business relationship around them, check out this clip of a Southwest flight attendant addressing passengers (hat tip @chrisbrogan).

As Spike Jones of (one of my favorite blogs), Brains on Fire, observes: “[R]elationships are NOT a commodity. And never will be.”

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