Client Satisfaction Report 2012: What the clients say - Legal Week

LegaL Week inteLLigence speciaL: best LegaL adviser 

client satisfaction report 2012: 

What theclients say 

As lawfirms continuetostruggle with a 

slowingeconomy,and with moreclients 

lookingkeenlyatwhatthey aredoing 

to controltheir cost base,itisreassuring 

that overall satisfaction rates forlegal 

services have climbed duringthe past 12 

months. 

In future, oneofthe major 

battlefields will be cost/billing, 

now that thequality of legal 

advice is perceivedtobeless 

of adifferentiator. Several 

firms, includingsome in the 

magiccircle, appear to be 

underperforminginthisarea. 

Theircalculation may 

be that clients will stick 

with them anddecide 

to prioritise expertise 

over paymentflexibility. 

Internationalfirms – 

whether UK or US-based –are 

still seenasproviders of topqualitylegal 

advice.But their 

marginovernationaland City 

firmsinthis categoryiswafer 

thin –only0.1. 

If theinternational firmslose 

that marginoverthe next yearit 

will be hard to justifyhigherfeesto 

clients. National firmsare alreadyseen 

as thebetterproviders of commercial 

advice.Itlooks like 2013 is goingtobe 

an interestingyear in themarketplace. 

Lawfirms have improvedtheir client 

serviceoverallinthe past year, with 

particularly strong gainsshown in 

useofIT(up 0.8), personal/partner 

relationships(up 0.5),cost/billing 

practices(0.3) andthe qualityof 

commercial advice (0.3). 

AverAgeyeAr-on-yeArsAtisfActionlevels: By survey section 

Year 

Quality 

of legal 

advice 

8 LegalWeek 7December 2012 

Quality of 

commercial 

advice 

Cost/ 

billing 

practices 

Service 

delivery/ 

responsiveness 

Personal/ 

partner 

relationships 

Use of IT/ 

knowledge 

management 

2012 8.5 8.0 7.2 8.1 8.1 6.9 

2011 8.3 7.7 6.9 7.9 7.6 6.1 

2010 8.2 7.5 6.5 7.9 7.8 5.9 

On average, 

thegain is 0.4. 

Allsix areaswe 

measurehaveseen 

increasesinthe 

past 12 months. The 

smallest gainswereof0.2,inquality 

of legaladviceand servicedelivery/ 

responsiveness.Importanceratings for 

thesameset of criteria have,overall, 

remained thesame. Butslightfalls 

were registered in thequality of legal 

www.legalweek.com 

008-021_LW_0712_CSR.indd 8 12/5/12 2:03 PM

advice,cost/billing andservice delivery/ 

responsiveness. Clientsare closer to 

having their importanceratings matched 

by theservice they get now than they 

did in 2011.This year, theimportance 

ratingisonaverage only 0.4higher, 

whilein2011itwas 0.8higher. 

Behindthese overall figures lie 

individual results that show very 

differentoutcomes.Big change is 

very much possible,evenwithin the 

relativelyshort period of ayear.For 

instance, since2011, Bird &Bird, 

Freshfields BruckhausDeringer 

andSJBerwinhavestormed up 

theinternational rankings, each 

gainingmorethan10places. 

Weil again excelled in theUS 

internationalgroup andin2012 

hasmanagedtokeepbothclients 

andemployees happy. Travers 

Smith is at thetop of theCity 

group forthe fourth yearrunning. 

More peopleare getting involved 

in deciding whichlegal advisers 

to use. Ourresearch showsthese 

decision-makershaveverydifferent 

Key finDings 

lWistAtistics 

Respondent companies: 1,204 

Lawfirms benchmarked: 86 

FTSE 100: 89% 

Fieldwork: 21 Sep2012to8Nov 2012 

PreferreDcHArging MetHoD 

Fees based on chargeable hours 11% 

Hourly rates but capped 25% 

Fixed fee for the job 50% 

Fixed fee with success uplift 10% 

Other 5% 

profiles. Forexample,chairmenshow 

substantiallyhigher satisfaction levels 

with their lawyers(8.2) than their 

financedirectors(7.5). 

DesCahill, director of research, 

LegalWeekIntelligence 

• All six areas of client satisfaction we measurehave seen growth this year. 

• The two areas of lowest progress (0.2 each) are found in the quality 

of legal advice and service delivery/responsiveness. 

• On average, satisfaction ratings have risen by 0.4 to 7.8. 

• Satisfaction on cost/billings practice is up 0.3 to 7.2 in the past 

12months. 

• The biggest increase (0.8) is shown on satisfaction for use of IT/ 

knowledge management. 

• Clients are notably more satisfied (up 0.5) with their personal and 

partner relationships this year. 

• Chairmen are far more satisfied than fi nance directors and group 

legal advisers on cost/billing issues. 

• Average legal spend has shrunk by 32% during the year among 

respondents. For the FTSE 100, spend has fallen by less (22%). 

• Finance directors are nearly three times as keen on chargeable hours 

(27%) as the average (11%). 

• National fi rms and the top 100 are getting the top average marks 

(7.9 each). UK international and US international fi rms (averaging 

7.8 each) come next, followed by City fi rms (7.7). 

