How law firms can use data to differentiate their pitch
A few years ago, our founder Jason Ku, used data to select a law firm to work with (for those of you who know him this will come as no surprise). We thought there were some interesting parallels with what GCs are looking for when picking firms to work with, so we've broken down his approach and highlighted the key learnings for law firms.
Why does this apply to law firms?
Clients are becoming more analytical when it comes to selecting firms to work with. Therefore, there's a great opportunity for law firms to
take a data-driven approach to highlighting their offering.
As more and more clients look to access data when making their decisions, if your firm isn't providing it then your rival firms might be instead. Using tools like Pirical Legal Professionals (PLP), you can analyze how your firm's offering differs from the competition and strategically emphasize your key strengths.
How Jason used data to pick a law firm
For context, Jason was looking for an immigration lawyer and reached out to several firms. He received nearly identical proposals from 3, all offering the same kind of generic service and quoting a similar price (within 5% of each other).
After price negotiations he ended up with 3 different options
Firm 1
Agreed to a 10% discount
Firm 2
Agreed to a 15% discount
Firm 3
Agreed to a 30% discount
But why would 3 firms with similar offerings accept different fees? And more importantly, which one should he pick to work with?
Using
Pirical Legal Professionals (PLP), our legal market research tool which collects public data of almost 600,000 lawyers globally, Jason started to dig into the market and the 3 law firms he was considering working with.
He looked into the organization structures of each firm
Each one had a very different structure, which meant he was able to make some expectations around each firm's offering and make his final decision
Firm 1
Top-heavy
Premium priced service driven by expertise for difficult matters
Firm 2
Well-balanced
Flexible full-service for different needs
Firm 3
Light on Partners
Lower-cost offering for common immigration issues
Differentiating their services relative to the competition would have influenced Jason to make a different choice
Had any of the firms highlighted their specific strengths at the beginning of the process, Jason's choice could have been much simpler.
Firm 1
Top-heavy
"We have deep expertise in complex issues that our competitors can’t match. You will get personal service directly from our Partners who will work closely with you."
Firm 2
Well-balanced
"We are well-balanced to ensure we can optimally meet your different needs. As your business grows, you will have different needs, which we can handle."
Firm 3
Light on Partners
"We offer a cost-effective solution to your legal requirements, while maintaining a high level of service."
Using Pirical Legal Professionals (PLP) to differentiate your offering
Benchmark your firm's strength against competitors
Understand the opposite team’s size, seniority split, legal rankings, tenure, previous clients, and their firm’s strength in associated practice areas.
Examples from PLP users:
- Identified that the opposing team had a high proportion of Junior Partners (6-9 years experience) compared to their more senior & experienced Partnership team
- Discovered that the rival team had more Partners who were listed in both New York City and London, but these same Partners seemed to be primarily based in London. When pitching for New York work, the rival firm was inflating their bench size numbers
Showcase the dimensions where your firm shines
Identify which KPIs make your firm stand out: financials, headcount growth, diversity representation, attrition rates, national or global presence, etc.
Examples from PLP users:
- Identified that their firm's IP practice had 3 more Partners than their competitor's
- Discovered that the other firm didn't have a strong Antitrust practice while pitching for M&A work
- Emphasized their firm's strong retention rate and stressed the continuity of service the client would receive
- Highlighted the diversity of the team pitching for work relative to the market
Research the Partners you're up against
Leverage a network of 10 million+ legal connections to identify who at your firm can share intel on teams pitching for the same work or RFP.
Data collected using Pirical Legal Professionals (PLP)
Global attorney database built with the most comprehensive sources of data on the market. Designed for law firm lateral hiring teams, legal headhunters, BD & Marketing professionals and strategy planners, our data tracks over 580,000 profiles across 130+ countries. PLP enables firms to source talent quicker, leverage their own network for referral opportunities, map out competitors’ org structures and research new markets.
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