June 20, 2006
The Generation Gap between Law Firm and Client
Oops—law firm managing partners have been so focused on the firm’s own generation gap issues that they forgot about their clients. The differences in value and outlook across the generations can jeopardize long-standing law firm client relationships. The problem is particularly acute in law firm environments where attorneys consider business clients to be their property rather than the property of the firm.
We can spend a lot of time trying to coach boomers to relate and communicate effectively with Generation Xers. However, when an important client moves a Generation Xer into the control position, a better bit of advice is for the law firm to reassign the relationship attorney from an existing boomer partner to a Generation X legal professional.
Frankly, I consider much of the generation gap discussion regarding the law firm’s professional team misguided. However, I absolutely agree that Generation Xers place their own value as a legal professional above the notion of loyalty to an individual firm. That is why dissatisfaction with their “professional development” is the No. 1 reason Generation Xers jump ship. Likewise, for Generation Xers, it is all about results and accountability. A Generation X client is unlikely to consider a long-standing relationship as a reason to remain with a law firm. In fact, the very fact that it is a long-standing relationship is likely to create a bias on the side of change. That is all the more reason for the law firm to initiate change first by matching the Generation X client with one of the firm’s more fast-paced and flexible next generation professionals.
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