• National fi rms come top (8.18) on the increasingly important area of 

commercial advice. 

• National and top 100 practices lead on cost/billing (7.9). 

MetHoDology 

This is theninth year that LegalWeekIntelligencehas 

produced this report.Atotal of 1,204companies responded 

to theclientsatisfactionsurveybetween 21 Septemberand 

8November 2012.All respondentswereseniorheads of 

legalatmajor companiesinvolvedinmakingdecisions about 

thehiringoflaw firmstoprovide external legaladvice. 

Thesurveygathers theirperceptionsofhow effective 

theirfourmain external legaladvisershavebeenoverthe 

previous 12 months.Welookedatsix main criteria – 

qualityoflegal advice;quality of commercial advice; 

servicedelivery; partnerrelationship;costand billing 

transparency;and useoftechnology–bothinterms of 

howimportant thosecriteriawereand howsatisfied 

respondentswerewiththem. This year we looked at 

satisfaction levelsregarding alternativebilling options 

separately. Respondentswereasked to give each criterion 

amarkout of 10 forbothlevel achieved andthe 

importancetheyattachtoit. 

Theresponses arebrokendownintoUKinternational, 

US international, City,nationaland top100 lawfirms. 

We have also broken them down by practice area and 

specialisation. 

Thequestionnairewas distributedbyemail directly to 

headsoflegal at UK,European andAsian companies 

formingpartofthe LegalWeek in-house audience.Itwas 

also sent outtolistedcompanies, largeprivateequityand 

family-ownedbusinessesinthe UK andthroughout the 

world. Thesurveywas promoted on legalweek.comand 

extensivetelephone research fieldworkwas also carriedout 

in thelastthree weeksofthe research window. 

Thetop four or five highest scoring lawfirms in each 

of thecategories of UK international, City,national, 

US internationaland top100 are 

entitled to theaccreditation of Best 

LegalAdviser fora12-monthperiod, 

providing they have engagedfully 

with theresearch process. 

Thesurveywas carriedout in strict 

adherence to Market Research Society 

guidelines by Incisive Research. 

www.legalweek.com LegalWeek 7December 2012 9 

008-021_LW_0712_CSR.indd 9 12/5/12 2:03 PM

LegaL Week inteLLigence speciaL: best LegaL adviser 

Ashurst is 5th equal in the international 

league tables. Its top scores come in 

the quality of legal advice (8.5) and 

personal/partner relations (8.4). 

cost/billing practice 

The firm beats both the international 

average (by 0.3) and the all-firm 

average (by 0.1) with its score of 7.3. 

lWistAtistics: AsHurst 

LWIscore: 7.92 

Ranking –overall: 

Ranking –UKinternational: 

Bestscore: 

BD director/CMO: 

41st 

5th= 

Qualityof 

legaladvice(8.5) 

chris sutcliffe 

service 

Its top mark here is its 8.4 on personal/ 

partner relations. This score has 

improved by 0.1 over the year and 

leaves Ashurst clearly ahead of both 

the all-firm and international averages 

(of 8.1). 

Advice 

The practice equals the all-firm and 

international averages with its 8.5 

on quality of legal advice and 8.0 on 

commercial advice. 

What mostimpressed youabout 

thefirm? 

● ‘Responsiveness/good commercial 

advice’ 

● ‘All round good... they think of 

everything’ 

● ‘They act as a member of our team’ 

● ‘Relationship partner’ 

● ‘Quality of advice’ 

lWiscore yeAr-on-yeAr 

2011: 8.12 

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2012: 7.92 

❶❷❸❹❺❻❼❽ 

What one change in service/ 

behaviourwould youmostliketo 

see? 

● ‘Provide more market intelligence’ 

● ‘Responsiveness around bills’ 

● ‘More proactive in helping 

in-housecounsel in managing timing 

and transparency on fees’ 

● ‘Reduction in fees’ 

● ‘Better value for money’ 

‘Theythink of everything’ 

Bird&Bird hassoaredupthe tables, 

from 16th place in 2011 to 2ndin2012. 

It also takestop placeintwo of thesix 

categorieswemeasure. 


Thefirmgetsthe topscore under 

this heading (7.96) among allthe 

lWistAtistics: BirD&BirD 




Bestscore: 



14th 

2nd 

Qualityof 


louise field 

internationalfirms –ithas improved by 

1.0duringthe year. 

service 

Bird &Birdistop amongthe 19 

internationalfirms listedherefor useof 

IT/knowledgemanagementwithits mark 

of 7.91.Ithas improvedbyasubstantial 

1.7overinthis 

categoryoverthe 

past 12 months. 

Advice 

On thequality 

of itslegal 

advice,Bird 

&Birdbeats 

theall-firm 

andinternational 

averagesby0.2 with its 

mark of 8.7. It equals 

the8.0 averages here 

on commercial advice. 


2011: 7.68 

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‘Verygood valueand qualityofwork. 

Neveraproblem with fees’ 



● ’The quality of commercial and legal 

advice’ 

● ’Understanding of the sector we 

are in’ 

● ’Deepknowledge about thesubject 

matter;veryresponsive; creativeadvice’ 

● ’Constant partner involvement; very 

good value and quality of work. Never 

a problem with fees’ 

● ’Specialist in IP arena’ 



see? 

