General counsel say they’ve grown exasperated by law firms’ continued lack of transparency, especially related to billing.

Mary K Young observes that some law firms might need to put systems in place to better track clients’ outside counsel guidelines, which she noted are inherently tricky because there’s no uniformity from one to the next. But she suspects that some of the complaints from general counsel stem from communication breakdowns inside their own companies.

Corporate clients increasingly are demanding diverse attorney teams and legal advice on their own diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) efforts. Mary K. Young observes that chief marketers are increasingly tasked with ensuring companies get a diverse team of attorneys, that their diverse lawyers are being promoted in the media and retained in-house, that law firms’ internal DE&I efforts are being promoted to attract new clients, and that companies are getting the proper legal advice surrounding their own DE&I efforts.

Greentarget and Zeughauser Group’s latest State of Digital & Content Marketing Survey — our first in three years — revealed that clients of professional services firms see diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) as a key business priority.

Mary K Young, along with John Corey and Betsy Coag, will discuss a recent survey of consumption behaviors, attitudes, and preferences of in-house counsel and executive decision makers. This research pairs client consumption behaviors with practical guidance for law firms and professional service providers on how to break through to these difficult-to-reach audiences. The session will provide an opportunity to learn about the content formats, platforms, and channels that clients frequent and value most, to understand the top reasons content “misses” for clients, and to decode what clients are really looking for in terms of DEI-focused content.

12:00 p.m. CT, November 15, 2022

For additional details and registration information, visit 2022 Survey

Beard spent 38 years at Gibson Dunn, serving as chair from 1991 to 2001 and managing partner from 1991 to 1997. He anticipated the current hyper-competitive law firm marketplace and he helped set Gibson Dunn on its trajectory to become one of the largest firms in the world. A corporate lawyer, he was known for his diversified practice and his global outlook. Upon stepping down from Gibson Dunn, he worked at Zeughauser Group as a consultant. Peter Zeughauser describes him as the inspiration for the practice, noting that Beard was his first client. "He was a pioneer of client-facing activity and one of the first chairs to go out and do client service interviews."

Law firm managing partners should take note: the Big Four are still a big threat. While the Big Four accounting firms seem perpetually mired in allegations of botched, biased or influenced audits, such accusations will do little to stop these firms from offering legal services and taking an increasingly larger slice of the pie from law firms. Law firm managing partners should take note. Mary K Young notes that because the Big Four and other accounting firms have strong, long-term relationships with many of the same clients that law firms are hoping to serve, the Big Four has opportunities to provide legal services simply by virtue of the fact they already have the relationships. She explains that law firms, in a bid to expand their service offerings, aim to deepen their relationships with the client by adding value. But the areas in which law firms are trying to add value often rub up against areas in which accounting and consulting firms excel.