● ’Billing’ 

● ’More proactiveinhelpingin-house 

counsel manage timing andtransparency 

on fees’ 

● ’Proactiveupdates on changes in the 

law’ 

● ’Price’ 


008-021_LW_0712_CSR.indd 10 12/5/12 2:03 PM

Berwin Leighton Paisner comes 4th 

out of the 16 City firms in this year’s 

ranking. It has improved in five out of 

six categories in the past year. 


The firm, benefitting from a 0.2 rise 

over the year, beats the City average 

(by 0.3) and the all-firm average by a 

fraction. 

service 

Thefirmincreased 

itsscore in service 

delivery by 0.2over 

thepast12months. 

Thebiggestincrease 

is the1.2 on use 

of IT/knowledge 

management, whichputs 

thefirm0.8 aboveboththe 

both the 

all-firm andCityaverages. 

averages. 

Advice 

BLP has increased its commercial 

advice score by 0.2, taking it to a 

score of 8.2. In comparison, the City 

and all-firm averages are both on 8.0. 



● ’Sector-specific experience’ 

● ’Proactivity, quality of response’ 


2011: 7.72 

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‘Theyare an all-round 

solidfirm’ 

● ’Their 24/7 availability’ 

● ’Relationship with partner and 

responsiveness’ 

● ’They are an all-round solid firm’ 



see? 

● ’Fees are too high’ 

● ’Closer partner engagement’ 

● ’Lower fees’ 

● ’Fixed fees for jobs’ 

lWistAtistics: 

BerWin leigHton PAisner 



Ranking –City: 

Best score: 

21st 

4th 

Personal/partner 

relationship (8.60) 

Bond Pearce has maintained its 

4th-place position in the top 100 from 

last year and has improved on its 

overall score. 


The practice gets a strong result here 

– a 7.8 score which pushes it ahead 

of the three key benchmarks, the 

importance rating and the all-firm and 

top 100 averages. It increased its mark 

by 0.1 in the year. 

service 

The firm comes top among the top 

100 in the use of IT/knowledge 

management category. Bond Pearce 

has improved its ratings in 

both service delivery/ 

responsiveness (by 

0.3) and use of 

IT/ knowledge 

management (by 

0.8). 

Advice 

Bond Pearce comes equal 

3rd among the top 

100 on the quality 

of its legal advice. 

Appreciation for its 

skills here has led to a 0.7 increase in 

its mark since 2011. 



● ’Commercial approach and 

understandingofour business’ 

● ’They understand our business and 

are local’ 

● ’Responsiveness and willingness 

to work hard at understanding the 

business’ 

● ’Speed of response and proactive 

nature... they are very reliable’ 

● ’Local firm... convenient and the 

rates are better... not London rates...’ 


2011: 7.96 

❶❷❸❹❺❻❼❽ 

lWistAtistics: BonD PeArce 



Ranking –top 100: 

Bestscore: 


18th 

4th 

Qualityof 


‘Theyunderstandour 

business andtheyare local’ 

emma Price 

(pictured) 


behaviourwouldyou mostlike 

to see? 

● ’More proactive on new laws/ 

regulations and their 

effect on our 

business’ 

● ’More 

proactive’ 


Ash 

coleman-smith 


❶❷❸❹❺❻❼❽ 


008-021_LW_0712_CSR.indd 11 12/5/12 2:03 PM

LEGAL WEEK INTELLIGENCE SPECIAL: BEST LEGAL ADVISER 

DWF comes 3rd among the national 

firms, with a particularly strong 

performance on cost/billing and quality 

of legal advice. 

Cost/billing practice 

DWF is 2nd among national firms on 

cost/billing, with a score (8.4) that has 

increased 0.4 over the last 12 months 

to put the practice 1.1 ahead of the allfirm 

average. 

use of IT/knowledge management by 

1.2 since 2011. On service delivery/ 

responsiveness, DWF exceeds the allfirm 

average by 0.1. 

Advice 

The firm comes equal 2nd on quality of 

legal advice among the national firms. 

DWF is ahead of both the all-firm and 

national firm averages on both legal 

and commercial advice. 

LWISTATISTICS: DWF 


Ranking –overall: 22nd 

Ranking –national: 

3rd 

Best score: 

Qualityof 


● ’They advise very well, they are 

responsive and accurate’ 


behaviourwouldyou mostlike 

to see? 

● ’None – behaviour is very good’ 

● ’Inter-department dialogue could 

improve a bit’ 

● ’Quicker delivery’ 

Service 

The firm has pushed up its score on 

LWISCORE YEAR-ON-YEAR 

2011: 8.28 

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● ’Local, tactical, good commercial 

view’ 

● ’Knowledge; efficiency; cost’ 

● ’They understand our business: 

we don’t have to tell them things 

more than once’ 

● ’They are very practical. They are 

down to earth. They give very good 

commercial advice’ 

BD director/CMO: Clifton Harrison 

‘Theyunderstandour business:we 

don’thavetotellthemthingsmore 

than once’ 

FreshfieldsBruckhaus Deringer has 

stormedupthe tables. TheCitygiant takes 

3rdplace in 2012,along wayremoved 

from its15thplacing in 2011. 


The practice has hiked its score up 

here by 0.1, reaching the 6.8 mark 

which it shares with Allen & Overy and 

Baker & McKenzie. 

Service 

Score increases are demonstrated in 


2011: 7.82 

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❶❷❸❹❺❻❼❽ 

each of the three categories 

here, with the biggest (0.9) 

coming on use of IT/knowledge 

management. The firm exceeds the 

all-firm and international averages on 

service delivery/responsiveness by 0.5. 

Advice 

The firm comes 2nd out of the 

international firms on the quality 

of its legal advice (8.9) and 3rd on 

commercial advice (8.5). 



● ’Their work ethics’ 

● ’It’s a massive law firm with a lot of 

clever people there. They have experts 

in everything, not just one – lots of 

them’ 

● ’Knowledge and understanding of 

the industry sector’ 

‘Theyhaveexperts in everything,not 

just one–lotsofthem’ 

LWISTATISTICS: FRESHFIELDS 




Best score: 


● ’Depth of legal advice. 

“Internal” co-ordination 

fronted by lead partner(s)’ 

● ’We have been using them 

for many years and have built a 

special relationship with them. They 

understand our business needs which 

is very important’ 


behaviourwouldyou mostliketo 

see? 

● ’Sharper on the rates’ 

● ’I would prefer them to field smaller 

teams’ 

● ’More involvement of senior 

associates or partners to justify the 

fees charged’ 

● ’None, really – except maybe they 

can be less expensive and that would 

be great’ 

● ’Offer project fees’ 


32nd 

3rd 

Qualityof 


Elizabeth 

Chambers 

008-021_LW_0712_CSR.indd 13 12/5/12 2:08 PM


Gateley is top of the national firms and 

comes 6th among the 86 practices in 

the overall league table. Last year, it 

was the 3rd placed national firm. 


The practice has pushed up its score 

by 1.1 in this category in the last 12 

months. It is now 0.9 ahead of the allfirm 

average. 

Service 

The firm heads the national 


2011: 8.19 

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❶❷❸❹❺❻❼❽º 

league table on service delivery/ 

responsiveness and use of IT/ 

knowledge management. It is in 2nd 

place for personal/partner relations. 

Advice 

Gateley beats both the all-firm average 

and the national firm average with its 

scores of 8.7 on legal advice and 8.2 

on commercial advice. 



● ’Easy to talk to’ 

● ’Commercial view’ 

● ’Value for money’ 

LWISTATISTICS: GATELEY 




Best score: 

6th 

1st 

Personal/partner 

relationship (8.76) 

BD director/CMO: CatricePendleton 

(pictured) 

‘Easytotalkto’ 

● ’Very efficient’ 

● ’Clear commercial advice’ 



see? 

● ’More commerciality’ 

● ’Mid-level feeearner 

support’ 

● ’Cost’ 

HoganLovells comes 4thamong 

theinternational practicesand is 

2ndamong themfor itsuse of IT/ 

knowledgemanagement. 

LWISTATISTICS: 

HOGANLOVELLS 




Bestscore: 



38th 

4th 

Qualiy of 


Serena 

Simmons 


The practice exceeds the international 

and all-firm averages here with its 7.3 

mark. 

Service 

Hogan Lovells is ahead of both the 

international and all-firm averages in 

all three of these categories. Its top 

score is its 8.4 for personal/partner 

relations. It has improved by 0.4 on IT/ 

knowledge management since 2011. 

Advice 

The firm is ahead of the all-firm and 

international averages on the quality 

of its legal advice. 



● ’Their swiftness’ 

● ’Knowledge of our business’ 


2011: 8.38 

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‘Specialistknowledgeand 

qualityofthe team’ 

● ’Partner relationship... consistency 

of approach between offices and good 

Paris office' 

● ’The relationship I have with the 

contact partner’ 

● ’Specialist knowledge and quality of 

the team’ 


behaviourwouldyou 

mostliketosee? 

● ’Becomemoreflexible 

andproactiveinoffering 

billing solutions’ 

● ’Increase and 

maintain the middle to 

senior associates’ 

● ’Move tomore 

interesting fee 

structures’ 

● ’Spread our use into 

other areas’ 

008-021_LW_0712_CSR.indd 14 12/5/12 2:08 PM

Latham &Watkins comes 2nd among 

the US international firms and 3rd 

among the 86 firms in the full CSR 

listing after a huge improvement in 

client satisfaction scores. The practice 

has improved in each of the categories 

here, by an overall average of 1.8. 


Thefirmcomes equal2nd amongthe 

US internationalfirms for cost/billing. 

It exceedsall threemain benchmarks 

of all-firm andUSaverages andeven 

theimportanceratingwithits score 

of 8.1. 

Service 

Latham & Watkins is equal 3rd among 

US international firms on service 

delivery/responsiveness and 4th on 

personal/partner relationships. In the 

latter category, the firm has increased 

its score by 2.0 this year, the secondbiggest 

increase it registers. On service 

delivery, it improved by 2.2. 

Advice 

Latham & Watkins is 3rd in terms of 

the quality of legal advice among 


2011: 6.70 

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LWISTATISTICS: L&W 



Ranking –USinternational: 

Best score: 

3rd 

2nd 

Qualityof 


BD director/CMO: RebeccaMinihare 

the US international firms, with its 

score of 9.33. This mark represents 

a 1.5 increase on the firm’s 2011 

score. 

MishcondeReya comestop among the 

16 City firmsinthisyear’s survey and4th 

outof86inthe full listing. 


Thefirmeasilybeatsthe City andall-firm 

averageswithits 7.8markhere. It lies 2nd 

among theCitypracticeswiththisscore. 

Service 

Itstop top mark in this area is its 

8.9for personal/partner 

relationships, whichputs 

its0.8 and0.7 ahead, 

respectively, of theallfirm 

average andthe 

City average.The firm 

prides itself on having 

aprivateclientethos in 

itsrelationshipswith the 

business clientsfor whom it 

does mostofits of 

work.Itcomes 

6thunder this headingamong among the full 

listing of 86 firms. 

Advice 

The firm is top of the City listing on 

quality of legal advice and 5th on the 

full listing. 



● ’Personality’ 

● ’They appear to care aboutthe 

relationship andunderstand that a 

feereduction canwin them alot more 

business’ 

● ’Theirability to move quickly and 

efficiently’ 


MISHCON DE REYA 



2011: N/A 


❶❷❸❹❺❻❼❽º 

‘Creativitytosolve acomplex 

issueand speed of action’ 

● ’Pedigreeand reputation’ 

● ’Creativitytosolve acomplex issueand 

speed of action’ 



see? 

● ’Consistency’ 

● ’Be alittlemorecommercial' 

● ’Cost less’ 



4th 

1st 

Best score: 

Qualityof 



Elliot Moss 

(pictured) 

LegalWeek 7December 2012 15 

008-021_LW_0712_CSR.indd 15 12/5/12 2:08 PM


Norton Rose comes equal 5th on the 

international league table. Its top 

marks come for personal/partner 

relationships and the quality of legal 

advice. 


The practice is clearly ahead (0.3) of 

the international average here, and 

LWISTATISTICS: NORTON ROSE 




Bestscore: 

40th 

5th= 

Qualityof 


BD director/CMO:Caroline Rhys Jones 

slightly ahead (0.1) of the all-firm 

average with its mark of 7.3. 

Service 

Thefirmgetsan8.4 on personal/partner 

relationships, compared to the8.1 

registered as theall-firmand international 

averages in that category. Norton 

Rose haspushedupits IT/knowledge 

management scoreby0.4 since2011. 

Advice 

Norton Rose exceeds the all-firm and 

international averages (with its mark 

of 8.2) on commercial advice. Those 

averages are both registered at 8.0. 



● ’Partner attentionand valuefor 

money’ 

● ’Instant availability of globalnetwork 

with specific advice percountry’ 


2011: 8.10 

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‘Instant availability of 

global network with 

specific advice per 

country’ 

● ’The relationship we have with them 

and the quality of advice we have 

received from them’ 

● ’Commercial and pragmatic advice’ 

● ’Ability to understand client’s 

business and respond accordingly’ 


behaviourwould youmost like 

to see? 

● ’Post-deal work, especially bibles’ 

● ’The fees were high: it would be 

great to have them cut’ 

● ’More discipline in monthly billing’ 

● ’More capacity’ 

Reed Smith comes 3rd among the US 

international practices and 7th among 

the 86 firms in the full listing. 


Reed Smith’s 7.4 score puts the firm 

0.2 ahead of the all-firm average and 

0.4 ahead of the US firm average. 

Service 

Thefirmis3rd on useofIT/knowledge 

management among theUSinternational 

practices. It pushed up itsmarkhereby 

0.4inthe year. It beatsthe importance 


2011: 8.41 

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❶❷❸❹❺❻❼❽º 

ratingby1.7 with this result, andthe 

all-firm averageby0.7.The 2012 mark 

forReed Smith on personal/partner 

relationshipsis0.5 higher than itsresult 

ayear ago.Its present8.9 scores puts 

it 0.8ahead of eachofthe threemain 

benchmarks (importanceratingand allfirm 

andUSinternational averages). 

Advice 

Reed Smith hasmade asignificant 

investment in helpingits lawyersand 

traineesunderstand the commercial 

contextoftheir advice,and this pays off 

in therecognition of clientswho ratethe 

firm topofthe US international 

lawfirms on commercial advice. 

What mostimpressed you 

aboutthe firm? 

● ’The fee retainer 

arrangement with our 

company’ 

LWISTATISTICS: REED SMITH 



7th 

Ranking –USinternational: 3rd 

Best score: 

Qualityof 

commercial advice (9.12) 

BD director/CMO: Mary-Anne 

Anderson (pictured) 

‘Excellent client service’ 

● ’Responsiveness’ 

● ’Excellent client service’ 



see? 

● ’Fees reduction’ 

● ’Reduction in 

response time’ 



008-021_LW_0712_CSR.indd 16 12/5/12 2:08 PM

RPC comes equal 5th in this year’s City 

firm tables. 


Having increased its mark here (by 

0.2), the firm is 0.3 ahead of both 

the City average (with a score of 7.3) 

and fractionally ahead of the all-firm 

average. 

Service 

Marks have gone up 

for RPC in both service 

delivery/responsiveness 

(by 0.3) and use of IT/ 

knowledge management 

(by 0.5). On all three 

categories in this section, it 

beats the City and all-firm 

averages. 

Advice 

The firm is 0.3 ahead of the City and 

all-firm averages on the quality of 

its commercial advice. Its 8.5 mark 

for legal advice is the joint-highest 

mark it gets (along with service 

delivery/responsiveness) out of the six 

categories we measure. 



● ’Speed of turnaround, and quality 

of advice given’ 

● ’Depthofunderstandingofour 

business across arange of disciplines. 

They go outoftheir waytoservice our 

oftendemanding requirements, andthey 

areeasytowork with’ 

● ’Their responsiveness... very quick’ 

● ’Top-notch construction firm 

who have worked with us on many 

developments over the past five 

years. The value of the RPC label 

on construction documents has 

assisted us in obtaining financing 

notwithstanding the recession’ 

● ’They have averyknowledgable team 

capableofdealing with complexwork’ 


behaviourwould youmostlike 

to see? 

● ’Presentation of advice’ 

● ’Even greater depth in the four to 

eight post-qualification experience 



2011: 8.15 

❶❷❸❹❺❻❼❽ 


❶❷❸❹❺❻❼❽ 

‘Theygoout of theirway to 

serviceour oftendemanding 

requirements’ 

LWISTATISTICS: RPC 




Best score: 


28th 

5th= 

Service 

delivery (8.54) 

Clint Evans 

(pictured) 

levels. Great partners and great junior 

associates, and could enhance that 

middle level’ 

● ’Very good service, just slightly more 

expensive then their counterparts’ 

● ’Lower 

costs’ 

Shepherd andWedderburn has had 

a significant year, marked by moving 

13 places up the top 100 rankings, to 

appear in 2nd position for 2012. 


An increase of 0.9 in the firm’s score 

here (to take it to 8.3) leaves it well 

clear of the all-firm and top 100 

averages and the importance rating. 

Service 

The firm is the top scorer among 

the top 100 on service delivery/ 

responsiveness (9.25). 

All three scores have 

improved markedly 

in this category since 

2011. Service delivery 

went up by 2.1, while IT/ 

knowledge management 

went up 1.4 and personal/ 

partner relationships by 

0.6. 

Advice 

Shepherd and Wedderburn appears 3rd 

equal on quality of commercial advice 

among the top 100. 



● ’Knowledge; professionalism’ 

● ’Good knowledge of our business... 

good relationship with our directors... 

can anticipate our problems’ 

● ’Very responsive; legal advice 

consistently first class; fees are 

reasonable’ 


SHEPHERD AND WEDDERBURN 




Bestscore: 

Chiefexecutive: 

10th 

2nd 

Service 


Stephen Gibb 

(pictured) 


2011: 7.03 

❶❷❸❹❺❻❼ 


❶❷❸❹❺❻❼❽º 

‘Legal advice consistently 

firstclass’ 



see? 

● ’More innovative 

ideas on billing’ 

008-021_LW_0712_CSR.indd 17 12/5/12 2:08 PM


Slaughter andMay is 1st among the 

19 international firms in this year’s 

ranking and 5th among the 86 firms 

in the overall survey. Slaughters is the 

only international firm to get any marks 

at or above the 9.0 level – it breaches 

that threshold three times. 


The practice scores 7.3 here, 0.3 above 

the international average and 0.1 

above the all-firm average. 

Service 

Slaughters comes an easy 1st 

on service delivery/ 

responsiveness. 

With its score 

of 9.19, it 

is the only 

international 

firm to clear 9.0 

in this category. 

The 2nd-placed firm is 

0.59 behind. 

Advice 

The firm tops both these tables with 

a 9.46 on quality of legal advice (0.52 

ahead of the next firm) and a 9.0 on 



SLAUGHTER&MAY 




Best score: 


‘Ability to provideprecision 

advice anddeliver’ 

5th 

1st 

Qualityof 


Alison Hahn 

commercial advice (0.5 ahead of 

the 2nd runner). 



● ’They offer high-quality advice’ 

● ’They are good in terms of 

responsiveness’ 

● ’In-depth quality of their lawyers’ 

● ’Ability to provide precision advice 

and deliver’ 

● ’Very good relationship and client 

knowledge, quality of legal advice’ 



see? 

● ’Thecost–they areveryexpensive’ 

● ’Makethe litigators easiertodeal 

with’ 


2011: 7.92 

❶❷❸❹❺❻❼❽ 


❶❷❸❹❺❻❼❽º 

Stephenson Harwood hassoaredup 

theCityfirmrankings, goingfrom14th 

place last yeartoequal 5thin2012. It has 

improvedineachofthe sixcategories, 

with aminimumimprovement of 0.7. 


The firm exceeds the all-firm average 

(by 0.3) and the City average (by 0.5), 

having improved its result here by 0.7. 

Service 

Thepersonal/partner relationship mark 

hasgoneupby1.6 since2011, putting 

thefirmwellahead of theCityand 

all-firm averages. A1.5 rise in service 

delivery/responsiveness also leaves 

thefirmwellclearofthe pack. 

Advice 

Risesof0.9 in eachcategoryhere 

putStephensonHarwood aheadof 

City andall-firmaverages. 



● ’They get the job done’ 

● ’Accessibility and professionability’ 

● ’Impressive, knowledgeable, 

responsive partner at VERY good rates 

– best value for money in town’ 


2011: 7.00 

❶❷❸❹❺❻❼ 


❶❷❸❹❺❻❼❽ 


STEPHENSON HARWOOD 




Bestscore: 

28th 

5th 

Qualityof 

legaladvice8.67 

BD director/CMO: PhilipRubenstein 

‘Theygivemethe feeling 

that they arethinking 

together with me’ 

● ’Shipping finance expertise’ 

● ’The big difference for me is that 

they give me the feeling that they are 

thinking together with me’ 



see? 

● ’Cheaper fees’ 

● ’Better understanding of our 

industry’ 

● ’More seminars’ 

● ’More developed skills on 

complicated debt transactions’ 


008-021_LW_0712_CSR.indd 18 12/5/12 2:08 PM

Squire Sanders tops the rankings, 

coming first in the 2012 research for 

US international firms and overall. It 

takes its 1st place slot among the US 

international firms with a margin of 

0.16, a relatively wide winning margin 

at the highly competitive top end of 

the table. 


SQUIRE SANDERSHAMMONDS 




Bestscore: 


1st 

1st 

Service 


RobHolmes 


The firm shares 2nd position among 

the US international firms for cost/ 

billing. Its 8.1 mark puts it clearly 

ahead of the importance rating as well 

as the all-firm and US international 

averages. 

Service 

Squire Sanders leads the US 

international firms on service delivery/ 

responsiveness and on personal/ 

partner relationships. 

Advice 

The firm averages 9.0 on 

the quality of its advice. 

Squire Sanders improved the 

quality of its legal advice by 

0.5 this year and the quality of its 

commercial advice by 0.4. It beats the 

all-firm and US international averages 

in each category. 


2011: 8.31 

❶❷❸❹❺❻❼❽º 


❶❷❸❹❺❻❼❽º 

‘Hit deadlinesontimeand budget... true 

internationalreach... global presence’ 



● ’Hit deadlines on time and budget... 

true international reach... global 

presence’ 

● ’Constructive approach to service 

and cost’ 



see? 

● ’Poor cross-marketing... need 

to tell us what else they 

could do for us’ 

● ’More fixed, 

capped fee 

arrangements’ 

TLT Solicitors has risen from 6th to 

1st place among the top 100 over the 

past 12 months. Its overall score has 

jumped from 7.80 to 8.49, as it has 

also pushed itself into 2nd place in the 

ranking of all 86 firms included in the 

2012 survey. It has improved its marks 

in all six categories. 


The TLT cost/billing mark has gone up 

by 1.1 since 2011, taking it well clear of 

the importance rating and the all-firm 

and national firm indices. 


2011: 7.78 

❶❷❸❹❺❻❼❽ 


❶❷❸❹❺❻❼❽º 

Service 

TLT is one of only 

two top 100 firms 

that breach the 9.00 

hurdle for service delivery/ 

responsiveness. Its 

average improvement 

in the three categories 

included here is 0.8. 

Advice 

With significant improvements in both 

these categories, the firm now equals 

the importance rating for commercial 

advice and beats the all-firm and top 

100 averages in both. 



● ’Responsive’ 

● ’Solutions’ 

● ’Ability to work effectively under 

pressure’ 

‘Ability to work effectively 

underpressure’ 



to 

see? 

● ’Less aggressive billing’ 

● ’More flexibility in hourly rates’ 

LWISTATISTICS: TLT 




Bestscore: 



2nd 

1st 

Servicedelivery(9.01) 

LeighLyons 

008-021_LW_0712_CSR.indd 19 12/5/12 2:08 PM


TraversSmith has pushed its way up 

at the hard-fought top end of the City 

listings table – from 4th to 2nd place – 

and has increased its overall mark from 

8.0 to 8.24. Travers has been in the top 

five for the past four years. 


The firm has the most attractive 

offering here among City firms, 

demonstrated by a 7.92 score. This is 

an improvement of 0.6 over the year. 

Service 

Thefirmcomes 2ndamong City firms 

on servicedelivery/responsiveness (with 

its8.58mark).Onuse of IT/knowledge 

management,the firm hasimproved1.0 

over thepast12months. 

Advice 

Thefirm’s9.0 mark on legal advice makes 

it oneofonlythreeCityfirms to breach 

the9.0 threshold.Its 8.42 puts it topof 

theCityfirms on commercial advice. 

‘Responsiveness; 

legallyastute 

butpragmatic 

advice,personable 

lawyers’ 


2011: 7.99 

❶❷❸❹❺❻❼❽ 


❶❷❸❹❺❻❼❽ 

LWISTATISTICS: TRAVERSSMITH 




Best score: 

13th 

2nd 

Qualityof 


BD director/CMO: CharlesThornhill 



● ’They are just very accommodating, 

they areveryquicktorespond to 

ourissuesand they understand our 

business’ 

● ’Overall quality of service’ 

● ’Responsiveness; legally astute but 

pragmatic advice; personable lawyers’ 

● ’We have a good relationship with 

them/responsiveness’ 

● ’Clear advice’ 


behaviourwould youmostlike 

to see? 

● ’Cheaper’ 

● ’Give American law advice’ 

● ’Faster response times’ 

Coming 8th among the 86 firms in 

the 2012 CSR research, Weil is ranked 

4th among the 20 US international 

practices included in our listings. 


The firm’s 7.6 mark here puts it 0.6 

ahead of the US international average 

and 0.4 ahead of the all-firm average. 

Service 

An 8.6markonservice delivery/ 

responsiveness leavesWeilclearly 

aheadofboththe all-firm andUS 

internationalaverages though 

somewhatbehindthe importance 

rating. 

On useofIT/knowledge 

management,the the 

firm 

beatsthe the 

importance 

rating, equals the 

all-firm average 

andlagsslightly 

behind theUS 

international 

average.On 

personal/partner 

relationships, 

it 

succeeds 

in beatingall all threeof 

thesebenchmarks. 

Advice 

The firm comes top among the US 

international firms on the quality of 

legal advice. It comes 2nd (to Slaughter 

and May) on legal advice in the full 

CSR ranking of 86 practices. The firm 

is 2nd (to Reed Smith) among US 

international practices on commercial 

advice and 5th on the full listing. 



● ’Commercial’ 

● ’Fee transparency’ 

● ’Integration across the firm’ 

LWISTATISTICS: WEIL 




Bestscore: 


● ’Very proactive, very commercial, 

very deep expertise in our industry 

(private equity)’ 

8th 

4th 

Qualityof 


FionaHaigh 

(pictured) 

‘Veryproactive, very commercial, 

very deep expertiseinour industry’ 



see? 

● ’Proactive follow-through on 

transactions’ 

● ’Flexibility on fees’ 



2011: 8.60 

❶❷❸❹❺❻❼❽º 


❶❷❸❹❺❻❼❽º 


008-021_LW_0712_CSR.indd 20 12/5/12 2:08 PM

Like severalother leadingUS 

international practices, White&Case 

does outstandinglywellinCSR 2012.It 

takes9th place, outof86, in theoverall 

survey andisranked5th amongthe US 

international practices. 

LWISTATISTICS: WHITE&CASE 




Bestscore: 

London executivepartner: 

9th 

5th 

Qualityof 


Oliver 

Brettle 

(pictured) 


The firm beats both the all-firm and 

US international average in this 

category, but it trails the importance 

rating (by 0.1). 

Service 

The practice improved its marks on two 

out of three categories here, up 0.1 

on use of IT/knowledge management 

and by 0.4 on personal/partner 

relationships. It beats the all-firm 

average in both categories. 

Advice 

Thefirmcomes 6thon 

thefulllisting of 86 firms 

on commercial advice and 

3rdequal amongthe US 

internationalfirms.Itcomes 15th 

on thefulllisting forlegal advice 

and7th amongthe US international 

practices. 


2011: 8.56 

❶❷❸❹❺❻❼❽º 


❶❷❸❹❺❻❼❽º 

‘In-depth overseas 

legalsystemknowledge’ 



● ’Strength and depth of their 

expertise’ 

● ’Billing’ 


● ’In-depth overseas legal system 

knowledge’ 

● ’Willingness to provide commercial 

input’ 

What one change 

in service/ 

behaviourwould 

youmostliketo 

see? 


● ’Fixed fees’ 

Wragge &Cohas pulled up from 6th 

to 5th place among national firms over 

the past year, fractionally increasing its 

overall score. 


An increase of 0.8inits mark in this 

categoryleavesWragges 0.4above 

theall-firmaverage andonapar 

with thenationalfirmaverage.Itis 

only just behind (0.1)the importance 

rating. 

Service 

On use of IT/knowledge management, 


2011: 8.04 

❶❷❸❹❺❻❼❽ 


❶❷❸❹❺❻❼❽ 

the firm has improved its score by 0.8 

over the past 12 months. It beats or 

equals the all-firm average in all three 

categories here, and the national 

average on use of IT/knowledge 

management and personal/partner 

relationships. 

Advice 

Thefirmcomes 5thamong national 

firmsfor commercial advice (8.4) 

and7th forlegal advice.Unusually, 

Wraggesgetsits top(equal) mark 

amongthe sixcategorieswemeasure 

forcommercial, ratherthanlegal 

(8.3), advice. 

What mostimpressed you 

aboutthe firm? 

● ’The general service 

we receive and personal 

relationship we have with 

them’ 

● ’Generally commercially 

aware’ 

LWISTATISTICS: WRAGGE &CO 




Best score: 

● ’Knowledge ofreal estate deals 

and experience ofworking for 

developers’ 

● ’Commercial advice with good 

response times’ 

● ’Knowledge and experience of 

similar transactions’ 



see? 

● ’More consistency required from 

junior staff’ 

● ’Quicker response times’ 

● ’More competitive billing’ 

● ’Reduce costs’ 

www.legalweek.com LegalWeek 7December 2012 

21 

24th 

5th 

Qualityof 

commercial advice (8.43) 


Nicola Lynch 

‘Commercial advice with good 

response times’ 

008-021_LW_0712_CSR.indd 21 12/5/12 2:08 PM

Client Satisfaction Report 2012: What the clients say - Legal Week

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